Kitties! (Pumas, Margays, and an Ocelot): An afternoon at the zoo.

Chhaya, Simone, and I went to the zoo on Sunday. It's called Parque Municipal Summit and includes both a botanical garden and small zoo of rescued animals.

First, there was a pair of twin pumas, born January 2012, that had been rescued from poachers who had killed their mother.

Puma #1 stayed close to the fence on a nice elevated platform.

While Puma #2 walked around the pond and looked playful.

The King vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) has a rather startling head!

The Margay (Leopardus wiedii) was my favorite. It was small with long legs and very big eyes.

To the left was a caiman.

And to the left of that, an ocelot taking a nap.

The monkeys were in these nice enclosures with large trees for them to play in.

Howler monkey.

Spider monkey.

This painted train was parked next to a nice playground.

And there was another (I think) Margay. Either that or a small ocelot, it wasn't labeled.

As we stood watching, it started to rain.

First just a little, and then it was pouring.

A heavy afternoon rain is pretty much a daily affair during the rainy season, but we're only just transitioning from the dry season to the rainy season now, so we're not quite used to it yet. One of the best parts of the coming of the rainy season is that it is also mango time! We have nice, fresh mangoes in the schoolhouse many days now. It was rather nice to stand in the rain and cool off, but we didn't want our stuff to get wet, particularly the cameras, so we went over to where the toucans were which had a slightly overhanging roof.

Keel-billed Toucans (Ramphastos sulfuratus),  also sometimes called Rainbow-billed Toucan for obvious reasons.

Toucans are social creatures, often traveling in groups of 6-12. I think there were six or seven in the enclosure.

Doesn't it have the most gorgeous bill? It does give the bird a rather lopsided look, though, particularly when in flight!

Their bills are so beautiful that you rarely see pictures of toucans head-on...they look rather comical.

The bills are actually serrated, as you can see as soon as they open their mouths. 

It's unclear why toucans have such huge, brightly colored, and serrated bills. Possible explanations (not mutually exclusive) include easier access to fruits on branches too thin to support their weight, thermal regulation, species recognition, and sexual selection.
There were also Squirrel Monkeys and Geoffroy's Tamarins next to the toucans, but they were so small, active, and friendly--therefore right up against the fencing--that I couldn't get a good picture, especially given that I was by that time huddling under the roof  of the enclosure to keep my camera dry!

It was wonderful to get a chance to see some of the creatures I haven't gotten a chance to see in the forest...particularly the cats, of course.