I went to the Bronx Zoo on Saturday.
It rained sporatically during the day, but it was a soft, confortable rain. Sort of like the Goldilocks porridge…Not to hot and not too cold. It felt just right.
It’s been years since I’ve been there, perhaps ten or twelve.I’ve always loved the interaction with nature that the zoo provides.As we walked through the Bronx River gate, my heart beat faster for a moment, in hopeful anticipation. The kid in me couldn’t wait.
It was still a fun day.
The breeze was filled with exotic aromas and the atmosphere echoed with a thousand animal calls.
We walked through , under and in-between the raindrops.
I met a big furry female polar bear. (I mentally named her Beatrice) She was rolling on her back, struggling to scratch an itch. When she stopped and sat up, she glanced at me with barely (excuse the pun) concealed supercilious disdain.I was allowed to be there to admire her, but I better not look too hard, and I should never forget that I was there by her largess.
She chewed on a stick of bamboo with great relish, glancing at me every few seconds, to make sure that I was admiring her specialness.
That look on her face was priceless. I’ve seen it before.
I have a dog. She is a Dingo, actually a Carolina dog, which ,I’m told, is the North American version.
Anyway she is obviously a creature of the wild, and reacts in ways that dogs usually do not
My dog allows me to intrude into her life. She even chooses to acknowledge me as master …sometimes.
She’s very very smart, and a very good dog, but she also has that look.The same look as that sassy polar bear princess.
We go through our lives, seeing animals on television, or in the movies and we think we know them.
Try going to the zoo. Animals look real in real life Their skin has wrinkles, or hair, or scales. You can actually see them breath, and react instinctively.
Sometimes , reality is good.