How Did We Zoo?

byDadaz123

2.1K followers

3 years ago

Manny, Christie and Owo, our three adoptive kids have been with us since February 21, 2021, the day my wife escorted them to our home in California, all the way from Nigeria.

They have covered some ground in their acculturation journey. They now eat pizza and Macdonalds. They have made considerable strides from the day when one of them took a look at a pizza and vowed never to eat it!

How anyone intends to stay in the US for any length of time and not eat pizza baffled me to no end.

Ironically,Manny who vowed never to touch pizza, was the very first to taste it. After a soccer match in which he was the “Maradona,” a set of enthusiastic soccer moms decided to show their appreciation by offerihg his team boxes of pizza.

Remi and I decided to reward the kids with a visit to the Oakland Zoo on Labor Day. Temperatures was triple digit and it was sweltering hot. We clambered into Remi’s SUV and one hour later we were at the Oakland Zoo.



After completing the formalities at the gate, we were ushered into the zoo

We found ourselves face to face with the big cats- The Tiger. There were two tigers in the partitioned cage. One of them was asleep but the other one was wide awake. One of the zoo keepers gave us a lesson on Tigers. She explained that the stripes on a Tiger are individualized. No two tigers have the same stripes! They are just like a human being’s finger prints. The stripes are also imprinted on the Tiger’s body. What a revelation!



She also added the fact that there are more tigers in the US than in the wild!! That sure peeked my curiosity. Why doesn't Congress do something about the imbalance? I understand two key members are interested in the status quo and would not support such a bill.

We next rode in a motorized cab that took us over a chasm to the other end of the zoo. It was a gentle ride, nothing compared to the roller coaster twist and turn of a vortex ride The one that leaves you scared and breathless at the end of your ride

The kids seemed to be interested in the big cats so we went in search of lions. They were not much fun either because just like the tigers they were sleeping. Is it the pattern for big cats to be asleep in the afternoons? Afterall, they are not in the wild

We saw the elephant sand bathing. He was using his trunk to scoop some sand and covering itself with it.and not too long after, he was given a real bath. It was as if the sand bath preceded the real bath.



They went to a section of the zoo where they interacted with goals and sheep before heading to the frogs, amphibian and reptiles section. They were looking forward to seeing snakes and pythons but for some reason, they were missing.

We had spent two hours and it was getting to time for us to leave but not before the kids took their last 20-minute ride which took them around the zoo. They were delighted when their mom bought them tickets to take the ride. It afforded them the opportunity of a life time to see the lions walking majestically around their pens! Something they had looked forward to all day!



It was now time to head to the nearest KFC for buckets of spicy chicken, bread, fries and soda

What an outing!