Rodents Of Unusual Size

One of the sights here, that is not so far from us, is the city's botanical garden. It's a lovely big place full of interesting plants, beautiful sculptures, exhibitions, and cats. Yes, real cats, the alive kind. For some reason they live here (and also in the Recoleta cemetery, but that's another story) in abundance and seem to be quite well fed. We went there recently and had a lot of fun watching them wander around, completely unfazed by the presence of so many people.

But that's not the strange part. Just across the street from the garden is the zoo, which we decided to visit just the other day. We were excited to be getting out and seeing one of the "sights" that was so nearby, it was a beautiful day, and zoos are fun. We wandered, pointed, you know, met some friends.


I have to say, however, when my friend Susie later commented that foreign zoos can be kind of weird, I think she was right. Sometimes you can put your finger on why, and sometimes it's just a feeling, but this zoo was no exception. Don't get me wrong, it was a lovely place, laid out park-style a la Lincoln Park Zoo, with old buildings and lots of foliage and ponds. We had a great time wandering and learned a lot of animal names in Spanish. It was just...a little bit different from the kind of zoos we're used to. First of all, they sell food for the animals there, so unless it's a tiger or a hippo, you're allowed to feed all of them these little pellets. So we watched as countless (and sometimes enormous) animals came right up to the outstretched hands of three-year-olds and nibbled away. The whole food system is great in that, you know, baboons stick their hands out and catch the pellets, and you get to see some really crazy animals at extremely close range:


But something about it is also totally weird, no? Like there's very little emphasis on watching animals in their natural behavior, because they're all prancing about tripping over each other like "mmmmmpelletpelletpelletyumyumyumgimmepellet..." Also, the cages and pens and everything seemed a tad bit cramped in most cases, no where for the animals to hide. Again, fun for us as viewers, but maybe a little sad? I, of course, know nothing at all about zoology, so it's important to realize that I'm just going with my gut here.

But you know what I know is REALLY freaking weird? The fact that they let a WHOLE BUNCH of animals roam free in the zoo, and I'm not just talking about ducks and a couple of peacocks! We first realized this place was a little different when we saw these animals that looked like a cross between a deer and a rabbit (yes I know that makes no sense, but we still haven't figured out what they were) resting calmly on the lawns, enclosed in no way. And then, we met these guys:



And when I say "met," I mean I stood at a safe distance while Brian came close and then quickly backed away, while watching an old lady pet it. Ew. (That's my freaked-out laughing in the background, fyi.) If you don't know, these things are called nutria, and they're basically huge swimming rats whose hind feet are webbed. Awwww! I just want to cuddle it!

I like my goat buddies better.