A Zoo with a View

We went further afield today to the San Diego Wild Animal Safari in Escondido, California.  This is a dream zoo if you're an animal and it's pretty great if you're a person.  Whatever questions we had about zoos were answered here.  It is a huge expanse of land and the animals have vast areas where they roam and the people are kept to paths and trams and things.  When we first arrived, we climbed up to a tower and were so excited to see giraffes and rhinos just wandering around in the distance, eating grass and going to the waterhole and reclining under trees.

Originally, the park was closed to the public and was meant as a breeding facility for the Zoo, but in the 70's they decided to let the public see what they were up to.  They have an excellent record for animals breeding which is a sign that they aren't too stressed.  I've read about the idea of the time capsule zoo -- meant to preserve species while we get our acts together as far as preserving habitats, preventing conflicts between animals and people and educating people about climate change and the importance of wilderness and diversity -- I guess this is one of those places.  One of the keepers who spoke to us said if we told ten people that rhino horns are made of the same material as our fingernails, and then those ten people told ten people, we could make a difference for dwindling rhino populations.  So pass on the word to whoever you meet.









When we first arrived, we went into a tropical bird enclosure.  You could buy nectar and feed the lorikeets.  Both boys bought a little cup and came in ready to get up close to a beautiful brightly coloured bird.  There was a bunch of other people in the enclosure as well, and a little blond fellow who seemed very popular with the birds.  They were all over him!  William managed to attract a bird to his nectar and didn't that little blond fellow come over and try to entice William's bird away!  Then a lorikeet landed on William's head!  Blondie was there a

gain, like a dirty shirt!  I wish you could have seen William's face.

After seeing bats and meeting a lemur up close, we took a tram trip around the whole park and then visited the lions, cheetahs, tigers, elephants and best of all, the gorillas! Unlike the regular zoo, all the animals (except the lions) were very active, roaming around their large interestingly designed areas.  We all agreed that it would be good to be an animal in this place.  Although Mike still thinks the cats need to have a chance to hunt once in a while.  The tiger area was huge with all sorts of different terrains and places to swim and climb and hide, but Mike said, "it sounds cruel, but they should put a goat in there once in a while".  I know what he's talking about, but I wouldn't want to be the goat or see what the tigers would do to it.

The gorillas were great, of course.  There is a large diverse troupe and they also have a big area to live in with trees and running water and caves and little niches for them to hang out in.  The silverback, Winston, is apparently a gentle leader although we did see him take one of the female gorilla's leafy branches and plop himself down and eat it, while she and her baby had to move away to a less comfortable spot.  I guess he's gentle but he still wants to be the boss.

Now we're back in Los Angeles again. This time in Culver City.  We are a lot closer to the heart of Los Angeles here than we did in Anaheim and have a great view of the big city and all the lights and the hustle bustle.  We're going to go out to Banning again tomorrow to have dinner with Gordon (Mike's dad) and Annie (his wife) and maybe we'll have time to do a little sightseeing in Hollywood.  Maybe I'll wear a tight white sweater and go to a soda shop.  You never know what might happen.  I think I'm just as good an actor as Lana Turner.