|LA| > |LL|

Jane and I took a nice outing to the Buin Zoo yesterday. I had been wanting to go there for quite some time, as I get thrills out of observing animals in captivity (not really). The truth is, I had heard the zoo had llamas, alpacas, and guanacos, and it's been a long time since I actually saw a camelid in person. And of course, if I am going to work on a llama farm for three months (knock on wood again), I need to be 100% certain that I love these animals enough to scoop their shit everyday.

Indeed, after my zoo outing, I still love camelids. In fact, if anything my love for them has grown. To be exact, my love for alpacas has grown and my love for llamas has diminished. However, given that LA = increase in love for alpacas, and LL = decrease in love for llamas,

|LA| > |LL|

In other words, after seeing the llamas, I am a bit disappointed, but not as excited as I am about the alpacas. The reason for my disapointment regarding the llamas is two-fold: 1) they are much larger than I had imagined them to be, and 2) they are dirty and swarming with flies. However, the alpacas more than made up for the llamas. First of all, alpacas are more compact--about 4 feet in stature with shorter noses than the llamas. Secondly, they are fluffy and have the softest fur ever. Thirdly, they are by far the cutest camelid there is. And fourthly, I got to touch a baby one at the petting zoo. As for guanacos, they look just like llamas except they come in only one color: light brown.

But I think I've exhausted the camelid topic. Besides, they were not my favorite exhibit at the zoo. Jane and I agree that the best exhibit was the Hamadryas baboon (as shown in the picture). I had never seen one in person before, and his likeness to a human blew our minds. The lone baboon sat on a branch the entire time we observed him, with his arms around his knees looking pensive. There was something so disturbingly human about it. I've seen enough chimps in my life to know that apes act like humans, but this baboon was way cooler than any chimp.

In summation, the Buin Zoo was an enlightening experience at the expense of a large number of captive animals. The living conditions were favorable in comparison to other zoos, but my conscience cringes a little at the concept of paying to go stare at a bunch of animals trapped in cages. Maybe one day karma will come back to haunt me, and I'll end up in a cage somewhere, being scrutinized by baboons...