It's a Zoo Out There!

Dorcas is a zoo freak. We have passed by many zoos in our travels, and most were probably quite nice, but we have stopped at very few. Dorcas really wanted to visit Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo, but I was a little skeptical. I figured it was a relatively small county operated zoo and wouldn't be that good. I mean it was bound to be a disappointment, with Busch Gardens Africa just down the street and all, and having recently visiting Disney's Animal Kingdom. But Dorcas was determined, and you have to keep Momma happy. Besides, she found a 20th anniversary deal where tickets were $10 each (normally $18.95) with free commemorative T-shirts to boot. Besides that, we needed a reason to go to Tampa and visit the Crown Club one last time before we left Florida. So off we went. I will admit I was pleasantly surprised; the zoo was really very nice. It was larger than expected and had a much wider array of habitats and animals than I expected. The only real down side was that there were hoards of small school kids about, and it was difficult to move without getting ice cream on your knees. Thankfully, the kids were short enough to see over and were gone after lunch. Highlights included the African penguins, a warm-weather species, very content in the West Central Florida climate and the kangaroos and wallabies. The kangaroos and wallabies were in a habitat where you could enter, and if they wished, you could pet them. There was one momma with a baby in her pouch. The baby looked quite large to me; a large head and two large legs protruded from the pouch. She was very nimble bounding around the habitat, even carrying her full load. Another very exciting moment occurred when a large black snake blundered into the habitat of a young Florida panther. The cat anxiously watched the snake for a few moments, and then pounced and chased the reptile. The snake beat the inexperienced hunter to the edge of the habitat and narrowly escaped the attack. Wild Kingdom lives!

We did have one unfortunate technical mishap when leaving the zoo. Dorcas had placed her computer under the seat in the car while we were parked. At some point the CD/DVD drive apparently self-ejected, and when she pulled the unit out from under the seat, the drive caught on something and was mutilated. The PC still works, but the drive unit was totaled. The PC is still under warranty, but we haven't contacted Toshiba yet to see if this kind of abuse is covered. Maybe we could tell them that a gorilla got it and thought it was a piece of Samsonite luggage or an elephant stepped on it. Might be a good advertising angle.