if they call you a neanderthal

LOVE those guys. I used to work at the Minnesota Zoo, which has a lot of them. They had a ton of personality.

http://www.channel4000.com/livecams/animalcams/snowmonkeycam/index.html

Me, too, those snow monkeys are great. I think all Macaques have interesting personalities. I used to study the group at the zoo in Seattle; I'd sit for hours and note every activity of the Lion-Tailed's they have there. Still have the photographs somewhere... including a few of one of the younger males "enjoying" himself. My notes on that got me an "A" in animal behavior class -- the little guy would get frustrated in some social situation and would go off by himself for a little masturbation. Very cute.

oops.

i mean, yes, of course -- and as the author, he was quoted extensively?

(off to get some coffee now. damn fool morning stupidness.)



Was it the Woodland Park Zoo, Piff? Had a membership there a couple of years ago so that I could go watch the sun bears. Only problem is, while they're very playful animals, they were also very skittish, and shrieking boorish children would scare them off and then they'd come around yelling at their parents "Why don't these bears DO anything?" Biting my tongue so's not to say, "They WERE before you got here, you little bastard."

Yep, Woodland Park. I have some qualms about caging animals but it is one of the few ways for people like me to see them.

And it is too bad about the kids, not all are like that. It depends on what the parents teach. If you're a member of the zoo you can have the luxury to come and watch just one or two animals. My kids would happily stand for long, quiet periods to watch their favorite animals. We'd also see a dozen folks come and go, stopping for a quick peek and then on to the next cage.

Tomorrow if you're interested, in Woodland Park there is a 7am -- I know it's early -- insiders' viewing of the birds, part of the Flock to the Zoo program. I got this in my email:

Early Morning Bird Walk
Saturday, May 17
For all you early birds ... come to Woodland Park Zoo on May 17 for a special early morning bird walk led by the zoo's bird keepers. Visit some bird residents at the zoo and view wild birds nesting here. You will need to arrive by 6:30 a.m. The tour begins promptly at 7:00 a.m. and ends at 9:30 a.m. Meet at the zoo's South Gate entrance located at North 50th and Fremont Avenue North. Children are welcome, don't forget your binoculars! Tours leave promptly at 7:00 a.m. and space may be limited. Price is regular zoo admission - free for current zoo members.
Questions! Email [email protected]

Greg Toffic
Curator of Birds
Woodland Park Zoo

Hmmmmmm. 'Tis very early, unfortunately; Saturday is when I try to make up for my week of five-hour nights.

Re: cages. I feel the same way. It's one of the reasons I was drawn to the sun bears, I think. They'd been rescued from a circus in SE Asia, and were eager to explore their suddenly spacious confines. And Woodland Park is better than most in this regard...

Oh, that's good, I didn't know their story. I don't think there are many sunbears left in the wilds, either. At least they are safe from poachers. The animals and birds saved from circuses or after injuries... those are much more easy to understand. It is when young, healthy animals are taken from the wild that I get upset.

The bird thing is too early for me, too.

Thinking of starting a topic on zoos: pro or con. I'm all over the place on that one, myself. Sometimes deeply pro, sometimes quite con.

It's always the orangutans that get me. Fiercely intelligent, and also fiercely private, so they seem able to recognize their predicament and inclined to loathe it. The big cats, too, seem to get kind of crazy -- but they're cats, so they probably start out that way, prowling, pacing...

Good idea. Zoos are not a black & white issue, though there are certainly very good and very bad things about them.

if they call you a neanderthal
Sozobe, I could kiss you. Zoos are sometimes the only chance some species have for survival. Reluctant as I am to have wild creatures caged the alternative which is exterminated is certainly less desirable. To my knowledge the only okapi left are in tne Ituri Forest. Approximately 30,000 are left 5,000 of which are in a wildlife preserve. The area has been the scene of fighting recently and I hate to think of what will happen to them.

The passenger pigeons in our own country have gone when once they darkened the sky. There are too many instances to list here but if zoos is what it takes more power to them.

Oh my!

OK, off to start the thread, then. Just a sec...

Here ya go.

(If you guys want to cut and paste your responses there, that would be great... you have said some really interesting things that would be a good jumping-off point.)

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=210527#210527

Not a fan of monobrow, no. But Piffka pointed out what is my longstanding conviction. The Neanderthals are still among us!! I swear I saw a few in my lifetime, one of my classmates was surely one of them. I bet they know about each other and have some secret society with rulers and all and are planning to get even with us humans.

Dagmaraka -- whata thought! Yikes. Secret handshakes and meeting, they probably go to the same styling salons to keep up those monobrows.

if they call you a neanderthal
High brow, low brow, monobrow. I feel browbeaten.

If they were still around, I think they'd kick our skinny little asses...

there's probably not enough of them, as they cannot infiltrate our race with their progeny. i bet they are busily working on reproducing themselves to get higher numbers in the future!