Life > April 24, 2008

By Elliot Engstrom | News editor

For those university students, staff and faculty who enjoy animals as much as I do, the nutty squirrels and occasional hawks seen on campus are not enough to quench one’s thirst for wildlife.

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Luckily, a chance to view all kinds of creatures from elephants to polar bears to cougars lies just over an hour to the southeast in Asheboro, N.C.

My Sunday morning began by hopping on 40-East to visit the North Carolina Zoological Park.

After arriving at the zoo with Kevin Koehler, friend and contributing editor at the Old Gold & Black, we met our friend Amy from UNC-Chapel Hill and headed inside to view wildlife in all its various forms. In coordinating a trip with friends, remember that Chapel Hill is about the same distance from the zoo as Wake, so feel free to call up Tarheel friends and invite them along.

The zoo has two entrances – North America and Africa. We decided to enter from the North American side of the zoo and then work our way to Africa, where we would take a tram back to our parking lot.

Our first stop in North America was the Cypress Swamp. The area featured cougars, alligators and an alligator snapping turtle.

Upon entering any zoo, one quickly learns that the idealized zoo visit often is tainted by animals that spend their days essentially eating and sleeping.

Thus one typically sees them lying around not doing very much. This was the case of every animal in the Cypress Swamp.

The mountain lion reminded me more of my cat Mittens than a ferocious predator that early Carolinian settlers feared more than bears and wolves combined.

However, only so much can be expected of animals that are confined to such small spaces on a daily basis. But do not fear dear reader, as a few very unexpected and welcome exceptions to the lazy animal rule are soon to come.

After our mediocre visit to the Cypress Swamp, we moved on to take a look at the Rocky Coast, which contained sea lions, a polar bear and various arctic birds.

Willy, the resident polar bear, was basking in the sun when we saw him. One can only imagine the intense heat that the animal must endure on a daily basis in the Carolinas, considering its heavy fur coat suited to arctic conditions.

A sign was posted outside of his glass enclosure reminding visitors that while polar bears have a very broad diet, children are not on the menu. I was grateful for the reminder, lest I throw in one of the annoying screaming children next to me. I could tell that Willy shared my sentiments as he seemed to want to do nothing but sleep.

While Willy was lazily basking in the sun during our first stop to see him, it was not our last. Do not forget about Willy the bear.

The sea lions were equally immobile. From the glass viewing window beneath the water line, we were able to observe the small amount of swimming that the animals did do, but mostly they just floated like logs, occasionally raising their snouts above the water line to breathe.

The puffins, while energetic, could only hold one’s attention for so long. Even so, a puffin swimming underwater is a sight that everyone needs to see at sometime.

Next up came Streamside, an area that held river otters and bobcats, among other creatures. The otters seemed to be more interested in us than we were in them. While we sat and gazed at the otters, they returned the favor. The bobcat was in typical feline style. I believe his yawn and stretching of the paws was the big highlight.

Black bears were next on the lineup, but unfortunately they were nowhere to be seen.

They probably were sleeping, like most of their animal friends. While the elk and bison in the prairie section also were all lying down, it was at least interesting to get a perspective on how large the American species were, both of which are beginning to reclaim territory in the Appalachians.

The grizzly bear, who was next down the line, at least gave us the courtesy of a polite glance. However, he was more interested in whatever he had in his paws than the annoying humans who kept looking at him. Red wolves, which followed the grizzly bear, again were nowhere to be seen.

The Sonora Desert was at least exciting in that I was able to see an ocelot. For those non-animal enthusiasts out there, an ocelot is a moderate mix between a housecat and a jaguar. However, one of the animals had a bad limp.

A limping ocelot in a glass cage is enough to depress any animal lover.

After the Sonora Desert, we took a lunch break at Junction Plaza, where we enjoyed mediocre pizza indoors to avoid the less than mediocre band which was playing outside. After stocking up on Gatorades and a few apples, we left North America and headed into Africa.

The first stop in Africa was the Forest Glade, where we expected to see gorillas. I’m not sure how the world’s largest primates can hide in an enclosed area that is less than half the size of a football field, but these apes managed.

Electrical fencing among the trees, rocks, and walls was a testament to how many items these apes had attempted to climb and gave me flashes of Jurassic Park. I reflected on what North Carolina might be like if every animal in the zoo was simultaneously released – probably a mixture of fun and terror.

Not seeing the gorillas was preferable to seeing the baboons, whose bald rear ends and swinging genitalia are a sight that young children should not behold.

After walking through the African pavilion, which showcased African vegetation, we finally came out onto a terrace that gave us a view of the N.C. Zoo’s newest gem – the Watani Grasslands Reserve. Despite some disappointments so far on the trip, the reserve did not hold steady to the trend.

The exhibit was essentially a massive field populated by at least eight rhinoceroses and several elephants. The rhinos were actually quite active. A few of the creatures chased each other around the field as a crowd of viewers watched with pleasure.

The elephants, which were an unusual red due to the Carolinian clay that they rolled in as a contrast to their native African soil, were not quite as active, but they were a sight to behold nonetheless.

The fact that only a ditch and a small railing separated me from these massive creatures was a bit disconcerting.

As soon as we saw the elephants, the rain started to pour down. However, this was honestly the best thing that happened to us.

The rain forced us to abandon our quest to find a tram and instead walk back through the park, where we decided to stop and say our goodbyes to Willy the polar bear. The cooler weather brought on by the rain had prompted the arctic creature to become more active.

We went beneath the enclosure to view him from underwater. There, we saw the creature acting much like a dog playing fetch, throwing a toy stick to himself and then diving backwards into the water to retrieve it. Every time Willy hit the water, I could feel the shockwaves reverberate through my body. Seeing one of the largest land carnivores on the planet playing with a stick and ball like a puppy was something of a paradox. However, Willy is an ex-circus bear, so he knows how to entertain. Apparently the circus malnourished him, so he was in fact smaller than an average polar bear. I found this hard to believe, as when he came close to the glass and stared straight at me I thought I was going to urinate on myself out of sheer amazement at how huge the creature was. We spent at least twenty minutes simply gazing at this magnificent animal, while Willy appeared to be having the time of his life. The experience made the $8 student admission to the zoo completely worth every cent.

While much of my zoo trip was spent looking at sleeping or non-existent animals, Willy the bear made the trip completely worthwhile. Also, the chance to see animals such as rhinos, mountain lions and bison should not be taken lightly, even if many of the creatures are somewhat inactive. One cannot expect much more from them, as their life consists of living in captivity and being watched by humans that they no doubt consider strange. Nonetheless, the conservation efforts being put forth by the North Carolina Zoological Park certainly are to be respected. Despite some disappointments, I certainly recommend that all Wake students take at least one trip to the zoo during their college tenure – seeing Willy the bear is not an experience to be taken lightly.