Surreal Zoo

Caroline said what I had been thinking:  “I hope this isn’t one of those illegal zoos.”

We had traveled 40 miles outside of Buenos Aires to the Lujan Zoo on the promise that we would be able to interact closely with the animals.  That turned out to be an understatement.

According to Mariana, our guide for the day, the zoo had been operating for fifteen years, and was unique in South America.  I’d certainly never visited another zoo like it.

We were four of only seven visitors to the zoo on a cool and overcast Monday.  Minutes after we arrived we were escorted to the area where the elephants were kept – not a cage, mind you, more like a large pen.

Caroline and Conor were riding an elephant around a yard before I could say Dumbo.

As it turned out, riding an elephant was least of what we did that day.

After spending a lot of time in close proximity to lions and tigers and bears I couldn’t help but wonder why these wild animals were so docile.  Maybe they were conditioned to be around people.

But when Dani told our friend Marjory about our adventure, she offered an equally plausible explanation:  “Maybe they ate the tour group before you.”

More pictures from our day in Lujan are posted here.