Accordingly, this post is basically going to be a large list of photos and videos with some captions, because I don't think I could do the zoo justice by blending it in with other events. So, without further ado, I present to you (in no order whatsoever because the image uploader for blogspot is crazy and mixed them all up), The Animals of the Berlin Zoo....
Even from outside of the zoo gates you could see the llamas. They basically did what they do best: be furry and eat hay.
German art at its finest: a little boy holding water hoses and peeing on a frog. I like to think that it symbolizes the way that man oppresses animal-kind without regard, but it might just be an R. Kelly crack.
Yeah, that's quite a flight. To put it in perspective for my more US standard audience, that's a little more than 6017 miles.
The grizzly bears were nice enough to stay as far away from us as humanly possible and obscure themselves with logs so it was nearly impossible to get a good shot of them. Just to spite them though, I took an alright one.
A pack of African Wild Dogs looking everything but wild. If they didn't eat large antelope on a regular basis, you'd almost think that petting them sounded like a good idea.
An owl, giving me his best pose.
The ever noble bald eagle. On a side note, if I had one issue with the Berlin Zoo, it was that their bird cages made it almost impossible to get a good shot of a bird.
A Sea Lion, cruising around and enjoying himself. I'd definitely say that out of all the animals, it looked like these guys were having the most fun.
One of Berlin's famous polar bears, on a rock they like to fight over.
Two of Berlin's famous polar bears, fighting over the aforementioned rock.
For all critics of zoos, saying that they torture animals by removing them from their natural environments, I present to you... the (aptly named) Sun Bear.
Two of the smallest (and least aquatic) hippos I've ever seen. It was kind of hard to decipher the German signs, but I believe these truly are some kind of Hippo species.
A group of penguins, who all looked like they had nooooo idea what was going on.
A Black Bear, embracing a lazy position trumped only by his sunny cousin.
While the animals tended to draw the most attention, it was worth noting that all of the plant life in the Berlin Zoo was also beautiful. That said, I took one shot of a flower and spent the rest of my time taking shots of way cooler animals.
What I believe to be called a Sun Cat. The room it was in wasn't the brightest, but we can't all live up to the bear standards.
More penguins of a less aquatic sort.
The black stripes on the Zebras must generate a lot of heat, because not once all I day did I see one walk in the sunlight so I could get a decent shot.
A jaguar. While most of the big cats just lounged around, this guy seemed pretty serious about guarding his perimeter. Maybe he's new to the zoo.
A mongoose, which was literally the hardest animal to snap a shot of ever. You can't tell here, but they had ridges and slides and all kinds of things to run around on in their exhibit, and they were using them all constantly.
Clearly, this lion was as excited to see me as I was to see it, haha.
One of the Berlin Zoo's many cool antelope (I believe this to be a Kudu, but I could be wrong). These guys were actually hanging out with the zebras, and they too liked to hide in the shade.
A Black Panther. It's kind of hard to pick up the killing machine vibe when the cat looks like it just fell out of a tree.
About 1/3 of a Giant Panda. These guys are notorious sleepers, and this one lived up to his reputation.
I have no idea what this bird's name is, but I like his haircut.
Believe it or not, this is a baby giraffe. They had most of the adults caged up to keep them separated, but this little guy still managed to roam around and pose for a decent picture.
A huge family of mountain goats. Note the massive beards that all the guys are toting.
The most important part of that above picture. This little guy was still small enough to not have the creepy, dead eyes that his elders did.
One of Berlin's many antisocial Elephants.
Another Leopard who was much happier swinging and looking at his log than acknowledging us.
Some kind of Heron. Many of them were still able to fly, and it was amazing to see groups of these things just taking off and heading to a different pond within the zoo.
A Rhino, doing his best to take in the sun even though he was mostly shadowed.
I believe the American term for these guys to be Spring Hares, but who knows. They had a ton of cool animals in their nocturnal exhibit, but the lighting obviously didn't make for the best photo-ops.
Some kind of Lemur. They're basically as prone to hopping about and hanging as you'd expect.
Very protective monkeys. I have a feeling that this little guy might lead a very sheltered life.
Crazy monkey-squirrels with unique coloring. I may not know exactly what they were, but I definitely know that these guys could run around like the wind.
One big, colorful monkey.
These two little guys seemed to just take turns hiding and looking. They were basically the monkey equivalents of Chihuahuas.
The ridiculous baby Orangutan. He looked like equal parts baby, disheveled old man, and gymnast.
This is the gymnast part shining through.
Daddy Orangutan, who looked like he was wearing a cape made out of his own hair.
Eventually, after sitting for about an hour, daddy Orangutan decided to get up and swing around and let his dread-locks drift in the wind. This is where he ended up.
And this a video of part of his trip to get there.
The last animal I saw all day was this guy, a crazy little red deer fellow. I have no idea what he was called, but it's fun to end the day on a mystery.
And that, in a nutshell, was my day at the Berlin Zoo.
Sadly, this post has taken me about four days to create because the internet we have here in Berlin is terrible at uploading, and because our days are packed as it is, so thanks everyone for having patience with me. I'll try to have the next one up as soon as possible.
Talk to you all soon,
Cody
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