The Sprayberries

The Zoologischer Garten

Today we went to the Berlin Zoo. I guess I'm not really sure what we were expecting but it wasn't what we found.

The main difference between the Berlin zoo and every other zoo I've ever seen in my life is that the animals here are responsible enough to stay in their cages on the honor system. I'm serious. I forcibly stopped myself from grabbing a "Jackass Penguin" and stuffing it in my backpack for later examination. Despite how CUTE they were.

Another facet of the zoo that really stood out for us was the diversity and number of very obscure Asian and African animals there. Both JD and I have degrees in Zoology and have lived in Africa and we had never even heard of half of the animals there. I present for example:

1) The South African Fur Seal - Yes, your basic seal, but its distribution is, like, one rock in South Africa
2) The Jackass Penguin - So Cute.
3) Sri Lankan Sloth Bear - What the hell is this thing?
4) Pygmy Hippo
5) Some apparent cross between a Muskrat and a Feline that we cant remember the name of.
6) African Blue Billed Duck - Cutest duck ever.
7) Indian Rhinoceros - The german name translates as "Horned Tank"
8) Black Rhino - We've heard of them, but what zoo actually HAS one?

Lastly, the Zoo puts as much time, money, and effort into the architecture of its large animal habitats as it does into the animals themselves. So you have the Gemsbok (antelope) living in what appears to be a large spanish villa. The giraffe live in Aladdins castle. The hippos are lucky enough to get the Epcot center. Pictures will follow later when i find a public computer with a freaking USB port.

Tomorrow: The Fan Mile for the Germany v. Argentina game. A dream come true. :)