Quiet Morning

Late last night I decided that I would get up early and get to the zoo right when it opened to go for a long walk. Nathan offered to take Allison to school so I could be at the zoo at 8am. I like to get there early because the school/camp groups arrive around 9:30am and once they get there it's very loud and busy. I wanted to go for a long walk because I haven't been active in the last few days (because of my bad cold). I was the first person in the doors and quickly made my way to Africa (giving me more time away from people because it's the furthest distance from the entrance). 

It was a cool morning so the animals were active. They also tolerated me being there as long as I was quiet (animals tend to hide when school groups are screaming at them). The gorillas usually turn their back to me, but today they were willing to sit patiently while I took their photos.

 

 

I also got to spend some wonderful moments with the two new cheetahs at the zoo. They are young brothers who are very active and love coming right up to the fence/windows.

 

I went to see the Chimps because last week, a chimp died at the zoo. There was a skirmish (common between the chimps) and one of the males swung himself to a (dead) branch and when it broke, he sustained many internal injuries and died. When I visited the chimps today they seemed much more somber than they have in the past. Usually they play or avoid people watching them, but today they just sat in a group and didn't move much.