Speaking of the menagerie

[oneiriad]

Just came home from spending the day at the zoo. The polar bears were adorable, the tiger kittens even more so (if I had the money and wasn't somewhat worried about it not being quite right, I'd make a one-day trip to Næstved - the zoo down there has tiger kittens you can pet) and the Tasmanian devils (well, the one that bothered to show itself) were so hyperactive that I think they must have been channeling Taz. Unlike the carakal, which is adorable, but was just lazing about - like most of the felines, actually.

You know, if I lived in Copenhagen, I'd seriously consider buying one of those year-card-things for the zoo. (Even if there were many wild and ferocious beasts outside the cages today - wait, I'm not supposed to talk about kids like that, am I? Nevermind.)

Comments

[fairlyironic.livejournal.com]

I love zoos! You're lucky to be able to see Tasmanian devils. There aren't any in the US, and with Australia's restrictions on the export of its live animals there likely won't be any here in the next several decades. You have a zoo where you can pet tiger cubs? I'm half jealous and half.....why would the zoo take such a risk, I mean, wouldn't it be a huge liability issue?

[oneiriad.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know I'm lucky - as far as I know Copenhagen is the only place outside Australia that has any devils, and they only have one pair. It was a gift from Tasmania on the occasion of Prince Christian's birth. You'd have thought they might have been able to cough up a couple more when his sister came around, so people could work on breeding them outside Australia, but no such luck - all she got was some jewelry :-(

And yes, Næstved Zoo (down in the southern half of Sjælland) has some tiger cubs you can pet - well, when I say pet, I mean "pay-a-lot-of-money-to-spend-½-hour-with-along-with-a-zoo-keeper". They're just tiny little babies and their mother didn't want them, so they're getting raised by the zoo keepers, which is probably why they are letting humans near them anyway. As for liability - they aren't letting small children in. And I am assuming there is some paperwork that has to be signed or something, but generally, if you are a grown person and pay good money to get in to the cage with carnivores, even baby ones, and you wind up with scratches or something, then I fail to see it being anyone's problem but your own.