One summer when I was a kid, my mom bought a season pass to the Indianapolis Zoo. More days than not, I remember my mom and I donning bikinis and flip flops, lathering up with baby oil and marching our backpack-laden booties through the front gates like we owned the place.
It was always hot. If it wasn’t above 80 and we couldn’t get a tan, there really wasn’t any point in going. Each time, I begged my mom for tickets to the Kombo roller coast so that the wind would cool us off or ran into the “Deserts” exhibit because it was usually cooler than outside.
And other than my friend, the blond gibbon who always squealed at me, and the bag of birdseed that made the ducks and birds chase me around the zoo, I really kind of hated it. It got old, it got sticky, and the animals usually looked like they were as unhappy as I was.
We went a few years back, fueled by nostalgia. We packed our tank tops into our backpacks and oiled up in the parking lot and then made it about 8 steps through the gate before we were rushed by a man in a too-official uniform asking if we could “please…uh…put some clothes on?”
Nostalgia. Shattered.
Now I have a little girl—an incredibly precocious, opinionated, and curious three-year-old. And being that we’ve had to seal up all of the doors and windows in the apartment to keep the cold (and as a result, the lovely lovely sun) out, when we got a beautiful 60 degree Sunday this January, we headed to see the “Am-mals!” and more specifically, “the Jraffs!” at the zoo.
And it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
Apparently, a 60 degree Sunday in January means the same thing for every large mammal as it means for my small family— time to play. Elephants were meandering around happily in their enclosure, the lionesses had taken notice of the white rhino exhibit and were furiously calling to get their attention, and my old gibbon friend and her new baby were howling at the group of people gathered around her net.
So, if you’re like me and thought that summer was the only time to enjoy the zoo, head out there in the much more bearable weather this Spring and enjoy a side the zoo that is every bit as fascinating as a trip to the zoo should be.
Side note: The gift shop now has a remarkable fair trade section where I snagged a beautiful full-length elephant wrap skirt.
KC Chan is a senior majoring in English at Marian University. Born in Indianapolis, KC has lived in many towns in the area, including Martinsville, Avon, Greenwood, and Beech Grove. KC works at the MU Writing Center, and in her spare time enjoys growing her own food, cooking, and exploring Indy’s restaurant scene.
