We went to the zoo today. It is the second largest zoo in the country and as Cecil said at Northside about which I will blog later tonight, the San Diego Zoo offers very intimate experiences with animals while the Bronx Zoo offers a large swath of land with animals roaming. Look: the giraffes!
It reminds you that animals are wild. They don’t have reason yet they are governed by the same appetites as we. The gibbons played and one backed his ass into another’s face- disrespect. Where do you think the saying kiss my… came from?
The elephant is getting its nails pared by the zookeepers, since the 40 miles it walks in the wild keeps its nails trim. I like tigers and birds of prey. Kenneth Koch says in his classic literature poem, one of my favorites, “Some General Instructions,” that the elephant is one of the highest animals, which is true. I think the rhino is underrated- his fleshy folds of skin only look hard and menacing, and his horns make him an object for poachers. Poor rhinos.
If you haven’t been to the Bronx Zoo, it’s definitely worth it. Just make sure to go when there’s no train construction.
Daniel the Writer 