OLD ZOOS

     My California travel buddy, who I met in the Swiss Alps, was an LA zoo docent, so we visited many zoos in our travels. In return she accommodated me with my floral clocks and botanical gardens. We each learned a lot from the other.

     The oldest zoo in the world, Tiergarten, was built in 1752 at Schonbrunn Palace in Austria, just outside Vienna. It was designed around the Emperor’s breakfast pavilion, so he could enjoy the animals along with his morning chocolate. On a very hot day, after walking about the zoo, we decided to have lunch in the pavilion, now a small restaurant.

     Many animals were gifts from European nobility and diplomats from all over the world. In 1828 the first giraffe and first elephant born in captivity were born at Tiergarten. How exciting that must have been!  Even on a hot afternoon the lions, leopards, and black panthers were active and passed only a few feet away behind heavy glass.

     The zoo went under government control in 1921, but in 1991 again became a private enterprise. Today the zoo is actively involved in the protection of threatened species.

     On another European trip we visited the Budapest zoo on a quiet Sunday afternoon. This zoo dates to 1866. Besides the hundreds of mammals, even more birds and reptiles are residents, plus the complex also includes  a large botanical garden, and includes 69 buildings. The elephant house, modeled after a Turkish Mosque was really beautiful.

     Here I saw some new animals which my zoo docent friend was able to explain and identify for me. Of course all the signs and map were in Hungarian.  A couple of  times we were a bit confused as to where we were so we looked for a young male to seek help. Both times we were just around the corner from where we wanted to be. In Europe look for a teenage boy or young man as they almost always speak English—that tid bit never failed us when traveling.

    At the Edinburgh zoo we were having trouble finding the painted hunting dogs. Eventually we spotted a fellow who we thought was a zoo employee. We asked if was familiar with the zoo layout, and then showed him the map and what we were looking for. He stopped what he was doing and trotted all over the zoo until he found the dogs for us. We double stepped to keep up with him and thanked him for his help. Then he told us he was the insurance inspector doing his annual inspection. Just  another example how we found friendly and helpful people everywhere we traveled.   We spent half a day in each of these zoos and I certainly wouldn’t mind visiting them again.