Amazing Moments

S

Shirokuma

Well-Known Member
What's your most memorable (in a good way) moment at a zoo?

I have two. One was visiting Budongo Trail at Edinburgh on a very wet day last summer. I stood alone at the bottom of the enclosure looking up, the hillside and trees looked like a continuous landscape through the mist and clouds. No animals were visible but then a pair of chimps slowly came out of the mist and it sent a shiver down my spine. And I don't even like chimpanzees. I mentioned this to a keeper who was really pleased to hear it (I'm pretty shy and hardly ever talk to keepers or ask questions).

The other one was when in the Blackburn Pavilion at London Zoo a couple of weeks ago. Again, I was the only person there. A Socorro dove was perched right in front of me and almost seemed to be following me around the enclosure. I felt incredibly privileged to be so close to such a rare species and the fact that most people would just think it was a pigeon or something made it even more special.
 
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For me, it was a free-ranging serow nibbling gently at me just inside the entrance to Phnom Tamao Zoological Garden in Cambodia. Such a sweet, strange animal, one I never expected to encounter.
 
There have been at least a couple. First one that comes to mind was many moons ago, at the San Diego Zoo in their big aviary. My lady and I were about halfway down the main path when, out of nowhere, a Lady Ross Turaco appeared, perched on the handrail barely ten feet away and just watching us.

As we got close, the bird suddenly hopped up onto my wife's arm, studied its reflection in her sunglasses (they were a mirrored type) for a moment, and then -- with downright surgical precision -- reached gently forward with its beak and removed said sunglasses. Once this had been done, the bird commenced to staring into my wife's eyes, first with one side of its head and then the other.

After a few minutes, the bird decided that was enough interaction for one day, hopped down, and vanished into the greenery. We found out later, from a couple of aviary keepers, that this was not unusual for this particular bird, as she (it was a female) had been hand-raised by zoo staff.

The other was years later (2003, to be exact) at the aviary in Discovery Cove, Orlando. Same bird, same gender, only it was my turn this time around. The keeper on duty had said I was welcome to try and attract this particular turaco, but that she was shy and probably wouldn't come out.

It took all of ten seconds, plus the offer of a food cup, to have the bird up on my arm and vacuuming up the contents of said cup. The keeper and I were both astonished, her because of the bird's history and me because, for a bird that size, I didn't expect her to be so darned HEAVY! Turacos, apparently, tend to run quite a bit heavier than they look.

A few minutes later, I amazed that same keeper by getting one of their toucans to accept a couple of grapes from me. Apparently, it was the first time the bird had eaten all day, and the keepers hadn't had any luck earlier on (the bird, we were told, was just getting over a beak problem of some sort).

It's rare moments like these which serve as a humbling reminder of just how much there is to discover Out There, still.

Happy travels.
 
Seeing the Sumatran Rhinos at Port Lympne for the first time- after waiting about 40 years to see this species.

Seeing the Gorilla family at Basel Zoo- including the famous breeding pair 'Stephi' & 'Achilla', for the first time.

I am not sure I can choose between those two experiences!
 
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Where to start? :)

At the Toronto Zoo, many years ago (pre new savannah) I had a mother cheetah come out and show off her cubs to my family. I also experienced Luke rushing out and hissing at the zoogoers, just to see if he could scare any of us and give himself a thrill :) The wolves howling up a storm like they did on my last visit was also an incredibly amazing moment.

Also at Toronto Zoo, seeing the snow leopard cubs for the first time, as well as seeing the dholes for the first time.

At the North Carolina Zoo, the African wild dogs came out just as we were getting to their exhibit.
 
There are a few.

The first two were as a child at Colchester Zoo with my Grandparents. One is of my Grandmother giving a baby snow leopard its bottle feed and the other is of my Grandfather standing between the glass and the cage face to face with one of the male tigers while I had my nose pressed against the glass in awe. I can't remember the details, but the images have forever stuck in my brain.

The other one is walking through London Zoo in the morning, with the macaw's squawking away. When I got to BUGS! the lioness was in the small enclosure with her two cubs, which stood up and looked at me with their piercing eyes. I then discovered that if I hid behind the tree they would move to see where I'd gone. I was five minutes late for my shift I got so caught up watching them.
 
That reminds me, a couple of weeks ago the lions were inside and I went over to the viewing window as I could see Lucifer and the cubs on the floor. I didn't realise that Abi was right next to the window but just out of my line of vision. She turned around as I had my face against the glass and gave me quite a shock but it was stunning to be so close to an animal like that.
 
One moment was a couple of years ago when I spent my birthday at Rotterdam Zoo, it was in December and it felt like I had the Zoo to myself.
At that time I was really interested in Hyenas and spent 30 mins watching them.

Other moments were stroking a cheetah and hearing it purr at the Nairobi Animal Orphanage.
Feeding White, Black and Indian Rhinos, Giraffes, Dolphins.
Holding a sloth
 
Several pop into my head immediately.
I collect these wonderful animal figurines by Adam Binder Editions and while I was in New Zealand, I had my meerkat in my pocket because I was taking pictures of him for a photo contest. While at the Nga Manu Nature Reserve, a Kaka parrot (cousin to those naughty Keas you see taking Volvos apart) landed on my head and then shoulder, and then took the meerkat out of my pocket! (I managed to snap a picture of this which of course won me a prize). The next thing I had to do was reach up and rescue my meerkat before the parrot flew off with him!
 
A few years ago I went to Discovery Cove in Orlando. You might think the dolphin interaction, or even having rays swim up the outside of my wetsuit looking for food (since I was standing next to a keeper) would be the most memorable. But, the strongest memory I have is of the swim-through aviary. I probably spent the last hour of my visit floating in there with sea birds flying overhead and chatting with a small bird (I thought it was a Shoebill, but they're big) who came down to the water's edge to commune with me.
What I didn't realize was that the park had closed and they didn't realize I was still in the aviary, so there was a bit of a scramble to find my photos from the dolphin swim, LOL.
 
An interesting subject!
I remember my amazement on first visits to new zoos and first sightings of new species most clearly. From the 1970s
  • walking into the Clore Pavilion at Regent's Park for the first time, I remember the golden lion tamarin, Gouldi's monkeys, Geoffroy's marmosets, angwantibo, potto, slow and slender lorises and an elephant shrew
  • my first proboscis monkeys and uakari on my first visit to Twycross
  • enormous goliath herons and graceful kagu in adjoining enclosures at the Jardin des Plantes
  • in one corner of Basle, early in the morning when no-one else was around, seeing young fossas, a hairy-nosed wombat and a pair of huge Cape clawless otters almost in neighbouring enclosures
  • mind-boggling rarities at Frankfurt - bonobo, solenodon, tarsier, mountain tapir, babirusa, klipspringer and zebra duiker
More personally, the sheer joie de vivre of a young European bison rolling in a dusty patch at Whipsnade - I felt so much more positive about the chance of saving endangered species as I watched her. I also remember spending 20 delightful minutes scratching the nape of the neck of a bataleur through the aviary wire at Accra zoo in Ghana.
Of course there have been more recent moments too - I never expected to see a live aye-aye or a sifaka, no photo or video quite prepares you for the unique experience of seeing a living creature, so I vividly recall them at ZSL and Port Lympne.
I am fortunate that I have photos to help me remember many of these occasions (I just have to remember where I have put them :D).

Alan
 
A recent one for me that comes to mind.

I was able to spend 20minutes on my own in Realm of the Red Ape (and anyone who's visited will know how difficult that is to achieve!) and sat at the window with Subis and her eldest offspring (the name escapes me at the moment).

It was a really nice moment because even though the Orangs usually reside by the windows, there are many other people pushing their way to get a look. So to get an extended period of time just watching them was pretty special.
 
gentle lemur said:
I never expected to see a live aye-aye or a sifaka, no photo or video quite prepares you for the unique experience of seeing a living creature, so I vividly recall them at ZSL and Port Lympne.
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In my earlier days I would never have thought I would see either of these species as living animals-any more than I would a Thylacine.
 
That's a fair point- when I went to Berlin Zoo, coming face to face with an aye-aye was a humbling and breathtaking experience. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. There's something magical about them.

Speaking of Berlin Zoo, the predator house itself in which the nightzone is included is simply phenomenal. Walking through it with the roars of the male lions revertebrating through it is quite something.

And the panda, Bao Bao. I'd never seen one before and I doubt I will ever again unless I go to San Diego- China holds no interest for me.
 
