Do Turtles Play Leapfrog?

Since I (Matt) had charge of the children for most of the day, I thought I might take over the blog as well. Alyssa has been asking me to be a guest blogger for some time, but she probably didn't want this as my debut post. I know it looks like your average family trip to the OKC Zoo, but it was much more educational...and hotter than usual.

Even these Red Pandas would have turned another shade of red if they could see what was happening at "Island Life."

I knew what was happening even before my eyes beheld this scene. I take the kids to the zoo a lot (lack of creativity) so I've seen and heard this before. As we rounded the corner outside I heard the familiar "Urgh" in a deep tone only a 500 lbs tortoise could make. Alyssa and I actually have experienced this before. That is, we've seen turtles teach about the birds and bees in another zoo, but those turtles were small, nothing like the shell shock of these giants.

The first time I witnessed the tortoise tango so many questions came to mind:

How often does this happen? Do they wonder if this is a normal amount? Was this already planned or spontaneous? Had the male done something especially sweet, like complementing her shell, or had she just run out of excuses and was guilted into it? And how long was this to last? Although I violated their privacy as a wildlife papparazzi for a few minutes, I don't know when it started or how much longer it went on. I'm inclined to be impressed by their endurance, but I guess since they're turtles time is relative. For all I know this was a quickie. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to witness two sloths in the throws of passion to get a better comparison.

Since they were along the rail I got a close up view from where the boy in the picture above was standing. From here we could encourage or shame the couple as needed. Of course, one has to be careful with this kind of photography, not only because there are several signs warning that "We May Bite," but because kids are sure to ask their own questions. I could only distract them so long with, "Kids, look at the beautiful flamingos! Did you know they are pink because of the shrimp they eat. Oh look, here's a peacock. He must have eaten a rainbow." Eventually you have to answer some tough questions. This time I got by with the explanation that "turtles aren't very good at leap frog."

In summary, I recommend taking the kids to the zoo even if it's 108 degrees. There are some dangers, but warnings are everywhere. "We May Bite" should probably be expanded to include "We May Give You a Show You'll Never Forget and Force You To Have Conversations You're Not Ready To Have With Your Children." Despite this, when you're heading for the zoo, don't think "Uhhh," think "Argh."