A Visit to the Zoo
is one of the most enthralling and exciting things. It is an interesting way to let the children see animals, which they cannot see otherwise. A is an entertaining activity not just for children but also for adults as it increases their knowledge and makes them wonder at the marvellous of nature. During our educational tour to Delhi, last month, we were also taken to the zoo as it is near the old fort. The zoo is one of the largest in the country spread in a vast area of 35 acres, approximately.
The zoo is thickly vegetated with a large variety of birds and animals. We firstly visited the Birds’ section, which was a colourful treat to our eyes. This section was echoing with the chirping of the birds all over. The multi-coloured birds were twittering all over, we saw the graceful pelicans, lovely kingfishers and the cranes, the dignified swans, and peacocks, peahens, sparrows of different kinds, nightingales, Siberian cranes, storks, ducks, the wild parrot and a wide variety of mountain birds. Next we went to the Animals’ section.
It was amazing to see the tigers, lions, cheetahs, leopards, bears, rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, stages, horses, and rabbits etc. the Deer, Antelopes and Stages were very active and alert. The Hares and Rabbits were naughty while the tall giraffes and twin-coloured zebras were busy eating or grazing. The rhinoceros and Hippopotamuses seemed to be very lazy. But they were interesting to look at with their huge and bulky bodies. We were hypnotized by their massive size. The Tiger, Leopards, Cheetahs, Bears were huge and fearful to look at.
The sharp teeth and claws were very frightening. The king of the jungle was awesome in his den. His loud roar echoed and reverberated up to the skies. We all could watch him for hours together. The best attraction, however, were the Monkeys, Chimpanzees, Baboons, Gorillas etc. They were so amusing with their pranks and swinging tails. We kept on watching them for a long time. Some other spectators gave them groundnuts to eat. We did not want to go ahead and leave the Monkey’s section, as we could never tire from watching them eat and swing from one branch to another.
But, alas, we had to move on. Lastly, we went to the Reptiles’ section. We saw the Crocodiles lying in the sun and a wide variety of Snakes, Cripers and Cobras. Some of them hissed when we knocked at their glass frames and others were coiled up and did not bother to see us. We also saw many kinds of fishes, but they were not many in number. We visited the entire zoo and it took us a few hours to enjoy the vast expanse. Walking around made us feel hungry, so we decided to eat as soon as were to. It took us another half an hour to get out of the zoo.
We enjoyed the lunch and proceed to see other places. The visit was an extremely knowledgeable one. We saw so many birds and animals in real. Until now we had seen them only in books or on television. But when saw them in real for the first time; we realized how wonderful and marvelous, the nature is. We wondered at the vast variety it presents us with and how we city people do not have much time and opportunity to see such marvels. We really enjoyed our visit to the zoo and made up our minds to visit many more such places.
When we returned, we also prepared a file, posted pictures of animals on internet which we saw in the zoo and whose snaps we had taken and wrote the information about the animals As a kid, I always loved going to the zoo. I was fortunate in that when I was little, my family lived within walking distance of the municipal zoo. I was also fortunate in that at the time, it was one of the very best in the USA. These days, I’m an expatriate living with my wife on a subtropical paradise whose main civilian industry is the tourist trade. Okinawa has perhaps one of the best aquariums in the whole world in the Churaumi Aquarium.
In addition to the aquarium, they have several privately owned zoos that have been built for the benefit of the tourism trade as well as a host of petting zoos scattered across the island. They also have one municipally owned and operated zoo that due to a host of reasons has seen better days. The children’s zoo in centrally located Okinawa City is a huge place. In addition to the municipal zoo, the park hosts a children’s interactive learning facility, a huge park with a manmade lake, paddle boats, and an amphitheatre capable of hosting concerts and shows.
Once upon a time, it even had its very own amusement park complete with a Ferris wheel, rollercoaster and a host of thrill rides. Every year on Children’s Day, a national holiday in Japan, they open the doors to the public free of charge. Additionally, every Christmas season, the whole park is decorated appropriate to the holiday season and opened in the evening hours so everyone can enjoy the holiday lights. During these two times of the year, the park actually lives up to its potential. The rest of the year, the park and zoo are dismally disappointing.
Attendance is extremely poor on the weekends and practically non-existent during the rest of the week. During the school summer vacation season, when attendance should be up, it’s not. In part this is due to the oppressive heat and humidity here. Tourists and their families are more often than not, prefer to stay at a luxury resort and enjoy the first class amenities offered right at the hotel. Local people head for the air conditioned comfort of the shopping malls. Even opening the zoo during the evening hours when the temperatures are more agreeable hasn’t helped.
The biggest problem with the Okinawa zoo is that a large part of the facility is rather old and as such, inadequate. Lions and tigers live in tiny cages and are almost invisible. Although the whole park is more than adequate in size, only a tiny portion of the facility is utilized by the zoo. It would be nice to see a greater effort to see the facility updated and expanded with new and spacious facilities for some of the more exotic animals such as those already mentioned. Progress here is slow. On the plus side, the zoo now boasts a facility for some new Asian elephants and the giraffe area is huge.
There is a new reptile house for all the snakes and an air conditioned elevator that makes the zoo, situated on a steep hillside, more accessible for the elderly as well as those who, due to no fault of their own, were previously unable to enjoy the facility. Another plus side is a dedicated staff. We found everyone we encountered on our trip ready, willing and able to assist us. One young lady keeping the animals was especially accommodating. While busy with her tasks, she noticed our cameras and the problems we were having taking pictures through the mesh screens in the bird and bat house.
As we were leaving, she ran after us with a Ryukyu Flying Fox that she raised from a baby. She brought it out of the cages and allowed us to photograph it in a more natural setting. The really great thing about the Okinawa Children’s Zoo is that it is so affordable. Admission for adults is only 500 Yen, about $4. 50 U. S. Children can enter the park for 300 Yen with infants and toddlers being free of charge. For the price of one take out pizza, a family of four can enjoy several hours of quality time together so it’s well worth the price of admission In a crowded city such as Manhattan, it was no wonder that a man like Jerry felt lonely.
He was without a friend, a mother and father, and the typical “wife, two children, and a dog,” that many others had. Jerry was thrown in a world that he felt did not want him, and his human flaw of wanting to escape loneliness led to his tragic death. In Edward Albee’s play, The Zoo Story, all Jerry wanted was to be heard and understood, and in the end, after sharing his life story with a complete stranger, he got his final wish – death. The Zoo Story not only tells of the alienation of man in modern society, but also reflects the philosophy of twentieth century existentialism.