Haha, now that's a tricky one. I'll try and name some off the top of my head:

- Being alone in Cotswold's reptile house, and standing by the siamang's indoor exhibit with a mother with a couple-of-week old baby in her sitting next to me by the window. What made it magical was when the baby pulled itself away from it's Mum's hands and started scrawling at the glass, staring right into my eyes in front of my nose, continually trying to get to me. It wasn't fearful at all, it's eyes just showing a kind of curiousity. A really memorable experience.
- Then there's the awe of being inches from massive creatures by inches from glass. This occured with Pertinax the gorilla at Paignton, on several occasions with Marwell's amur tiger Gamin and the Polar Bears underwater at La Palmyre. It fills you with a wild adrenaline that you'd expect from a roller coaster, and it's like it unlocks some primeval gene of our ancestors, when we actually feared and respected the wilderness around us.
- Hearing the evening hoots of gorillas before going in for their feed at Port Lympne. A really eerie and amazing sound that again unlocks some kind of wild gene within us.
- Watching the clouded leopard family leap around the enclosure at Howletts. It was in a secluded spot, partially obscured by trees, yet this experience gave me a new amazement for those amazing cats.
- Watching the amur leopard cubs play with their mother at Cricket St Thomas.
- Being alone in the Giraffe and Okapi houses at Marwell. Even better with the latter in particular, you can see why these are often seen as magical beasts.
- And just having the whole of the New Forest Wildlife Park almost to yourself in the evening, which I try to do as often as possible. This is where I feel a real connection with nature, and often reminds me why I will be working with animals in the future and nothing else.
 
procyonlotor said:
That's a fair point- when I went to Berlin Zoo, coming face to face with an aye-aye was a humbling and breathtaking experience. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. There's something magical about them.
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The first one I ever saw was in a museum. It was MUCH bigger than I had expected- I was thinking a Squirrel-sized animal. I first saw a live one at Jersey Zoo but I still find them as extraordinary as on that first time.
 
Zambar said:
- Hearing the evening hoots of gorillas before going in for their feed at Port Lympne. A really eerie and amazing sound that again unlocks some kind of wild gene within us.
.
- Being alone in the Giraffe and Okapi houses at Marwell. Even better with the latter in particular, you can see why these are often seen as magical beasts.
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I've always enjoyed Giraffe Houses, particularly at Marwell & London. Marwell's Okapi house(s) is great too- very hushed and sweet-smelling and you are looking too at one of the largest collections of Okapi in Europe nowadays.

I'm wondering if the Gorilla noise you mention is the 'food anticipation' noise. Howletts is the only place I have ever heard them do it. About five minutes before the keepers arrive to do the roof-feeding,(and how do they know they are coming?) they start making this strange whining/grumbling noise up and down the scale as if talking to each other, as they prepare to start climbing up into the roof space.
 
Exactly that noise. As I mentioned, the keepers were preparing the feed, and suddenly they all went off in synchronised chorus, with the calls echoing around the Palace of the Apes. Maybe not the most romantic reason lol, but none the less proved pretty amazing to hear. :)
 
Zambar said:
Exactly that noise. As I mentioned, the keepers were preparing the feed, and suddenly they all went off in synchronised chorus, with the calls echoing around the Palace of the Apes. Maybe not the most romantic reason lol, but none the less proved pretty amazing to hear. :)
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If I remember rightly, a keeper there told me you don't often hear Gorillas in captivity doing it. He said that it is inherited behaviour in some of their family groups. I think it may stem from the wild where if a group comes on a food source e.g. fruiting trees they are able to communicate this to the rest of the group. (Gorilla equivalent perhaps to the excited screams of chimps when they find food). With their big groups and the roof feeding there are parallels in Kent of course. Its amazing to hear and I haven't heard Gorillas anywhere else do it though I'm sure they must, at least in some places.
 
Pertinax said:
The first one I ever saw was in a museum. It was MUCH bigger than I had expected- I was thinking a Squirrel-sized animal. I first saw a live one at Jersey Zoo but I still find them as extraordinary as on that first time.
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Same here, I was also expecting something far smaller, I wonder if that's a common experience?

Agreed also, Aye Aye's never lose their "magic" (for me at least). Fantastic creatures!
 
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