Short Visit 11/01

I went to the Zoo this morning and sat in Cat Canyon for awhile. It was overcast and cool, and most everyone was pretty active. Tayma, the Persian leopard, was giving her morning "I'm awake and this is my spot" call, which kind of sounds like a loud hruff hruff hruff hruff. She was checking things out around the enclosure to see if anything was new and maybe if there were any treats around. At a zoo she used to live at, a sliding metal gate was accidentally left up just a little bit. Tayma reached underneath of it, and the door fell shut, crushing her toes on one front foot. She had surgery, which was able to save her foot but not her toes. She doesn't really put any weight on that foot, but she gets around great.

There is another enclosure behind Tayma, and for the first time, I noticed that it houses another cat, a northern Chinese leopard- so beautiful! A couple minutes later, an educator and a keeper came by with a couple on a VIP tour. They went up to the back corner of Tayma's enclosure to see her up close. She saw the keeper coming from a distance and immediately went up there. The kitty came out in her as she began to rub her shoulders and sides against the door and then flipped on her back with her legs sticking up, rolling around. (That's called "happy bellies". It's one of my favorite things, especially when my dog does it.)

Next I went to watch the mountain lions. I was thrilled to see they were both right up front; the boy tends to be shy at times. The girl's name is Koya, short for Koyama, which means "cougar" in a North American Indian language. The keeper didn't remember at the time which one, but I'd like to find out. She was an orphan found by a hiker in Oregon. The boy's name is Kima, short for Yakima. The keeper I asked today didn't know where his name came from. However, I looked online, and there is a Shahaptian tribe of Indians called the Yakima that live in Washington, so I would imagine his name comes from them. Also, Yakima means "runaway", and Kima was also found as an orphan, shortly after Koya. They ended up becoming great companions and a perfect match. Recently, Koya wasn't feeling well and had to go to the Zoo hospital for some tests; Kima was sad and lethargic the whole time she was gone. Incidentally, she was found to have a small urinary tract infection, and is now back to her perky self after some antibiotics.

Orson, the black jaguar, got a super treat this morning- a giant leg bone, which I'm guessing was from a cow. He was in his front cave happily gnawing away on it, taking his time and great care in choosing exactly where he would chew next. Sadly, a black jaguar in a cave on an overcast day is too much for my camera phone, and all I could capture was an occasional very satisfied tongue poking out. However, I was able to get this shot on a later trip.

Finally, I went to see the ratels for a bit. They are one of my favorites to watch, but I honestly can't tell who's who for anything. My best guess is that the mom and an older juvenile were in there today. Ratels are related to (and are shaped like) badgers and have markings very similar to skunks. They remind me of ferrets sometimes in their single-mindedness once they're fixed on something. Once I saw one try for 45 minutes to pull a tiny outside plant into the enclosure, only reaching it with claw tips. Another time, I saw one determined to get a Kong ball up the wall, balancing it on her nose while climbing up the fence. Halfway up, it would inevitably roll off her nose to the ground, she'd make a bunch of fussy noises, and then go try again. Today, the mom was set on burrowing a hole through the side enclosure floor, making what sounded like frustrated pig grunts all the while. Giving up on getting attention, the juvenile came out and tried to pull a burlap sack off of their big tree for a minute before just hanging over top of it awhile. I had a nice view of draped ratel behind, legs splayed in a cartoonish upside-down V shape for balance.

I talked to a few guests then met and talked to a really nice VAO (visitor assistance officer) for awhile. Since he was a boy, all he wanted was to work at the Zoo, and now he's been there for ten years making a difference. I could tell he's so happy to be there every day and is really committed to his job and the Zoo. I think that's awesome!

I wrapped it up and headed home, freezing by this point from leaning my behind on a metal pole for way too long. I accidentally managed to delete the mountain lion pictures I took today, so more next time!