It's neither! That is decathlete Jim Thorpe (... from "Drunk History" :-D)

I can imagine :D

I had a similar experience with a swan on a barging holiday once... we had come past it's nest and it came sweeping out, running across the surface of the water with it's wings flapping... luckily it stopped before it caught us (which considering the speed of a barge wouldn't have taken long)

Hungry seagulls can indead be pretty viscious. I guess the danger is because they are pretty much used to humans and not very afraid of them, while most other birds of prey tend to stay away.

Owl lover here too. My favourite animal in our famous zoo is actually the Little Owl. That tiny fellow is almost always hidden somewhere in his aviary. But strangely, whehn it's nearing dusk and I alone there (most people only pass by "nothing to see") he will often come out and look at me (with that inspecting look).

We get a lovely mixture of wildlife here, especially in the warmer months. I can imagine Ireland having lots of wildlife, given how open and rural most of it is for the most part.

So your top three birds are Mormon Nurses, Eagles, and Great Blue Herons? :-)

Herons are lovely to watch, we get some here, but I don't see them as often as I do some other birds.

*break time hug*

Man, I'm the only dork in here. :P How sad.

And just for the record, owls are wonderful creatures. (Calm down Little one) :-)

That's pretty much it. They have learnt to not be fearful of humans, and thus just do what they want. They can be quite vicious, especially in large groups.

That sure is a cute little Owl. It's nice that the zoo gives it an enclosure where it can hide away if it wants. Too many tend to give them very little, so as to make it easier for the visitors to see. Luckily many bigger zoos don't do this kind of thing.

The tiny owl species are all very cute :)
These guys and these guys are two of my favourite things in a zoo. They are just like tiny little people :)

I'm guessing not. I just think the other dorks hide it better. :-)

I think you have lived in Scotland for too long. :-)

Swans (like geese) are very territorial and can become nasty when they feel disturbed. Their bite is pretty strong and painful, and with their long neck they have snake like attack movements making it hard to dodge. They are also clever enough to go for unprotected body parts - hands, feet, if you're wearing sandals, and - in case of children - even the face.
We had a couple of swans where I grew up and as children we had lots of respect. I got bitten by a goose too, and that was a very unpleasant experience.

Only when it comes to comic books :P
Yup, swans and geese are both vicious and can do quite a bit of damage when they want to. There are quite a few tales of swans around here that attack and drown people's dogs at lakes and rivers... :(
We're not so lucky where we are now :(

But where I lived in Ireland it was the middle of nowhere and we used to get all sorts. Owls, bats, foxes and lots of other things too.

Geese respond quite well to a swift kick in the arse, which you often have to do just to walk in some of the parks here in summer.
We refer to them as 'flying rats'. WAY overpopulated here, they're kinda like big pigeons. ;)

I think the Leipzig Zoo is one of the most progressive in this regards. Almost all animals have enough room to withdraw and relax, and they are building for the (very) few that still have old corrals, lately the flamingos moved into a new, more spacious home.

A few years ago they openend this huge greenhouse Gondwanaland. We were they shortly after the opening (we have season tickets, a great thing for a family with children). And then regularly every few weeks. And for months almost no animals were to be seen - they all kept to their "private" areas until they gut used to the new environment.
Many people were very disappointed. We liked, because it's good for the animals and Gondwanaland itself also works as a botanical garden.

Wow, that would be a very hard place to get me to leave once I was there.

A lot of zoos and wildlife centres now are concentrating more on conservation and welfare, rather than the old thing of just showing animals off to the public. It worked okay in the Victorian days, but more recently they are shifting to prioritise the survival of species, education, and welfare. Which is why many new or better funded zoos make the effort to keep the animals as comfortable as possible, not like the old zoos of the 19th century.

We get all them here, and badgers and lord knows how many other animals. It's wonderful, but then that's the nice part of living and growing up out here and not in a big city.