5.3.2010 – Photos by SylviaMicky

Yesterday it was right April-weather in Berlin. Day started with sheer sunshine and blue skies, which animated me to go to zoo immediately in the early morning. Daylong weather changed half-hourly. Sometimes there were darkest grey-black clouds with blue skies at the same time, approximately fifty-fifty. Within the six hours I spent in zoo, we had sunshine, rain, driving sleet, shower of sleet, and real snow!

The part with sunshine was such that you felt as being on vacation at the seaside, especially at the sea-lions pool. There were near to no visitors in the morning. Enzo and three of his ladies were beautifully swimming in formation across their pool. One of the sea-lion ladies, most probably Diego’s mother, set at the exposed rock in their pool and craned her head towards the sun, such looking from far like a statue. Little Diego visited her once in a while. He climbed the rock in order to see whether there was access to his source of milk. It was not! He didn’t really mind and continued his business?. He is a funny little guy, who usually swam confidently his own laps. Also Mandy and Hilde, the little seals, swam around happily in their pool.

Petzi and Siddy also enjoyed the sun, far away from each other: Siddy laying at her pitch, that’s next to the wall in the background which separates the brown bears’ enclosure from that of the wolves, Petzi slept contently in one of the stone cages to which you get sight-access from the way alongside the wolves and coaties? enclosures.

The four wolves gave a matinee-concert-performance of the finest kind Falco (!) started timidly, Pelle joined in, followed diffidently by the two wolf-girls. This time I saw the four of them peacefully together. Pelle even didn’t lift his tail to show he is the boss, such there were no missunderstandings and everything remained peaceful. He also didn’t bother one of the girls this time he just made sure they were next to him. He obviously is most content when Falco is approximately four to at least two meters far from him and the girls.

The Gr-zebra little-ones are not so little anymore, at first sight it was even not possible to see which were the adult ones and which the three descendants. They are very attentive, especially one of them kept an eye on me. When I was under the impression it kind of nodded to me, I did the same. So we started kind of communication like that, which was very funny. I nodded, he/she answered. She/he nodded, I answered?. When I finally left there enclosure, he/she was after me with his/her looks until it looked to it like I was out of sight and continued to nosh as though nothing had happened. At least for me it was fun!

The trees in zoo still look lifeless but when you stand still and have a closer look, you can discover squirrels and birds, which you hear anyway all around zoo but don’t see them immediately. The eagles are also back in their aviary and are making some noise – this special kind of screech.

Lulu has fortunately improved a lot; however, I didn’t see her walking, just eating happily her portion of hay in the middle of the enclosure, Nico took his under the roof in the background.

Kumi obviously enjoyed that there was a visitor taking to her. She listened carefully. It’s obvious, she likes it! I made this experience once already earlier. After a while she started to go for a stroll, she made rounds within her far too small stall followed by her lovable daughter Zawadi round and round?.

Little Kigoma and mother Maburi are certainly also always worth a visit as the four tapirs are. I love them all in the Nashornhaus.

As you know already by now the three polar bear ladies are in the small enclosure next to Devi and Sutra, which were unfortunately not to be seen ? most certainly it was again too cold for them Therefore, I went to see them at their feeding time. They copy quite peacefully with one another; however, Tosca and Nancy are always eager to make sure that Katjuscha keeps a little distance. If she comes too close to their opinion, they push her aside ? not really unfriendly but decisive either with their full long side or taking their paws as an aid. Even I felt pity with Katjuscha, she obviously always would like to be near Nancy, I had to grin as this behaviour reminds me a lot of human behaviour. Sometimes animals are not such different from one another one normally thinks

Finally I come to our darlings Knuti and Giovanna. When we arrived their enclosure early in the morning, Knuti was awake but in a very relaxative position on his prominent rock looking dozily at his visitors. Giovanna slept in the deep hole they have dig together and was hardly to be seen. When I came back after a extensive zoo round, Giovanna still slept at the same place and Knuti alongside the bears’ court rocks in the sun. So I went for a second tour, followed by a short restaurant visit.

At the time Knuti’s feeding came nearer, a good many of visitors had rallied round him including some visitors of foreign countries which were content to get the chance to witness a Knuti-feeding. Knuti then was too sweet when he munched his food with relish and begged for more each time it went not quick enough with the feeding in his opinion. When Giovanna came back and after she had picked up anything that was left as e.g. some carrots and apples, Mrs Weckert had thrown in the upper part of the enclosure for her, the both of them didn’t make a fuss but it was nice anyway to see their little actions and sparsely kisses. It looks so sweet when one of them takes just the black point of the nose of the other one very softly between their impressive teeth for a polar bear kiss! Mmmmmmm……..