Animal Blogging With Dill The Cat: DILL'S VISIT TO THE INDIANAPOLIS ZOO

DILL'S VISIT TO THE INDIANAPOLIS ZOO

On Animal Blogging With Dill The Cat we visit zoos around the country. Last year we visited and blogged about the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, and the year before that it was the Dallas Zoo in Texas. This year we traveled to Indiana to visit the Indianapolis Zoo. As always, we started out early in the morning before the heat of the day. This was the first zoo we visited that had a roller coaster. Their map was easy to follow, the habitats were spacious and clean, and the zoo also has a collection of aquariums including an impressive viewing dome room in their ocean area. The Indianapolis Zoo has a variety of reptiles (especially snakes), birds, mammals, sea life, and a most attractive butterfly habitat. When one takes into account the zoo, including aquariums, the butterfly and botanic gardens, all on the same grounds, the ticket price is very reasonable. The grounds are flat which makes it easier to walk. For us, visiting Indianapolis Zoo was the first experience to see walruses which was pretty exciting. Dr. Rob Shumaker, Supervising VP of Conservation, Science and Education, Indianapolis Zoo heads the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center that is the home to one of the largest groups orangutans in America. The purpose and design of the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center is unforgettable. From the Indianapolis Zoo website it reads...

It serves as a vital education, research and conservation center where dedicated staff and members of the community can work together to create a positive future for critically endangered orangutans in the wild. It brings new hope to a species on the verge of extinction.

We met Jenny, a volunteer, at the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center. While speaking to Jenny we told her about the staff at the Denver Zoo, and how she reminded us of them. Jenny was engaging, informative, and had a wealth of information readily open to share. Jenny made our experience richer. So thank you Jenny! The following are some photographs from our memorable visit.

To get a size perspective of the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center, the visitors are looking into the front of just part of the orangutan's habitat.

I took this photograph inside the building, three stories up from the view outside. The orangutans like their Linus blankets as this one was walking around covered underneath his. Although three stories high there are platforms within their compound they can climb those levels and be face to face with people. Their ropes are fire hoses. Also in their compound they have a room they can to go when an orangutan want some 'alone time'.

Using touch screens the orangutans use computers to learn.

I took this photograph of Nicki at the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center.

Several feet tall this is a king penguin.

Sometimes called the rosy boa or the rainbow boa.

You do not have to guess who lives inside of this building.

Through the front doors one enters a round room with a dome ceiling. It is beautiful enough to perform a wedding there.

Right time & place, a monarch & the biggest bee I have ever seen.

Also on the sidebar is a funny picture of people starring in disbelief as a raccoon was walking around. A few thought the raccoon escaped from his habitat. On Dill's Blue Page are some photographs also taken from our trip. But for me the best picture I enjoy taking is of animal I did not have in my collection--until now--a walrus!

P.S. Thank you Jenny for your words and gracious spirit! We would love to return one day. If we lived in Indianapolis, absolutely we would have a membership to the Indianapolis Zoo. And to the entire staff, thank you for your welcoming spirit! The Indianapolis Zoo visit started a new tradition on Dill. We will start keeping our zoo traveling blogs, for more permanency, on the sidebar.

DILL'S VISIT TO THE INDIANAPOLIS ZOO

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How to save money buying parrot fish

This is a picture of one of my three blood parrot fish. I have seen online blood parrot fish costing around thirty dollars and more per fish based on the same size as mine but my three fish in total did not cost over twenty dollars. If you are interested in owning blood parrots here is my tip. Purchase them as babies. They have a grey, white, and black splattered pattern and cost far less than the more mature fish they quickly grow into. They live long. My parrots are over ten years old. They are not aggressive but mine prefer to live without other fish. They have a large cave and when someone enters our home, they all rush inside of it as they do not like other people too.

ANIMAL SHELTERS ARE A DIFFERENT KIND OF DIAMOND STORE

We deeply respect and recognized the agony not only to relinquish your animal family members but to never know what becomes of them. It is a hellish grief because when a person or animal we love leave our lives and we do not know what becomes of them that is very different kind of grief, an unhealed one. One of our goals at Animal Blogging With Dill The Cat is to communicate many animals in shelters reach shore. They find new homes, sometimes not easy but they adjust, and are doing fine, as they become members of new families. Like many homes our animal family members come from animal shelters, a different kind of diamond store.

