Shanghai zoo

I could post a million pictures from the zoo. But I'll at least include some of my best "National Geographic" shots:

For example: the super-adorable "lesser panda" to the left. I mean, have you ever seen anything cuter??? This one was totally posing--animals at the Shanghai zoo really know how to put on a show.

This little guy was behind glass here, so the picture isn't all that perfect. Other animals were not so protected--nor were the visitors protected from the animals! Take this hippo for example. This pic is not the product of an amazing zoom lens--No!--in fact, there's no zoom used here at all! This hippo was about two feet away from me and the only barrier separating us was a 1 1/2 foot tall guard rail to keep me from falling into the pool. Whew! Amazing stuff!!!

But not quite as heartstopping as watching two huge tigers roaring at one another with no interruption, no crowd, no 20-foot moat separating the tiger from the tourist. I'll admit to zooming on this proud puss, but I'll just never forget how it would look me in the eye as it bathed in this pool. Wow!

Now this picture I do have to give credit to a really good digital camera. When I downloaded these I was really impressed with the sharpness and detail. I mean--WOW!!!

So despite what the guide books say, the Shanghai zoo really deserves a visit. I'm now very curious about other international zoos and if they let you "experience" the animals more intensely. My heart was pounding; it took my breath away! Now this was my kind of zoo!!!

Oh, yes, and I cannot forget one of the more unusual exhibits: nutria. I know in central/south (?) America they are called the cobaya, but they are seriously just nutria. And these slimy little guys had a better living area than all of the dogs at the zoo. That's right--dogs! Cocker spaniels, labs, yorkies, dachshunds--displayed like chimpanzees or giraffes. It was totally wild!!! I'll wrap up with a pic of the nutria exhibit. The Chinese family that was at the exhibit when I was thought it was really hilarious that I was taking pictures of these things--there was no way to explain to them how ironic that these "pests" were on display. (Or course, around the corner, I saw the skunk and raccoon cages so I guess it all makes sense)