Up-close and Personal with The Wild Things
When our family heard news of the Polar Bear Cub at the Toronto Zoo (Globe & Mail) we immediately shelved our Sunday nature walk plans and decided to go to the zoo instead. We planned to be at the gates when the zoo opened, alas, we got there around 30 minutes after that.
Huxley said, that all he wanted to do was cuddle with the little bear – knowing of course that would not be feasible.
It was good planning to be there at the early morning hour – for about half an hour, there were so few people that we got to hang out right up against the window. I shot all these pix with a 18-55mm lens, so the little fellow was never very far away.
Making contact:
He spent a good 2 – 3 minutes trying to engage with Huxley – ah, what a wonderful experience.
Eventually though, we had to move on, the amounts of people multiplied and we also wanted to see some other wild creatures:
The Lions we agreed that cuddling up with one of these would be the coolest thing.. except maybe the purr, which would surely keep you from falling asleep, as it would possibly rattle your teeth, if they could only safely be kept as pets.. (giggle)
Just hanging out with a baboon.
Canada geese flying very closely over-head.
Pacing back and forth with a Hyena along the front glass wall about 10 times.
This was the first time we visited the zoo outside of the busy summer season and it was a wonderful experience. Most of the animals were much more active than during the hot summer months. A large tiger was playing in it's cage like a kitten, rather than just lounging around. We got to chat with an elephant keeper and a polar bear keeper. We also watched one feed some tiny monkeys and had them clambering up her legs and back. Walking was easy because there is no snow on the ground.
The orang-utans are as always a pleasure to see. There was a little tumble, as one of the older females slipped and fell ontop of the littlest monkey in the enclosure. The little one, named Nazir, was luckily not hurt, but he promptly ran to his mother to nurse, which he still does at age four.
I hope that we get a chance to see the polar bear cup again in a few weeks/months.
And for fun, here is the Polar Bear Cub playing with a barrel: