Zoo-illogical
The song about Mummy taking us to the zoo tomorrow was
grossly inaccurate; I went today, and my mum, bless her, was nowhere to be
seen.
I wasn't bitter about her absence. She’s taken me to
the zoo before. The last time was in the late Eighties, with my dad and my junior
school friend Mark Smith in tow. The highlight was when a squirrel leapt onto
Mark's leg and wouldn't let go; it was very amusing.
(I lost
contact with Mark soon afterwards. For all I know, it may still be attached.)
The zoo I visited today was that there London one. You
may have heard of it; it's quite famous. It even features in Bram Stoker's Dracula, don’t cha know.
(Who's called Bram? Also, why was he so possessive over his blood-sucking creation?)
Inspired by today's trip, I thought I'd share some animal-based
trivia. It’s been meticulously researched. Are we sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin:
- The difference between a crocodile and an alligator is one of them is a crocodile.
- The difference between an African elephant and an Indian elephant is one of them lives in Africa.
- The antelope doesn't exist.
- Monkeys are just hairy people.
- The emperor penguin isn't.
- Zebras wear them for extra support.
- A tigress doesn't digress.
- It would take just six leaf-cutter ants to safely lift the Cutty Sark; eight to move HMS Belfast.
- A camel's hump is 90% gammon.
That's enough trivia for now. Before I sign off, I thought I'd share something I discovered today to my cost:
ZSL London is not a heavy-petting zoo.