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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

If Animals Could Talk

Have you ever been to the zoo? I guess most of us (if not all) have visited the zoo at one time or another. Sad to say, the memory of my first zoo experience was quite vague. It was in Cebu Zoo, that part I was sure of, but I couldn't remember what animals I have seen. So, despite my age, I still enjoy a visit to the zoo like any kid would. U.S. has lots of entertaining, numerous variation of animal exhibits and well-maintained zoos in the world. I've been to St. Louis Zoo a couple of years back, it was said to be the 3rd largest zoo in the country. That was amazing! I never thought that I would enjoy it but I did. So on our mini-trip to Memphis last Valentine's Day, a visit to Memphis Zoo and Aquarium was part of our itinerary.

The zoo was very spacious. The habitats are well-designed and well-maintained. They have thousands of animals with over 500 different species. You could easily spend hours checking out the whole place. There's so much to see and appreciate. It was definitely one of the best zoo in the U.S. Every time I see an animal that I only used to see on T.V. or read from books and magazines, I turned into a giddy 7-yr. old kid, lol! Hubby got a kick out of my reactions. I kept on exclaiming "Wow, Oh, Look at that! That thing looks amazing! I wanna go there!" and all sorts of expressions that really showed how excited I was. The whole time, our camera was wrapped around my neck and I was snapping photos here and there. The staff tried their best to mimic the animals' natural habitat but I couldn't help but wonder if the animals somehow felt trapped, claustrophobic and unhappy with their artificial environment. If animals could talk, I wonder what would they say to all the people (me included) who stared, took photos and even tried to get their attention by talking to them as if they care to listen, hehe! I'm pretty sure something is going through their minds, don't you think? Look at the photos and be the judge!

*Scroll down to view more photos*
The Entrance
I just thought the writings were interesting so I took a picture.
First animal?!? Errr..that's me!
Animals native from China are found in this area
Chinese Tower
Tetron Trek
Habitat of young grizzly bears
Orangutan
Pelicans...famous for its distinctively large pouch under their beaks.
Pink Flamingos...they are such pretty creatures
An elephant
This rhinoceros thing looks weird, isn't it?
The face does not make any difference, still weird!
Polar Bear
Panda Bear...that's all he does, chew bamboo sticks.
I find the black and white stripes on Zebras so pretty.

Alligator
I forgot the exact name but lemme just call this a turtle.
Komodo Dragon
Multi-colored Bird...(OMG, I wish I could remember the names of these animals)
Tiger habitat
Huge Tiger
White Tiger
Cheetah
Puma
Lion

Copperhead
I haven't seen anything like this before. See the shape of its body?

23 comments:

  1. I can still remember my first ever visit to the ZOo. It was in Manila Zoo. The giraffe was amusing! And when I went back to visit again with Hubby, the giraffe is gone. Namatay na daw. The white tiger is cute Jenn... and the Panda. Nice photos Jenn! I love it!

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  2. great photos ...love all the animals such a colorful bird. have you been to a wild life safari where you can feed the animals from your car? i got to feed a zebra :) something that i will always remember. my hubby is the same way he loves watching me have a great time like a little girl :)

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  3. hehe nalingaw ko sa first animal, joker man ka net! nice animals you got there, well captured kaau..

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  4. Ang mga animals, kala mo mga statue, parang di real, lalo yugn elephant. Tortoise yata ang malaking turtle. Di kami nagpupunta sa zoo, ang hubby ko, ang tamad maglibot, gusto lang manood ng TV kapag day off. I love going to the zoo as well.

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  5. Awwww...PANDAS! They're rare to find in all zoos, so it's good that Memphis' zoo was able to get one. I think they're like on loan from China or something (not sure, but I read that somewhere). How about the zoo in your area? Did you guys get to visit that one too? I love zoos, but like you, I feel somewhat sad for the animals that are "trapped" there. Some are there to be rehabilitated and released back to the wild, but others have to stay because they won't survive. Also, some zoos help preserve a dying species, so zoos aren't always that bad. Still, it's a great way to view animals you normally won't see up close.

    ...and, geez, look at that snake! I'd hate to get close to THAT! Any other animal is fine, but I'll pass on the snake.

    Great shots, hun!

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  6. I love every zoo visit I've had!

    Sa pinas, sa Manila zoo ug Malabon zoo ra ko na-exposed. Pordoy man kaayo ta sa atoa oi kay bisan mga dagku nga syudad walay zoo. Naa man kunohay pero pipila ka mga mananap. Lisud man magbuho ug mga rare species didto kay mga people i-hunt man for food ang mga extinct animals. Mao guro walay mahimo nga zoo. Hahaha. Pero dapat naa jud unta zoo ang mga dagku nga syudad oi.

    Diri ra ko sa 'merika kasulod ug dagku nga zoo nga kapoy kaayo baklay aron mahurot nimo tan-aw ang mga parente. Hahaha. Sa St. Louis zoo, gipamaulan ko sauna, pero enjoy japon.

    Anyway, I enjoyed this zoo adventure you shared Jenn. More to come!

