Mack Takes Paola to the Zoo

Tomasa & Paola watching the monkeys

real live hippos

Barbara took Miguel to the same zoo when she visited (above)- Here they are on the same hippo that Mack, Tomasa, and Paola later sat on (below)

July Visit, Part 16 - Seeing the Animals

Although I loved zoos as a kid, I'm not so fond of them now that I'm involved with animal activism. Still, I can't resist the lure of taking a wide-eyed child to see the animals live and up close. Zoos like the one in Guadalajara (which was no way near as bad as the one I used to visit in Pakistan) are especially bittersweet, because they have less money for good habitats, but that must be weighed against the fact that the kids of that country have so much less opportunity than others to view and learn about wildlife. Ideally, children ought to be taken on safari to see live, wild animals in their natural environment ... but kids like Paola will probably NEVER have such an opportunity. She may not even get to watch Animal Planet on Mexican TV.

Rosa confirmed that Paola had never seen live animals before (other than the domestic ones at her house). She seemed as excited as any 4-year-old would be, but I couldn't tell if she was MORE excited than normal since kids her age maintain a fairly high level of enthusiasm just as a general rule.After entering the zoo, the first thing we saw was a hippopotamus ... a plastic, ride-able one, perfect for a photo op. The hippo was hotter than Hades, so I stretched my legs out for the girls to straddle so they wouldn't get burned.Next, we saw flamingos, the REAL hippos, the restroom, a monkey island, and the kangaroo pen. That's it, animal-wise, which leaves plenty of the zoo left for Paola to see when the next sponsor visits her!