The London Zoo and Winnie the Pooh Too.

Today was London Zoo day! I didn't realize how much I like zoos, probably because the one I went to most often growing up had deer and one lonely polar bear most of the time. This was fantastic! I saw animals I didn't even know existed. Have you ever heard of an anoa, tapir, mangabey, or a sulawesi crested macaque? If so, you definitely have been to zoos beyond the Stone Zoo or watch a bit too much Animal Planet ;) . It was so neat. If you go take a gander at my pictures here, you will see that my favourites were the zebra, spider monkeys, giraffes, meerkats and any other animal that liked to stay still for a photo op. There were definitely some "cheeky monkeys" that didn't want to stay still. I have endless (not uploaded) blurry pictures of leaves with a bit of tail somewhere in the frame. Didn't they know I just wanted a picture? Guess not. The only real bummer was that the lions were off exhibition today for scheduled something or other. The word on the sign wasn't "maintenance" but that was the gist. That and the gorillas and tigers must have been up partying together last night because they were just sleeping when I was there.

Another reason I wanted to go to the London Zoo was because the inspiration for one of the most beloved characters in children's literature was once a part of the London Zoo. There was once a bear there named Winnipeg (Winnie for short). She had started out as the mascot for a regiment from the Canadian armed forces in Winnipeg. She later went to the Zoo while her regiment were fighting in World War I. Since she was raised by humans from "infancy" she was particularly gentle and loving. A man by the name of Alan Alexander Milne and his son Christopher Robin would go to the zoo often to see Winnie. She became the inspiration for the main character in Mr. Milne's children's stories. Do you know where this famous character lived in the stories?

I apologize for the number of pictures today! It was far too hard to make cuts.