Whale Watching

We had been to Point Reyes (a point on the scenic Pacific Coast in California, where whales are spotted with relative ease). However, the highlight of the visit turned out to be cows! The one-year old Fauna Research Crew Head in our team was fast asleep, exhausted from the long drive there, and her Grandmother practically had a hyper-tension attack everytime she missed another 4-legged creature. Normally, my mother is not excited enough to steer all conversations towards cows, if she chances upon a couple of them sitting by the roadside.


Every time an individual reacts in a certain way, there should have been a Cause i.e. the Cause-Effect Phenomenon. As it turns out, the reason for the exalted proclamations on seeing cows was an innocent visit to the Zoo a few weeks earlier. We had endeavoured to show our little daughter 3-dimensional creatures, since she loves the 2-D versions of these that she sees in her picture books and Baby Einstein DVDs. We planned a day to the Zoo, and arrived there with a Picnic hamper full of Goodies, and had a hearty meal before embarking on the Zoo tour. We practised the Lion's roar, and the Elephant trumpet for good measure.

Four enthusiastic adults accompanied the toddler into the Grand Zoo. We had been to the sprawling Zoological Gardens in Mysore & Hyderabad, and my parents were eagerly looking forward to this visit. We went in, and saw the following animals:
1) Cow - 1 number
2) Donkey - 1 number
3) Horse - 1 number
4) Goats - 5 numbers
5) Sicilian Donkey - 1 number
6) Parrots/Tropical Birds - 5 numbers
7) Jaguar - 1 number (The only "Zoo-worthy" animal as my Father would say!)
8) Some Squirrels (I couldn't bother counting them **BORED FACE**)

By the above standards, every street corner in India was a Zoo! We had been to a Petting Zoo (I figured that out later of course!)

So, when my parents saw cows minding their own business and grazing quietly, they could not stomach the fact that we paid to see 1 cow, while this many cows were there for no fee. Thankfully for them, the little one got up, and drank in the scene! She even had the good fortune of seeing a newborn calf that day.

I would have been happy if they had saved their enthusiasm for spotting Whales at Point Reyes - but Female Whales or Mother Whales are called Cows, so I'll just have to settle for that!!