The zoo story behind U.S. relations

Posted by Mark Silva at 6:30 am CST

SYDNEY -- You must be Americans, the man collecting tickets at the cable-car at the zoo said. Yes, we replied.

"That's your vice president passing by,'' the man said, pointing to a virtual armada of yacht and patrol boats and gun-rafts crossing the harbor beneath the watchful eyes of helicopters above.

Yes, we replied with a smile.

"Pathetic,'' he snarled.

So much for the "rock-solid'' relationship between Australia and the United States that Vice President Dick Cheney was touting this morning in a press conference with Prime Minister John Howard.

But the zoo is pretty darn good. A gorilla brawl broke out while we were there.

This is the armada that Prime Minister Howard assembled for Vice President Cheney, as seen from the harborside zoo at Sydney. Photo by Mark Silva

Cheney and Howard, who seemed downright bubbly about their meeting in the downtown prime minister's offices today, suggested that relations between the United States and Australia have never been better. "Rock-solid,'' said Cheney, in a joint appearance with Howard before heading off for the day to have lunch, have meetings and have a ride across Sydney Harbor in the PM's armada.

The prime minister and vice president spoke at podiums decorated with raised relief images of the national seal, pewter portraits of a kangaroo and emu flanking the seal. Which led the Swamp to the natural follow-up question: Where's the zoo? Silva.

The Taronga Zoo sits on a vast hillside across the harbor from Sydney's signature Opera House, the one that looks a little like a stegasauraus, and big ferries shuttle visitors from the docks downtown to the zoo and back, crossing a wide expanse of water that was filled on this day with spinnaker-powered sailboats flying across the harbor. Arriving at the zoo, one boards a cable car to the top of the hill, and then descends through winding paths of animal lairs -- sort of a Guggenheim of the animal arts.

The kangaroos were eating carrots. Silva

The paths of this zoo wind through habitats open to visitors who push big swinging doors and enter, walking among the wallabees and the kangaroos and all sorts of other creatures.

This is one of the exhibits where you want to hold your children's hands tight. The dingo. Silva

The way this zoo is situated in the hills, many a turn leads to a breathtaking view of Sydney across the harbor, the Opera House serving as a sort of reference point.

From the vantage point of the zebras and the giraffes, a night at the opera is a long way off. Silva

We know they call them mountain goats, but we remained perplexed about how this particular creature gained its foothold:

The monkeys are a perennial favorite, without mentioning some of the behavior we witnessed as we passed by the hillside habitat of some chimps who were no chumps.

But the gorillas offered the most compelling reminder that this is a zoo. Some of the ladies carried young gorillas on their backs, which seemed to cause no end of misery for one mammoth male gorilla who insisted on occupying their time. The fight that broke out while we were there was something that -- well, Marlon Perkins himself would have been awe-struck by the commotion.

Mother's Day at the zoo. Silva

When the big male reared up on his hind legs and started beating his chest, I was ready to run. I botched the shot, of course. Too busy freaking out to focus.

This is the fellow who caused all the commotion in the gorilla hold. Silva

This is my one salvageable action shot. When the big guy gave chase, the ladies ran for the hills, and the babies were playing catchup. Silva

Now, no Australian zoo visit would be an Australian zoo visit without the koala. And this one was obliging us with a feast of eucalyptus -- which we were advised is not very nutritional, which accounts for some of the lethargic ways of the koala. Always hungry. Finally, a creature with which I could identify.

We had missed the 3 pm closing of the pose-with-a-koala photo opportunities. But on this particular Pacific crossing, after several days of pool duty and popping in and out of meetings with world leaders who smiled and made small talk for our cameras, I, for one, had had my fill of photo-ops.

Koala by Silva.