Camel Balls.

I'm pretty sure that title will pick up some odd Google traffic.

After my wedding, I had no particular plan whatsoever so I decided to hit a nearby museum. Glad I did, details later. From there, I went to a Children's Science Museum, details later. I espied a flyer for a zoo and decided, why not? (Gotta take a quick break from blogging, just spilled a huge glass of water! Hey now I have a clean spot on my floor. I gotta get tidying someday.)

So I went to the Morioka Zoo Zoological Museum. You're greeted by a menagerie (troop) of macaques who have red cheeks at both ends!

I popped into an uninhabited building and saw a few stuffed specimens and a flotilla (army) of frogs. Unfortunately like many amphibians, a lot of these guys are endangered. Cute though! (Sorry I didn't get their scientific names. Click on any pic to Kermitize it for a better view.

I caught Red Foxx's act and he was as foul mouthed as ever. Nice to see that Dennis the Badger is still up and around.

A sweltering day and the only activity of note were the squirrels. I never knew that there were squirrels other than flying squirrels in Japan. Cute little buggers too. Tough to get them to stand still for a picture though.

I couldn't get a decent photo of a civet but I did manage to get a nice one of a friendly Tanuki. Alas, there was no drumming on his balls today.

Bare Bores! Oops Bears and Boars.

You oughta like the otter, it's Canadian!

Remember Pete Puma? Hard to tell whether or not he's in drag here.

American Bighorn Sheep...so why is their latin name Ovis canadensis?

My brother has a big problem with raccoons in his yard. I'm sure he'd be happy to ship them over here.

Que Serow Serow. I have never heard of this goat/sheep/deer creature before. Despite its Japanese shika suffix, Kamoshika  is more goat than deer.

There was a petting zoo with goats & sheep & ponies & horsies & guinea pigs & rabbits & chicks but the only animal I was interested in was the cow! This the first time I have seen a cow in Japan!! They are like ninja, they can only been seen when they want you to.

Cute prairie dogs & ugly buffalo. How many buffets can a buffalo buff if a buffalo could buff buffets?

(I once knew a girl who came from Buffalo. Why can't I meet a girl with normal parents?)

The emus amuse and the kangaroos roost.

Moving on to another continent, we get to the big guns. Here's Dumbo! How do you know he's African and not Indian? He doesn't like curry. Check out the rhino's lips. Do they look square to you?

Finishing up, we have a lying lion, a zestless zebra, an ornery ostrich, a giant giraffe, a flock of funky flamingos and another antelope that I've never heard of, the Sitatunga. 

Finally I came to the end of the zoo and took a shuttle bus back. The driver seemed taken aback when I put on my seatbelt. On the way out, I saw a young lass with the best...ever...t-shirt and she allowed me to photograph it. 

 Oh, for those who have a need for a cigarette in the cafeteria, you'll be saddened to learn that there's No Smorking.

Finally our friendly camel was not sporting a camel toe but did have quite a pair hanging down there.