Kalaw
Well-Known Member
Hello everyone! I am Kalaw (or at least, that is the name by which I would like to be known online)! That name (as well as being a town in Myanmar, which I was not aware of until just now) is the native word for the Northern Rufous Hornbill (Buceros hydrocorax), which is my absolute favourite animal. As for my profile, I considered making it a photo of said hornbill taken by myself at Colchester Zoo, but I eventually opted against it in favour of my current one. It features a pair of Sardinian Brook Salamander (Euproctus platycephalus) who live in the Reptile House at London Zoo. Asides from a few photos that I took of the house's architecture, this was the first photo that I ever took with my new camera, so it marks my early attempts to get into zoo photography. I am not quite there yet, but I hope to learn soon and that is partly why I joined this community. This profile also represents my love for amphibians, which I think are extremely underrated.
As the title of this thread and my location suggest, I am from London. My home zoos are London Zoo and the Horniman Museum (which is an aquarium-museum-children's zoo hybrid of sorts, and is the zoological institution that I have visited the most). I also consider Whipsnade Zoo to be a home zoo, due to my many fond childhood memories there, but I am not sure whether or not it still meets that description, as we no longer own a car and as such getting there regularly is a tremendous challenge. Although I still live in London, I am currently writing this in the Southwest of England, as I have family there who we visit extremely often. It is a great area for zoos, and as such, the zoos of this area (Bristol in particular, but also Exmoor, Tropiquaria Wildlife Park and a few others) are nearly as sentimentally close to me as my triumvirate of home zoos. Additionally, I think that the Southwest of England is a fantastic area for nature reserves, so I always have a day of birdwatching when I visit. A highlight from my most recent trip would be the Spotted Crake (Porzana porzana), and from the trip before that, the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus Albicilla), which is probably my all-time favourite wild lifetick! These sightings are slowly getting me more and curious about wild animals as well as the captive ones in zoos, but I don't think that my love for zoological gardens will ever go away!
I first discovered ZooChat a couple years ago now while researching the elephants at Zoo de Beauval, only to quickly realise that I was a bit too young to join. However, today is my birthday, and as such, I now satisfy the community age limit and feel a bit more confident with joining. One thing that I particularly enjoy doing (and will probably do a lot on this site, if it is welcome) is writing extensive reviews of the zoos I visit. I very recently wrote such a review (that is the word I like to use, but it is more of a walkthrough) for the Burgers Zoo in Arnhem, and could post it to the Netherlands forum (is that the right place for walkthroughs?) if it is welcome. Soon, I will also be visiting the Exmoor Zoo in Devon, and will spend some of the next couple days writing a review of said zoo, to upload to the United Kingdom forum.
I am really, really excited to finally be a member of this community which I have been lurking around for so long now! I really do hope that I can add some value to it, but also that I can learn from you!
As the title of this thread and my location suggest, I am from London. My home zoos are London Zoo and the Horniman Museum (which is an aquarium-museum-children's zoo hybrid of sorts, and is the zoological institution that I have visited the most). I also consider Whipsnade Zoo to be a home zoo, due to my many fond childhood memories there, but I am not sure whether or not it still meets that description, as we no longer own a car and as such getting there regularly is a tremendous challenge. Although I still live in London, I am currently writing this in the Southwest of England, as I have family there who we visit extremely often. It is a great area for zoos, and as such, the zoos of this area (Bristol in particular, but also Exmoor, Tropiquaria Wildlife Park and a few others) are nearly as sentimentally close to me as my triumvirate of home zoos. Additionally, I think that the Southwest of England is a fantastic area for nature reserves, so I always have a day of birdwatching when I visit. A highlight from my most recent trip would be the Spotted Crake (Porzana porzana), and from the trip before that, the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus Albicilla), which is probably my all-time favourite wild lifetick! These sightings are slowly getting me more and curious about wild animals as well as the captive ones in zoos, but I don't think that my love for zoological gardens will ever go away!
I first discovered ZooChat a couple years ago now while researching the elephants at Zoo de Beauval, only to quickly realise that I was a bit too young to join. However, today is my birthday, and as such, I now satisfy the community age limit and feel a bit more confident with joining. One thing that I particularly enjoy doing (and will probably do a lot on this site, if it is welcome) is writing extensive reviews of the zoos I visit. I very recently wrote such a review (that is the word I like to use, but it is more of a walkthrough) for the Burgers Zoo in Arnhem, and could post it to the Netherlands forum (is that the right place for walkthroughs?) if it is welcome. Soon, I will also be visiting the Exmoor Zoo in Devon, and will spend some of the next couple days writing a review of said zoo, to upload to the United Kingdom forum.
I am really, really excited to finally be a member of this community which I have been lurking around for so long now! I really do hope that I can add some value to it, but also that I can learn from you!
Last edited:
