Melbourne Zoo 2013!

What a lovely idea to be able to have an opportunity to name her GR.

I have been having a think and as she is affectionate and likes the sun both of those terms could be interpreted into the feeling of being cheerful and in Swahili that would give her the name of Damisi I thought that was quite nice.

Good luck with your thoughts for naming her and whatever you come up with I am sure it will be a good one.

littlewid-x-

I just submitted my answer of Songlife  

It goes against all their recommendations, but it may just help it to stand out from the crowd. You had to give a reason so I said that it was a combination of Afrikaans words for sunny & affectionate   

It will be very  though if LW or Lai's suggestions get the nod, even without our WAA ladies making a submission!

  GR. Well done for submitting a name. Keep us posted  

Lai

Not sure if work will grant me the time off for this important moment  


Meet the baby rhino


Now's your chance to meet the newest addition to our rhino herd at Werribee Open Range Zoo in an exlusive Member's only event. Next Wendesday 14 August and Thursday 15 August, Members have the opportunity to meet the baby rhino. Viewing times will be between 11am-12pm and 2pm-3pm. We're asking members to arrive atleast 15 minutes before the scheduled viewing times and let the admission staff know you want to meet the baby rhino



Really though, why not make it on the weekend  

  I agree GR. But then visitor numbers over the weekend are probably better than during the week, so in order to up the visitor numbers during the week they have made it 2 weekdays.

Just how my mind works GR

Lai

I reckon your probably right tnere Lai. I do hope you can get there GR, it would be so lovely, lets hope your boss is feeling kind.

Fingers crossed your name wins, no reason why it shouldn't. Let us know what the eventual choice is.

littlewid-x-

Baby rhinos are so adorable! GR, just tell your boss that you have a flu; you cannot miss this! That would be a white lie, wouldn't it?  

CC

You may well be right Lai about trying to draw the crowd to the weekdays, though this is kind of ignoring the fact that most people work Monday-Fridays, and then there are the kids (whom zoos are meant to be the most for). I am pretty sure that they have this thing called school  

Suffice to say I didn't quite make it  

Thats a real shame GR   any news on the naming yet?

littlewid-x-

Members, help name our baby rhino!

Don’t forget to help name our Southern White Rhino baby before midnight on 13 August! In keeping with her heritage, we are looking for names that are African inspired. All names will be sent directly to our Keepers and Vets who will shortlist their favourite five names. We will contact all members who are shortlisted and you will get the opportunity to meet our baby rhino at Werribee Open Range Zoo on Tuesday 27 August! The shortlisted names will be put to the public for final vote with the help of our friends at Nine News and Herald Sun. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and we'll make sure to keep you posted.


I haven't been notified that I am on the short list yet.

So the final naming of the rhino has to be sometime after the 27th of August. I would hazard a guess that it would be within a fortnight from then.

In other news, I am getting some cravings for the Melbourne Zoo again! Probably not today though as the weather is not expected to be particularly good, but I think that I shall attend next weekend. All I have planned for then at this stage is to get my haircut  

Yesterday I made my return to Melbourne Zoo  

I have posted some pics on facebook (could be months before I do so on here, remembering that I've still to catch up with my Werribee Zoo night snaps  ).

I had a terrific time, seeing many enclosures which I hadn't on earlier trips this year, and was pleasantly surprised by many. The crowds were quite enormous: I almost didn't get a car park  But 11:30 and I was safe and sound in the confines of this terrific venue  

Some brief recollections of my wanderings are as follows. Began with a quick trip to the leopards (no surprises there) and this was alright, although the Persian one was not there, nor was one of the Snowies. They had signs to say that both were off display whilst their enclosures were being improved. Both Snowies in attendance were all but snoozing, though I was able to get some good pics of one (Meo I think...I am forgetting these names).

The frog enclosure was small but nice, and I'd never been in there, and then it was onto the reptile facility of which I had also ignored previously. This was possibly the highlight of the day; there were so many interesting lizards, snakes and turtles, amongst other creatures. Some of the colours were just brilliant.

I went to the giraffes briefly and two of them were really close to us and were nomming away  Later it was time for eating myself, and I indulged in soup and bread (this was perfect) plus a chocolate muffin.

I saw lots of monkeys, including orang-utans. Boy were they in fine entertaining form! There were two black ones (I've always just thought of them as orange) and they danced around this epic high rise enclosure which was a playground paradise for them. Their balance, their climbing, just totally  And the two of them would have these little play fights and arguments, and then be tender with each other. One was even doing these spin moves on his back like Michaelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! It's a really great set up there, because they have an inside part to it all, and there there were heaps of kids getting right up close to them with only the glass between them, and there was just so much happiness here.

To a lesser extent this was likewise with the hippo. There were not the crowds here (not enough room for big crowds regardless), but the kids just really love the "sea cow" as one boy was funnily calling it! Again the atmosphere is really helped by the fact that you can get up close and personal via the glass wall, making for a rather intimate and enjoyable experience.

The elephants were not on display, though I didn't even seem to care much as there was still so much to see. Perhaps the highlight was the butterfly house. Again, it was another place that I hadn't bothered to go to yet, but this is definitely somewhere to go if you want to feel happy. Maybe it is hard to explain, but if you just stand there (even if it is bloody humid!) with all these bright colours flapping around you, how can one be sad? It was just a sea of smiles I reckon, and was certainly a great place for taking pics. If you stand still sometimes a butterfly will even land on you, though this wasn't happening to people all the time, but with me one took to my left shoulder and seriously must have stayed there for ten minutes! One landed on my fingers another time (though that hand held the camera so once I tried to take a pic it flew off  ) too, and it was just a totally joyous place to be. Next time I go to Melbourne Zoo I will be sure to return to the butterflies  

I left just after 3pm, so it was a good three and a half hour stint. At the shop I only purchased one item, and I can't see even me ever wearing them  so it would be a future gift for a future girlfriend possibly. I wonder if anyone could guess what they are?  

