The London Zoo has the best signs
Like this one, that isn’t so much warning you against specific action as just informing you of certain risks you take by being alive.
Sign
Tag Archives: London Zoo – London
Dwarf Mongoose
Dwarf mongoose fights can be so vicious that they can tunnel through concrete.
Butterfly
Even though they’re pretty much just butterflies that are lacking the scales that make them special, I still get excited when I get to see a clearwing.
Black Naped Fruit Dove
Dove that’s hoping the chef realizes he’s not a blackbird well before the top crust is placed.
Snowdon Aviary
One interesting thing about going to historical zoos is how seldom the buildings, built to house animals, gave any consideration to the animals at all.
Decimus Burton, the first architect of the zoo is on record as being quite upset that his brilliant designs, made so people can appreciate the animals, were being thrown away because, as it turned out, they were also killing the animals that lived there.
While not as bad as that, this aviary has also reached the end of its useful life and there were signs up about how the zoo planned to replace it soon.
The more we learn, the more we realize just how wrong we were when we thought we knew what we were doing. I think this is true in all fields, but more apparent in the world of zoos.
Asiatic Lion
The Asiatic lion used to roam throughout India, Turkey, Iran and the Mesopotamian area. Today, it is restricted to just the Gir Forest in India. In December of last year, 31 of these lions died unexpectedly of – it is believed – disease and parasites. When a population gets too small, it becomes more vulnerable. It is likely that the wild population will die out in my lifetime, so I’m glad I got to see these when I did.
Sign
I seldom post other people’s photos, much less photos of other people’s photos.
However, I have to mention that a little over 100 years ago, the largest lizard – with a massively infectious, poisonous, *and* venomous bite (to the point that a bite is often a death sentence, even with modern medical technology, with people dying of infection even years after the bite) came to the London Zoo … and small children got to pet it.
Giraffe House
Giraffes don’t really understand the Monty Hall problem.
Golden Silk Orb Weaver
These spiders have gathered together on the 265th* anniversary of the Weenen Massacre to discuss the complexities of colonization and how seldom those in power personally feel the impact of their decisions.
* in base 8, of course.
Abdims Stork
Stork thinking about Alice in Wonderland and realizing that, at no point, did the dormouse actually say “feed your head”.