Zoo time. Theo is loving every minute of our jaunt through the Alaska Zoo. This gangster cat, smile on his face, adventure in his heart, is moving from exhibit to exhibit (after we get him away from the falcon and the bears.)
"Theo, look here." I lift him up so he can see the eagle in all his glory.
We launch into a too long explanation of the eagle--a large powerful bird with sharp eyesight, hooked beaks, and strong talons who are 28 to 40 inches long and weigh up to 14 pounds. They can spot prey from over a mile away. And there are over 68 different species of eagles who live in Africa, Eurasia and North America. They mate for life and build massive stick nests for their families. Wild eagles can live 20 to 25 years.
Theo listens politely but honestly in his mind, an eagle has one commanding feature--it's a bird.
We drag him away from the eagle. A coyote is lying on top of his house, resting. Now, in Kenya on safari years ago, I saw an entire coyote family--replete with children coyotes and a babysitter coyote who kept watch over them while the parents hunted for food.
I know what you're thinking--coyote? Aren't they responsible for untold murders . . . My response--they're fighting for their own survival. Animal experts call them the Ultimate Opportunist--over the years they've adapted. They used to prey on camels and horses during the last Ice Age. Then they competed with wolves for food and even in some cases bred with the wolves. Although they're often viewed as pests or threats, the truth is that if you keep food away from them, they will continue to live their lives and pose no threat.
Coyotes can run 40 miles an hour and are excellent swimmers. They're also called the Song Dog because they have a high pitched howl ending in sharp yips. Two howling coyotes can sound like a dozen.
Theo decides he doesn't want to get too close to a coyote. So we move forward to see the swans. They are another species who mate for life, and there they are--looking elegant and they splash, swim and meander in the water.
We've saved the best until last. The moose. One of my favorite animals. As a kid I watched the Rocky and Bullwinkle show, the adventures of a flying squirrel and a charming moose. Years ago I went up to Maine on a moose safari. The only problem was that moose are most active at dawn and dusk--the hardest times during the day to see them.
Luckily here, at the zoo, we can get incredibly close to this moose, and we marvel at its size. Even though in North America, the moose is the tallest and second largest land animal (only the bison are bigger), the moose is considered a gentle giant.
The crazy thing is this moose looks exactly like Bullwinkle. Theo sees the resemblance too and wants to make friends. He gets up close to the fence and thrusts his paw into the enclosure. The moose glances over and then lumbers closer. I can almost hear him thinking. Who is that? Theo, an avid fan, meows hello. The moose makes a deep grunt.
If Theo could find a way in, he would, and I can almost see him, squeezing through the rungs on the fence and leaping onto Bullwinkle's back to go for a ride.
Theo makes one more attempt. "Friends?" he meows.
Bullwinkle snorts in reply and then goes about his business. We notice his one horn is damaged. Perhaps, he's being rehabilitated and not in the best of moods.
Oh well. But, still, it isn't everyday you get a chance to meet a famous TV and comic book star!
