Gotham

This time we made it to Chester Zoo. After the last attempt when we decided the weather wasn't going to be good enough we were going to be easily dissuaded today. And the weather was good, surprisingly so for a Bank Holiday. Chester is quite a good zoo. A lot of effort being put into environmental enrichment. Doesn't always work, especially with the Jaguars which, although beautiful animals, were showing too much pacing for my liking. Zoos are always a conundrum, they do a lot of good work and support conservation, without some of the research by some of he zoos there would be even more extinct species, but for some of the individual animals they aren't great.

Special mention has to go to the bat cave. Before we went in "A" said she was scared of bats. So you'd think going into a cave where the bats can fly around you would be a disaster. Quite the opposite, by the time we came out she said she liked bats and wanted to go back in. It was fascinating. The bats fly right around you. If you stand still and are quiet then that actually fly up to you and hover right in front of your face. Rather than being the shy things that you imagine them to be, it turns out that they are curious little things. Lovely creatures. As your eyes adjust to the dark you can start to see them hanging from the walls next to you. It was without doubt the best bat display I have seen.