The Denver Zoo -A Centennial History

Authored by Carolyn & Don Etter, commissioned by the Denver Zoological Foundation, Cover to Cover Designed, designed by Jody Chapel- Roberts Rinehart Publisher

A copy of The Denver Zoo -A Centennial History was
gifted to S. Mason from Rachel, Matt, and Connie from Denver Zoo. As we looked through the pages at the stunning photographs, reading random passages along the way, each passage a gem of accounts, we were also in awe of such a
complete history of the Denver Zoo in one book. The more we read, the past becoming new knowledge, it was like being introduced to the Denver Zoo for the first time. Such irony--from the beginning the Denver Zoo seedlings were from visionaries and we suspect those visionaries would be pleasantly and proudly surprised if they could see the Denver Zoo today. Reading The Denver Zoo-ACentennial History is a rich experience. A beautiful book, a beautiful gifting,
thank you Matt, Connie, and Rachel, three very special people.

THE LAST WINTER

WHY BROWN & BLACK BEARS CAN’T ALWAYS BE DEFINED BY THEIR COLORS

It may seem reasonable by their names, a brown bear, a black bear one could tell them apart but not when one considers black bears can be dark brown, cinnamon, and even white; just as brown bears (commonly called grizzlies because they can have lighter colored tips on their fur) can be different shades of brown, blond, and even black. And if that is not confusing enough at the same time some black and brown bears can have a mixture of both colors. So how does one tell them apart?

Black bears tend to be smaller than brown bears. Brown bears have a hump on their shoulders where black bears do not, and black bears have bigger ears that sit straight up. But perhaps the easiest way to tell these bears apart is their claws. Black bears claws are short enough not to be visible and a brown bear claws are long enough you most likely will never forget seeing them.

Free to come and go but they stay

Sometimes by design or a location that is natural to animals that already exist where there are zoos, within them, are free roaming animals. These animals can come and go but they stay and live at zoos but not within a habitat. Not only are there free roaming animals but there can be several kinds at one zoo. At the Denver Zoo, as of this writing, there are peacocks, chipmunks, and rabbits. The Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska has wild roaming turkeys, and the Phoenix Zoo have lizards. Years ago at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs they had free roaming deer. In the Indianapolis Zoo they have free roaming raccoons. Some people were surprised and thought the raccoons escaped their habitats. I took this photograph right before this raccoon ran back into the bushes.

Emeralds. Pearls. Rubies. Or any jewel. Any corvette, any color or a ghost Rolls Royce. A harp, grand piano, a cello or any music instrument. Velvet. Lace. Silk. Crystal. A bar of gold. Or a red rose. Anything looks better if placed next to a black cat. Universally beautiful and individually unique there could be thirty black cats in a room and a guardian of one could easily find theirs. Although NATIONAL BLACK CAT DAY is one day, Animal Blogging With Dill The Cat feels it is important enough to remind people 365 days a year. (the black cat image comes from online)

NATIONAL BLACK CAT DAY

Panther. He was the most intelligent cat we ever had. He would step on the keypad and look at the computer screen. When we would turn on the wall light switch he would look upward to the light fixture hanging from the ceiling. He got it. When doors were closed he would stand on his hind legs and with his front paws try to turn the doorknob. In the US and UK there is a NATIONAL BLACK CAT DAY. On Animal Blogging With Dill The Cat we will show our support by bringing awareness to this very important day-365 days of the year.

MEMBERSHIP

There are organizations whose mission include to ensure, enhance, the quality of life for animals. It can be a zoo, an aquarium, or even an organization specific to a particular animal. They all have one thing in common. These organizations offer membership to those who share their passion and beliefs. Consider a membership that is supportive of animals today. The next time you visit a facility where membership is offered, considered the money spent on a ticket for one visit can go towards a year long membership instead!
　

BEAUTIFUL WORDS

Some words are so beautiful they give us a reason to pause, reflect, and exhale. Such words speak to the stories of our lives. For us there are four special words that are beautiful together when driving miles of snow covered tree-lined blocks, and the title of my photography--On Our Way Home. From Jill, the beautiful word--Content. From the Denver Zoo we were inspired to include two words--support and dedication. Here are some more beautiful words that speak to the stories of our lives. Benign. Shelter. Guardian. Eventually. Retrospect. Passion. Forward. Different. Books. Serenity. Laughter. Animals. Believe. Dreams. Us. Balance. Found. A Raft. Change. Home. Recovery. Roar. Heroes. What words are beautiful to you?

IN MEMORY OF YOSHI

One of the best things about recommending books is the ability to share the experience with others. Reading and recommending Robert Smith's books from his series Petectives, based on his family two cats, Yoshi and Gatsby, have been a joy. We were sadden to read of Yoshi's passing. Little Free Libraries are boxes shaped like libraries, placed on posts, and filled with books in communities all over the globe. There, children can take a book to read then return it so it can be read by others. On Dill's Blue Page is more information about Little Free Library. We purchased a paper copy of Petectives to donate to a Little Free Library so others can know the joy of reading about Yoshi and Gatsby.