The Zoo In December

I went to the Denver Zoo yesterday afternoon, despite the fact that the high temperature was forecast to be 30 degrees, with a wind chill predicted to be much lower. I was not surprised to find that there were very few other zoo guests around, and was expecting that most of the animals would be inside their heated compounds, watching The Ellen DeGeneres Show on TV, or whatever they watch during the daytime.

I was also not surprised to find that the penguins were out and about, enjoying what to them must be perfect weather. I took the photograph on the right of them marching toward who knows what, although I suspect it probably had something to do with food. Life for most of the animals at the Denver Zoo seems to revolve around food and sleep, after all. Not to mention pooping, of course.

I must say I have never taken many photographs of penguins. They always seemed less interesting to me than other animals, such as the lions, tigers, apes, and orangutans. When you look into the eyes of those creatures, you can see true emotion. However, Wednesday I took a closeup of one of the penguins, as seen in the photograph on the left, which shows a jolly looking animal that perhaps is not as much of a "birdbrain" as I thought. Is it actually smiling at me?

Happily, and much to my surprise, most of the animals at the zoo were actually out and about on this cold afternoon. The tiger in the photograph on the right was more than happy to have it's portrait taken. During the hot summer months, these animals are usually in a shady corner of their compound, trying to stay cool. However, these days, they seem to seek out the sun to help stay warm. Perhaps winter is the best time to take animal portraits after all. Lesson learned.