Surviving the zoo

Given that today is a weekday and the weather forecast predicted a 90% chance of heavy thunderstorms I thought that the Bronx zoo would be mostly empty. I was way off. At times the crush of the crowds, vacationers and neon-clad elementary school groups, was almost too much to bear and I was actually a bit relieved when I made it home just as the storm broke.

Oddly enough it seems that many of the animals were frustrated today, too; snow leopards, rock hyraxes, small-clawed otters, and other animals were tussling with each other throughout the day. Still, despite the frequent bumps, jostles, and occasional 5 year old that ran smack into me (I was starting to think I was invisible) today was good. I’ll share more photos as the days go on but for now here are two close-ups of western gorillas (a female, top, and a silverback, bottom);

Zoo comment of the day; Confused as to the affinities of the okapi a woman near me said “It’s like a zebra mixed with a horse!” (The other popular interpretation was a dog mixed with a horse. Few, if any, people read the signs in front of the enclosure to find out the real answer.)