Of Servals and other Cats

As always, our main reason for visiting San Diego is the Zoo, right in the center of town in Balboa Park.  It's over 100 years old but always expanding and always working to improve the habitats for its living collection.  We arrive with no problem and check out the activity schedule for the day.

There's an encounter involving Tasmanian Devils coming up in an hour, so we head though the Australian section of the zoo to its new "Africa Rocks" area.  It's too early for the Devil activity but we stop by anyway and are rewarded with great views of one of the residents.  I'm even able to get a photo of him showing his huge mouth and teeth - Vicky calls him the crocodile of the mammal kingdom.

With time to kill before the keeper presentation we continue into "Africa"  and find the serval exhibit.  Servals are highly intelligent cats, known for their problem solving ability.  They also have an unusual look, with the largest ears of any cat and a sleek orange body.  We're rewarded with views of a mother serval sitting right at the front of the exhibit, and her offspring, who is moving around.  Finally we have to tear ourselves away and after enjoying views of cute rock hyraxes, return to Australia for the Tasmanian Devil encounter.

We learn that the highly contagious face cancer that has decimated the native population is still not eradicated, but that efforts, including one here at the zoo, are helping keep the species alive.  The keeper talks about the devil and its history, and explains that, as behavior enrichment, his food - mice and some fish - will be scattered around the exhibit.

The cute male devil makes short work of the fish, and then goes searching for his other food.  Their eyesight is not very good but they hunt by smell.  He demonstrates this by several times walking right past a mouse in plain view (to us) on a low branch, but eventually does find all the hidden prey.

We return to Africa where there is an animal presentation scheduled and arrive just as it's about to begin.  We're delighted to find it's another serval.  This one demonstrates their amazing leaping ability.  In the wild they can jump several feet to catch their prey, and this one demonstrates by leaping for a stuffed animal on a stick held by a keeper, always being rewarded with something to eat.  Another delightful experience!

Next on the agenda is their daily "Animal Ambassador" show in the amphitheater.  This features a Eurasian Eagle Owl, one of the largest of owls but still weighing only 5-6 lbs, as well as a macaw and a number of video presentations showing off the zoo's work in global conservation of nature.  But the highlight for us is a beautiful cheetah, brought out along with his companion, a golden retriever.  Always our favorite cat (except for Quill and Cosette), the elegant specimen doesn't disappoint.

After lunch, time for more felines.  The fishing cat, as always, is hiding but we do get to observe the tiger, who is sleeping, and a couple of beautiful Amur leopards, who watch us as we watch them.  Unusually, the mountain lions are nowhere to be seen and (more usually) neither is the jaguar.  But two lions sleep for us in full view.  Of course, there are other animals, but on the way back to the car we stop for another visit with the servals, finding they've gone in for the night.  Not to worry!  It's not far to the animal ambassador area where one of the cheetahs is hanging out with his canine buddy, and we chat to a volunteer about these amazing animals.

Tomorrow we'll visit the Safari Park and instead of driving back to Pio Pico we stay at our favorite hotel in Old Town San Diego.  It's a little too cold for our usual walk through the original settlement area, but we make it as far as Jack and Giulio's, an intimate Italian restaurant we've enjoyed in the past.  We take the waiter's suggestions.  All their pasta is home made.  I enjoy a dish of pasta stuffed with meat and cheese, an unusual flavor complemented by a meat sauce, while Vicky opts for green spinach pasta with vegetables.  It's a short walk back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

Wednesday morning after leaving the rush hour to local commuters, it's time for our day at the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park, 30 miles north in Escondido.  Our day here starts with time at the animal ambassador area, where we meet a beautiful American kestrel, rescued from the illegal pet trade, as well as a monitor and a huge python who requires 3 keepers to carry him out!

In the tiger area we enjoy a keeper talk and find the cats are generally active, a bonus due to the cool weather.  We observe two handsome males and also Debbie and Cathy, two 3 year olds who we met as young cubs along with their brother Nelson a few years ago when Vicky treated me to a behind the scenes tour for my birthday. 

The Safari park's new Australian area features a walkabout area where we get close to kangaroos and wallabies, including a mother with her joey in her pouch.  The Australian "tucker" appeals for lunch, but they're out of everything we want, so we find a sandwich and salad instead.

After lunch we decide to take the Africa tram, a 35 minute journey through the open areas where many species roam wild, just as they do in Africa.  But before this we have to visit the cheetahs, and arrive there just as an animal encounter is about to start.  To our delight, we meet two more servals, one of whom demonstrates her leaping ability while the other, new to public exposure, carefully investigates the area.  As Vicky puts it, "I'm beginning to love servals".  I always did!  They're unusual looking, but in their own way elegant, and certainly smart.  We do see the cheetahs - two males who are more interested in looking out into the African bush area than at us - and then board the tram.

We see many species of antelope, along with rhinos, zebras and Somali wild asses, all living in harmony, as they would in Africa.  The only things missing are the predators, but as Vicky and I discuss, while the predators would enjoy being there, it wouldn't be long before they were alone!  We end the day watching the cheetah run, where a cheetah is able to reach his full speed (70mph) in a few seconds.  Very impressive, and as an extra bonus they bring out a caracal, another African cat with great leaping ability, to show off what he can do. 

Back to Pio Pico with a drive through the countryside followed by slow driving in the rush hour.  In the village of Jamul we find a TGI Friday's restaurant, a source of great joy to me.  This chain was always one of my favorites but they long ago closed all their restaurants in Phoenix and we haven't found any on our travels - until now.

To make things even better, we're in time for their "steak and lobster special" which is great, and only $15.99, and then I find our "rewards" account is still valid and we have enough for two free desserts.  A great ending to a great day!

Tomorrow rain is forecast, so we'll stay at the resort.