Tis the season to be jolly and visit the Zoo! Yes? Well it was for us this last weekend. With the colder weather, comes fewer people visiting the Zoo. The good thing about this, is there is no pressure to move on, providing space for the next person. You get to sit and spend some time watching many of the animals for hours on end, if you desire. We spend about two hours in the Orangutan and Gorilla houses.
The interesting thing was we saw more movement and activities of the Orangutans and Gorillas than we normally ever do. In the Orangutan house, the two-year old kids were playing constantly with each other. They would chase each other, throwing a blanket at each other, and or some of the straw which was laid around their area. In the adjacent holding area, there were two males, one of which kept hiding under a large white cloth sheet, playing what appeared to be Hide-and-seek, with the two youngsters on the other side of the grated door separating the two area.
Over in the gorilla house, the zoo has a new addition who was riding around on his mothers back. One of the other females could be seen climbing up a tree, jumping over to a rock shelf and on one occasion, jumping over to a hanging rope, to swing back onto another log. This was indeed something I have never seen them do before. When there are crowds of people surround them, they seem more apt to just sit there, staring off into the distance. Either board with all the activity on the other side of the glass, or perhaps unwilling to provide all those eyes with anything more than an occasional glance.
So, when is a good time to go to the Zoo. I would say that last weekend proves that anytime is a good time to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo!
Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo 