Friday, March 31, 2006

Zoo Cats

Kate and her mum, Jo, took me to the Zoo for my birthday the other week. I was pretty excited because I hadn’t been there since I was a wee child, and I’d heard that the Zoo’s only been getting better.

My viewing priorities went a) Big Cats, b) Small Cats, c) sundries (time permitting). My love of cats is certainly not limited to domestic cats, and with the exception of feral cats, I pretty much love all cats, or, ‘members of the family Felidae’, as we people who type “cat family” into Wikipedia call them. They’re such an impressive species; proud and noble, elegant and graceful. I think the domestic cat comes out on top because you can actually engage and interact with them. They’re not just something to look at; they’re creatures that pretty much anyone can form a relationship with. Tigers are easily next on the list, followed by Cheetahs and then Jaguars and Leopards. Lions, I guess, would go next, although I think they’re a bit overrated. With those bouffy, hair-metal manes I think they’re more Kings of the Hairspray, than Kings of the Jungle. Tigers should be the Kings of the Jungle. I wonder who’d win in a ‘Tiger v Lion’ fight? Or ‘Tiger v Robocop’? Or even better, ‘Tiger v Paris Hilton’?! Now that’d be a ‘fight’ to see! After Lions I think I’d have to lump Snow Leopards, Pumas, Lynxes, Servals and Ocelots together because I don’t know too much about them. Except that Servals have enormous ears, Ocelets look stunning, and that Puma and Lynx are both brands I don’t like.

Anyway, Kate and Jo got to the Zoo before me, as I was heading there after work. When I called Kate to say I was almost there, she told me she was at the tiger’s enclosure and he was playing around in the water with a plastic ball. Brilliant; I said I’d be there in five minutes. A lot can happen in five minutes. Actually, a lot can happen in five seconds. This was Kate and Jo’s tiger experience.


And this was mine.


Fat lotta nuthin’. I waited and waited, but no amount of calling out like I was at the back door calling the cat in for dinner was going to draw Ramalon the proud Sumatran tiger out into the open. I eventually gave up and we headed to the Small Cats area, where we got a healthy serve of almost nuthin’. We got to see two Servals up quite close, which was excellent, and they were even talking to each other, but the only other cat out was the Fishing Cat. No Asiatic Golden Cat, no Bobcat, no Leopard Cat and no Ocelot.


Still, encouraged by the Servals, we hurried over the Big Cats and, guess what: more nuthin’. No Puma, no Snow Leopard and no Jaguar. Sorry, I tell a lie: I got to see the Jaguar’s rear end as he disappeared around a corner at the back of his cage. I thought I was on a timing winner as we were there at dusk, and isn’t that when cats are supposed to be most active? Yes, sure, they were actively moving out of sight, but that wasn’t what I was after.

My last hope were the Lions, and they were pretty cool. A couple of them got into a roaring match and I just could not believe how loud they were. It was intense! I went back a little later and found one lion standing up in a tree a short distance from the fence. We got into a staring match. He won. It was unnerving. Felt a bit like trying to stare down Aslan. Oh hey, I forgot about Aslan! I take back what I said before about Lions. Aslan’s magnificent even when he doesn’t sound like James Earl Jones.




So all up, pretty disappointing on the cat front, but we did get to see some other good animals and I did surprise an excitable keeper guy by correctly identifying a Potoroo when asked. I don’t think he was expecting anyone to know, and I didn’t tell him I designed a brochure for the Potoroo conservation scheme in East Gippsland. Sometimes it’s good to just be the King. My reward for getting the question right was being allowed into the enclosure to feed the Potoroo. Pretty cute.


We then stayed around for a picnic dinner and the final ‘Twilight Jazz at the Zoo’ for the summer. The jazz band was pretty good, and their final number was a classic Duke Ellington track that featured a pounding, extended drum solo that was doubly good because I’d only just complained that drum solos never go for long enough! Great way to finish a most enjoyable day.

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