Once Rochelle got there with some fresh meat they focused their attention to where we were standing.
On my way up to see the polar bears I stopped by the large bird pool at the bottom of the hill. This Lesser Flamingo was mixed in with a group of Caribbean Flamingos. It's pretty amazing the way they can turn their heads almost completely around and bury their beaks in their feathers, all while standing on one leg.
These two are White-Breasted Cormorants - I don't know why they're called that, I don't see any white.
The Egrets are local birds, they pop in and out of the Zoo whenever they want.
On my way up the hill I stopped for a bit to watch the Grevy's Zebras.
Tucked away in a corner out behind the Polar Bear is a small enclosure with a couple of Arctic Foxes. I hardly ever get a good look at them - they're usually either up against the back fence watching the Polar Bears, or hiding back in a cave. Today they were both out and even moving around some. This one looks to missing part of an ear.
Their fur changes color to adapt to the season or where they are, from white to grayish-brown. There's one of each color out right now.
The Polar Bears at the Zoo are one of the toughest animals to get a good photo of. They're behind a very thick piece of glass, which is generally quite dirty, and has lots of reflections on it.
The bear was sitting up on a rock ledge not doing much, but I was in no hurry so I hung out for a while and just watched. After a bit a keeper showed up and began feeding fruits and vegetables to the bear. I saw carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, and even grapes. I've been told that they also feed them raw meat, but do that in the back off exhibit.
It looks like they get along pretty well.
On my way out of the Zoo I went back up Tiger River so that I could get one last look at both Paka and Miri. Paka, the male Malayan Tiger, and the father of the 2 cubs here, is moving to Fresno in a few days. They've arranged a new girlfriend for him, and hopefully he'll father a few more cubs. When I first got back to the habitat he was up on the hill watching from behind a rock.
Every now and then he would stick his head up for a better view.
Miri, the female Fishing Cat, is on her way to another zoo in a few days as well. The plan is to breed her with another cat since Bullet didn't seem all that interested in her. She was sitting in her favorite little cave watching the people walk by. Someone conveniently dropped something loud, and she perked up for this shot.
Last stop on the way out was the big Flamingo pool right by the entrance.
The Flamingos must have gotten too close to something, because the Crested Screamers that share the habitat with them were just going nuts. They were working together trying to herd a group of Flamingos out of the way.
Click here to see more images from Sunday, October 9, 2011 at the San Diego Zoo.
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