Tag: animals

Grant Museum of Zoology

Grant Museum of Zoology, UCL

Somebody at the Grant Museum of Zoology definitely has a sense of humour. These four skeletons are perfectly placed to watch over the whole museum from their vantage point in the first floor gallery!

Those of a sensitive disposition should probably look away now, because the Grant Museum is filled with skeletons and things in jars. And when I say “filled”, I really mean it. I was reminded a little of the displays at Pitt Rivers, where the museum is as much about the origins of the collection itself as the individual objects in it.

Grant Museum of Zoology, UCL

There’s a whole cabinet full of brains from different animals, so that you can compare and contrast them. I just love the way the parts have been labelled with little slips of paper stuck directly into the specimen. This one is

Brain of “Dog” in median section to show the main convolutions and sulci.

(Sulci: pl. depression or fissure in the surface of the brain. The bumpy bits are gyri.)

Grant Museum of Zoology, UCL

I didn’t make a note of exactly which species this is, but it reminded me of Skycarrots‘ beautifully delicate photograms of Mermaids’ Purses that she found on the beach. When you find these washed up they’ve usually already hatched, so I find it really exciting to be able to see one from the inside.

The museum’s currently open Monday-Friday, 1-5pm. I didn’t stay long because I was on a trip to UCL with work, so I’m going again on Monday. This time with a better camera, and a friend who wants to see the baby manatee!

(Yes, this does mean there’ll be more pictures. Sorry, Lettice!)

Marwell Zoo

Marwell Zoo

When we got up yesterday morning, Paul said “let’s go to the zoo”. So, we bundled the cameras into the car and headed off to Marwell.

It was a scorchingly hot day, so most of the animals were doing the sensible thing and hanging out quietly in the shade. Unfortunately for us, this meant that we had to take most of our pictures through glass or mesh, but I have a few that I’m quite pleased with.

You can see my photos here.

I particularly enjoyed the part where you can get up close and personal with the Kookaburras – there’s a section you can walk through where they’re flying free. The two that we saw certainly weren’t shy! They were quite happy to sit still and pose for the cameras, from a distance of only a couple of feet away.

The bat house was pretty amazing too, although we didn’t take any photos in there on account of it being dark.

I managed to come away without smuggling any of the animals out in my handbag, which is always best. Although I’m sure the Gentle Lemur would have lived in my Shed quite happily.