I never thought to visit any zoo on any of our trips around the world in any city. I know all cities have a zoo. I went to the San Diego zoo when I first came to this country, about 40 years ago. After that zoo, I did not want to go see another zoo. I did go see the elephants when I came to Syracuse in 2000. The baby elephant was just born and it was a big baby around 250 lbs when she was born (after a 2-year pregnancy)!. In our trip to Washington DC in October 2019, my husband’s meeting place was just across the freeway from the Smithsonian’s national zoo. While waiting for him to finish his meeting, I decide to visit the zoo instead of waiting in the hotel.
I did not regret my impulse to visit the zoo. It was an enjoyable walking tour all thanks to the lovely volunteer who was so accommodating and so knowledgeable about all the animals. I don’t just want to read the info about the animals posted next to their cages but I want to hear the little details about each animal. For example, the cheetah is born with the knowledge of how to kill a prey. There was a baby cheetah that was born at the zoo and always was fed by the zoo employees. One time, when the baby was a few months old, a deer jumped the fence and landed in the cheetah enclosure. The baby cheetah jumped and grasped the deer by the neck and killed it. Also the reason of why cheetah is so skinny. Cheetahs can reach speed of 60 miles per hour but once they catch up to the prey and kill it, they are too exhausted to eat right away and, in the jungle, there are plenty of other animals ready to pounce on a dead prey!
One word about volunteering for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. I am interested in volunteering opportunities for “senior citizens” all over the places, now that I reach that age. Most volunteers at the national zoo are retired people that live around the zoo. They are only required to work three four-hour shifts per month. They can give walking tour that lasts about 2.5 – 3 hours or they can volunteer in one specific area, such as “Big Cats” (lions and tigers) or Apes (orangutans and gorillas).
I guess the National Zoo is known for the Pandas and of course we had to go to see the pandas. There was a father panda and a mother panda that is 23 years old and she had a baby panda about 4 years ago. The baby is on his way to return to China per the agreement between the Smithsonian and China. All the pandas were taking a nap when we visited. The baby panda was so cute. He loved to cuddle a blue ball when he sleeps. We had a presentation on pandas, their size when they were born ( 3.5 ounces, less than a stick of butter) to their nutrition (bamboo leaves), their habits and how they were trained and loved to give blood and get ultrasounds when mama panda was pregnant.
On my way to meet the walking tour I was lucky enough to catch the orangutans crossing on a wire across the road. There was also a baby gorilla and a baby orangutan. All the great apes were taking naps when we came to their enclosures, except the baby orangutan. He was just like all babies, bothering their mothers: mama orangutan slept with a cardboard box over her head. Baby orangutan threw grass over his mom’s head and grasp her cardboard box to play hide-and-seek.
Like all places in Washington DC, my visit to the National Zoo was just too short and I only had time to do a cursory visit to just a small portion of the animals at the zoo. I am really thankful to all the employees and volunteers at the zoo who love their job and share their knowledge with the annoying visitors.
