Hungering for summer
05 Feb 2010 3 Comments
in Northern Trail Tags: giraffes
I’ve never loved summer the way a midwesterner should. Humidity, blistering heat and wayward insects get in my way, and I resent feeling guilty for occasionally lounging indoors on a sunny weekend. Last summer had a few unique qualities, though: Sandwiched between two especially long, brutal winters, it offered blossoming greenery and butterflies without breaking 90 degrees more than once or twice. And then there were the giraffes, whom I’ve been missing as much as the gentle breezes and garden aromas of that bygone season.
The zoo’s first temporary outdoor Africa exhibit brought Sweta and Zawadi from Colorado to Minnesota for a hot, sticky interlude in 2006. As of last summer’s return engagement, the Mn Zoo owned both young male giraffes, although they still spend most of their time at my childhood zoo (Henry Vilas) in Madison, Wis., which has an indoor cold-weather home for them. Like a lot of people last summer, I never grew tired of watching their odd, graceful movements or feeding them rye crackers. Up close, their huge, long-lashed eyes, warm breath and gently dipping heads made these leaf-eaters seem totally benign. Still, a giraffe can kill a lion with one well-placed kick (their hooves are as big as dinner plates), and one day a zookeeper sported a bruise on her arm from a giraffe’s sudden head-swing. These gentle-giant contradictions intensified their charm for me, and so did the cool, lovely summer that enveloped them. The Northern Trail has a severe winter beauty, but it’s hard to hike past the snowy expanse where the giraffes ate their crackers without getting a lump in my throat. Next summer’s Africa exhibit will be indoors and permanent, with crocodiles and monkeys, and there’s no firm return date for Sweta and Zawadi. Until that date comes, though, it helps to know they’re just down the highway in Madison, biding their time.
