The Zoo in the City
Beneath a highway overpass, tucked against a shopping arcade, in the middle of bustling Osaka City, you'll find Tennoji Zoo. It's a small zoo, old, not particularly modern, with rusted fences and paint chipped concrete, but they try. The cafeteria has been renovated; murals have been painted; an interactive museum was recently installed.
This is my zoo, the zoo closest to my home. Membership card in one hand, sketchbooks tucked in my bag, I like to visit on my days off, to draw penguins. Right now, they just have Humboldts, but that's alright with me. Humboldts are one of my favorite species. There are two exhibits at the zoo; one near the entrance, next to the sea lions -- I stop here first to say hello. The other, main exhibit is on the opposite side of the zoo, near the petting zoo. This is usually where I like to sit and draw.
There were babies in the spring. I would watch them in their nest boxes, big bundles of fluff, growing into awkward, gangly juveniles, their feet and wings too big for their bodies. They were a joy to draw. They're teenagers now, their bodies proportionate, their fluff traded for sleek feathers. The only way to tell them from the adults is their coloration -- the young adults don't have the characteristic stripes.
They're still adorably awkward. I watched them yesterday at feeding time, cautiously grabbing fish from the keepers, only to drop it or have it snatched away by a more capable adult. But they were persistent, the young ones, and once they finally gobbled a fish down they were squawking for more.
I've gotten to know one penguin keeper. After the feeding is over, he'll swing around to chat with me, the stilted conversation of two people who don't quite speak each other's language, but his English is better than my Japanese. I'll show him my sketches, and he gives me an update on the penguins. Then I'll bid him a "See you later", and he'll go back to his work, and I'll tuck away my sketchbook and head home.
It's not a big zoo, not particularly modern. Some of the enclosures are too small, too plain, for my comfort. It's probably not a place I'd bring friends from out of town. But I'll go there, on my days off, and draw penguins. Because it's my zoo.
