Zoology

Well I’m back from my adventures across the American Midwest.  Sorry Monday’s comic was late.  I got back on Monday but there was no way I was churning out a comic after a 9-hour drive.  It’s up now though so make sure to check it out.

I didn’t just spend my time getting fat eating Wisconsin cheese on this trip though, it was an important fact finding mission, as I went to the Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Madison zoos.  If you’re moderate-to-large city in the midwest whose name starts with an M, I totally went to your zoo.

Zoo review time!

Minneapolis – Definitely the best kept-up of the zoos.  The grounds were really lush and overall the zoo felt quite modern and well maintained.  There were some odd omissions when it came to the variety of animals.  There were, for instance, almost no primates there.

Highlight: The Wolverines who were engaged in an uh…suitably violent mating ritual.

Milwaukee – While not quite as modern or slick as Minneapolis, the Milwaukee zoo had the best variety of animals and OH MY GOD YOU GUYS THEY HAD A BABY ORANGUTAN.  YOU GUYS.  BABY…ORANGUTAN.  IT ATE LEAVES.  HUNG UPSIDE DOWN.  HUMPED THE BARS.

Highlight: IT’S HAIR STUCK UP FUNNY AND IT SAT ON IT’S MOM’S HEAD GUYS.

Madison – Madison’s zoo is a funny little one.  It’s just sort of plunked in the middle of an old residential neighbourhood and doesn’t have a whole lot of space, but it’s pretty charming and has a surprisingly good collection of animals.

Highlight: The male lion, mane glistening in the afternoon sun, climbs up onto a rock and strikes a regal pose…then barfs all over it like a housecat that ate too much grass.

So yeah, I’ve got material for ages folks.

So I was in Chicago for the weekend and I bet you guys will never ever guess what I did, so I’ll just tell you…

…I went to THE ZOO.  Bet you didn’t see that one coming.

Anyways, the Lincoln Park zoo was quite a nice experience (and free ta boot).  Of the zoos I’ve been to, it probably provided the nicest environment for the human animals visiting.  A lot of zoos can be pretty exhausting slogs; spread out, hot, with a lot of concrete and not much greenery outside of the animal enclosures, but the Lincoln Park zoo was much easier on the senses and feet.

The collection of animals was fairly impressive too, although a few of them were in somewhat small or outdated enclosures, a result of the zoo’s age and being confined in the middle of the city.  Their African Apes section was pretty fantastic though.  Don’t be surprised if Ernest makes a return soon, because gorillas are pretty freakin’ awesome guys.  Just sayin’.  They also had African Wild Dogs there, which I’d wanted to see ever since I was a kid poring over my tattered old Encyclopaedia of Mammals.

So yeah, if you’re ever in the Chicago area check out the Lincoln Park zoo.  That’s your Zoology Super Fun Club assignment of the week.