At the Zoo

We decided years ago that a good way understand countries more might be by visiting their zoos. We figured that it is quite telling how a society treats their animals. Not sure if this is true but it sounds like a deep insight. Some places we felt treated the animals well, some not so much. Then there are places like the zoo in Bamako. We have no idea what the conditions in this zoo indicate, as we had never encountered anything quite that surreal.

Sam, Mark and their friend Kelly (many of you Jackson Hole folks remember Kelly as the bubbly girl from the Apres Vous lift) headed out for an excursion to the Parc Zoologique. They saw a few big ticket animals like lions and chimps,

some regional favorites like the hyenas and the jackals (although there was a glaring abscence of the country's namesake, the "mali" or hippopotomus), as well as the famous Bamako zoo donkey exhibit. They were allowed to get much closer to these large animals than any of them really should have felt comfortable with, as you can see from the photos (Kelly's hand pictured with the banana for scale).

In fact, Sam almost fell into the used jeans exhibit!


There was also a rather interesting (read: horrifically bloody and foul smelling) butchering area where the meals for the attractions were prepared fresh daily. This was a pretty unique sight, as dead animal body parts of any description are generally discouraged at many of the world's finer zoos.

They were intrigued by a sign for the rare african manatee.

Not getting out to the ocean all that often they figured that they should check it out. Alas, it was not to be. The pen, pictured, appeared to have been abandoned a while ago.

It was only later in the day, out past the cheetahs, that they made a gastly discovery. It appeared that what remained of said manatee was to be found in what remained of a glass case. The case had been broken open to expose the corps to the effects of the harsh african climate. This resulted in a curious mix of decay, mummification and outright scavenging by various carrion feeders. Needless to say, a bizzare sight in the extreme.