Slender Lorises, Duct Tape, and Whataburger: A Fish on Dry Land

1) India is south asia and im not familiar with it.
2) Singapore is similar to Malay cuisine (Malay+chinese cuisine maybe)

 

This is an example of a jolly good thread - awesome stuff!

 

Excuses, excuses...

 

Given how food is becoming more and more standardized all over the world, your generation is less likely than mine to experience both the extraordinary bad and the extraordinary good. Which is, well, both a blessing and a pity. But if you get the chance to try something novel (including the aforementioned local dishes), go for it (unless it's a food safety issue).

 

Good advice. I don't really have the resources right now (Travel, Far transportation beyond my state, etc) to try anything too extraordinary but I've had my moments. Frog legs I've heard are delicious.

 

I’d like to add asparagus to that list.

 

They're quite good if you add spices too them and mix them with a marinade with a non lean meat like fish.

 

I don't mind asparagus if it's prepared right but green beans are disgusting in any form.

 

I have to disagree with you there. . .

Brussel sprouts are the worst. I would still eat it, something I would eat only if I was starving and was at a guests house and trying to be polite.

 

Not get too off topic, but despite the fact that I loathe green beans, my mom has one recipe which I love that happens to include them. One of life’s little mysteries.

 

Does Memphis have an insect house or an invertebrate collection in their reptile complex?

 

Interesting review of Nashville @Coelacanth18, I don’t recall seeing the magpie jays when I went this summer. I did however see the maleo. I must say that I am jealous of the fact that you saw Unseen New World, as when I went, it was still closed for COVID protocols. I also did not see the lorikeet exhibit. I was lucky enough to hear the gibbons howling and the see the cranes dancing when I went. The pythons were certainly an interesting sight.

 

It happens there's been many times visiting a zoo where I wondered if I'd walk past another ZooChatter and never know.

They are I've actually had them multiple times at local Chinese restaurants and buffets, so you probably don't have to look too far for them.

Greenlit!

Yeah it was low for me too, though if the tropical aviary had been open I would have felt a little more sated. At least Unseen New World has a huge and interesting collection; I can comfortably say it's one of my favorite ectotherm complexes I've seen (though there are several great ones in the US I have yet to see). I think the Komodo dragons and Africa expansion will fill the place out a lot more, although it'll take several years for all of that to be completed.

They have a few terrariums with tarantulas and a scorpion in the reptile house and a small number of aquatic/marine inverts live in the aquarium.

I figured one of those 3 birds had replaced the maleo. Fortunately I've seen that species once before (in Tulsa) while Black-throated Magpie-jay was actually a lifer for me (although I would end up seeing it again).

 

Black-throated Magpie-Jay has an introduced population in the San Diego area.

 

And we’re back!

Chapter 7 (Part I, Day ?): Charting the Uncharted: A First Glimpse at Two Appalachian Zoo Outposts

Remember when I said multiple times that this thread wouldn’t get into the time travel genre? Yeah, it’s called foreshadowing

Welcome to Part II of this road trip thread, and a welcome back to me! This is the part where I use my writing skills to make time an illusion and confuse your sense of navigation. Part I was a one-shot trip across the country in six days’ time, but this part will feature several zoos randomly scattered and not necessarily all visited in the same timeline that I review them. Fun, right? Unlike the more big zoo biased Part I, Part II will also involve a few smaller and off-the-beaten path places so people can get a taste of America’s zoological outposts – starting today!

(Note: for those of you who were only here for the food reviews, don’t worry: those will continue as well )

One of the the things I’ve discovered about myself recently is that I love uploading media of that which is unrepresented; some of you may have noticed that several of the ectotherm species I’ve uploaded photos into the gallery are otherwise not well-documented. You can then imagine my unbridled glee at the realization that two of my target zoos – located in different parts of the Appalachian Mountains – where entirely unrepresented in the media gallery. Not having to reign myself in, I mashed that upload button over and over again like it was going out of style. End result: a full suite of photos in the gallery from a small zoo even some of you zoo nerds have likely never heard of.

And with that diatribe out of the way, the first of my Appalachian expeditions...


Greenville Zoo
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Size: ~10 acres
Species Count: 52
Closed Areas: none
Noteworthy Finds: Northern Helmeted Curassow, Schmidt’s Red-tailed Monkey, Rüppell’s Griffon Vulture
Price: $12 admission
Recommended Time: 1 hour

Link for Species List: Greenville Zoo Species List - Nov 2021 [Greenville Zoo]
Link for Media Gallery: Greenville Zoo - ZooChat

I suppose it’s not too surprising that nobody has headed up to Greenville yet; it’s not on a major thoroughfare, and without some ultra-rare Red-banded Whatsitcalled or Brown Forest Thingamajig the zoo is hardly mentioned around these parts. However, as one of the closest zoos to my temporary homebase it was an easy afternoon trip for me. I pulled up around 1 PM and had finished the zoo by around 2:15, even with some backtracking for more photos and a brief pop into the gift shop.

