Visiting relatives in Silesian Zoological Park, Part 1

We recently visited the city of Katowice in Poland, and visited one of the most interesting places to visit - the zoo. It's always cool to see beautiful, impressive and cute living creatures, and this zoo is one of the largest I've ever seen, so this walk will be full of surprises. In my entire life, I've only been to a zoo twice, and they were terribly small, and the animals there were just ordinary ones that you can see on a farm or in a village. The small size of the zoo also means that the cages in which the animals are kept are usually small and not suitable for living. So even if keeping animals in zoos is bad, I don't feel so bad if they are in a large area, they walk freely and don't feel chained. Some animals even feel better there, because they are taken care of. Our initial purpose of visiting Katowice is to meet @gtg, and it was he who came up with the idea of visiting this interesting place. So when we arrived in Katowice, @gtg picked us up from the train station, and after settling into the apartment, we put all our things away and went to bed, because the zoo is only open until four o'clock, and we would need at least four hours to explore it, especially for such a large area.

The weather was not very favorable. Although it was already the beginning of April (mid-spring), the temperature was 9° degrees, and the cold wind was making it a little worse, but overall, with the sun it didn't feel so bad. We woke up at nine in the morning, and planning to enter the zoo at 11:00, instead we sat in the hut for two hours getting ready. When we reached our destination, it was a beautiful park, everything around was so calm and green. Birds were singing, even though the weather was quite cold. By that time we were already quite late, but since @gtg brought us not to the main entrance, we still had to walk around for a few more minutes until we finally found the side entrance. We really thought we could rely on you! Tickets cost from 30 to 40pln, so for three we paid around 90pln. And so after that, at 12:30, we began our journey through the animal world. The first thing we saw were some deformed geese called ostriches. They were very tall and looked at us strangely, but we didn't take a photo with them, unfortunately. Next were some orange dogs, but we didn't take a photo with them either. And now, with the first photos, the real exploration begins.

This big and incredibly interesting animal is called a camel. They had two humps, and they were so fluffy. I had never seen a two-humped camel before. Thank God, @gtg brought a professional camera with him, and we were able to take high-quality photos of each animal! My sister and I used to ride a one-humped camel in Egypt, and it was really scary. And did you know that they have humps for a reason? Since these animals usually live in the desert, and walk long distances in hot weather, they use their humps to store fat reserves there, which serve them for food and water. Thus, camels can survive two weeks without water and more than a month without food. I also read that the humps serve them as protection from the scorching sun, but maybe it's two in one. They were very cute eating their hay and not paying attention to us.

https://youtube.com/shorts/jO6TgtbaN3E?si=ow52dM9suVsboOCp

We took a photo with them and headed to the next animals.

After the camel, we were met by several cheerful and energetic goats standing on several rock-like stones. The territory of the mountain goats is equipped with mined rocks that recreate their habitat in the wild. Their hooves are designed in such a way that they can stand on a wall with a slope of 60–70 degrees. Sometimes they climb almost vertical dams to lick minerals with salt, which are important for their health. Goats are excellent climbers, and they succeed in this thanks to: the special structure of their hooves - they have soft pads that provide grip, and hard edges of the hooves that help them catch on ledges, excellent balance and coordination, strong muscles of the legs and back. Eh, I envy them 😞.

Goats start their training from a young age, climbing with their parents, who support them when they are tired. In Turkey, you can often see them on rocky cliffs hanging from high forested mountains above rivers. They jump from the very peaks to take a sip of cold spring water. One of the biggest questions is - do they ever fall? The answer is of course yes, but these cases are quite rare, and even when they do, they usually remain almost uninjured. Sometimes it even happens that during their unsuccessful climb, they land on the head of a tourist! In one such case, when a tourist was climbing, a goat fell on him, and thus, the animal got up and ran away, and the tourist, falling from a height of 15 meters, received several injuries.

https://youtube.com/shorts/rgd17kYqcRo?si=DfgwttB7rM42EZTn

Next was a distant relative of the cow - the bison. Few people dare to approach this handsome man! Even the most formidable predators are afraid of him. Because if he gets nervous, no one will be able to escape from his body weight. But in general, these are cute and friendly animals that usually eat grass. After these three, we went to a little more serious cages.

These were already fenced from top to bottom, and some even had electric current! I think it will be clear for a long time who such fences are created for. The first animal that met us in this department was an exciting predator - a snow leopard. Feline animals are very agile, elastic and strong, so it is easier than ever to climb out of some worthless net. For these elegant individuals, the administration has equipped a beautiful area with caves and trees. In one of the caves, a leopard hid, which from time to time looked at us from its hiding place. It lies so cute. It is so fluffy, and I always really want to stroke it, especially its tail, but it seems to me that it is not very friendly.

I managed to photograph another leopard a little closer, but only half of it. But still, you can see their beautiful fur. In general, these animals are adapted to cold and harsh climates, so I don't know how they live in such, so to speak, warm weather. For some reason, we didn't find any other feline predators in this section, so we headed straight ahead along the road.

Next we were met by Grizzly bears. Wow, such massive and strong animals. And also super dangerous. You know, to be honest, even with all these tips, if I met a bear in the forest, I would panic. There is nowhere to hide from them. They can climb trees, run 80/km per hour, and they can also swim. But if there is still salvation from brown and black ones, then there is no salvation from white ones. We all probably know the proverb - If it's black - fight back, if it's brown - lie down, if it's white - goodnight 🥲. As sad as it may sound, it's true. But thank God, they usually live in Antarctica, so it's better not to go there! But despite all their danger, the mighty beast felt oppressed in this closed space. I think he's just traumatized because he walks around his territory, not paying attention to anything. I think he should be given more space. How could such a large animal be given so little space? He's just confined, with no room to run or climb normally.

After the Grizzly bears, we were met by black bears. This bear wasn't doing anything, just lying on his bed and resting. He has a cool little town made out of a tire.

The next feline predator that glared at everyone around was a cougar. I think with that look she wanted to kill everyone who passed by her enclosure. I think I caught an extremely lucky shot when the cougar looked straight into my soul.

Next in line were several monkeys who were moving around very happily and jumping back and forth all over the cage, joking with each other.

The entire zoo area is covered with blooming pink trees, and it was a pleasure to walk there watching all these animals.

Further along we came across an area inhabited by deer. These are such beautiful animals, and every time you see them in the forest, it adds a touch of magic to your stay there. Although these animals are considered simple, they are mystical heroes of many stories and legends. Also, in most stories about skinwalkers they are presented in the form of deer.

Walking further on our way we met Wolverine herself! To be honest, I can't connect this animal in my head with the character she is credited with. Well, this little furry ferret with small claws doesn't look like that dangerous hero. Although maybe a real beast is hiding behind this cute cover?

Among the various beautiful tree species, we also found a magnificent magnolia here, which was blooming with dozens of beautiful flowers. And while you are here looking at magnolias, I suggest you wait for the second part of this post, which I will release soon!

Bye bye everyone and see you soon! 🐫🦬🐐🐆