Late Fall At The Zoo

I went to the Denver Zoo this past Saturday to take some photographs. It was in the 50s and partly cloudy, a perfect day to see the animals out and about - not too cold and not too hot. And so no hanging out inside watching Animal Planet on the tube, or sleeping outside in the shade with backsides turned toward zoo visitors. The photograph on the left is of one of the four bachelor lions that make up one of the zoo's two prides. Sadly, the head of the other lion pride, Tobias, was euthanized last month due to severe medical issues, and his male offspring, Tatu and Oskar, were sent to other zoos to form their own prides. A very sad turn of events on Predator Ridge, as the lion compound is called. Happily, those bachelor lions are more than happy to pose for a photo.

The zoo also lost Yuri, a 12-year-old tiger, to medical issues last November, but was replaced by 12-year-old Victor, who might or might not be the tiger in the photo on the right, who zoo officials hope will mate with Nikita, thus producing tiger cubs for the Denver Zoo. Which is really important, because it will mean being able to take really cute tiger cub photos. The last 2 or 3 times I have visited the zoo, this tiger was at the far end of the compound, sleeping, barely visible to visitors. But this time, Viktor was very willing to have his portrait taken, and even smiled for the camera. Thanks guy!

I was able to access the deck at the back end of the giraffe compound last Saturday, which is a very rare occurrence - it is usually reserved for zoo guests who pay extra for the privilege of feeding those giraffes by hand. As I was walking up the ramp, I couldn't help but notice the ostrich in the photograph on the left, who was in what I thought was the exclusive home of the zoo's zebras. This ostrich was very friendly, and wanted to visit with everyone who passed by, even willing to let me take his portrait. There was a zoo docent standing right next to it, and so I was unable to reach in and pat it on the head, which was of course disappointing. On the other hand, the docent did let me know that the ostriches and the zebras are currently taking turns using the compound, and the zebras were all inside that day, surfing the web, no doubt.

And as usual, the Northern White-cheeked Gibbon was sitting on his island, staring at zoo visitors on the walkway, who were all staring back at him. I have taken photographs of this gibbon many times, and it always seems to me to be in a very bad mood. Which makes sense, of course, since he is imprisoned on this island and can never leave, kind of like a life sentence to Devil's Island. There was another docent at this exhibit, too, giving the monkeys special treats (Hershey bars and M and Ms, no doubt), which explains why that gibbon looks marginally happier in the photograph on the right. All in all, a fun day at the zoo, even if I wasn't able to pet any of the animals.