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  7. wow! spectacular...great shots pretty jenn...thanks for sharing the photos...:)

    we love to go to the ZOO...Akesha is fond of animals....have a good one!

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  8. Jenn, I really love the pictures----they're like postcards. you do take good pictures---a photography blog next time?
    I love zoos too because I love animals.....Ganahan jud ko ug hayop, ambot ngano...murag dulaan man gud sa akoa. Daghan kaayo ko ug pets tung gamay pa ko.

    Your blog is looking nice now.....congrats.

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  9. Can't forget my first visit in the Zoo..manila zoo grade one ako..sos giraffe,zebra,elephant and lion&tiger jud ako gusto makita. lipay kaau ko kita mga imported na animals.

    Great shots as always Jenn...unsa gamit mo na digicam? ga collect ko ana pero no luck..

    PS: na change ko na url mo.

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  10. i think my first zoo visit was in manila zoo. wow! tagal na noon. your pictures are great and nice layout.

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  11. @vikki
    -nope, never been to one but my sister and nephew have. it's something i wanted to experience myself. though i think it's a lil scary though, but i bet that would be more fun and interesting than just looking at the animals and taking photos.

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  12. @mommy liz
    -haha! tamad ba si hubby? ikaw nalng mag drive sis dalhin mo mga kids, im sure mag eenjoy sila dun gaya ko, hehe.

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  13. @Bchai
    -oh thanks for the lil info there. i thought all of them are like captured and seized from their natural habitats for exhibits so i kinda feel sad for them somehow. :)

    yep, the panda was cute. all he does though is chew lots and lots of bamboo sticks, haha! it took me a couple of shots before i got a not so fuzzy one coz he was chewing like crazy, hehe.

    about the snake, i didn't get that close. they were enclosed in a glass though. but i simply zoomed in to get a nicer shot. im super scared with snakes as well. there's no way i'd get close to them just to take photos. haha!

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  14. @"rare*jonRez"
    -mao lage oi nihit kaau ug animals sa zoo sa pinas. mao gani di nako karemember sa akong first ever zoo visit kay mura unggoy ra man to tanan ako nakit an oi, hahahah!

    korek sa st. louis sus nanakit akong bagtak pud ug binaktas oi. then february gihapon mi adto ni adto then most of the animals were hibernating cguro to tungod sa weather kay nanago man, hahah. maau pa sa memphis kay ubay ubay pud amo nakit an. but both st louis and memphis zoo were excellent jud as far as layout, habitat, design, cleanliness and animal exhibits are concerned. two of the best sa US.

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  15. @bingkee
    -thanks bing! lately kay im interested with photography na but i know it can be expensive so right now, basa basa lang usa ko online tips for beginners. photography blog? why not, hehe pero layo pa cguro na na plan. i have lots to learn and cguro if naa na ko DSLR basin pa. :)

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  16. @twerlyn
    -lerms, im using a Canon Powershot S2 ultra zoom camera. it's not a DSLR which i really dream of owning someday pero this one we got is a good camera for our needs. it has excellent zooming ability. mura mag 4 years na ni na camera, hubby bought this before he went to cebu first time to see me. :)

    lately kay ive been interested in photography so cge ko basa basa about photography basin diay if daghan nako knowledge,basin hubby would invest on a DSLR, haha!

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  17. wow! really awesome photos! keep posting!

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  18. Never been to the zoo sis ever since. Wawa ako buti nlng dinala mo ang zoo sa blog mo hehe. feeling creepy ng snake grrr.

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  19. hello, jenn!

    Love all your pictures. Akong anak si dorothy sige tan aw sa snake kay ganahan man kaayo ni siya ug snake. sige man ingon nga why not we could have a pet snake.. saonz nalang gyud! hahaha

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  20. Kagagaling lang namin nung sunday sa Manila Zoo. Ewan ko naaawa ako sa mga hayop na nakakulong kasi parang ang sikip at di malinis. Alam mo naman dito sa pinas hay naku. Buti pa dyan malinis. Ang maganda lang ay yung kinder zoo sa loob ng manila zoo pero may extra bayad. Maganda yung kinder zoo kasi pwedeng i pet ng mga bata yung mga animals at magpa picture taking.

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  21. @eden
    -hahaha mao ba dorothy likes snakes diay. sus ako hadlok kaau ko snakes oi. snakes as pets? hahaha. saonz nalang jud ana, hahaha. makabuhi oroy na mabuang ko, hehe

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  22. @anney
    -oo nga. sayang nhu kasi sa atin di masyadong namemaintain ang mga zoos. kaya nga cguro wla akong naalala dun sa first zoo visit ko sa cebu kasi parang unggoy lang ata ung animals nila dun that time, hehe.

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  23. I wonder how big the zoos are in USA.

    We have a famous zoo which won many awards but as Singapore is so tiny, I think our zoo is one of the smallest in the world. :)

    I enjoy my trips to the zoo too and am very excited to see the animals.

    I'm so looking forward to the arrival of two pandas on loan to Singapore from China in the later part of the year.

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