July 09, 2009

lost and dazed at S.F. Zoo


click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

On Tuesday I somehow ended up at San Francisco Zoo, without a clue as to why I was there and in a bit of a daze -- probably a bit like the way this Lemur feels about the whole situation.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

This adorable creature is a Patas Monkey.   I doubt if it has a clue as to what it's doing here too.

Patas Monkeys don't live in trees, but rely on thier long greyhound-like legs for speed in escaping predators.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

And this is an Ostrich, known for their huge eggs and long necks.   It only seems fitting that the Ostriches are in the same enclosure as the Giraffes.

Peacocks are luckier than Ostriches -- they are allowed to roam freely.   While I was there a little girl spotted a Peacock "out of it's cage" and was insisting that her mother call or tell a zoo worker about the escape.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Naw, that's not Gavin Newsom -- San Francisco's mayor -- but I'm pretty sure I could gather a long list of disgruntled San Francisco citizens and commuters who think the coveted job of engineering the Little Puffer would be a splendid application of his leadership abilities.

But hey -- if Michael Jackson had a zoo I don't see why our Mayor can't have one too...   But seriously, folks, maybe the overcast weather was a contributing factor, but I found my visit to the zoo extremely depressing.   About the only highlight was watching two orphaned Grizzly Bears -- unable to care for themselves when they were rescued as cubs -- Kachina and Kiona, bounce around in their pond in search of fish.

Click if you really need to see a photo of Leo the Lion, sawing logs.


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5 comments:

Mari said...

Lovely looks!

Tomate Farcie said...

Love the shots, and especially the lion! Haven't been to the SF zoo in ages. I'm sure the zoo is going broke these days, much like every other entity.

photowannabe said...

Love the look of the ostrich. There has got to be a good caption in there.
The SF zoo used to be so wonderful but now it really just makes me sad.

AphotoAday said...

HI MARI, TOMATE FARCIE, AND PHOTOWANNABE SUE --

Thanks for your input...

Admission was a whopping $15, which is about $3 more than I paid a two years ago... I thought I was going to use the parking lot, but the sign said $8, so I parked for free over on Sloat.

I sure did see a whole lot of rug-rats in strollers -- I suppose the zoo is for little tykes, who I guess deserve to see real live animals...

Plenty of wildlife around my house these days... We have a mother deer and her two fawns that come walking through my yard on a regular basis (I should show some pictures), and of course we have our share of raccoons, squirrels, and the occasional skunk... Recently I've been live-trapping mice and rats in the basement and letting them go up on Mt. Tamalpais...

Louise said...

The older I get, the more depressing zoos are to me. (Rain or shine.) We never take the kids unless it's a field trip.

The girl and the peacock amuses me. Whenever we are at our zoo, the poor peacocks get chased to no end. Sometimes I think they might even prefer a cage.

 
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