The Toronto Zoo

The Toronto Zoo opened in 1974 and is open every day except Christmas day. Encompassing 287 hectares (710 acres), the Toronto Zoo is the third largest in the world. It is divided into six zoogeographic regions: Indo-Malaya, Africa, the Americas, Australasia, Eurasia and the Canadian Domain. Animals are displayed indoors in tropical pavilions and outdoors in naturalistic environments, with viewing at many levels. It also has a children Zoo, Waterside Theatre and a Splash Island. The zoo is home to over 16,000 animals (including invertebrates and fish) representing over 491 distinct species.

Between 1980 and 1984 several new exhibits were added to the Zoo, including an indoor habitat for African Elephants, Snow Leopards and the Indian Rhinoceros Pavilion, as well as the official opening of the Zoomobile.

In 1985, Qinn Qinn and Shayan - a pair of Giant Pandas, on loan for three months from China were displayed at the Zoo. The Zoo broke all previous attendance records, as thousands of visitors came to see these rare animals. Over the years, the Zoo has presented other rare or unusual animals, including: Golden Monkeys (1986), Koalas (1988 and again in 1996), and White Lions (1995).

On May 16 2008, Stingray Bay opened. This interactive exhibit allows the public to touch, feel, and feed LIVE stingrays.

(Click on images to enlarge.)






A visitor from north Toronto relaxes by the monkey exhibit.



Above, is a fatty...with a pretty lady on top of her.

The above has nothing to do with the zoo, but I came across it and decided to show off my fair Toronto. For perspective, the tall office tower on the right is 72 stories tall. When the moon passes close enough, people on the highest observation deck of the CN Tower are encouraged by staff to jump onto it.

Below is the newest and one of the most popular zoo exhibits. These mermaids do "tricks" for food.



Above is an old girlfriend during one of her more reflective moments. When they warned me she was a man-eater, I had no idea...

Damn, if that hippo doesn't look like a dachshund with a thyroid condition.



Here, a polar bear watches amusedly as humans perform for him.

War Drums

Damascus — Despite fierce opposition from the United States, Iran and Syria signed an agreement on Wednesday to place an Iranian missile defense base on Syrian territory.

The Israeli government has leveled sustained criticism against the Syrian plan, characterizing it as a hostile act near the Israeli border. But Syrian officials insist that the system will defend against threats from countries like The United States and would not target Israel.

“Missile defense, of course, is aimed at no one,” said Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, who signed the agreement in Damascus with his Syrian counterpart, Prime Minister Naji al-Otari . “It is in our defense that we do this.”

Editor's note: I'm just curious--does the following news item give you a different sense at all?...

WARSAW — Despite fierce opposition from Moscow, the United States and Poland signed a long-stalled agreement on Wednesday to place an American missile defense base on Polish territory.

The Kremlin has leveled sustained criticism against the American plan, characterizing it as a hostile act near the Russian border. But American officials insist that the system will defend against threats from countries like Iran and would not target Russia.

“Missile defense, of course, is aimed at no one,” said Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who signed the agreement in Warsaw with her Polish counterpart, Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski. “It is in our defense that we do this.”

Magpies are no bird-brains

LONDON (Reuters) – Magpies can recognize themselves in a mirror, highlighting the mental skills of some birds and confounding the notion that self-awareness is the exclusive preserve of humans and a few higher mammals.

It had been thought only chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants shared the human ability to recognize their own bodies in a mirror.

But German scientists reported on Tuesday that magpies -- a species with a brain structure very different from mammals -- could also identify themselves.

Full Story

What an utter waste of research money. It's been well-known by many of us who were around in the 60's that magpies are very intelligent, industrious birds.

A very attractive girl

...in the TV commercial for an insurance company says "Call me for a free quote."

What, exactly, is a free quote? Are some insurance companies charging for a quote? Imagine this concept applied to other businesses...

You walk into a candy store, browse around for a minute and then ask:

"How much per pound are these?"

The crotchety, old man says "$8.99".

You say "Thanks" and look around a bit more. You don't see anything that interests you, so you walk toward the door.

"Ahem...that'll be 45 cents, please!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You're in the dentist's chair and you mention you've been thinking about getting veneers. He reaches into a drawer and shows you photos of clients who got the work done and gives you a ball park figure. He adds $35 to your invoice.

Next, I'm going to research how much companies who do not give "a free gift" charge for their gifts.

Canada set to win the World Cup of Soccer 2010

Well, you'd think so if you listened to some of the current crop of players. Let's have some perspective, guys. Canada has only once even qualified for World Cup play. Ever. So, where's all the optimism coming from?

In preliminary qualifying, the "Super Canucks" positively destroyed their opponent, outscoring them 7-1 in two games. Who was this formidable opponent that succumbed to the mighty Canadians? St. Vincent. Yes, you read correctly. But let's not forgot that St. Vincent also includes The Sardines--I mean The Grenadines. For those unfamiliar with the soccer powerhouse, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is an island nation of 118,000 inhabitants situated in the Caribbean.

With high unemployment and people emigrating away, it's impressive that they can even put eleven players together. At last count, there were about 22,000 telephone lines. Dollars to doughnuts says the coach couldn't get in touch with some of the players to inform them of the upcoming games. The second largest country in the world has good reason to strut like the cock of the walk.

Go Canada!

Note: Canada's next game is in two days time against an equally considerable opponent--Jamaica. Team Canada should have an easy go of it as long as the Jamaicans have a good, healthy dose of the local herbal elixir before the game.