Inspirations from Animals

Dear husband and I went to the Amersfoort Zoo on Monday, March 19th, 2012. Initially I thought of going to a castle, but hubby preferred to walk in nature. It was by far the best experience with animals that we had in the Amersfoort Zoo. Every time we observe more and see the beauty in their eccentricities. We are by now couch potato animal experts. Here is what we saw. 

The brown bear reminds me of hubby when he is asleep in the mornings. Let him wake up gently on his own, otherwise he will bite! Like this bear, with its head on the big boulder, he tries to get as much sleep as possible, stretching time to its limit. Nothing could wake this bear up.

This swamp mouse is looking for his girlfriend but he cannot find her because she is so well camouflaged, just like he is!

Could not resist a wooden cart with bulbs planted inside. Imagine it filled with flowers in summer! How lovely...just waiting for the extra oomph factor. The twigs and shrubs upon the brick walls heighten the rustic atmosphere.

This magpie is balancing itself only on one leg. Anyone for a yoga tree position? Benefits? It goes without saying - balancing body and mind...

Look at all the fur these chicken have on their feet. It made me wonder if they were wearing a suit on top. I guess it kept them warm during winter.

Getting obese is no fun as you can see in this rabbit's eyes. May I suggest a diet of only two carrots a day, dear rabbit?

Who is going to jump first? Every penguin is waiting for the one brave show-off to go first....

Penguin see, penguin do, after all. Splash!

Baby rhino just loves to look at people watching him. Mama rhino is oblivious to the attention, looking instead over the bushes for something to eat!

Yes, it really is a dinosaur in the woods.

He blends in so well with his surroundings.

This dinosaur has chicken pox!

These two dinosaurs have hit their heads hard enough on each other till they become bald!

The giraffe, antelopes and birds live in harmony with each other in the desert as one big happy family.

A meerkat is sitting all alone waiting for his family to come home...

When they are home, all of them look at the direction of what brought them away in the first place. Human attention is the culprit!  

Tree with acorns at the zoo. They stood out in the sunny skies.

It was one of those rare sunny days. I enjoyed seeing the contrast in sky and tree.

We were at the zoo for four hours. We enjoyed ourselves a lot. We liked the fact that every nook and corner of this zoo were full of surprises. They love their ruins here. They had a Roman garden and Japanese temple ruin where animals roamed. Glass mirrors were built so that people could get a real close look at the animals as opposed to the more conventional island over water method which most zoos incorporate to separate animals from humans. That way, animals are seen only from a distance. 

I also liked nature here. It seemed friendly and approachable. The trees were every day trees you see in the forest. Because of the familiarity, I felt very much like I was in a pine forest where animals roamed wild.