Lions, Tigers and Rock-Throwers

Not to mention a few kangaroos, koalas, emus, platypus’, tons of monkeys, apes, gorillas and quite a few humans.

The Melbourne Zoo was our first official “I’m going to be a tourist today” outing that consisted of us leaving the immediate vicinity of Melbourne proper. St. Kilda doesn’t count only because they don’t charge admission fees. So there.

I’ve been conflicted, and still am, about zoos in general – namely that balance of wanting to showcase some of the world’s most amazing animals in order to teach about environment preservation, the importance of knowing that we aren’t the only ones here and the fact that wild animals do not belong in enclosed spaces for snot nosed kids to stare at day in and out. So it was with a mixed heart that I suggested we check out the zoo to see Australia’s wildlife.

“It will only take a couple of hours, tops, I only want to see the Kangaroos and Koalas, besides I don’t like zoo’s anyway”. Was how I hoodwinked Adam into making the spontaneous trip out there. So off we went.

My excitement mounted as we purchased our tickets and saw how vast the place looked on the map. We decided to start with the Gorilla Rainforest and work our way, rather quickly, towards the Australian Outback…afterall, we are only here to see the Kangaroos right?

After jumping out of my skin coming upon a *highly* realistic statue of a gorilla sitting amongst some bamboo we stopped at the Gorilla pavilion. No one was home it appeared. And then out of nowhere two huge gorillas come chasing each other out of some hidden enclosure. I saw them for maybe a minute and then they had dipped out of sight again. But it was enough. I was hooked. I could not help but feel completely in awe of these mammals, these creatures who seem to share our facial features and social patterns. They were much bigger than I ever anticipated. Two of them, whenever they would move, would throw a burlap sack on their backs and carry it to their next spot. To sit on. You know, so that their butts didn’t get all dirty? Ah…creatures after my own heart. No wonder I was mesmerized. There was a connection there – a ‘wow these creatures are amazing and they look a heck of a lot like me and yet, somewhere along the line we changed’. Evolutionary awe at it’s best.

“We have a lot of other animals to see, let’s keep moving” Adam reminded me. Okay okay, but did you see the gorillas??!!

Which brings us to the next hour and a half of our day which was spent entirely staring, being awestruck, amused and a little saddened by the many apes, orangutans, and monkeys housed here. The orangutans in particular were amusing, not only because they look exactly like very, very old men and women in the face, but they are so interactive. A child was standing inside the viewing window (there are mostly outdoor viewing spots, and some indoor) and the orangutan came up to him and stood there just staring at him. Now, I’m not an animal behavior expert; I’ve heard all about the warning ‘never look a monkey in the eye’ so, it could’ve been a blatant threat – like ‘get the hell away from my window you snot nosed kid!’ But to me it was an amazing interaction between species, like they were communicating somehow. (Go ahead, laugh it up)

We kept on, making our way through African safari animals – giraffes, zebras, ostriches and bongos. Saw adorable Indian Elephants with two calves (and a very anxious looking Tiger…all I’m saying was if Dori was pacing around like that I know that means she wants out, now.).

And finally entered the Australian Outback which is a ‘walk through’ zoo. Meaning the animals are not caged in to separate enclosures but free to roam. But please don’t pet them if they come up to you. Ha, right. We saw a herd (herd?) of teeny kangaroos make their way across the pens and larger kangaroos who did have a bit of a fence to deal with. Emus were wandering – and are quite intimidating as they look slightly more intelligent than an ostrich…maybe it’s because they don’t have those ridiculous fluffy feathers. And the Koalas were, well sleeping, but looking so adorable! It was here that my inner *animal protector patrol* (you down with A.P.P?) came out when I saw a group of individuals throwing rocks towards the koalas in an attempt to wake them up for their oh-so-important-pictures. I was in complete disgust. So I let them know exactly what I thought, clucked my tongue like a pissed off teenager and shook my head like the most disappointed parent in the world all while telling them how wrong and mean they were. The worst part of it is…this was a group of adults. Adults. I guess snot nosed kids aren’t the worst you have to contend with…

Anyway, we tried to not let that little encounter ruin the entire trip (but I made sure to continuously follow them through exhibits…to keep an eye on them…muah-hahaha) and went on to see the Great Aviaries. This was an awesome huge bird cage (if it can be called that) full of plants, trees and birds – ibises, black swans (sans Natalie Portman, sorry Adam), Cassowaries, parrots you name it. There was even a friendly little parrot perched on the railing just dying to gnaw on your sweater zippers. He let me pet him while Adam got some great close ups.

After this we had seen almost everything…except for the aforementioned Lions. The Lions were cool, their paddock is quite large and you have to walk over it on a completely caged in walkway about 12 feet off the ground…there was no second guessing the wildness of these three lions…although they are awfully cute while sleeping.

All in all it was a great day at the zoo and left us pretty tuckered out having ended up spending, oh, the entire day there. So much for my 2 hour max schpeal. At the end of the day I am still a little torn as to how much I actually like the idea of a zoo. Again, I think it’s great to have this closer-than-normal experience with the wildlife, and a cool way to get people interested and invested in the world around them.…but then there are the idiots who throw rocks at Koalas and make me worry that a zoo is just another way that humans exert control and ownership over the world and its creatures.

Putting this dilemma aside for another day’s cup of coffee and pondering… I would have to say, without hesitation, that I am glad I got to see these animals and I am glad that I was constantly reminded how diverse the world is, and how fragile the environment is. Oh, and I am quitting my day job to pursue animal protector patrolling…that or perfecting monkey-human communication… (I really really liked those monkeys).