There were lots of unruly kids about; day care field trips, organized tours. They were noisey, pushy, and......well, the place was a zoo.

Long set up for a bad pun aside, we had a blast and the little kids full of wonder were not a problem; it was good to see them.

Driving to the Toronto Zoo wasn't much more of a problem than usual. We left London just after seven, hit the Mississigua Mishigass on the 401 at about eight thirty, and arrived at the Zoo just after nine.

Good thing I looked on the map before we left and noted the zoo was on Meadowvale Road. There's no signage for the Zoo on the 401 itself, although there is when you get on the collector after exiting the 401.

General admission: $18.00 per person. Not bad for an entire day's fun.

And yes, we did the eco-challenge thing and walked the entire zoo. Sunblock was left in the van, of course. Only my youngest was smart enough to wear a hat.

The neat thing about the zoo is everyone goes to see the big animals. The Elephants, Rhino's, etc. But, I think we often come away more amazed by the small creatures.

My middle daughter and I were mezmerized by the Malayan Pavillion, and the free flying butterflies there.

Simply amazing; a numenous moment.

Philisophically, there are those that don't like zoos. And there's a point there. I don't think we can be comfortable with having all the animals we have at the Toronto Zoo. While it's a huge zoo, (I have sore calf muscles to vouch for that) there's not enough room for Elephants and such, and I question the ethics of keeping them, and other animals.

But, we do learn a lot of stuff about these animals. We learn their physiology, their natural requirements, and zoos play a large role towards conservation of the wild members of their species.

So, it's debatable on many fronts.

The zoos are also a refuge for animals that would have otherwise perished in the wild, like the newly aquired "Inukshuk", the polar bear cub rescued when it's mother was mistakenly shot for as a male bear. Without the specialized treatment and facilities of the Toronto Zoo, "Inukshuk" would have been arctic fox food months ago.

And, there are animals that are unaware that they are in captivity because their alloted space is so large.

My favourites of course are..

[ 25 August 2003: Message edited by: oldgoat ]

And I'm moving to London next week