Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Out & About at the Wildlife World Zoo

Denis and I had another wonderful outing at the Wildlife World Zoo last week. Thankfully, the zoo is huge because it was much busier than it has been the past few times we were there, and most people were celebrating our governor's misguided lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions by not wearing a mask. The only place where social distancing was impossible was in the baby animal nursery because of the children's excitement, so Denis and I didn't stay in there long. Besides, we wanted to see the baby jackals, and they weren't in their room.

I was debating with myself on whether I should show you all the photos in one post, or to split them into two separate ones because I didn't want to try anyone's patience. Then I decided to go whole hog, show 'em all, and treat you like the responsible adults you are. You know how to budget your own time, after all! Besides, it looks as though Denis and I have outings to the Desert Botanical Garden and Butterfly Wonderland lined up in the near future, so there should be a wealth of upcoming photos to share.

Hang on to your hats, and come along with us on our visit to the zoo!

This peacock was the first critter in the zoo to keep an eye on me.


Perched atop a roof, he was so pleased at scaring the pudding out of me that he watched and timed his scream to startle more unsuspecting souls passing by.


I've always loved the colors and patterns of peacock feathers.


Then it was the cassowary's turn to watch me with his beady eye. Rather prehistoric-looking, isn't he?


Well... same to ya, buddy! (Red Lechwe)


On previous visits, I could not get a decent photo of this crested screamer. This time, it was as if the bird was standing under a spotlight.


A sable antelope. It's not easy to see, but this critter has enviable eyelashes.


The it was the emu's turn. What's up with all these critters keeping an eye on me?!?


Gotta love an emu do.


I love the horns on this Addax antelope.


This plains zebra thought it was time for her closeup.


But there's always a clown in every group, eh?


Denis and I walked up on a gate that was standing wide open. As Denis walked on, I stayed put to watch these three amigos-- grey crowned cranes-- slowly walk up to investigate.


See? I told you that gate was open!


What should we do? Should we have an adventure? (They decided to stay in the enclosure although I gave them plenty of space to come on through.)


All the ostriches at the zoo are female. Since there are no males to fertilize the eggs, the girls tend to lay 'em anywhere which is rather disconcerting.


I love prairie dogs. Denis and I discovered a prairie dog town in an open field next to McDonald's in Springerville, Arizona. We went back more than once to sit in the parking lot and watch them. This female had a baby she was keeping an eye on.


This baby was still wobbly on its legs. I was a bit surprised at its mottled fur.


During our last visit, I'd spied goslings. This time it was a large brood of ducklings.


They all stayed close to Mom.


And then it was time to get out of the water for nap time.

 

That's it! I hope you enjoyed your visit; I know we certainly did!

14 comments:

  1. I can't tell you how happy I am for you that you had the chance to get out and about, Cathy. It's good that you're feeling well enough to do that, and being outdoors is such a tonic. Thank you for sharing the stunning 'photos, too. I couldn't say which ones I liked best - they are all fabulous. Such amazing life is all around us if we just...look. I feel as though I was there with you.

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    1. I'm glad you felt as though you were with us, Margot.

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  2. You guys have a great zoo...love the pictures.

    What you say about unmasking per governors' comments reminds me of what's going on in Houston, too. I went grocery shopping Sunday afternoon and saw more maskless people in public than I've seen in over a year - way more. And the thing I found craziest is that almost all of them appeared to be in the 35-45 age group, the very people least likely to have been vaccinated to this point. I would say that about 20% of the shoppers were maskless. It was so different an experience that i was kind of stunned at first...funny what we get used to.

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  3. So enjoyable! The zebra pic made me chuckle and all those little ducklings too! And the cranes heads are so striking! Thanks for sharing as always!

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  4. You got some great pictures, Cathy! Thanks for sharing them.

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  5. You captured the personalities of the animals, as well as your happiness in being there with them. I enjoyed the photos!

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  6. Looks like a fun visit - so glad you were able to get out and about!

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  7. So glad you were able to go to that zoo. It's fantastic. Love the photos. Baby animals are so cute. I have never seen a photo of a prairie dog baby before. Love the antelopes, too.
    When I visited my father out on Long Island years ago, we looked out the glass kitchen door and saw a peacock strutting with his beautiful feathers displayed. He was checking out the yard.
    And as for eggs, a dove left one on my bedroom window sill a few years ago next to the air conditioner. One day it disappeared.
    I worry as they often zoom in on my bedroom window ledge and I have to chase them away. Why my window sill when so many others in the same courtyard have no air conditioners? I chased two of them away last week. But they make a lot of noise cooing. I have to watch it as some doves tried to build a nest on my air conditioner a few years ago, and they were dive-bombing onto it with twigs, branches, leaves. A mess to clean up.

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    1. We have birds that come and sit on our air conditioning unit. We've also had birds cling to the screens when we have windows open. I think it's got something to do with cool air flow, which is always nice here in the summer.

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  8. Excellent photos. I kept thinking of that song Somebody's Watching Me with all that side eye you received. I am dying to hit the zoo but they are still too difficult to get into with the limited capacity that is enforced.

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    1. We're fortunate that this zoo is huge, so social distancing isn't difficult on the days that we choose to attend. Our other favorite places like the Desert Botanical Garden require reservations.

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