Happy Friday, everyone! And since the weekend is very nearly here, I thought you might be tantalised by a post about the weirder things we encountered on our recent visit to Frankfurt Zoo! Buuuuut if you want to start out slow, don’t worry – you can catch up with the cute fuzzies from Tuesday’s post here.
So, we left Explorer Beastie and his new friend Rose the Pink Unicorn here…
Where to next? Let’s see what we can find under the waves… Dive dive dive!
Hey look – WE FOUND NEMO!
Frankfurt Zoo has a really great aquarium and reptile house… Alas, the light levels were too low for my long-suffering camera! If you’re in desperate need of some fishy pics, our recent snaps from Düsseldorf Aquazoo should help to tide you over.
Time to resurface! And back on dry land, a feathered friend hinted at what we should go to look at next.
There are heaps of exotic birds living here – some of them in free-flight aviaries you can actually walk through! Here are a few of our favourite sightings… An elegant red-crowned crane, a shy cassowary and a brightly-coloured bee-eater!
But hey, I promised you weirdness! And although these boat-billed herons definitely look like they’re plotting something sinister…
…They’re no match for the mighty marabou stork!
These massive, cadaverous-looking birds might not be winning any beauty contests, but they’ve a long association with the world of high fashion. You see, for many years, their delicate fluffy down (called “marabou”) was coveted as a trimming for the most glamorous evening wear and saucy lingerie! Not only is it soft and fuzzy, it’s naturally white and takes dye really well, too.
Of course, the downside of this for the marabou stork was that it almost literally became a fashion victim. Fortunately, a shift towards synthetic marabou, or using similar feathers harvested from domesticated turkeys, has helped them to bounce back. Hurrah!
Moving on from the aviaries, we met some more unusual creatures – an entire family of baboons, who had come inside to shelter from a passing rainstorm.
It was the first time either of us had seen a hamadryas baboon, and Explorer Beastie thought they were really strange. Mind you, from the look the big male on the left is shooting at us, I reckon he thinks the same about us!
And while these guys were all safely behind glass (thank goodness! You should have seen the size of their teeth), in another section of the primate house, we encountered a daring escape artist!
“You ain’t seen me, right?”
This lemur had somehow found him/herself outside the enclosures where the other lemurs were nonchalantly going about their day. Since there were staff about, we figured this separation was intentional… But that didn’t stop us being really surprised at first!
Oh, and then Explorer Beastie got distracted by the “most dangerous animal” exhibit, which he completely misunderstood and used as a photo op.
Then again, the idea of being a dangerous animal didn’t seem to faze him that much. He wanted one of these signs for himself.
Right, time for you to mellow out a bit! Let’s go and visit the gorillas.
One of them even came to hang out with us for their lunch break!
But by the time we left the great apes, those scattered rain showers had become a steady downpour. We took shelter in the nocturnal house… Yes, definitely shelter! We totally weren’t hiding from this guy.
Nope, not terrifying in the slightest.
But even the giant screaming bat couldn’t frighten the rain away. In fact, it got even heavier! So we decided to head for home. For some of the zoo’s inhabitants though, it seemed to be a refreshing end to a long hot day at work!
Thanks for joining us on our whirlwind tour of the Zoo! And if you’ve any plans to hang out with furred or feathered friends over the weekend, be sure to let us know in the comments!
We’ll be back on Tuesday with more from Frankfurt, so don’t forget to join us then… Have a super weekend!
What an adventure. Please post a close up of Rose next time.
Oooh, I’ll look back through my pics and see if I have one! She’s not one of my makes – my friend’s daughter brought her along for company and photo practice 😃 Thanks for joining us, Mariss!
Thanks
Aw, lunch with a gorilla, what fun!! Although I can skip the baboons….that is one critter I can’t stand (maybe because we already have enough of them in US politics…hahaha, sigh). And I agree with EB, you need a Beware of Beasties warning sign for beastie owners to put up in our windows. That’d be sure to deter any would-be thieves :)) And now I’m going to go book my ticket to Frankfurt in the hope of finding some wayward lemurs to bring home.
Aha! I thought the baboons looked familiar! 😂 Actually, they did remind me a bit of one of our long-serving local TV personalities. And yes, I probably should roll out a line of “Beware of Beasties” signage for the sake of public safety! Now, if you’re in the market for a free lemur, you might be better off heading for Belfast zoo – along with peacocks and prairie dogs, I think the ring-tailed lemurs pretty much have the run of the place! They did back when I last visited, anyway… 🤔 Cheers for dropping by, Tammie!
Aw man, I knew I should have squeezed in a zoo trip while we were in town! The new Dublin souvenir: Guinness-toting lemurs. Still, if I tried to get one, Ed Sheeran probably would have already snagged them all. 🙄
Well, you can put it on your list for next time… And hope that the Dark Lord Sheeran doesn’t decide to follow you around again! 😂 Also, can you believe Gilroy (the artist responsible for the classic zoo animal Guinness posters) never did I’ve with a ring tailed lemur? For shame!
Clearly a missed opportunity. I can see that Guinness’s profits have suffered due to this oversight. I’m getting a pre-emptive restraining order on Ed Sheehan before my next vacation. He should not be allowed to be in the same country as me!
Well, good news… The closest he’s getting to you this summer is Seattle! I can’t believe I just visited his website to find that out, by the way… YOU’RE WELCOME. 😆
Too close! Too close! I think that might explain the hellacious heat wave…you know the Dark Lord likes his fiery temps. And thank you for sacrificing yourself to do that bit of research and warning me of the impending doom.
That must be it! Even our mild, squelchy climate couldn’t fend him off, so what chance have you got? I hope you’ve been working on prepping your Doomsday bunker…
Hmmm…EdsDay Bunker?
Hahaha! Yes, I suppose they’re the same thing! 😂
Hhahahahha aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh THAT BAT!!! Is that necessary/meant to traumatise the children (me)???? Otherwise looks like a fantastic trip to the zoo! I can’t believe that gorilla got so close… and I think I might have tried to coax that adorable lemur into my handbag….
Ah yes, I was tempted… But my bag was already full of Beastie so I was never going to be able to smuggle a lemur out as well! 😆 As for that bat… It’s hilariously and unnecessarily terrifying! Maybe it’s designed to keep nervous types out of the nocturnal house so the animals can go about their day in relative peace? 🤔 Thanks for dropping in, Weekes!
Hahaha I definitely would have thought twice about entering that nocturnal house/Dracula’s lair!!!
I can’t quite get my head around that BAT! Poor bats suffer from a bad enough press without the management of a zoo terrifying some young would-be bat enthusiasts on their first visit to a nocturnal house. On the other hand…it might be the “must see” exhibit for youngsters!
I know! They could have at least chosen one of the cute, friendly-looking fruit bats to recreate in pterosaur size! Mind you, if I’d grown up in Frankfurt, this critter probably would have been the highlight of every zoo trip… Thanks for stopping in, Queen Bee! 😀
Incredible! You guys got to see some really beautiful birds in Frankfurt. 🙂 Bee-eaters and their bright colours are one of my favourites, and that peacock is spectacular. Wonderful to see that there were some primates in the mix as well. Lemurs are so cool!
Thanks, Shirley! I think it was my first time seeing a bee-eater, and I couldn’t believe that the colours were as vibrant as the illustrations in my favourite childhood nature books. And yes, the lemurs and other primates are always fun to watch! Cheers for stopping in!