Photography . . . Travel . . .

Friday, May 30, 2014

The new Tiger Trail at the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park

The new Tiger Trail exhibit at the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park just opened this past weekend. I spent a few hours there on Monday morning checking it out. The have six Sumatran tigers there. The exhibit has three separate tiger enclosures that wrap around some lush landscaping and a replica of a Sumatran Longhouse. Here are a few pictures from Monday.



Here's the older male, Teddy.



This next one is one of two brothers who are about two years old.



Here's the other brother (you can tell them apart by the markings over their eyes), with the other in the background.



Click here to see a few more images from the new Tiger Trail exhibit at the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park.
     

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Some Recent Pictures of Connor the Tiger

Here are some recent pictures of Connor the Malayan Tiger at the San Diego Zoo.



He can look pretty intense at times.


The lighting on this next one reminds me of an old European painting.



Here, he's stopping to smell the flowers.




These pictures are from several different days during the month of April. One afternoon Connor decided to go for a swim (actually, he was trying to retrieve a toy that had floated out to the deep end of his pool). He usually just wades into the water, but once in a while he dives in.







The latest issue of ZooNooz, the San Diego Zoo's monthly magazine for members, has a big article on the new tiger exhibit at the Zoo's Safari Park. In it is a quote of a German proverb that really seems to apply to Connor. No matter how relaxed he looks at times, he still pays attention to what is going on around him.

"There is no off switch on a tiger."





Click here to more pictures of Connor the Malayan Tiger at the San Diego Zoo from April of 2014.
     

Orson the Jaguar

We got some sad news recently, that Orson the Black Jaguar who has been at the San Diego Zoo for as long as I can remember, had passed away. Orson was almost 22 years old, which is pretty old for a big cat. He'll be missed.

I had the good fortune to be able to spend some quality time with Orson late one Sunday afternoon shortly before he died. He was playing with the big plastic toy that was sort of an oblong shape weighted on the bottom, so it rolled around and bounced back towards him when he batted at it.  I hung out there for about 45 minutes before the Zoo closed, and outside of a couple of other people who only stayed a few minutes, it was just us. It was pretty dark in the canyon, and all I had was my 300mm lens, so I could only get close-up shots.

When I first got there he was resting, but still very much alert.


After a bit he got up and started playing with the big plastic toy.


If you look closely you can see his Jaguar markings under that black fur.

     
    

About Me

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San Diego, California, United States
About me . . . When I'm not working I like to be out exploring and photographing. I do this blog just for fun, and to be able to share these images with friends. I hope you enjoy viewing these images as much as I enjoyed creating them.

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All of the content and images on this site (c) Frank B. Baiamonte. If you would like to use any of these images please contact me via email at frank@frankbaiamonte.com to discuss terms of usage. Note that images from the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park are not available for commercial usage. You can also see more on my Instagram page @frankbaiamonte.

Header image: Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, Cibola, Arizona. End image: Downtown San Diego, California skyline from Coronado Island. Profile picture: Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, by Heather Baiamonte.