I have been always fascinated by animals. Their funny movements, screaming noise, frightening looks, etc. always delight me. Therefore, I was extremely glad when my uncle, one day, took me to the Zoo at Guwahati. This zoo is said to be the best in the whole of the Northeastern region and I had heard a great deal about it from my friends who had visited it.
After having purchased the tickets from the counter we went inside. Numerous people and lots of children were moving all over the place. Both of us moved along the marked footpath. The first sight was of the birds. We saw numerous water birds of all hue and colour, ducks, swans, cranes, storks, pelicans, Siberian cranes, peahens, etc. enjoying themselves in the water. The stick-like legs of the cranes impressed me greatly.
The next sight was of monkeys. We saw many varieties of them. Some of them were dark-skinned while some were brown-skinned. Some had long and twisted tails. For the first time, I saw a gorilla which walked almost like a man. I spent some time just admiring my great ancestor from Africa.
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From there, we moved to watch the caged animals, such as, wild cats, leopards, tigers, cheetah, antelopes, bears and lions. Their ferocious gaze, deafening roar and loud screaming frightened me. Most of these caged animals were walking to and in their cages.
There was a separate section for bears, wherein we saw bears of many types. Some of them were playing tricks which thrilled the spectators. In front of the cage of the Polar bear, we found a large gathering of people who were enjoying his funny tricks and acrobatics. Next we moved to see the hippopotamus. It was a sight worth seeing. I was surprised by their enormous size and by the apple like colour of their skin.
Moving further we saw rhinoceros, elephants, giraffes, wild buffaloes, crocodiles, deer and many other animals. The sight of rhinoceros with their funny horns delighted me. I was able to touch one of them at the back. Its skin was as hard as a rock.
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Since my uncle had some urgent work in the city, the very evening, we decided to wind up our visit with a trip to the reptiles and birds section. I was greatly delighted to see so many snakes and several pythons caged in glass cases. There was also a birds’ section.
The birds were kept in large enclosed houses with lots of space for flying about. Lovebirds, parrots, nightingales and cuckoos were the key attractions of this section. There were also numerous birds from the state of Assam. We decided to conclude our memorable visit with an ice cream at the restaurant just at the entrance.
As I sat there relishing the ice cream, my uncle asked me about the most impressive sight I saw in the zoo. I told him that it was the sight of hippopotamus with their enormous size enjoying a swim, like little kids.
Indeed, the visit to the zoo was memorable, enriching and exciting. It taught me many things which I had learnt in my textbook. The visit was highly educative and informative. I saw several animals and birds for the first time. The memory of that visit still continues to reverberate in my mind even after several years.