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Sunday, June 17, 2012

Sunday Morning at the San Diego Zoo - Baby Jaguars, Baby Giraffe And More

Heather wanted to see the new baby Jaguars up close, so I told her that the best way was to get there right when the Zoo opens, and head straight for their enclosure. So we got there 15 minutes before opening, and as soon as they let us in we made a beeline to the Jaguars (which are about as far from the front gate as you can get) - and then waited almost 20 minutes before something finally happened. No big deal, that's the nature of dealing with cats. Besides, this was worth waiting for.


After a bit their mother showed up as well, but there was way too much glare on the glass to get much of a picture.  The plan was for the keepers to come in and play with the babies for a while, but in order to do that they have to get the mother out of there. They needed something to distract her.

How about a giant fresh femur bone?


That should keep her distracted for a while.


With mom safely out of the way Kimberly and Jacob could now handle the cubs without worrying about being killed and eaten by a protective mother.

 


After hanging out with the Jaguars for quite a while we decided to go check out the new baby Giraffe. On the way we spotted some Meerkats.



The baby Giraffe is less than 2 weeks old.





We had a 12 Noon appointment with the Tigers (or, more accurately, an appointment with their keeper, who was going to toss them some beef heart chunks). When we first got there Christopher and Conner were way up in the back, lounging in the shadows, taking advantage of their natural camouflage, but definitely watching what was going on.


As soon as the keeper called to them they came trotting down the hill for their mid-day snacks. These 2 are starting to look pretty much full grown, but they will put on another 50 pounds or so. They've now been separated from their mother too. They're all grown up - it's hard to believe they're only a bit over 14 months old. I've watched them grow from when they were about 25 pounds, you can scroll back through this blog to see now they've progressed over the last year or so.


Click here to see a few more images from our morning walk around the San Diego Zoo on Sunday, June 17, 2012.
     

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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.