Two weeks ago Dad had his 80th birthday. It is extremely difficult to think of a present for somebody who actually doesn't want anything special, but after much searching and discussion Mum and I had a bright idea - give him membership of the National Zoo and Aquarium right here in Canberra. Naturally we weren't letting him go by himself, so yesterday we also got membership. Now we can visit the zoo any time we like over the next year, just swipe our cards and enter from any of 4 gates. That's great because the zoo is fairly large and the Oldies are fairly slow so we don't have to see everything in just one visit. Yesterday we only saw about a sixth of the total. The zoo is well setup for visitors, the paths are mostly boardwalks and the landscaping provides the right amount of shady trees and open areas for both animals and people.These Squirrel Monkeys are right next to the main entry and cafe, great entertainment while you are downing coffee and ice cream. The zoo has two adult white lions and a small pride of ordinary ones. As usual on hot days the big cats were all either sun baking or snoozing in the shade. One of the Sun Bears was having his daily exercise climbing on the network of logs in the enclosure, his partner was sleeping in their den. The Otters were their usual busy selves, swimming in their pool (usually with the current) and running around their enclosure to find where food may be hidden. This one found a stash in a bamboo container, it was fun watching him trying to get it out and eventually eating the lot of it. There are some gates with signs like in the last image. Naturally, I had to see why. Dad caught me just before I got over the gate. Just as well because that is one of the places they feed the lions from. We will be back to the zoo often.
Labels: animals, climbing, family, zoo
