We were completely mesmerized by the largeness of these animals. They are huge! Gigantic, even. The kids couldn't keep their eyes off them...except for Scotty-he was sleeping. While we watched them traverse the small space in their cage, they looked like majestic creatures. They moved with grace and power and you could feel their intensity as they watched us. And that's exactly what they did. Watch us. We were watching them and they were watching us. Weird. All it made me think of is the voice from those documentary channels saying, in a delicate whisper, "And so the lion watches its prey as it tenses its muscles before the attack..."
Once the feeding was over, the zoo keepers introduced the lion and his lady friends to a new den in the cage area. Apparently, it had been under construction for a while and this was the first time they were going into that section. As the big cats moved over to their new space, the crowd shuffled along with them, parallel to the cage. The lion entered first and the ladies waited. I think they knew what was coming because, not four seconds later, the lion turned his rear to us and pissed all over the crowd. That's right. He peed. And it wasn't a whimpy stream. Oh no, no, no. His stream said, " I am large, this is my area, get the hell out." The first fifteen people or so closest to the cage got lion pee on them. It was shocking and hilarious all at the same time. Sam and I couldn't stop laughing. Truly. We laughed after it was over, while the crowd was dispersing, and even on the car ride home. It's nice to know that I have the humor of a seven year old boy.
Luckily, I had made the kids hold back because I'm not a fan of large crowds like that or of my children being caught up in the throng. Like the lion, my instincts to protect what I value is strong and in tact. Good thing I don't pee on people to demonstrate this part of me....
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