Just a week or two ago, the sun was shining and we had a rare day off together. When we visited the zoo in January, Jason was instantly eager to visit again, and so finally, 6 months later, we went. The zoo is much different in summer than in winter. There were different animals and exhibits to see, but I wouldn't say that one was better than the other. Both were pretty amazing.

Przewalski's horse - now completely extinct except in zoos.

reindeer

one-humped camel

Bennett's wallaby

black-faced kangaroo


When we were in the Australian pavillion, there were no fences. We just walked among the kangaroos and such. They are too timid to approach humans, so they watched us as we watched them. I was still a little nervous.

above and below, african lions

grevy's zebra

impala

greater kudu

river hippopotamus

When we visisted in January, we accidentally interrupted Mr and Mrs Warthog being "intimate". Lo and behold, when we returned in July, there was a baby warthog along with them!

Jason keeps an eye on the antelopes

This picture of Patsy the elephant was taken when we visited in January. She has been the matriarch of the elephant herd for 30 years, but was recently suffering due to arthritis. Two days before we visisted in July, she was put down.

Patsy was born in Mozambique in 1966 and sailed to Canada in 1974. She has had 4 babies herself and has cared for the other 6 elephants in the zoo. Because elephants are so closely bonded, they also go through a mourning period when they lose a member. When zoo keepers euthenized her, they left her body in the elephant enclosure overnight so the others would realize that she had not simply disappeared, but died.

Patsy is buried on zoo property. She was 40 years old.

Here are some of the elephants when we saw them. They were unusually calm, perhaps still grieving their friend.

pygmy hippopotamus

father and son red river hogs

gaur

This is Rengat, a sumatran tiger. He wore down the grass pacing around his enclosure. He's just become a father again, and his wife and babies are in a den all to themselves until the babies are old enough to get out on their own.

Mom (Puppe) and Dad oranguatan were busy taking care of their camera-shy baby, Budi, who was born just days after our visit in January. Zoo officials say his big sister Jahe sometimes helps to babysit him.

Jason and Jumbo Gourami, January 2006

Jason and Jumbo Gourami, July 2006


Nancy, I think you'll remember how struck we were by the eerie resemblance between these two. What do you think? Twins separated at birth?

white rhinoceros

african ostrich

When we visited during the winter, the zebras were "under construction" but they were out and looking lovely on this day.

top and bottom, masai giraffe

american flamingos

spider monkey

Above and below we have capybaras, also known as water pigs or cavys, they are the world's largest rodent. I'm glad they only live in South America.

macaws


American Polar Bear

When we went to the zoo this past winter, the polar bears were lazy. This time, this guy was much more active, pacing and swimming, but he was alone. His wife was in the maternity den, getting ready to give birth.

west caucasion tur (above and below)

Barbary Sheep (aka Aoudad)

their babies

dhole; asiatic wild dog

human, Jason, overlooking aoudad exhibit

Jason in Eurasion Outdoor Pavillion

Jason took me to Paramount Canada's Wonderland for my birthday.

As you can see, we were completely rained out.

And not just rain, but tornado-grade winds, thunder, and lightning.

The rides had to close down for safety reasons every time the weather got particularly bad. We were soaked, and then chilled to the bone. Our shoes were filled with water because the entire park flooded.

When this picture was taken, we were deciding whether or not to just go home (but with $60 worth of non-refundable tickets, we were a little hesitant to do so). Instead, we went for lunch at Vaughn Mills and bought some dry t-shirts and socks. We returned to the park and spent an enjoyable afternoon. Phew.

Canada Day

















This guy was part of the Canada Day parade, he calls himself "the only town crier on a Vespa", which is probably true.

The parade was corny, but we enjoyed ourselves. The weather was beautiful even though it looked cloudy for a while. The afternoon we spent on a patio, and then later we saw Superman Returns in 3D, which gave me a headache.