Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Pink Heart of Art - LP Zoo

Two Chilean flamingos do
Come together to do their part
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo
To form a pink valentine heart.
A close encounter face to face
In feathered pink each head, each neck
Outlines a heart in time and place.
Tiz Valentine's Day - what the heck!
The heart made moment does not last.
The two flamingos pass on by.
But for onlookers there be cast
A valentine and all do sigh.

Come visit and you too can share
The love that's always in the air.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Fishin' for Lovin' - LP Zoo

We seals at the Lincoln Park Zoo
Got lovin' on Valentine's Day,
And so of course what did we do -
We took to hearts in our way.
Heart shaped tasty treats we did munch.
The keepers keep us in good stead.
We did enjoy the fish a bunch,
Though funny shaped and colored red.
For humans it is a day that
Is filled with lovey dovey stuff.
For us seals in the habitat,
Fancy fish is more than enough.

For sharing some love with a seal,
Some heart shaped red fish seal the deal.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Sloth Full of Lovin' - LP Zoo

A Happy Valentine's Day treat
From my lovable keepers to
Me, Luigi, the sloth to eat
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
My favorites, an assortment
Of fruits and veggies just for me.
The hand that feeds me does present,
And I chow down quite gleefully.
There is no doubt, love's in the air.
I feel loved in a special way.
And so to all I wish to share,
Have a Happy Valentine's Day.

Of course the love that I get here
Happens ev'ry day of the year.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Oliver Turns One - LP Zoo

A year ago you hatched brand new,
African penguin, Oliver,
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo,
A bundle of joy boy for sure.
The first chick in the colony,
You were a star in time and place,
Under a lot of scrutiny
From your many fans, face to face.
And through your first year you did grow
Both in size and in confidence,
Letting the world around you know
You are awesome in ev'ry sense.

Oliver - Happy First Hatch Day.
You're one year old - hip hip hooray.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

The Kiss

V.J. Day in New York Times Square,
A U.S. Navy sailor and
A female dressed in white were there.
The kiss took place and was not planned.
A photograph captured the kiss,
And soon after the kiss became
A visual of joy and bliss.
The kissers were not known by name.
Through the ages the theory is
The girl did catch the sailor's eye,
And he grabbed her in macho biz,
Giving her no chance to reply.

Though romantic it seemed to be,
The kiss has caused controversy.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Wrinkled Skin

Elephants have quite wrinkled skin.
Since they don't sweat, these wrinkles be
A good air conditioning when
In traveling activity.
When at water, elephants spray
And soak so moisture does set in
The wrinkles and therein does stay
Till later water's found again.
Also wrinkles help mud to stick
To better keep in water and
To make a protective coat thick
For less sun burn on long trips spanned.

The wrinkled skin is just one tool
Why elephants are just so cool.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Self Peeking

The cleaner wrasse, a tiny fish,
Has been studied and found to do
Something deemed very humanish,
The first of fish for such debut.
From the studies it does appear
The cleaner wrasse does recognize
Itself from looking in a mirror,
A self awareness that implies.
On the fish studiers did place
Spots that in the mirror did show.
The cleaner wrasse tried to erase
Those spots - a blemish they did know.

Seeing themselves in the mirror scene,
The cleaner wrasse saw what to clean.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Thought for Food

I see some seeds down in a hole,
While I'm on a branch of a tree.
I want those seeds, that is my goal.
So how can I set those seeds free?
I break off a twig and I do
Fashion a small hook at the end.
Then with my tool I do pursue
Those seeds I want to apprehend.
I hook a seed and pull it out,
Pulling the seeds out one by one.
Ah, I am so clever, no doubt.
The seeds are mine, my job is done.

I am much smarter than most know.
Don't underestimate this crow.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Josephine

Josephine, the Empress of France,
Wife of Napoleon for years,
Escaped the guillotine by chance,
Before that marriage it appears.
Then Napoleon came her way.
Infatuated he became,
And as a power couple, they
Quickly rose in fortune and fame.
Because she could not bear his heir,
Napoleon did divorce her.
She retired to a chateau where
To tend roses she loved for sure.

