# Close Encounters.. of the Zoo Kind



## robbins.photo (Nov 28, 2016)

Ok, I had an encounter at the zoo this weekend that I just had to share.

The shot is from the Lied Jungle, it's a gibbon. For those of you who aren't familiar with them they are actually members of the ape family, though they are often mistaken for monkeys. That's where my story begins.

I had just entered the Lied and was on the lookout for some otters. My older sister is a huge otter fan so I always look for them. Unfortunately otters are tough to get shots of, but on the same island just inside the entrance are a couple of gibbons. So I usually get a shot or two of them while I'm waiting.

So a family walks in with two little girls, the older is probably 7 or 8, the younger I'm guessing 3 or 4. I'm shooting the gibbons when the younger girl gets very excited and squeals "Look mommy, monkeys.. monkeys!"

It made me smile, she was so excited. Well then the older sister pipes in with, "The sign says their gibbons". Mom asks the older sister, "Well aren't gibbons monkeys?" So the older sister spots me and asks, "Hey mister, are gibbons monkeys?"

Apparently she thought I worked there because I wear a vest while I'm shooting. I explained that gibbons are actually members of the ape family, not monkeys. Then I finally spotted what I was looking for, an otter coming out of the water. I dropped to one knee to get the angle I wanted.. and as I was lining up my shot I get tapped on the shoulder.

The younger sister got my attention, put her hands on her hips and said very authoritatively "Monkeys". So I'm the adult in this situation, granted.. but I have never been able to pass up a perfectly good opportunity to fuss. So I scrunched up my face and replied, "Gibbons".

The little girl was completely unphased. With her hands still on her hips, leaned in until she was almost nose to nose with me, and said again quite emphatically, "Monkeys"

I had to use almost all of my self control to keep from laughing. She was absolutely sure those were monkeys and wasn't going to back down. Her mom said her name but she didn't even turn around or acknowledge it, she stayed locked in a death stare with me until a second later when a little boy and his dad came around the corner. The little boy pointed at the gibbons and said very loudly, "Look daddy! Monkeys!"

The little girl smiled and said to me, "Told you. Monkeys". Then turned around and marched triumphantly away to her mom. I laughed my butt off. The mom wanted to apologize but I'd have none of it. Told her she should be proud of her little girl for being willing to stand up for herself like that.

Hours later and I'm still chuckling about it.

So yes... completely missed my otter shot. But here's a snap I got of the gibbon. Er... Monkey. Lol





20161126_4669 by Todd Robbins, on Flickr


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## baturn (Nov 28, 2016)

Great story!


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## ZombiesniperJr (Nov 28, 2016)

Very nice shot and funny story


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## robbins.photo (Nov 28, 2016)

baturn said:


> Great story!





ZombiesniperJr said:


> Very nice shot and funny story



Thanks guys, had a blast.  She was just too funny.  Got two gibbons shots I liked, this was the second:




20161126_4671 by Todd Robbins, on Flickr


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## SquarePeg (Nov 28, 2016)

Great storytelling!  I could picture her nose to nose with you.


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## robbins.photo (Nov 28, 2016)

SquarePeg said:


> Great storytelling!  I could picture her nose to nose with you.



Not sure her dad was appreciative of the fact that she was picking a fight with a guy who was six inches taller and probably about 100 lbs heavier than he was.. lol..  But she wasn't backing down.  

The look of smug satisfaction on her face when that little boy said "monkeys" was just priceless.


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## JustJazzie (Nov 28, 2016)

Thats hilarious! Thanks for the chuckle. Definitely worth the missed otter shot.


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## robbins.photo (Nov 28, 2016)

JustJazzie said:


> Thats hilarious! Thanks for the chuckle. Definitely worth the missed otter shot.



Oh ya.  Hard enough to shoot those pesky otters but this was just entirely too funny.


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## JustJazzie (Nov 28, 2016)

robbins.photo said:


> JustJazzie said:
> 
> 
> > Thats hilarious! Thanks for the chuckle. Definitely worth the missed otter shot.
> ...


Off topic, but I've carried resentment with you for ages- though I have been excellent about keeping it in.

 I finally see you've updated your signature, and just so you know- were cool now. ;-) LOL


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## robbins.photo (Nov 28, 2016)

JustJazzie said:


> robbins.photo said:
> 
> 
> > JustJazzie said:
> ...



Lol.. well would it help if you found out that the strap I ordered I ordered from Ebay without realizing who the seller was until after I'd already ordered and discovered a problem?


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## JustJazzie (Nov 28, 2016)

robbins.photo said:


> JustJazzie said:
> 
> 
> > robbins.photo said:
> ...


Actually, it totally would!! 
Balance within the universe has officially been restored.


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## DarkShadow (Nov 28, 2016)

Nice shot and funny story how you got schooled by a 3 or 4 year old.


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## robbins.photo (Nov 28, 2016)

DarkShadow said:


> Nice shot and funny story how you got schooled by a 3 or 4 year old.



Well  I was doing fine till the second expert showed up.  After that, ya, dead in the water.. lol


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## robbins.photo (Nov 28, 2016)

JustJazzie said:


> Actually, it totally would!!
> Balance within the universe has officially been restored.



Been a lot more careful ordering small stuff from Ebay since.  Don't want to be in that situation again.  Lol


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## zombiesniper (Nov 28, 2016)

Great shots and story.


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## Dean_Gretsch (Nov 28, 2016)

I voted " Winner " more for the story telling than the image, but the photo is a nice one too. Wonderful story!


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## Gary A. (Nov 28, 2016)

I am laughing and I'm a couple thousand miles away.


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## goooner (Nov 29, 2016)

Great story and shots. I'll be visiting a couple of zoos soon, to test out my new 150-600-G2. Looking forward to being a bit more active on here soon. Work has been a grind the last couple of months.


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## robbins.photo (Nov 29, 2016)

goooner said:


> Great story and shots. I'll be visiting a couple of zoos soon, to test out my new 150-600-G2. Looking forward to being a bit more active on here soon. Work has been a grind the last couple of months.


Looking forward to seeing some shots from the g2.  It's on my possible wishlist once I get the surgery out of the way. 

For now though the 70-200 with 2x tc does well enough at the zoo.   

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk


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