It's All Happening At The Zoo

by Steve W

As big fans of the the Animal Planet program "The Zoo", which gives a behind the scenes look at the Bronx Zoo, we knew we had to visit. Jim Breheny, director of the Zoo, has said that if you asked a child to draw a picture of a zoo, it would be animals behind bars. He and his staff have worked to change that image.

Just outside the Zoo were some public restrooms, which had some interesting information.

Who knew?

Just inside the gates, you get a great view of a section of the Bronx River, which flows for 24 miles through southeastern New York.

A river runs through it.

One of the first animals we saw was the bison, which was recently named the national mammal (no, I didn't know we had a national mammal, either).

Next came the World of Birds, with many exotic species of birds from around the world.

Guira Cookoos

Western Caspercaillie

We saw some Pere David's Deer, who were almost extinct but have made a remarkable comeback.  They have an interesting habit of using their antlers to throw mud on themselves for cooling.

Next, on to Tiger Mountain, where we saw a tiger romp in a pond and come right up to the glass window, putting his huge paw on the glass as children on the other side put their hands up to try to touch it. This went on until the tiger left the pond and walked around the enclosure.

Who said cats don't like water?

Often times, the male and female of a species will have different coloration. A good example is the Ebony Langur, from Java. Despite the name, these are not black, but reddish brown.

Meet the Gharial, a crocodile-like creature from Nepal.

The big cats like lions are always a popular attraction. As it was a hot day, they were kind of lazy.

Let sleeping cats lie.

The Nubian Ibex has an impressive set of horns.

Who said size is not important?

We felt safe in the zoo, protected from the animals, until we saw these creatures running wild throughout the park.

"Born Free"

We also saw Grizzly Bears playing in their pond and romping with each other. These guys are huge!

Note the differences between the Cuban Crocodile (top) and the American Alligator. Despite these differences, these two species will sometime mate with each other.

On our trip to Tanzania over 15 years ago, we saw some Colubus Monkeys. Saw them here also. Just a coincidence, or are they stalking us?

One of the more unusual animals we saw was the Okapi, which is a species of giraffe, despite the hind quarters looking like a zebra. But note the shape of the head and you can see the resemblance to a giraffe.

What committee created this animal?

There are several species of guinons in the world, but this one is the Wolf's Monkey, named after the naturalist who discovered them.

From small to large, we moved on the the gorilla enclosure. From large male silverbacks...

...to younger animals, they are always fun to see.

Hitchin' a ride.

A little "me" time

Jim Breheny has said that they thought that they were building an exhibit where people could see the gorillas, but soon realized that it was for the gorillas to see the people.

Up close and personal

We spent a whole day at the zoo, leaving just before it started to rain. Another "don't miss" if you get to NYC.

A Trip Back In Time

by Steve W

I was born in New York City and moved to Los Angeles when I was six years old. Before they were married, my parents both lived in the Bronx with their respective parents, my grandparents. Based on those early years, as well as several trips back to visit family, I have some memories of the homes of both sets of grandparents.

We had an extra day in our travels between Boston and Philadelphia, so we used it to visit the Bronx and see if we could find my grandparents' homes. Both sets of grandparents emigrated form Russia and lived in these apartments for many years. I remembered the cross streets of my mother's parents, Dora and Ben, and remembered the street name of my father's parents, Yussel (Joseph) and Punia (Pauline). With that info, we set out to find the old neighborhoods.

First, we went to Dora and Ben's apartment building on Barnes Avenue, at the corner of Allerton Avenue.

My grandparents lived on the third floor in a corner apartment. On the ground level in those days were retail stores, including what at the time was called a "candy store", a small store with a soda fountain and other miscellaneous items for sale. I recall sitting at the counter having chocolate malts with my mother. Down the street was a movie theater that cost five cents for admission. It was few blocks from the "L", the elevated train line.

As we drove up to the corner, I immediately recognized the building, although the neighborhood had changed quite a bit. When my grandparents lived there, it was mostly Jewish and Italian families, so the word "deli" had a specific meaning. But like many older parts of cities, this was now a very mixed neighborhood, with Latinos, Asians, and Middle Easterners, and a deli was any place that sold pre-packaged sandwiches. The candy store on the corner was now a pharmacy. We got out and walked around a bit, taking some photos to show my sister, but other than the building and the basic street layout, none of the stores were familiar. Not too surprising, given it had been 50 years since I was last there.

We then set out for to the other end of the Bronx, on the west side of Bronx Park. As we were driving, I seemed to recall the sights and the route driving through the park. We located 3150 Rochambeau Avenue and parked illegally (like everyone else in NY).

My grandparents lived on the eighth floor, with their living room window facing the back of the building overlooking Bainbridge Avenue. Once, when I was there on a visit in the mid 1960s, my father and I stood out on Bainbridge Avenue and he told me that, when he would come home from work, he would stand on the street, whistle loudly, and my grandmother would come to the window. He also did this when he returned from the Army in the late 1940s. I didn't believe him, so he proceeded to whistle and I'll be damned if my grandmother didn't come to the window!

At the front of the building was a decorative gate with the street address. On the facade of the building itself, there was what seemed to be Indian decor surrounding the front door and windows. These embellishments weren't there during my grandparents' time.

From the outside peeking through the front door, I could see into the foyer with the same elaborate tile floors that I remembered.

It was not surprising that the makeup of the neighborhood had changed, as neither of these neighborhoods was what you would call middle class in the 1940s and 50s, but, like so many areas of our inner cities, time had taken its toll.

I'm glad I went back to the Bronx, just to remember some good times I had as a child and to think back fondly on the times I spent with my grandparents.

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