The fairly small collection of ~50 species is located just outside of Greenville’s urban center, and is settled on a slope that divides the long and narrow zoo into roughly three elevation tiers, with a long switchback path winding its way up and down the hill in multiple loops. Rather than starting from the bottom (now we’re here) and working my way up, I decided to start off in the middle, tank to the bottom because I overcapitalized on my fame, and then have a meteoric underdog rise to the top of the charts... no, wait. What was I analogizing again? Oh right, to the top of the zoo.




I was curious to find in my prior research that, despite being a very small collection both in physical size and collection size, Greenville has several marquee animals that small zoos normally only have one or two of – lions, giraffes, orangutans, leopards, and siamangs all graced the tiny zoo with their superstar presence. The zoo even had elephants as recently as 2014, at which point one of their two elephants passed away and the old enclosure was determined to be too small for AZA’s new elephant keeping guidelines. Fortunately, Greenville has made good use of that space since by converting it into a well-planted South American Pampas exhibit for a Giant Anteater and a pair of Rheas.



Up the path from that were a few mesh-and-concrete primate cages connected to small indoor shelters; these were home to colobuses, spider monkeys, ruffed lemurs, and Schmidt’s red-tailed monkeys. The latter two were particularly active, as the red-tailed monkeys had a youngster flying around the cage while the lemurs were all hanging out and vocalizing right up at the front. One seems to have honed its craft of leaping backwards onto a rope, climbing its length upside down, and then flipping back down to the ground on its feet. Sometimes stars are born in obscure corners of the world; we’ll have to keep a lookout on this up-and-coming talent that is Greenville’s parkour primate!




Just past that is “Ektopia”, the zoo’s ectotherm building. As expected for a small zoo, Ektopia is small itself; shaped like a square bracket – ] – the tiny building displays 22 species, mostly common fare but with a couple of surprises such as Redclaw Scorpion and Golfodulcean Poison Dart Frog.

Spoiler: Ektopia: Species List

Madagascar Giant Day Gecko, Spider Tortoise, Green Tree Python, Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle, Spotted Turtle, Chilean Rosehair Tarantula, Black-breasted Leaf Turtle, Chinese Crocodile Lizard, Ball Python, Rough Green Snake, Golfodulcean Poison Dart Frog, Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, Redclaw Scorpion (Pandinus cavimanus), Common Blue-tongued Skink, Eastern Box Turtle, Eastern Kingsnake, Prehensile-tailed Skink, Copperhead, Timber Rattlesnake, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Rhinoceros Iguana, Burmese Python (both wild-type and albino morph)

After that the zoo turns into a visual novel and forces you to choose between one of two paths; presumably one leads to treasure and the other to peril. I chose left, because treasure is always to the left. Or it was because that was the direction of the South American aviary I really wanted to get photos and a full species list of. I’m not sure why I believed the South American aviary was walk-through; maybe I just blindly hoped it would be. In reality it was just a large cage with five Neotropical birds in it – though at least I actually got to see *some* Neotropical birds, after Little Rock and Nashville locked me out of their jungle bird oases. A Northern Helmeted Curassow was among them, which was a neat find. Cages to the left held an ocelot and a Harris’s Hawk, with a new cage being constructed for who knows what future inhabitant. Hoatzin? Kowari? Marine Iguana? Another ocelot? Only time will tell.



I continued on my downward path, which continued next to some woods in which was situated a pond. I peered through the branches and over the shrubbery to find a flock of flamingos, intermixed with wild waterfowl. I went down to eye level and gazed at them from across the pond, but honestly it felt less special. From up on the hill it’s as if one stumbled upon flamingos in a forest, and for a small urban zoo with mostly basic enclosures it was a brief and rare moment of visual wonder. A large alligator and a same-name snapping turtle combo was located right next door, in a small shack with underwater viewing.




On the lowest elevation tier and on the far end of the zoo, I walked back towards the entrance and past the farm area, which might be the smallest farm area of any zoo I’ve ever been to: three small yards for goats, pigs, and domestic fowl rounded out the entirety of it. I was only vaguely paying attention – I’m a ZooChatter, chickens and goats don’t really scratch my species itch – as I dipped into the nearby bathroom so my Monster energy drink could make its way back to the River Styx from which it’s presumably drawn raw. When I came out I was treated to a surprise Barred Owl, its cage inexplicably located on the other side of the restrooms from the farm area. At least it’s not quite as weird as Nashville putting animals in the restrooms...

Returning to the left-right decision, this time I chose right and entered the Asia and Africa loop. Denizens of this first area included a Eurasian Eagle-owl; another ocelot to fill space while the zoo is between Red Pandas; a family of siamangs; a pair of Amur leopards, one in a very nice-looking habitat and the other locked outside on some stairs; and a family of orangutans consisting of father, mother, and baby.

