The Bronx Zoo

We didn't spend enough time in the Bronx on Saturday - so we headed back up there on Monday.

We decided to visit the Bronx Zoo and then walk to Arthur Ave., the authentic Little Italy, for dinner. (Most of the shops, restaurants, and bakeries were closed due to the Memorial Day holiday. We ate a good meal - but it wasn't so fabulous that I want to go back next weekend.)

After a pretty quick ride on the subway and a short walk we made it to the zoo entrance.

We had kind a late start for the zoo, but apparently so did many other people. The lines to buy tickets were unbelievably long at 2:30 in the afternoon (the zoo closed at 5:30 on Monday). We were in after only 15 minutes, but it felt like a long, long wait.

The zoo was surprisingly nice. I say this because I am a San Diego Zoo snob - of course there can be no better zoo than the San Diego Zoo! The Bronx Zoo features enclosures in a more natural setting - the animals seemed to have lots of room to roam and nice landscaping. The animals were also offered 'enrichment' at different times during the day. (Similar to the enrichment we offer to the cats - toys, catnip, treats, and play time.) Certain animals were outside in large enclosures and some were in buildings that looked like they belong on a college campus.

The picture below is the entrance to the Monkey House. It was a bit smelly inside - but the monkeys had really nice enclosures and they were all out and active.

This building is the zoo center. It is the indoor home for the camels (not surprisingly it was a bit smelly too).

The Mouse House would have been the cat's favorite exhibit! All of the little rodents were pretty darn cute - good thing Michael was there to remind they are dirty and full of diseases.

One of the cooler exhibit houses was the 'World of Darkness'. The building was dark and housed nocturnal creatures. Once your eyes were adjusted it was easy to see all of the activity. This exhibit also had some of the dumber humans on display. We had to ask/tell one father to quit taking flash photos of the cats in one enclosure. Not only did a sign at the entrance tell you not to take flash photos it was very obviously disturbing the animals and the other people trying to look at the animals.

I've came up with the idea of a zoo cam. The zoo should put a web camera in front of an enclosure for an animal like the monkeys, but instead of facing the monkeys it would face the humans walking by the exhibit. People can be such morons, tapping on the glass, making noises and taking photos I think it would lead to hours of entertainment.

And finishing up with one of my favorite ways to pass the time - people watching. I just had to take a photo of this woman in her 'zoo pants'. Yes, they are multi-color leopard spotted capri pants, simply stunning!