Christmas at the Zoo (Part Trois)

Last episode we were about to encounter slitherdarts at Christmas at the Indianapolis Zoo.  Watch out, Lady With the Red Hair!  These dudes mean business.

What Kind of Slitherdude is This Slitherdart? 

Oh.

 Don't Let This Hoosier Put the Bite on You

 Not My Type of "Cat" (Catenatus)

Yep.  Venomous.  Guess E.M. Rules.  Pretty Much.

 Open Wide, Slitherdart!  Let's See Some Cotton

Funny Story About This Slitherdude

I've got a funny story about one of those cottonmouth slitherdudes. When Scowl-Face was just a young whippersnapper, he and his family took an extended vacation (i.e., they "dropped out" of the "rat race").  It's a complicated story that would probably bore you to tears.  Anyway, while they were stumbling around the Okefenokee Swamp in Southern Georgia, Scowlly stopped on a dirt road he was walking along to catch his breath. He turned to his left, looked over his shoulder, and hanging from a tree branch less than five feet from his head was one of these cottonmouths, with jaws widely parted (and white mouth lining glistening in the sun) as he (or she) prepared to put the bite on.  You know how those characters in Warner Brothers or Hanna-Barbera cartoons jump into the air, hang there with legs flailing, and then, without touching the ground, they fly in any direction opposite a cartoon danger?  That's what Scowl-Face did, pretty much.  (Well, it seemed funnier in retrospect.  At the time, it was fairly frightening.  But nobody got hurt, so it's okay to laugh about it.)

We left the Indianapolis Zoo's desert exhibit and continued to look at the holiday lighting and outdoor critters who were still awake and active.  We saw my favorite felines--the big tigers--but they were cat-napping, mostly.  The bats were awake but not in the mood to pose for photographs.  I hung out with them last summer, as you may recall.

"Flat" Cauli III became rather pesky about wanting her picture taken, so we obliged a few shutter snaps.

"Flat" Cauli III Takes a Breather on a Zoo Park Bench 

Notice the Similar Snouts -- Must Be Relatives of Some Sort

Since it was about a half-hour till closing time, and the dolphin show had been sold-out all day, we decided to wrap this party and head for the hills. It was a beautiful evening, full of colorful lights, exciting critters, and squeals of delighted youngsters.  A nice night out on the town, I'd wager.

Love My Pals at the Indianapolis Zoo,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Zoo Holiday News Beat

P.S.  "Bungle in the Jungle," from the album War Child (1974), by Jethro Tull, seemed appropriate as a musical closer about our zoo visit.