By WILLIAM WITCZAK
The last I went to the zoo I probably couldn’t see over the railings and had to get my mother to tie my shoes. Well, maybe one of those things has changed, but what hasn’t is the wonder and amazement I experienced seeing all of the animals. It truly brought out the child in me.
I recently went to the Toronto Zoo, and even though it may have been a bit chilly for the animals of the African climate, it was still one of the most enjoyable days I’ve had in a long time. Monkeys, snakes, otters, lions, tigers, red pandas and hippopotamus turned this fairly mature (at least I think I am) man into a little kid who ran from location to location because he was so excited to see what new animals were there.
Sure, I was probably the only person who didn’t go with a kid, and maybe, just maybe, I may have overreacted just a tad when I saw the polar bear cub who was running around charging at his little toy garbage can and rolling around (in my defence he was absolutely the epitome of adorable), but there’s one thing that I found out for sure while at the zoo, there’s something almost magical about it.
You lose all control of the preconceived notion of how an adult is supposed to act and just get caught up in all the cute and cuddliness of the animals.
It was almost like watching a Disney movie (and yes, I saw a Dory, a Timon and even a Simba) — you don’t need to be a child to enjoy it; you just need to bring your inner child.
I know I will be going back and maybe someday when I have kids I won’t be that crazy man who’s running around the zoo like a child, I’ll be that awesome father who’s running around the zoo with his children.
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