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Keiko the Orang
Originally uploaded by Tavie

I'm in a Starbucks in Washington, D.C. with my mom, waiting to get the dollar bus back to New York. We've had a fun, if tiring weekend in our nation's capital. Today we spent the day at the National Zoo. We went specifically so I could see an elephant get his bath, as my mom is well apprised of my life-long fascination with the bathing of elephants. And that was, indeed, a spectacular event to witness - I had never seen an elephant bath in person before - but, oddly enough, it was not the most striking moment of my day.

The most striking moment was meeting Kiko (pictured.) Kiko is an amazing orangutan who was chilling out under a white sheet in the "Think Tank" exhibit at the National Zoo. He loves to hide under sheets, and he was doing so today as he watched us, his face pressed against the glass, his wise eyes tracking our movements. I hunkered down and spent a good long time peering into his eyes. (Normally apes don't like this, but Kiko is more than used to inquisitive humans giving him the hairy eyeball, and did not seem in the least disturbed.)

I could have gazed into Kiko's eyes for hours. I felt very certain that he knew something that I didn't, and I wished he would tell me. We were as close to nose-to-nose as you can get with an orang - I was less than a yard away from him.

What a fellow. I think I fell a little in love.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 4:47 PM | shower me with attention