Sunday, December 19, 2021

Wildlife World Zoo: Portraits, Blooms & Surprises

There's nothing like a trip to the zoo to start off a new month. It seemed as if Denis and I had the Wildlife World Zoo to ourselves on the first of December, and we took advantage of it, exploring new corners and discovering animals we'd never seen before. 

Perhaps it was because it was a quiet day that many of the residents seemed to take an interest in me. I don't know. I do know that I seemed to take quite a few portrait shots, while enjoying the sunshine, the towering trees, and the flowers. We were even treated to a couple of lovely surprises, so instead of talking about it all, let's get down to the photographic evidence!

Black-and-white Colobus monkey


The Greater Curassow

DeBrazza's Monkey

Pileated Gibbon

Amazon Parrot

These big trees provide welcome shade in the hotter months.

I think someone had sung this New Guinea Singing Dog a lullaby.

Lesser Magellan Goose

We were all surprised to see the jaguars resting on the wire above our heads.

For some reason, this buffalo kept an eye on me the entire time I was in range.

So did this llama. I must have one of those faces.

I'd completely lost track of what day it was until I heard someone shout, "Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike! What day is it? What day is it?" when he saw the dromedary camel.

Patagonian Cavy


I was so happy to round the corner and see this little meerkat sitting on a rock looking right at me. I missed you, too!

I wasn't the only one who thought the jets flying overhead from nearby Luke Air Force Base were noisy.

We'd stopped at our favorite cafe to get cold drinks and watch the children feed the ducks when we were treated to two wonderful sights.

Do you see something different about one of those trees? The shortest one in the middle? Probably not. Maybe my zoom lens can help...

A great blue heron flew in... probably looking for lunch. I could show you another closer photo of its head, but I'm already sharing too many photos as it is.

Ducklings!



A December hibiscus bloom for you.


It was a perfect day to spend at the zoo. I can't wait to see what surprises await our next visit!

12 comments:

  1. Oh, my! What incredible 'photos, Cathy! It must have been amazing to see them all 'live.' For some reason, that picture of the llama especially spoke to me - what a great shot! And it must have been quite a moment to see that jaguar up there looking down at everyone - wow! Thanks for sharing your visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome. This is the only way I can take all y'all with me.

      Delete
  2. I love your Zoo commentary posts. Such great shots.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those are some amazing photos, Cathy! I love zoos. My favorite photo is the meerkat. Thanks for sharing your photos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hadn't seen the meerkats for our last two or three visits, so when I rounded the corner to see one sitting up on a rock looking right at me, it was just like it was waiting for me.

      Delete
  4. Great photos for me to see first thing when I logged in. I haven't even heard of some of the animals here.

    Lovely to see all of them. How lucky you and Denis are to get to that zoo. It must be an amazing experience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hadn't heard of some of them either. Denis and I love visiting here, and I hope to do it again soon.

      Delete
  5. Definitely a visit full of portraits! I would have been surprised by the overhead jaguars, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes-- usually they're hiding or well back from any contact with humans. They are beautiful creatures.

      Delete
  6. Those head shots are really fun to look at; that was a great idea.

    Hope those jaguars weren't up there looking for a way out...would have loved to be there when they were making their way to that spot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Denis and I thought the same thing-- too bad we couldn't've been earlier to watch them make their way over there.

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!