Photography . . . Travel . . .

Saturday, November 17, 2012

A Great Day at the San Diego Zoo

Heather and I learned something new today - if a hippo turns it back towards you and starts swishing its tail from side to side - run! I've seen lions and tigers spray to mark territory, but nothing compares to what a hippo will do. I won't even apologize for not posting any pictures of the aftermath - believe me, you don't want to see (or smell) it.

We had the opportunity to join a friend who works at the Zoo on an informal behind-the-scenes walk this morning. I didn't get any useable pictures in the back areas of the tigers or hippos, but it was fun to see. And, I mostly got out of the way of the hippo in time - just a couple of tiny bits on my lens hood. Luckily nothing on the glass, or on us.

Our friend was one of the primary keepers for the Malayan Tigers, and the cubs Christopher and Conner recognize her voice. These were taken from the middle public viewing area. They came running down the hill as soon as they heard her call their names. Here's Conner.





Here's Christopher. You can tell them apart by the marking over their right eye.



We stopped off to see what the Jaguar cubs were up to - not much, it turns out.


We had an opportunity to feed the Giraffes. Here's Heather giving one of them a treat.


It's more difficult than you might think to get a picture of a Giraffe, they really don't stay still at all, especially when there is food involved.



We thought it might rain when we left the house this morning, but it turned into a beautiful Autumn day in San Diego. It was almost too warm.


Click here to see more pictures from our walk around the San Diego Zoo this morning.
    

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Me

My photo
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.

Blog Archive

Followers

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.