Sunday, April 17, 2011

Tail trail




When a dear friend called me out, “hey monkey,” I did not object.
After all, I consider him like my brother.
“Let’s go to Al Ain zoo this weekend,” he suggested and I agreed.
Just a few minutes at the well-maintained wildlife park pushed in a realisation in me on how far humans have moved away from ever-beautiful nature.
Chasing the crows, throwing peanuts at squirrels, imitating the parrots, scaring away the sparrows, dancing around mischievous monkeys, thrusting coins on elephant trunks – my childhood days had more connection with feathered friends and awesome animals.
Technology has deleted the link between man and nature and the reality of “virtual reality” bites hard.
I was thrilled to notice the majestic White Lions of Sanbona at the park. One of the rarest animals, the White Lion is almost extinct in the wild. Lofty giraffes tried to pick grass placed on poles making it look like a basketball game, Arabian oryxes and sand gazelles roamed free, but the naughty chimpanzee refused to cheer when my friend performed a funny ape dance outside the cage.
Talk of turtles, tortoise and the tall ostrich – they were all there.
I also found the “Nocturnal House” concept interesting. An enclosed air-conditioned walkway offers a sneak peek into the fascinating lives of nocturnal animals. One can watch stealthy sand cats exploring the dunes and busy hedgehogs scurrying from bush to bush inside the zone.
Forget the rat race. Saying hello to our “speechless” friends at least occasionally has its own charm.
(PS: Plz forgive poor quality of pix. Blame it on my cellphone as usual.)

15 comments:

  1. So u had a wonderful day out..?

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  2. Wow! this is good!
    i remember the usual visit to a zoo on holidays in childhood (and also write a essay in school - a visit to the zoo) and i too feel that we are so much caught up material things that we have left some really precious things behind!
    Wish to live those days again!!! :)

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  3. wow... i love strolling in zoo... went for a safari two weeks ago :D reminds me of that :D
    wonderful post :D

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  4. Nice pictures there. We keep visiting zoos atleast twice a year thanks to my nephew...you are right...not only have we lost touch with nature but we are pushing her other fauna, flora and animal life to the end of the cliff.

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  5. Time to buy another cell phone :D

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  6. Here in the zoo in addition to these wild animals and birds you can also find goats, hen, donkey and even pig which makes you wonder what have you got into...

    No wonder children love it in India as they are always surrounded by these "zoo animals" roaming freely :)

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  7. Good post. I too enjoy zoo visits with my son.

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  8. The font size in the post is skewed!!! and the pics aren't that bad :D

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  9. Its sad ..yes very sad. We have forgotten the great joys we found in simple things like playing with a puppy or playing with few stones.

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  10. Seems like you had a good day. Only you can make a post out of stroll in zoo...

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  11. hmm.... I did not object.
    After all, I consider him like my brother. ha ha.. nallarikku..

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  12. The White Lion is majestic.

    Thanks for reminding us of our childhood days.

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  13. I like them alot...thanks for such trip...

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  14. Didn't know monkeys can write so well ;)
    Hey, u can't blame ur cell! Don't u have a new one?
    Kidding, photos are good :)

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