“Character is like pregnancy. It cannot be hidden forever.” – African Proverb
When we went to the Oakland Zoo this past week, they had this incredibly creative display of the animals that are native to the area. With a shout-out to the Silicon Valley vibe, they classified them as different characters.
The Influencer: I think these might be crows in my neighborhood in Seattle.
The Engineer: This nails it for the raccoons in my neighborhood.
The Creative: We have coyotes in Seattle as well and it always surprises me how they can adapt to a big city.
The Free Spirit: We have a lot of wild bunnies in our neighborhood and I think they might be our free spirits.
The Foodie: I think the foodies in Seattle might be the Sea Lion. We had a famous one named Herschel who liked to park himself next to the fish ladder to get a parade of snacks that just lined up for him.
Do you have these animals or characters like these in your neighborhood?
(all photos are mine from the Oakland zoo)
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Surprised By Joy 
Characters for sure, Wynne, but they aren’t as cute and thoughtful. The proper sign for one I know would read “Maniac.” Just kidding, sorry of.
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I love how they introduced theses animals as characters. And they all fit, very well. Except the Foodies in our neighbourhood are our two dogs. I’m telling you, they have quite a diverse palate!
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Im interested to The engineers and The creative. We don’t have that here. Interesting visits, Wynne.
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I love the concept of this and its execution; I like the animals that brachiate through the jungle: those long limbed Gibbons 🙂 we were once very good friends with a family called Gibbons: wonder where they got that name from?
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I love wild critters! They rule in the Ozark.
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I love all these ingenious ‘characters’ Wynne. Applying their instincts and experiences in order to survive and live amongst us. 🥰
Many of the birds in our garden in Cheshire, UK certainly outwit Cafferty, our tuxedo cat. He’s 3 and hasn’t caught a single bird yet – thankfully. We have several bird feeders in our garden. 😀
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This was so fun to read, such an interesting take on classifying animals. I’m looking at quail outside my window scurrying around, always in motion. I’d say they are the busy bodies, never at rest, or else the guardians, always one or two percent high on a fence looking for predators and shouting warnings as needed.
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Crows ✓, raccoons ✓, coyotes ✓, bunnies ✓, sea lions X … our Foodies here in the Great Smoky Mountains of TN are Smoky and his friends 🐻 … but … I’d love to toss a sea lion in the creek to add a little character and liven things up a tad Wynne 😀
Keep Looking Up ^… His Best is Yet to Come!
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I love the characterization of the animals! That’s so much fun.
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Oh Wynne
I love how they classified the animals.
Fascinating.
Thank you for sharing !
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This was s a fun way to look at local animal species.
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Animal personalities, what a nice idea! It puts a smile on my face, I love it! My favorite is the influencer, in my city it could be represented by magpies.
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Oh I have to get there soon with the grand girls.. Looks like a blast. The crows and the coyotes seem to be ours.. 😹
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That’s so cute, Wynne. We have The Engineer and The Creative in our area. And I agree with your observation about the similarities between the wild bunnies and the mountain lions.
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Fun post, Wynne! Just the other day I saw a roadrunner dart in front of my window and eat a six-inch-long lizard. Not something you get to see everyday, and I haven’t seen that bird again! I had no idea we had those around. I’m used to seeing doves and hummingbirds!
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