Tiergarten

This afternoon, I went back to the zoo. (We took the clan there on the one dry day of their visit.) I bought a Jahres Karte (year pass). The cashier guessed my birth year to make me 6 years older than I am. I realize I didn't put a lot of effort into my appearance today, but OUCH! He did apologize when I corrected him. Ah, well, it was a nice sunny day and I was ready to sketch.

I enjoyed watching one of the giraffes chasing the Somali Schwarzkopfschaf (black-headed sheep) around their shared pen. The elephants gobbled their carrots to the delight of the families watching feeding time.

I spent a lot of time watching/sketching the Helmskasuar (Australian Cassoway) which looks quite prehistoric to me. Sorry about the fence getting in the way. When I started sketching, he moved slowly at the back of the cage, nibbling on weeds. When I got out the camera, he started dashing about pausing just long enough for me to think I could focus the camera and then he'd run again.

I got to watch the Mähnen Robbe (S. American sea lion) show. The biggest seemed to delight in splashing the kids in the front row and kissing the trainer/feeder. My favorite was this one, though. She made a big enough splash when she landed.

click to enlarge

Next time I'm going to remember to walk up the hill to visit the wolves.