Zoo Station
Went to the San Francisco zoo yesterday with The Boyfriend to go visit the elephants. I have conflicting feelings about the zoo. Part of me likes seeing how excited kids and adults get when they see these beautiful and exotic creatures that they probably wouldn’t get to see if the zoo didn’t exist. The zoo also provides a home for some creatures that wouldn’t have a fighting chance in the wild or animals that are becoming extinct. The other part of me feels really bad for the animals because they are kept in these enclosed spaces, especially when I see the ones that are so regal and large, such as the elephants and the giraffes, which are designed to roam the large distances.One of my favorite animals to visit are the gorillas. There was a gorilla that kept making faces at the crowd. She’d periodically smile really wide, stick out her tongue, and then wag it back and forth. Just watching their facial expressions and how they sit and carry themselves is amazing – the evolutionary link between humans and the apes seems so obvious if you just observe them closely. Speaking of evolution, some folks in Wisconsin are a little peeved with my homeboy, Darwin, and have pushed for other “alternative” theories of origin to be taught. Creationism will now be taught in the public classrooms in Grantsburg, located in northwest Wisconsin. This isn’t the first school district to be doing this. Read all about how our country is on the fast track to the dark ages here.
The other highlight of the day was watching the Asian elephant pee. You truly cannot appreciate the power of the majestic elephant until you see one pee. It first daintily let out a few farts, and then turned its bum towards the crowd, spread its hind legs and then unleashed a deluge of urine with a force that was a reckon to behold. Daily, elephants can pee up to 20 gallons. I can only postulate that it must have felt very good.
If you can’t make it to the zoo you can still get your elephant fix on by visiting the website for The Elephant Sanctuary, located in Tennessee. The Elephant Sanctuary is a retirement community for elephants that have worked in circuses or lived in zoos. They are given 2700 acres to roam and explore and to live the rest of their years. Periodically you can see some of their elephants on the Elecam playing, napping, or just meandering around. I can’t guarantee that you’ll catch one peeing though.
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