As advertised in this space on Friday, I attended the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island on Sunday. It might have been the first time I’ve ever been to the zoo. If I’ve been to a zoo before, I cannot remember. The word is that the Williams Zoo is one of the nicer ones in New England. Having nothing to compare it to, I would say it’s a nice zoo, although it’s a little odd to see a Zebra grazing in a field with the backdrop being a very visible and very busy Interstate 95. Nonetheless, I saw some animals that I’ve only previously seen on television – Giraffes, Cheetahs, Leopards and Gibbons. Gibbons were cool – they’re essentially mini-monkeys.
I had some reservations about feeling sad to see animals locked up and I did feel a little bit sad about it. However, the overwhelming feeling for me was that the zoo was doing good by keeping these animals around, most of which were severely endangered. Additionally, the educational value of learning about these animals is also a positive thing. Of course, seeing children gawk in amazement at the creatures was a great thing to see. All in all, a nice time!
There was one thing about the zoo that was a total drag. Apparantly there’s an animal that got loose and was able to disguise itself as a wooden post with gorilla hands. Believe me. The zoo announced over the loudspeaker that everyone must quietly and efficiently exit the zoo until they caught the escaped animal. Naturally, with my luck, as I was quietly but efficiently following directions, the damn wooden post got to me…..
