We finally made it to the still pretty new Giants of the Savanna at the Dallas Zoo. We went to a members only event with my mom and dad and sister’s family. We started out with a nice complimentary breakfast which we ended a little early to watch the lionesses eating a large bone. It was amazing to see them so up close. All three of the girls were right up at the glass for a little while.
We also checked out the cheetah’s who we got to see up close and personal as well. I think that is probably the best part about the Giants of the Savanna. Everything is big and open and you can get very close to the animals (through thick glass). One of the cheetah’s came down and picked up a fur that had been placed next to the window. It then looked up at the people opposite the glass from him/her and growled. It was so cool. I wish I would have gotten a picture of it.
After that we feed the giraffes and then checked out the elephants. Emerson did not think it was very fun to have the giraffe that close and freaked out all the other kids had lots of fun overfeeding, I’m sure, the only giraffe who would come and eat.
The best part though was our keeper encounter with the two male lions.
They are still babies only about 15 months old. They weight 250 lbs and will get up to 450lbs. They demonstrated their tricks for us.
Sitting, laying down, scooting up to the gate to get a shot in the thigh, and standing up!!
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When I was a senior in high school (99) I got out of my boyfriend’s car and heard a kitten meowing. I walked to our side porch and found two very small kittens, so young that their eyes were still closed. The little gray and white one was meowing his heart out and I thought the black one was dead, turned out he wasn’t. Over the next few weeks I woke up every two hours and fed them through a bottle. They were my first babies and my only formula fed babies. I had major mommy guilt when I left a couple of months later for college and a couple of years later when I moved in with my boyfriend, now husband, they came with me.
I didn’t realize they would freak out over the move so much and within about 30 minutes of arriving Kodi, the black one, was stuck in Big Daddy’s couch and Kirby, the gray and white one, was wedge behind an entertainment center. After that they spent a couple of days in a bedroom getting acclimated to the new smells and environment.
Over the last 8 years my cats and Big Daddy have had their share of arguments. But Kirby is big, soft, and cuddly and always won his heart back. Tonight, I picked Kirby up and he made some weird movements and then let out a deep sigh, his last breath.
I was in complete shock I have had animals that have been put to sleep but I’ve never been there. I have never witnessed a death. I’m glad that I was holding him as he took his last breath but wow I’m in complete shock about what happened.
I took a couple of minutes to tell him good bye and compose myself and then I had Big Daddy bring in Monkey. I wasn’t ready for the whole heaven talk so I left the place unnamed. I explained to him about souls and how they leave the body. I told him to us he appeared dead but to Kirby he was alive in a different place where his food and water bowls are always full, his litter box is always clean, and he can scratch on stuff as much as he wants. He got a little chocked up and insisted that Big Daddy bury him, so that’s what we did. Wish us luck with that cause I’m going to kill over if the dogs dig him up.
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