February 15, 2007

Chocolate, champagne, romantic dinner whilst watching animals mate in captivity [...] Jane Tollini (a former penguin keeper at the San Francisco Zoo) conceived the idea two decades ago while watching her penguins' courtship ritual, which culminates in what she describes as "bowling pins making love." "The keepers get there early and we see things that other people don't see," Tollini said. "And I went, 'My God, that's fascinating.' You know the old Peter Sellers line, 'I like to watch?' You kind of go, 'Oh my, my, my. How big? How many? How far?' It was unbelievable." [...]
posted by NuggetMaven 17 years ago
  • Hee hee hee--Bowling pins. Woo at the Zoo. But: "Manatees are not particular," Nelson said. "We have only males right now and they don't seem to care. This made me want to cry. Please tell me they're not all teh gay. The world needs MORE baby manatees, DAMMIT! MonkeyFilter: 'Oh my, my, my. How big? How many? How far?' It was unbelievable.
  • But do they let you attend in your furry suit?
  • And on a somewhat related note, regarding amorous wild creatures and feeding frenzy... I present Great Whites Feeding Frenzy Oh! The Huge Manatee!
  • a male porcupine has only one four-hour window a year to mate And I always thought that the kids in college called me "The Porcupine" because I had prickly hair.
  • I thought they called you that because they once caught you fucking a pine cone.
  • Apparently male porcupines urinate all over the female as part of their mating activity. Just sayin'
  • So, you're saying R. Kelly is a porcupine?
  • Well, it does logically follow...
  • "The keepers get there early and we see things that other people don't see," Tollini said. Heard that. I once got behind the scenes at the Steinhardt Aquarium in San Francisco, and a friend and I each got to hold a penguin in our laps. Things were all cuddly - the penguins' feathers felt like fur, and the birds seemed content - until one of the keepers rushed up and and grabbed a penguin away from my friend Barbara Rose's lap. We all watched as the keeper turned the penguin horizontal, and the bird spurted a stream of viscous green shit against the nearest wall. "Penguins are famous for that," the keeper said. Barbara and I wondered later if the keeper had recognized some expression on the penguin's face, something that indicated an imminent penguin evacuation. That's a skill!
  • So how far away was this wall? Because I'm imagining the greatest bank robbery ever. "Up against the wall, this thing's been eating herring for four days straight!" *wark wark wark*
  • Hey, if somebody rudely grabbed me away from the clutches of a female that had me in her lap and was stroking my feathers, I'd also express my discontent in such a manner!
  • MonkeyFilter: indications of an imminent penguin evacuation MonkeyFilter: wark wark wark