Day 2 in Sri Lanka… we can’t visit the elephants with Viking so we go to the zoo instead.

 Okay, the Pinnwalla Elephant Orphanage was supposed to be our tour today… BUT there has been some discussion on board and I guess also on land of the possibility that there was mistreatment going on.  I haven’t run into but ONE person who felt that there might be an issue… ONE. So, until the actions can be 100% investigated, the tour was cancelled.  This is a case where the desires of the few seem to outweigh the actions of the many….. So after some gnashing of teeth and harsh comments to the shore excursion staff, and getting no where… we go to the National Zoo instead.

Now bear in mind… We are in a country that has views about animal welfare that may, I said MAY, differ from those of our country.  Each country is able to proceed with its zoo in however it sees fit. The budget may hold only so much in the way of up to date and modern zoological practices.  With this firmly in our minds, we headed off by personal taxi with our driver Peter to take the four of us to see what was happening at the zoo

We were greeted immediately by this little monitor lizard walking across our path …and why??

To get to the other side!!!! ( its a long standing wankel joke)

In the exotic bird aviary, these guys were the great ing party. Each of them were at least a foot tall not including their tail feathers. The aviary was small but filled with many species.

We did get to see a couple of elephants. These were in an fenced enclosure and it was a far cry from the wonderful exhibit area at the Tucson zoo… but trying to remind myself that here, many places, these are still work animals.  As it happens, later on in the zoo we see more of the elephants in a much larger grassed enclosure along with other hooves animals.

There were two rhinos here..again, the enclosures weren’t great, but not as bad as Ive seen before in the US in small,old zoos

THE MOST EXCITING  BIRD AT THE ZOO!!!!!

The Cassowary

I just stood mesmerized by this bird. The brightness of its blue head, the red waddle contrasting so brightly and the dark,dark beak and black feathers …not to mention the incredible clawed feet. Knowing that this bird is considered very dangerous adds to its mystique. It can appear docile and shy but if it feels threatened, will charge and kill. The middle claw is like a sword. 

As we calked along, we noticed this tree with the large hanging fruit.  While trying to ask what type of tree is is, we approached many Sri Lankans, who seemed to not understand any English…finally we found two young fathers with their children who spoke English..They informed us this is a Jack Fruit tree. It was amazing to see the actual tree. I had no idea they grew on trees like that! (Side note- after that interaction, suddenly everyone spoke English to us and everyone told us it was a jack fruit tree😂) We were the only tourists in the zoo! It was family day and the zoo was filled with children and parents!

A close up of the jack fruit. I can’t imagine how those fruit stay on the tree.. many of them were larger than a football or basketball!

Our day continued after the zoo with a lunch at the oldest colonial hotel in Sri Lanka and then it was time to head back to the ship. We were worn out with the heat and humidity..

My overall impression of the National Zoo  ( and we did not see more than half of it) is that it is trying to do what it can for the animal population. It has quite a way to go to match some of the world’s great zoos, but it does offer the local population an opportunity to view and observe wildlife in a safe and secure environment. 

Tomorrow we take tuk -tuk rides through the city,