Do you know that moment in your life when you've been running at 100% for months and the breaking point finally came? The body says "nu-uh". The soul begs to be restored. The mind says "baa".
Yeah. You need rest. For some it's sleep. For others it's an all-inclusive holiday. For me? For me it's walking with my camera on my shoulder. Ideally amongst animals.
So this week I kept bouncing between Shepreth Wildlife Park and Hamerton Zoo Park. Not in a “big planned trip” way, more in a “the light looks… good enough, let’s go” way. Back in January I made a decision that changed everything - suddenly there was no pressure to stay all day to get my money’s worth. No guilt about leaving after a couple of hours. Just… show up, walk, see what’s there, leave when it feels right. Repeat.
Shepreth started the usual way. Kelabu doing her rounds. Both maned wolves hiding, like the introverts they are. Surprisingly though the clouded leopard and the lynx were both out, which was the first for me. I’ve learned from the keeper that soon they’ll be doing a swap - the male maned wolf will go to a different zoo and they’ll get another one. As of writing this post, the new male was still in quarantine.
And then there was Hamerton.
Super quiet (although it is the winter) and definitely bigger than Shepreth. I went there hoping I might see them - the maned wolves. Chrysocyon brachyurus. I didn’t, not at first. I spoke with the keepers there and learned that they’re mostly out during their feeding times, so that’s why I was there just as the feeding was starting the next day.
I did not expect to see what happened next.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen the maned wolves before - and at Hamerton. The legs. The proportions. The way they move like someone designed a fox and then stretched it vertically just because they could. Every time one of them started moving, I was locked in. And they did move. I swear I saw them airborne. When the male got zoomies… Yeah. Definitely a golden dog.
I am now, officially, a proud owner of two zoo annual passes, which feels slightly unhinged and entirely justified.
By the end of the week I was tired… but this time physically. The good kind. The “you went outside, you moved, you cared about something” kind.
Turns out, for me, that’s exactly what restoration looks like.
