Perfect weather, wonderful zoo: Part One

I've been dying to see the new polar bear exhibit at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Named Polar Frontier, the exhibit contains twin-sister polar bears, Alaska brown bears (who were moved from the North America section of the zoo) and Arctic foxes.

One of two Alaska brown bears, named Brutus and Buckeye. They were orphaned as young cubs when a farmer mistakenly shot their mother after being threatened by her. He felt so badly that he searched the area until he rescued the cubs and brought them to the nearest rescue facility.

The Arctic foxes were such a blur of motion, playing and chasing each other, that all I got was a blur!

Anana, the pretty

Aurora

The polar bears' new home includes a 1.32-acre yard with two pools, smell ports, dig pits and shelters. A 167,000-gallon pool allows visitors to view the bears from above, at eye-level, and below. The other pool is a surge pool with a tidal effect, providing enrichment with various depths and moving water. The zoo spared no expense in building this exhibit, costing 20 million dollars. Judging from the crowds they've been experiencing since the opening in early May, they should see a return on their investment very soon! Zoo officials hope to add a male bear in the future. Keeping my fingers crossed for polar bear cubs!

These girls, Anana (an Inuit word meaning "pretty") and Aurora (named for the aurora borealis), are only three years old. They were born at the Toledo Zoo and housed for two years at the Pittsburgh Zoo. They came to live in their new environment in late February.




Although we had to view them from behind glass, it didn't take away from their awesome beauty.

There is also an interpretive center which focuses on conservation and the global climate change that has resulted in a loss of habitat for these wonderful animals. There are lots of hands-on activities for children and adults alike. The building is designed to resemble a rustic Alaska town.

Thomas Alva Edison was promoting conservation and solar energy in his day. Why didn't we listen to him then? 

"I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait till oil and coal run out before we tackle that."

We all know that glaciers around the world are disappearing at an alarming rate due to global climate change. This photo illustrates the dramatic difference.

Tomorrow, Part Two: What's happening elsewhere at the Columbus Zoo.

This post has been featured as a Travel Gem on Uptake.

You go for it, Girl!

It's been a while since I participated in The Bumbles' Monday Movie Meme. This week's theme is take-charge movie heroines...the ones who save the day, who change what's wrong into something very right. I loves me some powerful women, especially when the characters are based on the real thing. These ladies are the real thing.

Meryl Streep as Karen Silkwood in Silkwood (1983). This movie was based on the true story of Karen Silkwood, a metallurgist in a plutonium factory, who was purposely contaminated with radioactive material, psychologically tortured and most likely killed, to prevent her from exposing blatant worker safety violations. It was nominated for five Oscars and five Golden Globes. Cher won a best supporting actress Golden Globe for her portrayal as Karen's friend Dolly. Kurt Russell also starred. Co-written by Nora Ephron and directed by Mike Nichols.

The decontamination shower scene gets me every time.





Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (2000). Also based on a true story. Erin Brockovich stumbles into a legal assistant position at a going-broke law firm run by Ed Masry (an excellent Albert Finney). She also stumbles onto incriminating information that a large California power company is polluting the city's water supply and ultimately brings the company to its knees. The film was nominated for a slew of awards (42), both in the U.S. and abroad. Julia Roberts won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best actress. Steven Soderbergh directed. Little known fact: Danny deVito was Executive Producer.





Sally Field as Norma Rae (1979).  Sally Field won seven best actress awards, including an Oscar, a Golden Globe and the Cannes Film Festival, for her portrayal of Norma Rae. Norma was an operator in a southern textile mill, working in deplorable conditions under hostile management, hostile mill owners, and even some of her co-workers who didn't want to lose their jobs. When a union organizer (Ron Leibman) comes to town, Norma sees an opportunity to do something worthwhile with her life and joins up with him.







Honorable mention: fictional characters.

Renee Zelwegger as Ruby Thewes in Cold Mountain (2003)
Jane Fonda as Kimberly Welles in The China Syndrome (1979)
Jodie Foster in Flightplan (2005), Panic Room (2002), The Brave One (2007)

Six Word Sunday

In the tradition of Ernest Hemingway, who was once challenged to write a short story in six words.

His six-word story was:  "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Each week I will choose a theme. It is your mission, if you choose to accept it, to meet that challenge in six words; no more, no less.

If you like, you may illustrate with a photo, or not.

Punctuation will be your biggest ally.

If you decide to play, please link back to this post, and leave the link to your post in comments here.
If you don't want to create your own post, you can write your six word story in my comments.

The Theme:

The Gulf Oil Spill

Pristine beaches decimated for greed. Damn.

Thank you for playing.