A Baboon for
Brian
By Carrie Karns
"Hello there, I’m Brian. Animals are some of my favorite things in the world. If I had it my way, I would have every animal as a pet. My parents keep that from happening though. It’s not all bad, they take me to the zoo, one of my favorite places to go. Have you ever been to the zoo?"
"At the zoo I can learn about animal’s diets, their habitats, how they survive in the wild, and so much more. Zoos are all over the place and this weekend we are heading to the Kansas City Zoo where they have more 1,700 animals. This is the closest zoo to my house and my anticipation just might keep me from sleeping!"
"Today is the day! My walking shoes are on, I’ve eaten my breakfast, and I’m raring to go. Then, it hit me. The BEST idea I’ve ever had! What if I could find the perfect pet at the zoo?There’s so much to learn at the zoo I’m sure that if I figure out exactly how to care for a pet my parents would finally be on my side. I might as well give it a try!"
"As soon as we pull up to the entrance my heart starts pounding with excitement. This is going to be awesome! The polar bears are there as soon as we walk in, a great way to start things off!"
"The way that polar bears’ large paws thump along mounds of ice right before they plunge into the water is my favorite thing about them. Polar bears seem so playful to me. They can swim up to 60 miles at a time and weigh between 700-1600 pounds. Goodness, that might be a little large if I want an indoor pet. Their thick, clear fur makes them mammals, just like me. They live along Arctic coasts and prey on seals, fish, and walruses. Not exactly something I can purchase from the pet food aisle. Hmm what do you think? A polar bear for a pet? I’ll keep it as a contender!"
"Time to keep wondering along. Next up I spot the really cool, and always radical looking, rhinoceros hornbill. These birds are remarkable ! Their diets consist of fruits, bird eggs, bugs, small reptiles, and frogs. I can find most of those things at the grocery store and I bet my mom would love it if the rhinoceros hornbill ate all of the bugs in our backyard. When these birds want to eat, they pick up their food with their beaks, throw their heads back, and swallow their food right up. If this were my pet people might think I already taught it some tricks. Rhinoceros hornbills can be found in forests in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, and Thailand. Their nests are way up at the top of the trees in these forests. I have some tall oak trees in my backyard. That would work, right?"
"Next on the path, an animal from down under in Australia, a dingo. Wow, this dingo could be a definite possibility. Dingoes weigh roughly forty-nine pounds and look a lot like a regular dog. I can see it now. When I take my dingo on a walk everyone I pass by will think I have a classic pet, a dog, and then surprise! It’s actually a dingo. Dingoes are predators that hunt kangaroos, rabbits, and lizards. Instead of barking like a regular dog, dingoes moan and howl. That might not be a very delightful sound for my neighbors. Maybe, just maybe, I could get my parents on board for a pet dingo?"
"Continuing down the sidewalk, I spotted the lengthy, silver-white mane of a lion-tailed macaque. If you’re lucky, lion-tailed macaques can be spotted in rainforests in the southern part of India. They like to gather up food and store it in their cheeks so that they can eat it later. They even like some of the same snacks as me, fruits, nuts, and seeds. My mom could get a snack for me and my lion-tailed macaque at the same time, which would certainly save her some time. Although, they also eat leaves, flowers, and fungi. You’ll never find those on my plate. Tall trees might be a problem again with this option. They like to sleep in the rainforest canopy . What are your thoughts on this option?"
"Around the bend I see an all-time favorite, the elephants. There are three different elephant species and all of them are enormous. Elephants spend most of their days eating and need little sleep. For an animal who eats around 200 hundred pounds of food per day it makes sense that they wouldn’t sleep much. They have to spend most of their time eating! Elephants like to eat grass, leaves, fruits, and tree bark. If I had an elephant we might run out of grass. Also, I would have to talk to my dad about making a pound in the yard. Elephants like to swim and roll in mud every day. African elephants, which are the largest kind of elephant, can weigh up to 15,400 pounds. No wonder they are the largest land animal in the world!"
“Another all-time favorite is up next. Penguins! There are 26 penguin species that can weigh between two and eighty-eight pounds. Penguins live in colonies and like to spend time on land and in water. These birds, even though they don’t look quite like a bird, swim at turbo speed. Some can reach 30 miles per hour. Penguins can be found along the southern hemisphere and especially like cooler places. My only hesitation when it comes to having a pet penguin is watching the older penguins feed their babies. Some species chew up their food and spit it into the baby’s mouth. My stomach feels a little queasy thinking about that, but maybe I could get used to it. I think penguins are pretty great!”
Next up, another animal from Australia, the kookaburra. Kookaburra’s are famous for the loud call they make that sounds quite a bit like laughter. There is even a famous song about it that might be stuck in my head the rest of the day. Kookaburras are carnivores that eat small snakes, lizards, and rodents. From what I read I think this might be an actual possibility. Kookaburras sometimes live amongst people in Australia. Again, their boisterous call might not be very well liked by my neighbors. How do you think my neighbors would feel about this option?
Only halfway through the zoo and I’m feeling pretty worn out. It might be time to call it a day. I may not have found the perfect pet but at least I got to see some amazing animals. Oh, maybe I should go for a baboon. “Brian’s baboon,” I like the sound of that! Anyways, I guess I’ll keep looking.
Glossary
Glossary
