ANIMAL WELFARE | EDUCATION | ANIMAL ADVOCACY
A Visit to the North Carolina Zoological Park at Asheboro
July 1, 2021: Photos of the animals & anecdotes from my trip
It was really hot at the zoo yesterday. I went over with my shiny new membership card, bypassed the lines, and headed in for a nice day of viewing the animals. I was collecting stories for my Newsbreak profile. I am settling into this idea of travel-blogging and outdoorsy adventures. I take along a handy notepad for jotting down notes and my cell phone for the pictures (until I can get one of those shiny Kodak swoonable camera gadgets).
Water bottle; check. Sunscreen; check. Curiosity and burning love for animals; always check.
So, while the day was about work and collecting stories for my career, I can’t help but share some of the animal love I experienced yesterday with other animal-loving folks right here at Creatures. I know you are my people. And you get how I could stand for a full 15 minutes, marveling at the twist of the color bluish-green up the back of a frog. So, here are some of my favorite pictures and moments from my trip to the zoo yesterday.
I fell in love with a butterfly
Take a good look at the above photos of a Blue Morpho butterfly. It is one of the largest butterflies in the world, and folks, let me tell you, they are magical. I’ve never seen anything so fairylike in all my life. If you’re wondering why they’re called Blue Morpho when they look all brown and eye-bally, this is what they look like with their wings spread out:
When they land, they fold their wings and sit very still. The “eye” pattern on their wings is called mimicry, and it is a defense mechanism so as to confuse would-be predators. When in flight…it is breathtaking (and apparently very difficult to photograph, as I learned while chasing them throughout the Kaleidoscope Butterfly Garden.)
When these beautiful and rather large butterflies alight, they dance. They dip and twist and twirl together in a flight dance that reminded me of magical faeries playing together in some fantastical forest glen. I was mesmerized.
A grouping of butterflies flying together like this is called a kaleidoscope or a swarm, and they do this to confuse and thwart predatory attacks. Here’s a video I found of Blue Morpho butterflies in flight (a recording from a different butterfly pavilion than the one I visited yesterday):
It goes without saying, I’d trek into the interior of the zoo, pay my $3.00 extra to get into the butterfly habitat all over again, any day, just to get another glimpse of that “flash & dazzle” of these delicate and intoxicating creatures.
I learned something new about a cooter
On a very different note, I learned that what I have known my whole life about cooters is all wrong. Let me explain.
I’ve always heard here in the south about “cooter stew” and been told that this meant snapping turtles, like the one pictured below.
Now, I’ve never actually eaten cooter stew, but I know snapping turtles can take off your finger if you’re not careful. Imagine my surprise when at the zoo yesterday I learned that this is actually a cooter:
This is not the same turtle at all! I was stunned. Maybe, I’ve been misled by a colloquial reference that wasn’t based on actual science? I’m not even going to try to explain this to anyone around here. Let them eat cooter stew — whatever turtle that is for them.
I learned about an extinct frog; the Panamanian Golden Frog
There were a few frog exhibits inside the entranceway to the aviary. The first frog to get my attention was a brilliant black and blueish-green frog, then an equally lovely yellow one, which I learned from the signage is extinct in the wild. The Panamanian frog now only exists in exhibits like the one I viewed yesterday at the zoo.
Fun video: Here’s a great video from PBS that shows the froggie wrestling match of two Panamanian frogs that you didn’t know you needed to see today. Also, that courtship wave is pretty much the cutest thing ever.
I learned more about the plight of chimpanzees
Gone from the wild in the next 15 years. Let that sink in.
More information about the endangered status of the chimpanzee.
I saw a breathtaking bird up close
This Eclectus parrot was perched right next to the walkway, and I was able to get this lovely picture of his curious gaze. It might be my favorite picture of the day. As enticing as this lovely bird was, touching him never occurred to me — and it’s good that it didn’t. I later read a sign that said not to touch them as they may bite you.
As beautiful as all of the wildlife is — don’t touch. Leave them be so generations and generations of people can enjoy these lovely species. (And you get to keep your fingers.)
That also goes for botanical life as well. I saw a guy at the zoo pick a flower — why I have no idea — but he laughed as the stalk didn’t break as he expected, and he pulled the entire Asteraceae (member of the sunflower family) plant right out of the ground.
Jerk.
The zoo works hard to plant native species to the area, and also some protected species as well are on display throughout the park. Don’t pick them or trample through them.
I met a swoon-worthy bobcat
How picture-perfect was this lovely American Bobcat? I have seen these in the wild in Florida, and I count that among some of my highlights of living there.
I met a white rattlesnake
What could be cooler than a white rattlesnake? Ok, so yes, I am a nature nerd. This rattlesnake, curled up, was smaller than a dinner plate. While I was looking at it, there was an adult man nearby who I’d noticed standing next to me at the previous exhibit. He had Downs Syndrome. He was very excited over each animal he saw.
When he came to be next to me and view the white rattlesnake, I told him to look how small this one is. This was met with a lot of excitement at the baby snake, which he showed to everyone in his family.
I was reminded of how nature, when one reserves judgment and fear, can be so uniting between people. All day at the zoo, I saw people of all ages, races, and family backgrounds taking moments to talk with each other, point at something interesting, and share their thoughts. I saw a lot of smiles. I saw a lot of people take a step aside so someone else could get a good look at the animals.
I don’t know about you, but I needed a healthy dose of that. Humanity being kind to humanity. Good job, little yellow frog. Good job, elephants. Good job, little white rattlesnake. Forgive the people, for sometimes they know not how much they need you.
A few more pictures I’ll share with you today. No stories for these, just a glimpse of nature and wildlife that we all love. Please remember the zoo’s conservation efforts are the primary reason for the zoo, and educational activism does bring us these moments to see each of these precious wild creatures.
May each species carry their legends on.
For more information on the North Carolina Zoological Park, you can visit their website here:
