Penguins and Spoonbills and Sloths ... Oh My!

So there I was on a quiet Thursday morning in January, standing in the office kitchen and stirring my coffee. My student Melissa walked in, wide-eyed.  "Did you see what's going on down there?" she asked, gesturing towards the building entrance.

I remember looking over at her and sipping quite slowly as the penny dropped.   "Oh," I said. "Are the penguins back?"

Yup.

Magellanic Penguin, Spheniscus magellanicus

 


We rent our office space from a travel publisher and for the past two years, they've been been visited by the folks --broadly defined-- at Sea World.  Last year I had some quality time with the penguins, a mated pair. They followed me around, gently nipped at my fingers, and basically let me love them up. Their pelts are incredibly soft and tough at the same time. Their beaks were surprisingly gentle as they searched to see if I had any herring hidden up my sleeve. (I didn't.)  This year's pair was younger and not yet romantically attached and, quite frankly, seemed more interested in having a go of it under the reception chairs or making a break for Dupont Street.

So I wandered into the next room, where I saw this:























"Is that a Roseate Spoonbill?" I sputtered.  "Why, yes..." the handler sputtered back. She was as amazed at me knowing this bird as I was at seeing it in Toronto.

Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea ajaja

This large bird hangs out in the Caribbean and American Gulf Coast, where it wades in shallow waters making a meal of crustaceans, insects, and small fish. One day I'd like to see spoonbills in the wild, not just so I can count them on my life list but also so I can see them as they really should be.  If you'd like a hint of what that is, check out Julie Zickefoose's spoonbill blog from last year.

This poor bird certainly was not all he should be; he was badly injured, his right wing having been lost to a weed whacker.























A weed whacker and this beautiful bird ... as his handler told me what they had been able to piece together of his story, she stroked him gently and he clapped his beak in her hand and down her arm, looking for food and building a bond with her.

The roadshow carried on, with a rescued opossum (North America's only marsupial -- looks like the product of a illicit rat-cat liaison; has the coldest nose you can imagine) and Lucky the Three-Toed Sloth (not sure which species).  Lucky was, shall we say, laid-back, hanging off his handler, staring at the ceiling, and waiting for mango and lettuce to magically appear in eating range. He smelled quite strong, but there was no moss growing on him, as tends to happen in his natural South American environment. Good camouflage from predators.

Here's a wee video of Lucky the Sloth:

We had a good visit with the animals, their handlers encouraging our contact with them but also making the animals' limits very clear and, above all, protecting them. One of our staff made a comment that it was all fun while we were at it but "Sara's going to get all sad in a little bit."  And it's true; I think these animals would be better in their natural habitat.  But something unnatural happened to that spoonbill in his habitat, and  I am thrilled that he was rescued. I'm pretty sure that Lucky would be happier in a real tree, but however he ended up at Sea World, whenever he and his human tree go for a walk there, they bring some understanding of biodiversity to visitors who would never get it anywhere else.

There are some truly dreadful zoos and animal parks out there; there are also zoos where research and conservation, not profit, are the main concerns. (I am not familiar with Sea World's record in this regard.)  Zoos are the only way most of us will experience animals like sloths and penguins. And while perhaps we are not all meant to experience those animals, when we do connect with them it's magic. And, thanks to us, zoos are the only way some animals have a chance of avoiding extinction.

Sadly, I think, zoos are a necessary evil. Maybe we should work harder to ensure that existing zoos are the best they can possibly be, and stop creating the conditions that make them necessary.

NB: Pictures and video are from my i-phone.