When Josephine did die, meanwhile,
Napoleon was in exile.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Merger on a Big Scale

A giant merger will occur -
The Andromeda galaxy
With our Milky Way for sure.
And so when will this merger be?
Four to five billion years from now
The two galaxies will collide,
And such a merger will allow
A partnership to coincide.
For planet Earth what does it mean?
No one may be around to know.
Our sun should be burning mean,
Barbecuing Earth in its glow.

Maybe humans will be somewhere
For merger memories to share.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Beewolf Wasp

The beewolf wasp does kill a bee,
Then takes it into the wasp nest,
Laying eggs in the bee body.
Deep in the carcass eggs are pressed.
The wasp does leave and her eggs do
A making of nitric oxide.
Around the nest this gas does spew,
Protecting from threats from outside.
When it's time for the eggs to hatch,
The young wasps then do feed upon
The dead bee - lots of protein, natch.
Soon afterwards the wasps fly on.

A defense that's hard to surpass.
An egg survives by passing gas.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Whale Shark

Whale sharks are the biggest known fish,
Growing up to forty feet long,
Up to fifty thousand poundish,
They must eat good food to stay strong.
Studies of their diets do show
That the whale shark is omnivore,
Eating animals and plants, so
Ready food supply is galore.
So not bloodthirsty as their kin,
These gentle giants pick and choose
What food to eat and where and when,
As through the oceans they do cruise.

The whale shark's catch of this day be
A tasty salad of algae.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Arctic Term

The word, arctic, derives from
The Greek word, arktos, meaning bear,
And originally did come
From Arktos Megale up there
In the northern spheres of the sky,
"The Great Bear" constellation that
Travelers navigated by
Early on knowing it was at
Always in the north to be found.
An English word, arctic, now is,
And to the north arctic is bound,
A place where polar bears do biz.

Antarctic - maybe you can guess
Is in the south and is bearless.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Owl Gussied Up

Some owls like living underground,
Burrowing out a home sweet home.
Rural and urban such owls be found.
For home decor the owls do roam,
Looking for discards, this and that,
That each owl senses is just right
To decorate the habitat,
According to each owl's insight.
Favored is a poop assortment,
Perhaps predators to repel,
Perhaps tasty bugs to present,
Perhaps for courtship - who can tell!

Visit the burrow of an owl,
And find a place that be fowl foul.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Frigid Rigid - LP Zoo

We outdoors swans and ducks sure do
Thank keepers for breaking the ice
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo,
We waterfowl think that's so nice.
The keepers have to be well donned
In protective layers to be
Right here with us in our pond,
Working to make it more ice free.
It is a frigid winter day.
The keepers work fast, because if
For too long the keepers do stay,
They would become quite frozen stiff..

The keepers we appreciate
For all they do - they're really great.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Talini Takes a Dip - LP Zoo

Talini do a dip, she do.
Refreshing for this polar bear,
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
The window shows her dip to share.
Into the large pool she does go.
She stands a moment on a rock,
Then launches like a torpedo.
All the window watchers do gawk
At this big girl's agility,
As she zooms by in speedy style,
Where all the window watchers be,
Talini gives all a big smile.

When Talini is in her pool,
She's always doing something cool.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Year of the Pig - LP Zoo

This year of the pig and I do
Wish a Happy Lunar New Year
From home at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
I am a red river hog here.
From Africa come me and mine,
Found wallowing in rivers, and
We are a reddish colored swine,
So hence the name I understand.
Though the keepers keep me well fed,
I like to use my snout to dig
For tasty stuff that might be spread
In the ground waiting for this pig.

If I notice you coming by,
I'll wave a long ear to say "Hi."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Bilateral Gynandromorph

Bilateral gynandromorph -
Body half male and half female.
In bird species, giant or dwarf,
"Half siders" are on a rare scale.
It can occur when the egg cell
Is double fertilized by sperm.
Taking sides, chromosomes then dwell
Until the hatchling comes to term.
The hatching then develops, so
He/she is male on one side, and
Female the other side does show.
This is quite rare, please understand.

Such a bird can certainly be
A birdwatching event to see.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Match Bird.com - LP Zoo

Palawan peacock-pheasant, I
Flash my wings of metallic blue
To show I am one handsome guy
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
And if that isn't flash enough,
There's my colorful spotted tail
That I fan out to strut my stuff,
A come on that should never fail.
Alas, for now I strut for naught.
I have no female counterpart.
Such a longing for love I've got,
Hope she comes soon to fill my heart.

