Zoo Tales

I like the Woodland Park Zoo penguins...as you can see by the fact that I have two photos with them in the span of a couple weeks.

Last weekend, my former boss had her wedding reception at the zoo, which goes a little something like, "turn right at the penguins and go past the dinosaurs. When you see the jaguars you've gone too far."

Before that, my cousin Adriane and I used up some Groupons I'd had that were expiring. I got to feed the budgies, which was a lot more exciting than you'd think.I've always been so jealous about a program my parents got to do in the 70s at Sea World. My dad had a season pass and would go so often that the dolphins knew him and would come swimming over to say hi. I love the image of a bunch of tourists crowded around the dolphin pool with those little red and white checkered french fry trays filled with the anchovies you can buy to entice the dolphins. They're frantically trying to keep the seagulls away as they try in vain to get a dolphin to come within petting distance, slapping the water and throwing fish that the seagulls swoop down to grab. Then my dad strides up and puts his hand in the water and the dolphins come over to him like friendly dogs wanting to be petted.

Eventually he befriended an oceanographer who asked if he and my mom would like to help out with the new penguin exhibit. They had just gone down to Antarctica and kidnapped some penguins to bring back to breed in captivity (!). They needed volunteers to help care for the first generation of baby chicks. For a few months, my parents came in to blend fish, feed the little grey puff balls, and weigh them

The poor little guys were sweltering in the San Diego heat, and would lie on their stomaches so they could let off heat through their feet.