*The Zoo!*

It was perfect Saturday afternoon. Caity’s real mom was in town from the States, and Melissa knew the microbus that would take us practically to the front gates for only a Boliviano each. We had no excuses to not go to the zoo. We grabbed our cash and cameras and hopped aboard the micro. I for one wasn’t sure what to expect. I had heard good and bad stories of Santa Cruz’s zoo. Many said it is dirty, and the animals are poorly cared for. Others mentioned its size, lack of it really, but didn’t have complaints other than that. I had always pictured elephants and tigers in small cages being poked with soda straws by children and employees alike. It turns out, the zoo was nothing like I expected. In most of it I had a blast, and it appeared like the animals did too. Unfortunately, there were also portions that were depressing. It balanced out, giving me a newfound appreciation for animals.
To start things off light, I’m going to tell a bit about the happy-looking animals. We first saw the birds. Giant cages held parrots, toucans, something called a Harpy Eagle, a large owl, and even a Condor. The toucans were cute, and were dead ringers for the guy on the Fruit Loops box. The Harpy Eagle, owl, and Condor were magnificent, huge, and possessed the tranquility that is unique to birds of prey. I can only imagine how they’d appear in the wild. Even so, the parrots were definitely my favorite of the birds. Brightly-colored, and loud, they quickly caught the eye. One particular breed called, ‘’Hola, hola,’’ as we stopped by their enclosure. I yelled, ‘’Caity, come here!’’ and behind me a parrot quoted, ‘’Caity,’’ in its funny little parrot voice. We loved it. We coerced the parrots to say Erika and Melissa also. As we walked away we heard them talking to some other girls, ‘’Bonita. Mamita.’’ Past the parrots we entered into the bird house, where ironically, I didn’t see many birds. There was however a turtle running wild. I’m not joking, that little guy was speedy! Even better, they had an anteater! It was possible the most bizarre creature I’ve ever seen. I know a trip to the zoo doesn’t exactly count as seeing it wild, but I feel the need to inform the public: that anteater was weird! It had a tail nearly the length of its body, with long black, white and brown hairs hanging down a foot or so. It looked almost feathery. It ran faster than the turtle. Beyond the bird house, our little group enjoyed trying to identify some of the more unusual animals. We also watched pigs and capybaras, llamas and sloths. The sloth is my new favorite animal. Every move it makes is slow and deliberate, but has more flexibility than I could ever pray for. Its face is the picture of calm, and legend has it if you are heartless enough to hold a knife up to it, it will shed tears. In short, the animals that appeared happy made me happy.
Sadly, not all animals are as chill as the sloth. The leopard, pumas, and foxes looked rather miserable. I can’t say I blame them. Each had a concrete and wire cell the size of my bedroom. Their water bowls were green with algae, and the moss on the floor was worn off in well-paced tracks. It hurt to see, and was hard to comprehend. Why in the world did the pigs have meters and meters of space to root and roll in the mud, but the giant cats were confined to cells? I can only be glad that only a few animals were treated like that, and the rest appeared to be living happy lives.
All in all, the trip was a success. I got to hang out with friends, and look at giant anacondas! I didn’t see these animals in the wild, but it was still really really fun. I suppose I had forgotten what zoos could be like, even small ones like this one. True, is was sad to see the captive cats, but on the whole Saturday’s trip to the zoo added up to an experience that will stay with me.