It's More Than a Zoo
Not too long ago, I had a chance to visit the Biodôme in Montreal. And while it is certainly less than advertised, the Biodôme is interesting all the same. It's a kind of zoo, but not quite so. Instead, it attempts to recreate four different world environments.The first is Tropical Forest, and it makes an immediate impact. Specifically, the climate. Hot & humid just begins to describe it. Removing even the lightest of coats is the first thing just about everybody does. That said, it is not oppressive. It's more "attention getting." You've entered a new and different world. And here, in Amazonia, your fellow inhabitants are creatures like the tamarin (which are indeed cute and exotic) and the hyacinth macaw (which are impressively large and beautiful birds). Thankfully, the environment is hardly pristine. No, the eco-system is purposefully damaged in an effort to show the world as it really is. That said, I was very glad to see the bats enclosed in glass. There were hundreds, if not thousands of them, and for some reason, they were highly animated. Without the glass, it would have been a rather scaredy-cat experience. I think even I would have had no choice but to scream!
Second stop was the Laurentian Forest. And here, the Biodôme begins to fail. Otters, beavers, rather typical waterfowl. There was one lynx, but it, like I, appeared rather bored by it all. It laid on a ledge way up in the back and watched, with a somewhat quizzical look, as the people walked by. Of course, here, one is confronted with the dilemma places such as these propose. We want to see these animals, and we want to see them in "appropriate" and "natural" environments, but alas, we really do want them to "perform" for us as well. Nothing was "happening" in the Laurentian Forest.
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