LESSONS LEARNED:  LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!   

Yesterday was the perfect time to visit the San Diego Zoo.  American Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Presidents Day are all in the past, resulting in fewer people going to see the animals.

Timing is everything. When returning home from the Panama Canal in the spring of 2012, San Diego was a brief port of call.  We made a beeline for the zoo we had heard so much about, but long lineups prevented us from seeing much of it in the allotted time.   Thankfully, things were very different yesterday.

The weather was conducive to spending the day outdoors, 19 degrees C. with a cool breeze.  We were able to buy tickets at a discounted price (CDN$88 each), which included the option of seeing the park in a variety of ways.  We used them all.

First, we took 3900 steps (3 km) as we followed a route laid out for us by one of the many knowledgeable and helpful seniors in red shirts, who serve as volunteers.   Along Tree Tops Way, we soon saw a variety of interesting primates. 

Mandrills are the largest moneys and one of the most colorful mammals in the world.  They are very photogenic, but with red and blue skin on both their face and posterior, it can be difficult to know whether they are coming or going.

I was fascinated by the baboons. They are eerily similar to some humans I have seen.

When we crossed Bashor Bridge on our way to Elephant Odyssey, lions could be heard roaring in the distance. The battle was over by the time we reached their camp, but we were told there had been a food fight.  The female won the battle, but eventually left the bone for the male to chew on.  That later made sense to us, when we learned the social structure of the pride is based on specific roles.  Lionesses are the primary hunters, while dominant males are responsible for protecting the pride’s territory. 

From the top of the Guided Bus Tour a short while later we saw the lion sound asleep in the sun, the bone he had fought over laying by his head. Enough said.

Along the way we saw a capybara, heralded as the largest rodent in the world.  I think I’ve seen some of those in Duncan!  There was a noisy but colorful flamboyance of flamingos, and some condors whose large wings are made in such a way that they can fly for hours at a time.  I read that one bird flew more than five hours, covering more than 100 miles (160 km), without flapping its wings. 

When we finished walking that loop, we relaxed our feet as we rode around the park in the Kangaroo Express Bus and got an overview of other areas of the park.  We then set out on foot again, making our way to the Skyfari Aerial Tram, which provided a view of the zoo below and the city beyond as we were transported across the sky.

We landed in the Northern Frontier.  Polar bears always draw a crowd.  There was a time when they were accustomed to ice and snow but are perfectly happy to have left that behind for a better life in the sun.  We can relate.

Eventually we rode the aerial tram back to the southwest part of the zoo and satisfied Gary’s desire to see the reptiles. I am not a fan. 

It was nice to see some creatures are able to live together in peace.

Having exceeded our 10,000 step quota for the day we ended our visit to the zoo with a guided bus tour.  Josh, the guide who also drove the bus, did his graduate work in Indonesia, studying monkeys and their behavior.  I would imagine that’s a bit like being a philosophy major. It doesn’t result in a lot of job offers. 

Josh took us back through Africa Rocks, Outback, and Urban Jungle. The roads the bus travelled allowed us to see the opposite side of the animal habitats we had seen on the pathways, providing a different perspective.

Depending on the time of day, the animals may be eating or sleeping someplace where they are not visible to visitors.  Such was the case with the koala bears.  We were told that although the San Diego Zoo has the largest koala colony outside of Australia, they are rarely seen because they sleep about 22 hours each day.  They eat only a variety of eucalypt leaves and a few related tree species, all of which are very difficult to digest and leave the bears with little energy to do anything else. 

I’ve read that for humans the most difficult foods to digest are processed foods, which contain artificial additives, dyes, and preservatives that irritate the gut and prevent the liver from detoxifying. That explains a lot.

We were told that elephants are very intelligent and have a very large brain, so every effort is made to keep them entertained. They can find the process of making various noises and sounds especially stimulating. However, nearly 80% of an elephant’s day is spent feeding. It isn’t easy being big when all you consume are grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots!

The zoo is ever changing, so we will probably be back next year.  The time we spent there was very enjoyable and informative. We rarely choose to visit a zoo, but this one is worth seeing.



The zoo is ever changing, so we will probably be back next year.  The time we spent there was very enjoyable and informative. We rarely choose to visit a zoo, but this one is worth seeing.