The lion enclosure was empty. The gorillas, gone. The rhino, which can typically be found standing stolidly in the old elephant enclosure, looking like a beast from mythology, was standing somewhere else, out of view.
My wife and I were strolling the Lincoln Park Zoo late Saturday afternoon, a beautiful day, the zoo crowded. With people, that is. With animals, not so much.
“Is it me,” I wondered aloud, “or is something missing?”
We’d seen a scattering of pink flamingos. And that’s about it.
Suddenly, the animal art the zoo has on display everywhere took on a malign significance — here are the sort of beasts you might see. If they were here. There were plenty of privacy hedges, barriers to keep the crowds back. I knew that while you might want to see animals, animals don’t necessarily want to see you.
“Maybe because it’s late in the day,” my wife speculated.
The animals were tired from a long day of flaunting themselves to their endless stream of guests, capering and cavorting. They were resting now, renewing themselves for tomorrow’s efforts. I thought of that Charles Addams cartoon showing a disappointed man and boy at the front door of a zoo, while a bear, ostrich, moose and gorilla exit a side door, the gorilla putting on his hat.
“Sorry, folks,” the zookeeper says, “we quit at five.”
One way to find out. I queried the zoo.
“A somewhat unique feature about Lincoln Park Zoo is the commitment we’ve made to giving all animals in our care the choice and control over where they want to be at any point in the day,” wrote Anna Cieslik, PR and communications manager. “This means that if the weather isn’t great, or if they’re just not feeling like being around people for the time being, they can always retreat to their indoor habitats. As Chicago dives headfirst into the hottest days of the year, as was the case Saturday during the daytime, animals might be choosing to spend more time indoors. While that’s a bummer for someone hoping to see a lion or brown bear, it means they’re receiving the best welfare possible.”
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My father took my sister and me to the zoo. I was about eight, and she was four. It was on a Sunday, so the zoo was crowded. Sunny and cool. There was a merry-go-round back then, which we rode on while our father watched. Then we walked into the old barn-like bird house.
ReplyDeleteSaw big old parrots, on perches that hung above the aisles. Some were silent, and some squawked and whistled made the usual parrot noises. As we passed under one of them, the bird looked straight at my sister, cocked its head to one side, and plainly called out: "Hello, Carol!"
We had never seen him before. My sister's name is Carol.
this is one of the greatest things i've ever read, Grizz.
DeleteThank you
You're welcome. It happened 70 years ago. But when I call her on the phone, I can still get a chuckle out of my "seestar" when I squawk out those same two words.
DeleteMy dad grew up not far from Lincoln Park Zoo, so that's where we went when I was a kid. There's so much to explore in that area, you could spend a week there and never run out of things to do. You have the zoo, The Lincoln Park Conservatory, North Avenue Beach, The Chicago Historical Society (now called The Chicago History Museum) Lincoln Park is a gem.
ReplyDeleteI like to visit the zoo occasionally but let's face it its pretty appalling , not quite as bad as an animal circus better than the conditions surrounding industrial meat production which I eat.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a virtual zoo would provide more entertainment though I'd miss the smells
And the occasional stories about somebody getting mauled.
Franco
For the last couple of years, to cleanse my thoughts of the ongoing orange sewage leak, I've found several facebook page sanctuaries and orphanages in Africa for elephants and rhinoceroses. These intelligent and beautiful animals have been rescued and rehabilitated after unfortunate encounters with man.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I realize that seeing them in the flesh in a zoo would be nice, I also realize that being in their natural environment with other animals is a far superior fate for them.
Now, for a little self-castigation, I would take great pleasure in hunting the hunters and trappers of these beasts who do so solely for their enjoyment and profit.
Normally, I'd say it's up to God to decide who lives and who dies. But in this case, I think he would allow this exception.
When I was in grade school, the highlight of our year was an annual field trip to the zoo. Used to love learning about all the exotic animals on Marlin Perkins Wild Kingdom on Sunday night TV, but at the zoo the elephants stood forlornly with iron shackles on their legs, the lions paced anxiously back and forth, people threw steady streams of marshmallows at the groveling bears, and a lone rhino stood behind bars in a bare cement enclosure. Even as a little kid, it saddened me to the pit of my stomach. Today’s zoos have come a long way
ReplyDeleteFelt the same seeing zoos, Sea World, rodeos and traveling circuses (with animals). Oh, and County 4-H fair animals once I learned their final destination.
DeleteI felt the same, back in 1974 - junior year abroad, went to the zoo in Rome and saw an American Brown Bear, obviously driven insane, pacing the perimeter of his cage, hitting his head on the bars. I started crying and fantasizing about rescuing him late that night and taking him home, but I couldn't figure out the logistics.
DeleteI visited the zoo last month with a grandson I took all the time when he was little. We commented on the lack of animals we used to see there. But we were there mid-afternoon so many were probably inside. Still curious as to where all the sea lions were. There was only one that day.
ReplyDeleteSnow leopards are swell, but my current favorites are the Red Pandas right near there. The African Painted Dogs are neat, too.
ReplyDeleteWe go to the zoo and the Nature Boardwalk occasionally, not often, but I must have forgotten that they haven't had elephants since 2010. Why, I was probably as disappointed the first time I found out about that as I am now. D'oh!
Yes, yes, I realize that they're happier wherever they are instead.
This time of year, I become rather crepuscular, myself, when it comes to outdoor activities... Pshaw!
As a boy in the 1950s I’d walk to the Lincoln Park Zoo with my older sister. It then was a typical zoo, a prison for animals where you could gawk at them. Ecological awareness crept in over the years, and the houses and cages became habitats and environments. This consciousness-raising seems to have crossed over to the animals. What you witnessed on Saturday may have been a labor strike of the of mammals and egg-layers union. Blame it on the Red Pandas.
ReplyDeleteMaybe seeing the environments they live in is as important as seeing them. Their environments are disappearing as fast as they are
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, we took out grandkids to the Brookfield Park Zoo; our grands were about 6. We went to see the gorillas and monkeys. Two of the monkeys were copulating and the kids asked what they were doing. My husband said they were playing a game and we quickly.
ReplyDeleteSaw the elephants doing the deed at the Los Angeles Zoo in '71. A crowd was quickly gathering. Two nuns in habits asked what everyone was watching. The woman with me answered: "They're watching the elephants fuck." True story. Nancy and I were born on the same day in the same year. She was a pistol. Franklin Park lady who was trying to make it as a singer.
DeleteAfter which, out of respect, the elephants assumed the missionary position.
ReplyDelete