One of the sucky things about visiting so many zoos in such a short timeframe is that you find yourself growing bored of things that should spark joy; in this case, I almost walked out of the viewing shelter for the orangs after a minute of taking enclosure photos because I’d already watched a decent amount of orangutan antics in the past few weeks. But I grounded myself and took a few moments out of my visit to watch the large, majestic male slowly follow his offspring’s encircling of the exhibit up on the mesh – a moment the magnitude that may not sink in for a lot of us who see orangutans every year, but for non-Indonesians a century or two ago would have been an unforgettable experience.





The African half of the loop was home to a similar family trio of Masai giraffes; brother lions; an Aldabra tortoise trying to eat its way out through the hedge; and a basic aviary for a pair of Ruppell’s Griffon Vultures and unseen Bat-eared Foxes that brought me back to the left-right choice again. This time I chose backwards, and exited the zoo having done the whole thing in about the time I thought it would take given the extensive photography I did.





I know Greenville doesn’t have much to excite a zoo nerd, with very recognizable animals, no knockout exhibit, and a small footprint that can be covered in less time than it takes to watch The Lion King – the original, not the CGI one with Beyonce and Childish Gambino (wow, we’re real deep in the twenty-first century now aren’t we?) But it’s a nice little zoo for the community and it’s yet another zoo charted for our community. Plus, there’s that new cage being built; somebody will have to go back and see what’s in it. Could it be for Sickle-billed Vangas? Pacarana? Black Lion Tamarin? Go visit and find out for yourself!



Tune in (hopefully) tomorrow for the second part of this chapter – my review of the Mill Mountain Zoo in Virginia.

Food Review of the Day: American Chinese Food

A simple fact of life: not every person will be able to understand the appeal of another culture's cuisine, and that's okay. Despite considering myself relatively open to new culinary experiences, I can't honestly say I wish fermented shark from Iceland or fried chickpea balls from the Middle East were staples in my home country. By the same token, many non-Americans will possibly never be able to hold the same appreciation as me for the goopy, syrupy, fattening, amazing goodness that is quintessential American Chinese food... but when you lead the (mostly) quiet and modest life I do in various places around the US, finding a solid mediocre Chinese takeout place and eating their delicious junk food on a Friday evening is one of the little things in life to enjoy. If you've interacted with me on this site a total of 10 or more times, it's statistically unlikely I didn't have a mouthful of orange chicken during at least one of those interactions!

I specify "American Chinese" food because, contrary to what some of our skeptics think, we *do* have authentic Chinese food in the States. However, those authentic places tend to be concentrated in large urban areas, especially in the numerous Chinatowns found in the urban cores of cities - San Francisco's Chinatown likely being the most well-known example. Instead, the incredibly numerous Chinese places you'll find across the country will be mostly either a few well-known chains (like Panda Express and P.F. Chang's) or Chinese-American family-owned restaurants making countless meals suitable for the tastes of general America. Common dishes include an array of syrup-drenched meats like General Tso's, orange and sesame; fried rice and chow mein; fried sides like egg rolls and crab rangoon; and (if you're lucky) a few dishes less familiar to American palates such as frog legs. While generally they all do takeout, buffets (popular in the States) are a common setup for these restaurants as well.

Bonus Drink Review: Monster Energy

Don't drink this stuff. Seriously, it's not good for your body. I drink it because I'm a caffeine addict and coffee doesn't always cut it, and also because I like how it tastes - like radioactive chemicals, but in a... good way? It's definitely not a good idea though; after being off them for years I temporarily hopped back on the energy drink train early during my road trip, and by a couple reviews past this one I started to feel some weird effects in my chest, GI tract and brain. I don't want to get in any legal trouble for making claims I can't verify, so let's just leave it at that.

Happy to report that as of this writing I'm back to drinking black coffee and feel great.

 

Greenville seems to have quite a nice setting despite the small and largely basic collection, a lot of the exhibits seems relatively recent too, lots of mesh and glass.

 

Both collections are ones I had planned on taking photos of for zc - I made it out of the parking lot and halfway to the entrance of one, even! - but alas, you have beaten me to it

Greenville looks quite different from what I expected, really. A nice little stop on a long drive, though.

 

$12usd seems expensive to me for a zoo this size. It's a small zoo after all. However I do know running a zoo cost quite a few and I don't know how expensive are other similar sized attraction are.

As a Chinese myself, I can confirm: We don't have frog legs here (that's French), no crab rangoon(that's a SE Asia thing?) and I don't know what is a General Tso's. (We do have similar dishes though, like sweet and sour meat, if that's what you mean) Our egg rolls are not your egg rolls although we do have a lot of spring rolls. We have fried rice and fried noodles that's nice at least.

 

$12 is what I'd expect from a place this size, if not a little more. They have to bring in money somehow, and don't have as big of a name to draw people in.

 

General Tso sauce is a sauce that’s made using a mix of soy sauce, rice wine, rice wine vinegar, sugar, and chili pepper powder. It’s usually used on chicken.