On a warm humid Member’s Night at the Zoo, my family and I trooped up to the Bronx to revisit some of our favorite spots.

We couldn’t tear ourselves away from the two new sea lion pups

but eventually we went in search of my son’s fondly remembered waterfowl pond. After much trudging around, we did find several wet spots including the flamingo pool,

the rocks where the stork (or possibly pelican?) perches,

and the home of the scarlet ibis.As we all like birds a lot, this was fine.

We moved on to other animals and found a new baby giraffe hanging out with his mom,

(Julie Larsen Mayer, WCS) and a quite enormous tortoise,

as we crossed paths with some very fine peacocks.

(Trudi Cohen) We finally reached the Congo rainforest and found our close primate relatives, the gorillas. (Rodin’s Thinker?)They seemed not to mind us and either watched us in their turn or reached for their fruit without being bothered.

Never have I sensed the link between these magnificent creatures and us so intensely. My fervent thanks to those that have provided the wonderful environments that enable us to view them, while they view us, as they go about their business.

The Bronx Zoo is part of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which is in charge of the Bronx, Central Park, Queens, and Prospect Park Zoos, and the New York Aquarium. The WCS is committed to conservation of endangered and threatened species around the globe, supports efforts to conserve wild animals in their home countries,

(wcs.org–elephant twins in Tanzania) and has one of the best breeding programs for endangered and threatened species anywhere. They also save wild spaces and have helped to preserve more than 100 protected areas worldwide.

Annual membership for seniors is $95 and entitles you to visit any or all of the above Society parks as much as you wish. Your membership supports vital conservation work plus you also get to go to Members’ Nights and visit your friends and relatives.