akron zoo-(cont.)

         pink flamingos appeared to be eating the same duck food i use which is actually fish food . i understand they are made up of waste fish meal and shrimp parts and pieces in a handy dandy pellet form that floats on water. my ducks just love it and from the way the pink flamingos at the zoo were attacking it , seems to be a hit with them too. this fish food can now be picked up at the magnolia mill and is good for feeding a variety of fish and animals. i have seen those darn muskrats that have been tearing up the banks of my pond relax with a morsel or 2 of fish food,errr duck food. 

       the landscaping at the park is at times misleading as to where to guide you to go. or obstructing you to other parts of the zoo as i guess it is intended. but for most part is top notch with  sign plates identifying trees you may want to use in recreating your own backyard maze. at the top of the hill is a water fountain and  a landscape garden and trellis. also included are a couple of statues the plantings are just now starting to come out of their winter doldrums and should be quite vibrant in the early summer ? late june timeline. murals adorn the walls in different areas of the zoo and are quite well done. 

        thankfully no gorillas here though. i like gorillas but on a trip to the cleveland zoo one time i remember going to the gorilla house and soon as i walked in i could see the gorilla staring at me. as i continued to enter and though he was supposedly in front of see through glass and that i could only see him , his eyes met mine as i walked through the pavilion, his eyes followed me  and when i leaned close to the glass to see him better and was still a foot away , he lunged for the glass banging off of it and scaring the hell out of me as i could see the glass flex in. i looked around at everyone else who just about crapped them selves and they kindly suggested to me that maybe i need to stay back. as again he took aim and headed at glass and bounced off again. freaked out i just left.

      the akron zoo and the cleveland zoo do seem worlds apart but i now understand they are sharing and have some sort of a partnership. also it seems as if the akron zoo has a plan and are working towards it in a positive way. 

       and they do have a king of a lion and his mate also in the lion house. he does look regal . it would be nice to view him some other way than behind glass , but they are wild animals and looking at humans all day and not being able to eat one would get a bit old. especially since we are the reason they are there. all in all a quick trip around the zoo will take at least a couple hours if not more for breaks . so better to leave your afternoon open. but was well worth the money  to view all these animals. in retrospect with the latest news of the women who from zanesville area who had just received custody of her wild animals back after her husband released them and as i look at the pens for the larger animals and know they are far better than what that women has to offer her animals. and yet i am still disappointed at man trying to recreate their natural habitat. when an animal is injured or senile retire him from public view and make them comfortable. locking them in a pen with limited movement is like a prison to them and may be better to euthanize. it is her possession as the state has saw fit to allow. maybe we should lock a few legislators away.