Monday 9 July 2007

Calgary Zoo

Kerri, Shane & I decided a trip to the zoo would be a good idea considering that the rest of the locals were either at the Stampede or had skipped town to avoid it.

The Calgary Zoo isn't nearly as impressive as Taronga Zoo in Sydney, but it was OK. They are gradually upgrading the enclosures to a more modern standard so some are really good & others are straight out average.
The two bison pictured didn't seem to upset about their paddock. It would have been a holiday camp for them getting fed well & not having to walk too far to find it. The Canadians actually farm these guys commercially & THEY TASTE DELICIOUS! The meat is very lean & tasty. I swore I wouldn't eat bison before I came to Canada, but since I found out they were farmed, I changed my mind.


The Calgary Zoo seems to have Owls everywhere. Not only do they have aviaries specifically for them, but they seem to appear in all sorts of strange exhibits. One (same as pictured) was perched high above the entrance to the nocturnal house & dropped a white surprise on the lady standing next to Shane!

I shouldn't laugh. I'm just glad it wasn't me.
The one pictured was a particularly big one I reckon he was close to half a metre tall & kinda creepy looking. We nick named him John English.


The Grizzlies didn't seem to concerned about the whole captivity thing either. They seemed to be just lying there contemplating their own reflections in the pool. They were taking hibernating a little too seriously.


They have 3 elephants at Calgary Zoo including this bull. Notice the steel sleeves on the end of his tusks. I assume it has something to do with stopping him damaging them on the enclosure. This was Kerri's favourite, a big bull.