Sam the Gorilla Whisperer

Sam and I spent a cloudy day at the zoo on Thursday.  I was a little bummed about the weather until we started looking at the animals.  The cool temperature made all the creatures very active, so we got to see everyone in action.  It was also a special trip because it was the first time I think Sam could see and realize that there were animals in all the cages.  Though we had a fun day looking at many different animals, the gorillas were a definite highlight!

There were a couple gorillas playing indoors.  Eating and monkeying around.  Sam thought it was very exciting... he had no idea what was in store for him.

We headed outside.  It was sprinkling a little so most the gorillas were taking cover throughout their yard.  This gorilla is the mommy to the small gorilla in the back ground.  When I parked Sam here, she sent her baby away and came to sit right in front of us.  Every once in a while she would reach back and knock on the glass.  Very funny, but nothing compared to the next phase...

She quickly spun around and slapped the glass.  She ran off and grabbed this small tree and brought it back to us.

After sitting staring at us with tree in hand she began to dance and dance and dance.  Every so often she would stop and slap the glass (you can see her hand prints) and then dance again.

Then she stopped and posed like this.  Her final move was another giant glass slap and the she ran off to her baby.  I'm not sure if she was upset with us or wanted my baby, but it was a pretty amazing performance.  So worth a couple rain drops.  Sam kept looking at me like he couldn't even believe his eyes.  Very cool... I hope he's old enough to remember this experience!

Another mommy gorilla walked up to the glass right in front of Sam.  She seemed older and less wild than this other one.  She set her hand on the glass right in front of Sam and stared at him.  She had the sweetest eyes and looked at him very lovingly (sounds weird, but I'm not kidding).  I tried to get the camera out to capture the moment, but she wasn't interested in sharing with me.  I recommend a cloudy early morning at the zoo... you never know what could happen!