In the meantime, come visit me,
View what a dream boat stud I be.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Sea Cucumber

An animal and not a plant,
A sea cucumber I do be.
I do bloat up and gallivant
Far across the floor of the sea.
Scavenging on this and on that,
My tentacles sift through the sand,
And help to clean the habitat
Across the seas that I have spanned.
I'm called a cucumber, I guess,
Because I do resemble such.
I've never seen one, I confess,
But that doesn't bother me much.

Humans do like my kind a bunch,
And often we are served for lunch.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Polar Motion - LP Zoo

What's a polar bear gal to do
When snow and cold are all around,
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
Tiz time for me to be play bound.
A few brave human souls I see,
Braving the frigid winter cold,
All bundled up and watching me,
As my playful antics unfold.
A rockin' and a rollin', I
Do bear bod artworks in the snow,
To do a polar bearify
That I bear awesome moves to show.

So bundle up and come on out.
My coolness will warm you, no doubt!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Searching for Stanley - LP Zoo

Stanley, the snowy owl, does love
The snows of winter falling to
The ground as he does perch above,
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
Since Stanley be all feathered white,
And there be white snow all around,
Stanley can be quite hard to sight,
And sometimes even never found.
Stanley likes to play hide and seek,
And oft does move from perch to perch,
More a challenge for those who peek
To pinpoint Stanley in the search.

When seeking Stanley in the snow,
You must seek long and hard, you know.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Romeo Meets Juliet

Sehuencas water frogs are rare.
Romeo - he was thought to be
The last of his kind anywhere.
So humans did search for a she,
Using a dating website for
Finding a suitable mate who
Was just right for the bachelor,
And the efforts did pay off true.
In the wild, Juliet was found.
Will Romeo and Juliet
Hit it off and be romance bound?
It is too early to know yet.

A love story yet to be told.
Stay tuned as more details unfold.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

The Go in the Snow - LP Zoo

On many winter days I do
Go  outside and play in the snow,
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
My keepers choose if I can go.
It must be above freezing, and
No ice for me to slip upon.
A door opens, I understand,
My choice - stay in or out be gone.
The white stuff beckons me to play,
So I do choose to venture out,
Spending time to wallow away,
And be an awesome sight, no doubt.

And so don't be surprised to see
This rhino in winter snow be.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Too Cold - LP Zoo

A record cold day - what to do.
This snow monkey does check it out
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
There are no visitors about.
I hear the Zoo is closed today,
But keepers keep me in good stead.
The only humans on display,
But thanks to them I'm safe and fed.
Yes, the Windy City is cold.
I can surely verify that,
For a few moments feeling bold,
Then back inside my habitat.

Yes, this snow monkey does like snow,
But not when it's fifty below.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Sahar is Nine - LP Zoo

Sahar, the lion king, turns nine
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
This lion in winter does fine,
Full of pride for all he does do.
He does hold court for all outside,
For those who come to wish him well.
He struts and roars about with pride
Through his domain where he does dwell.
Upon a rock Sahar does climb,
And keeps a watchful eye on all
Around him in this place and time.
Nothing escapes his keen eyeball.

Sahar, an awesome sight you be.
Happy Birthday your majesty.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Longing for Spring - LP Zoo

The fall and winter months I do
Be a lonely polar bear guy
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
My gal is denning just nearby.
I'm not allowed to see her, though
I can sense her scent in the air.
I do so long for her to show,
And once more we can be a pair.
And I can show off just for her,
And do the stuff that makes her smile.
The only thing I know for sure,
I don't like this lonely lifestyle.

I do each and every day
Wish that she will come out and play.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

O'naturel

Dining in Paris in the nude,
O'naturel the restaurant for
Naked patrons to chow down food -
Foie gras, lobster and snails galore.
When coming in, patrons then would
Pay up first and then disattire.
Then like Adam and Eve they could
Partake in gluttonous desire.
Alas, not enough patrons, so
O'naturel did shut its doors.
The Adam and Eve crowd must go
Elsewhere to toss their apple cores.

I do not know if I would dare
Eat with just a napkin to wear.