Yesterday, Opa and Oma took me to the Naples Zoo. I went there four years ago, and immediately I started to remember things from my last visit. I remembered the white boat we rode in on the "primate expedition". I also remembered the penguin exhibit and the lion that roared when Anders was leaving and stopped when Anders came back, but we didn't see them. The first thing we saw were macaws.
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| The Macaws |
The next thing we saw was a jaguar. He looked very, very hot and in an attempt to hide from the sun, he was hiding inside of a cave. I really wish that he would have come out of his cave and up to the glass so that I could take an up close and personal picture of him.
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| The jaguar hides from the sun in his cave |
The next thing we did was look at the alligators in their swamp. Sadly I couldn't get a picture of the alligators, as they were hiding in the shade on the other side of the Alligator Swamp, and we didn't go over there during our visit. I was surprised that the alligators weren't swarming the birds in their swamp.
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| All I got a picture of was a bird in the alligator swamp. |
The next thing we did was watch the "SNAKES ALIVE" exhibit. The first snake that the men took out was a ball python. It was black and it started to constrict around the mans arm and he had to pull to get it off his arm. The next snake the men took out was a cottonmouth viper. If you see one, do NOT move, as you will scare him. The next snake the men took out was a king snake. A king snake eats other snakes, and only other snakes. In fact, a king snake's scientific name literally means "full of snake". The next snake the men took out was a Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, my favorite snake of all time!
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| The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake |
Next up, we went on the "Primate Expedition" boat ride. We saw gibbons, white-handed gibbons, spider-monkeys, lemurs, and buff-cheeked gibbons. I was surprised that the apes and monkeys weren't howling at our boat like they did last time.
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| The Lemurs: King Julien and his stunt double! |
Next, we went to see the Planet Predator show. The first animal that the brought out was a red tailed fox. Believe it or not, a red tailed fox's tail is gray, along with the rest of its body. The next animal that they took out on the stage was a Gila Monster. Its name is pronounced He-La Monster. Although it is VERY slow, it is EXTREMELY venomous. Next, we were shown a screech owl and a barn owl. The screech owl kills over 1000 mice a year, and the barn owl kills over 3000 mice a year. Finally, they brought out the two stars of the show, two Fusas! The Naples zoo is home to the only two Fusas who will let you put a collar and leash and won't kill you! It is the greatest hope of the Naples Zoo to raise these to Fusas to adulthood and to still be able to put a leash and collar on them and do shows with them!
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| The two Fusas are SO cute! |
The next place we went was to the bear exhibit. When you look at the bears, it really is hard to imagine them as ferocious monsters.
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| the beautiful black bear |
Finally, we went to the Maylasian Tigers area to meet the keeper and see the tigers being fed. I have a video of some of this:
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| I love roaring on the phone! |
6 comments:
This is wonderful, Lars! You've shared so much of your visit that I almost feel like I was right there with you all day. I wonder if the snake handler you saw today was the same man who did the Snakes Alive exhibit at the Schiele Museum several years ago?
Before you even ask, NO -- we are not getting cute little fusas as pets. I've never heard of them before, but if they kill people who try to put their collars and leashes on, then I'm NOT taking them for walks around our neighborhood!
I'm so glad you're having a good time. Did you take these pictures yourself? I love all those colors of the macaw's feathers!
Super post!! Keep them coming...
Thank you so much for sharing about your travels. I'm really missing you about now, since I'm not used to you being so far away. Did you take the photo of the 2 fusas? Great shot!
Thank you so much for sharing your adventures while you are so far away. I'm missing you!
I have never heard of a fusa before. Where do they come from? How do they kill? With their teeth and claws? They look very small, but you said they were babies. How big will they get?
Also, why is the Eastern Diamondback rattler your favorite. I, personally, do not have a favorite snake, but since reading your post I feel more fond of the king snake. Can the king eat a rattler or other poisonous snakes? That would be a useful service and a good trick.
Lars, Lars, Lars, Lars! You're posting so many stories I'm having a hard time commenting on them all! But I enjoy reading them and learning what you're doing on your trip. The fosas (pronounced foo-sa) are indigenous to the island of Madagascar. Outside of zoos, that's the only place in the world they can be found. Do you know anyone who's been to Madagascar? You do. It's me. I was there for a whole summer when I was 16 years old. Never saw a fosa, though. You can learn more about the fosa and the exhibit at the Naples, FL Zoo at http://www.napleszoo.org/visitor_info/zoo-events/fosa-exhibit.html if you're interested. They have a neat National Geographic video about fosas that you might enjoy. Keep writing! I'm really enjoying your postings.
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