by Matthew Cobb
We’ve mentioned the small zoo at the Jardin des Plantes in the middle of Paris earlier this year. If you’re in la ville lumière, you might want to pop in and have a look because there’s been a baby boom. Here are pictures of some of the recent arrivals. (Credit for all photos: F-G Grandin MNHN or Christelle Hano).
To make it more fun, I’ve put the name of each animal (i.e. its common name and its latin name) underneath each photo in (more or less) the same colour as the background, so you can’t see it. You have to guess! To see whether you have the right answer (and we’ll accept genus for latin or general type for common names – e.g. a deer), highlight the space underneath each photo. No cheating! Let us know in the Comments how many you get right.
h/t Nelly Gidaszewski. Source: RTL.
Military macaw (Ara militaris)
Prewalski’s horse (Equus ferus przewalskii)
Rock squirrel (Spermophilus variegatus)
White-necked crane (Grus vipio)
Markhor (wild goat) (Capra falconeri)
Yak (Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, it appears)
I’d rate myself as “not completely clueless.”
It was, “some kind of leopard,” “chicken?” “some kind of macaw,” “horse,” “squirrel,” “duck,” “some kind of deer,” and “some kind of bovine.”
I know, we were supposed to be more specific….
b&
None. I didn’t even try to guess. Though I should have recognized the horses since I have seen them close up.
😉
I got the clouded leopard and Przewalski’s (properly spelled) horse to species level; macaw, squirrel and goat to family; and I thought the yak was a buffalo :/
Same here! (Well, I just thought “bovine.. something..?” for the yak.) I was surprised I recognized the Przewalski’s, but then, they’re usually the only species of wild horse we see in US zoos, so..
I thought the crane was a duck.. whoops! S/he is a total cutie, though.
They ARE the only species of wild horse since 1909 sadly – unless you mean Equid?
1/8 to the species, and I’m pretty proud of that.
snow leopard, osprey, parrot, horse, squirrel, duck, deer, cow
Snow leopard; leopard food; leopard food; leopard food…
Good kitteh!
Hmmm…close, but not quite specific enough.
Clouded leopard; clouded leopard appetizer; clouded leopard snack; clouded leopard breakfast; clouded leopard squeaky toy; clouded leopard squawky toy; clouded leopard dessert; clouded leopard family pack meal.
Cheers,
b&
I got the Clouded Leopard, never heard of the Psophiidae which is a peculiar looking thing sort of peacock/chicken like!
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/video/grey-winged-trumpeter-psophia-crepitans/large-group-including-2-chicks-taking-advantage-cooked
I thought the third was a parrot or macaw, got the hoss, thought the next was a ground squirrel, thought herom/egret for the next birdy, thought Chamois for the very rare Markhor & Gaur for the Yak.
Regarding the Bos mutus (Przewalski!) & Przewalski’s horse names see BZN Case no.2027 –
“The Commission has conserved the usage of 17 specific names based on wild species, which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic forms. The majority of wild progenitors and their domestic derivatives share the same name, but in the 17 cases considered (1 Lepidoptera, 1 Osteichthyes and 15 Mammalia) the wild and domestic forms have been separately named and this has created confusion.”
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/iczn/BZNMar2003opinions.htm
Przewalski seems to have been an interesting character – Jerry, if you get a chance perhaps visit his grave in Alexander Garden St.Petersburg.
Thanks Matthew – as always an education!
I got the goat right.
After 31 years of raising dairy goats, I can tell the difference between a goat and a deer. L
Can you milk deer?!
Lapps and others milk reindeer.
There are farms in the US that raise deer for meet, so if they’re tame I suppose you could.
I don’t know how much they’d give, though, so it would be hard to decide whether it was worth the effort.
Buffalo and sheep are milked in Europe, primarily in Italy, where the milk is used for cheese. L
Meat. Geez, it’s early. L
I got the kittens right. The rest… well, my “awwww” reflex had kicked in by then (kittehs do that to me) and they all were just marvelously cute. Except for the macaw, who was more than marvelously cute.
Well. I thought #1 was a snow leopard – slightly off. #4 as a horse and #5 as a squirrel. 2, 3 and 6 I correctly identified as “birds”. #7 as a type of deer and #8 as some sort of bovine – a cow.
So I either got zero, 3 or 6 right (if you consider “bird” as a correct answer).
Personally I would say zero.
Lovely post however.
If those animals had names like “Bird” and “Animal”, I would have totally gotten every one right.
Ok I got Przewalski horse and Clouded leopard exactly right, the rest was more on the level of “parrot”, “little big birdie” and “has four legs” 🙂
I want to know what all these beasts are doing in the botanical garden. Especially that goat.
The crane and the trumpeter are OK.
The goat was eating the botanical garden. L
I got the Yak. I was clueless on the others. Nice pics, though.
The Jardin des Plantes in Paris is a fantastic place to visit. Not only is it a botannical garden, but it also has a fantastic avenue of plane trees under which old men play chess and children run and shout in the sunlight. I always used to use it as the ideal start to a a scenic walk along the Seine, ending up at Notre Dame.
I found the zoo to be much less satisfactory – big animals, small cages, that sort of thing.
A couple of my friends had a charming experience there some years ago. They were in a wilder, deserted part of the Jardin which abuts the zoo. They found themeslves in a dead end, surrounded by overgrowth, nettles, and wild greenery. They paused, wondering where to go next, and looked up to find a family staring at them over the wall. “Look mummy,” said the little French boy, “there’s a man and a woman in this one.”
There’s a place where the San Diego Zoo abuts a school, separated by a chain-link fence. On the fence is a label/sign that says “homo sapiens”. L
Ha! Wish I’d know about that a couple of months ago when I was there! I’d have taken a photo to post:-) Ah, well– next time…