While I was in Jackson, I somehow convinced THE Joseph Craven to take me to the zoo.
It cost us $9.00 and it took about an hour to see all of the animals. And we took our time. I was warned ahead of time that the Jackson Zoo wasn’t spectacular, but I didn’t care. I probably should have cared. It wasn’t that spectacular and most of the animals were sleeping. We avoided the snake house and saw some otters, so all in all, it was a pleasant day afternoon hour.
We did find some Kookaburras, which we both would agree were the stars of the zoo. Mainly because they weren’t sleeping. It doesn’t take much to be a star in the Jackson Zoo.
When I walked up to the cage, I immediately began singing the song (it’s only natural). I was quickly horrified to find the Kookaburra was having a little….snack. It wasn’t pleasant, but like a train wreck, we couldn’t look away. I took a short video for you to enjoy and be traumatized in the process. You’re welcome!
That gasp at 0:19? Totally and completely genuine terror. Along with snakes, I am also afraid of Kookaburras. Apparently.
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Bonus educationality in this video: Comparing this video’s soundtrack with most any Hollywood jungle film taught me that all jungles in the world, from South America to Africa, are populated primarily by Australian birds. Seriously, I think every jungle film from the 40s on had kookaburra calls.
Yeah, movie producers used to use kookaburra noises in movies to imitate monkeys. Because apparently monkeys were too much of divas to help out?
Wonderful video ! I am a bit surprised that you were so horrified by his meal. God put all these different animals and birds on earth, so it stands to reason He would provide food for them also. They balance each other out.
Peace be with your heart.
Walk daily with God at your side.
Ed.
Being aware that it eats mice and watching it chomping on a mouse in its beak a couple of feet from your face are somewhat different experiences, though. :> Much as I enjoy a good fish filet but have no desire to actually catch them myself.
Right, I guess I was looking at it from a male point of view.
Yeah, watching an animal whack another animal against something to kill it isn’t exactly pleasant. And that has nothing to do with the fact I’m a girl.
Pssssh…whatever, Ovary McEstrogen.
When he taught fifth grade, my brother had a python as a class pet. One time he made the mistake of feeding the python a mouse during class, thinking the kids would be fascinated. Well…some of the kids were fascinated. The other kids started crying. After that he fed the python after class and let the kids know so the ones who wanted to watch could stay.
The storal of the mory is this: different people react different ways to seeing nature take its course. It doesn’t bother me to see a cat carrying a dead bird around, but I know someone who is mortified when her cat kills ANYTHING. Everybody knows animals kill other animals, but not everybody wants to SEE it. Especially when the animal being killed is a cute fuzzy little creature…
Being raised on an Indian Reservation this was an everyday affair, so I guess I became to see it as second nature. We were taught it is part of the circle of life.
NO MORE SNAKE STORIES.
The kookaburra kills snakes by grabbing them behind the head, flying high into the air, and dropping them?! I will tell at least six people about this today.
I KNOW, RIGHT? Kookaburras are crazy!
They are like bird mobsters. mirds. bobsters.
I didn’t realize they were so vicious. The song has led me astray for so many years.
Nom nom nom.
but come on the name, that has to buy them some brownie points. Who can not love saying Kookaburra. Makes you smile.
Your font in the first line REALLY emphasizes the “THE” in my name.
Why do I not know the song? It’s not bothersome ditty that goes “a whim away, a whim away” is it?
That ditty is “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. One of my favorites since childhood actually.
“In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion sleeps tonight….”
Vicious… Nature is one cruel beast.
Not so much crueler than humanity, really, without a properly functioning conscience. Less so, sometimes. There are some sickly inventive human beings in the world, particularly in the prison systems of various countries that have not had an underlying Judeo-Christian moral fabric in their society as the western countries have.
I don’t get it.
I think what he said was “Without Jesus, people are real jerks.”
I went to the San Diego Zoo last week. Probably a little bigger than the mighty Jackson Zoo. The Kookaburras there were also pretty big stars.
Not as big as the meerkats, but still. Top-5 at least.