Freeman's Rule
Nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood.

Sea World

Ever since I watched the first dolphins and whales performing on the Discovery Channel, I had always wanted to see them for real, with my own eyes. I wanted to touch the dolphins, feel the splash of the orcas, dance with the flamingoes and talk with the sea lions.

Opportunity knocked on my door when I got a chance to visit Sea World at San Antonio. Twice.

A few highlights. Since not everything can be highlighted. I am splitting it into two parts - the animal displays and the three main shows.

• The dolphin pool: A huge pool where dolphins swim by, and during feeding time, you feed them fishes and they return the favor by allowing you to touch them. The experience, well, is one of a kind.
  
  
  
  One of the bottle-nosed dolphins there, ready to get more food. It is insatiable.
  
  
  For a fee (two fishes), the dolphins will even perform acrobatics for you (Jus' kidding).
  
  
• The aviary: This sea world has an aviary full of colorful lorikeets (mainly red and rainbow). (What are lorikeets?) And again, during feeding time, they let you into the cage with a small cup of nectar which these delightful birds relish. And if you are patient and lucky enough (both are essential components), one of them will get attracted towards you and starts sipping the nectar. If conditions are really auspicious, two of them will start fighting for it, as in my case.
  
   
  
  Click on the images to go to my Flickr pages.
  
  
  The red lorikeet was actually on the shoulder of the lady in front. And it jumped onto my arm. After having its fill, it migrated to my shoulder and vociferously started whispering sweet nothings into my ear for about a couple of minutes. (Man, are they loud.)
  It was quite difficult taking this photographs, as I had the camera in one hand, and a bird in the other, and I had no idea what I was shooting. I did try a shot of the lorikeet sitting on my shoulder, but I ended up focusing somewhere else.
  Among the rainbow lorikeets (which refused to get onto my hand), the one in the front started fighting with the other one for my nectar. It also tried to grab that small cup; the resulting tug-o-war that ensued caused my cup to get crushed and all the nectar spilling away.
  
  
• The flamingo pool: This is where the tall walking ladies reside, mostly elegant pink flamingoes, some scarlet ibises, a few mallards and some ducks.
  
  
  
  The grandeurness of the adult pink flamingo (the greater flamingo). The slightly grey one in the is still a young one.
  
  
  
• The sea lion pool: Adjoining the theatre for the sea lion show, there is this huge pool where a lot of types of sea lions. And during feeding times, they CAN shout. Some really attract the best attention by splashing water with their flippers. Others just bellow. It is quite an interesting experience, though.
  
  
  
  A couple of the more demure sea lions pose for me at the tank.

To be continued....