For
the second year in a row, I celebrated New Year’s Day at Tennoji Zoo in Osaka. In late 2014, the zoo announced that it would
open on January 1, 2015 in observation of its 100th anniversary. Apparently, the event must have been successful,
because they decided to stage a repeat on January 1, 2016. (In past years, the
zoo was closed from December 29th to January 1st in
observance of the New Year’s holiday.)
This
year, the decorations at the Shinsekai entrance included greetings in a number
of different languages - an apparent recognition of the fact that the number of
foreign tourists visiting Japan has greatly increased in recent years. Walking around the zoo, my impression was
that there were fewer special events than last year, but there seemed to be
more visitors this year. One event that
was repeated was the give-away of free commemorative calendars to the first
1000 visitors through the gate.
One year ago, one of the crowd
stoppers was the pair of young Jaguars (Panthera onca) that were born August 9,
2014. Last New Year’s Day, they were still
very small and very cute.
One
year later, they were almost as large as their mother, and the female cub was even
moved into a separate exhibit space next door.
(I think there was a leopard in that space last year.)
The
larger size of the growing cubs made the small size of their enclosures even more
obvious.
This year, another crowd
pleaser was the rock hyraxes. There were
five of them, and they were actively eating.
The last time I visited Tennoji Zoo in August, I only noticed two
hyraxes, and they were sleeping.
The
lions next door also attracted a crowd.
Very
majestic…
Another
change since last year involved the tigers.
The female tiger Ayako passed away last July 5 at the age of 18 years (quite
an advanced age for a tiger). The very next
day, her partner Senichi (12 years old) was moved from the old tiger enclosure
to the new tiger enclosure. Now the two
males, Senichi and Kojiro are displayed in rotation in the new tiger
enclosure. Last New Year’s Day, Kojiro
was on display in the new enclosure while Senichi and Ayako were still in the
old enclosure. This year, Senichi
enjoyed the run of the new enclosure. Somehow, I think he looked more natural
in the old place. The old tiger enclosure had more greenery. In the new tiger enclosure, the concrete walls
dominate the scene a little too much.
Senichi
close-up
On
this day, the younger tiger Kojiro, was confined to the small indoor exhibit. He seemed to be quite relaxed.
I
wonder if the zoo will be open for New Year’s Day 2017. If it is, I think I will make this visit a
yearly tradition.
(Note:
All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit on January 1, 2016. The comments in this post are based on
observations made on that day.
Conditions may have since changed.
Please check it out for yourself!)