Hopefully at some stage I will get around to posting some more zoo adventure pics on here.

Sounds like a great day out GR, even without the pics I can visualise it all. You are so right about the butterflies, they are wonderful to see and watch, and always make me smile as they are so beautiful.

Look forward to pics as and when, will look at your FB page meantime.

I am   surely not another onesie?  

Lai

I have worn female lingerie snow leopard onesie apparel so I think that pretty much means that I can wear any onesie  

I like your thinking Mrs Kipia - as a onesie would be a superb gift for my partner, but I think she would just get to wear the snow leopard one, since I seem to spend half my life as a squirrel  

As a squirrel  

An agile tree-dwelling rodent (Sciurus and other genera, family Sciuridae) with a bushy tail, typically feeding on nuts and seeds

or

Hide money or something of value in a safe place: "the money was squirreled away in foreign bank accounts".

Lai

 Lai!

I think I can twist the latter to mean something a little different.

"He squirreled half his money away overseas".

And maybe more to come in South America  

  GR - ok not a bad reply there  

Lai

Now where the hell was I   

An attempt at some more Werribee Zoo pics! Meerkats!

  GR. Meetkats are great little animals, so cute looking and yet in reality tough little things.

Lai

Loving your account of your trip to Melbourne Zoo GR, it does sound as if you had a fantastic day and it's really nice isnt it to see animals you dont normally have as your first choice and the reptile house sounds truely fascinating. For me I love butterflies and as you know from my FB page I rescued a Painted Lady the other day from a disaster. They certainly do make you smile dont they. I went to a Butterfly house a long time ago and your right they are just flying all around and its wonderful when they come to rest on you. Did you manage any pictures of them in the end? I'm really looking forward to the pics when you have time. I'm glad you had a great day.

The Meerkats have put another big grin on my face, I feel spoiled this afternoon after catching up with CC's Snowies and now your fantastic Meerkats, what a great afternoon  

littlewid-x-

I took HEAPS of photos of the butterflies LW, so hopefully this century I will get around to posting some  

Okay, now for some photos of not live animals, but they are Melbourne Zoo related. You may recall that I got a giraffe jigsaw from their shop as a present for my parents. Well, they finished it and liked it so much that they framed it! They used some sort of special glue to have it put on the wall. Hmmmm....perhaps I should have taken these photos later at night so that there wasn't this minor glare showing. Oh well.






G  R

  What a brilliant jigsaw and lovely to see it framed, even with the glare  I bet it was hard to do the background   I love jigsaws but haven't don't one for ages.

Lai

Oh My Goodness GR, that is some jigsaw, it's beautiful, I love it and no wonder your parents got it framed and put on the wall, it's far too gorgeous to put back in the box and as Lai says, I bet that took some doing but so worth the finished product. Thanks so much for sharing the pictures, I bet your parents are chuffed with it.

I too love jigsaws but very hard to do around here with little furry paws wanting to help at everything you do!

Looking forward to the butterfly pics when you have time, as long as they are posted sometime this century as I am planning on being here but cant speak for the next one  

littlewid-x-

 for the comments lovely ladies  

Lai, I was apparently (so my Mum is always telling me) obsessed with jigsaw puzzles as a child, but 'grew out of them'. I can see the interest in them, but still cannot be bothered  I suppose it's a question of life priorities and time. For me to spend hours for days and weeks on one is just not worth it. But who knows; in ten or twenty years time perhaps I will return to this love of my childhood.

As my parents have done  

The giraffe one was a tough one for them to do though, and I think this is a part of the reason for them framing it (as well as my Mum knows that I love giraffes), as it was like a pretty good achievement. So a  to my folks for getting through it!

You are right LW about it being beautiful: So that is another reason for it being framed.

I wonder if WS will give something framed a framed award  

This century will see me out too Mrs Squirrel  But as long as I live for longer than the average butterfly than I should get around to posting some wonderful wing flapping pics  

I return to this thread on a rather sombre note with the following sad news from Melbourne Zoo this week:

"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Asian Elephant calf Sanook, overnight.

As you would know Sanook would have turned one in January, and was the youngest of the three calves born here at Melbourne Zoo.

Just yesterday, Sanook was observed to be playing energetically and suckling from mother Num-Oi as usual, with no indication of any illness.

There were no signs of trauma when he was found this morning. A postmortem will be carried out today to seek the cause of death, with details to be updated on our website."

Apparently the poor calf was playing with a tyre toy at night, and somehow became entangled in it and suffocated   I am sure that especially the zoo keepers who have had a lot to do with him will be devastated.

GR that really is sad news and must be devastating for the keepers and also for Num-Oi, to have a healthy little calf one minute and then gone the next must be so devastating for her. That sounds as if it was such a freaky accident as elepha ts have huge tyres to play with all the time but maybe they are dangerous for young calfs, it may be a lesson to other zoos.
It doesnt bearing thinking of what little Sanook must have gone through, I really hope he didnt suffer too long  

Rest in Peace and sleep easy little Sanook  

littlewid-x-