May 1. With the Kids at the Zoo

Nothing special — we just took the kids to the zoo on a festive spring day. A few photos of zoo animals and the children's reactions to them... [IMG_1] [IMG_2] Spring. Some of the animals are quite mangy-looking. [IMG_3] [IMG_4] Barnacle geese don't just fly in V-formation — they swim in formation too! [IMG_5] A greylag goose and mallards. [IMG_6] [IMG_7] I was struck by the wild boar. Enormous, with impressive tusks. Slightly smelly. And completely relaxed. [IMG_8] [IMG_9] A chameleon upside down. [IMG_10] A two-week-old reticulated python. The world's largest snake hatches looking like this — curled up, it would fit in the palm of your hand. [IMG_11] The youngest is mainly interested in toy vehicles. At the zoo, he kept trying to roll his toy car along curbs and fences. [IMG_12] A rather strange object. [IMG_13] The otter is one of our most charming animals. [IMG_14] This is how the otter sees visitors from the inside. [IMG_15] A ruddy shelduck. [IMG_16] [IMG_17] A banded mongoose. [IMG_18] What cute little "heels" it has (or what do you call them on the front paws? — palms, perhaps?)! [IMG_19] The fourth, the eldest, is missing. But I wouldn't be able to hold him on my lap anymore anyway. [IMG_20] [IMG_21] A Patagonian mara. Part guinea pig, part crazy hare. [IMG_22] The entrance to the aquarium... [IMG_23] In the aquarium, we used connections to get into the back room. The first (and strong) impression — swarms of cockroaches. These aren't German cockroaches, but American cockroaches (Periplaneta). [IMG_24] In the back room, it's very hot with 100% humidity. [IMG_25] [IMG_26] The children pressed themselves against the walls because of this animal. But the tarantula was perfectly calm. [IMG_27] [IMG_28] Feeding the animals is always fun. However, it was a holiday, and many animals at the zoo were clearly overfed. [IMG_29] [IMG_30] [IMG_31] Molting. Looks pitiful. [IMG_32] [IMG_33] [IMG_34] [IMG_35] There's a lot of manure at the zoo. The fact that a large rove beetle (a predatory coprophilic beetle) runs along the pathways is a perfectly natural phenomenon. [IMG_36] A wonder by which a tablespoon of sugar transforms into something enormous and airy. [IMG_37] [IMG_38] When a flamingo filters dirty water, its lower mandible is positioned higher than its upper mandible. [IMG_39] [IMG_40] [IMG_41] The piglet is adorable. You can still see traces of the juvenile longitudinal stripes on it. [IMG_42] I'm amazed that children risk literally sticking their hands into the mouth of a seasoned boar. But the boar, of course, is a smart beast and takes food very delicately. [IMG_43] [IMG_44] An eland. [IMG_45] Despite all its ungainliness, there's a certain peculiar aristocratic grace to the wildebeest. [IMG_46] Surprisingly, for the youngest, the main pleasure of visiting the zoo turned out to be riding the little train. [IMG_47] [IMG_48]