Although I have mixed feelings about zoos, I still love to see the animals and photograph them. I can only hope the education and conservation they do somewhat balances the unnatural lives of the inhabitants.
The El Paso zoo wasn't at its best in winter. It might be warm to someone from Saskatchewan, but to animals from Africa and Asia it's cold and many of the exhibits were closed because of that. On the positive side, it wasn't crowded!
The cool temperatures didn't seem to bother the lions. It's always nice when you can photograph without bars or dirty glass.
The king was looking pensive. So were the lionesses, until they got bored and started pestering each other.
Here's a more unlikely pair of friends. They were sharing an enclosure, but I didn't expect to see them interacting.
The Mexican gray wolves were beautiful. They are the southernmost gray wolves and most genetically distinct. They are critically endangered (because humans wiped out almost all of them). The last known Mexican wolf in Texas was killed by a trapper in 1970. In 1976 the remaining wild Mexican wolves were captured for breeding programs. They are being reintroduced to parts of New Mexico and Arizona.
I spent a long time in the aviary trying to catch some of the little birds flitting around. They were not being cooperative!
This is a red-crested cardinal (which is actually not a cardinal, it's a tanager)
I'm not sure what these next two are, but they were pretty!
This next one is presumably some kind of quail. Nice pattern on the feathers.
The Inca terns were more cooperative, but they had a tendency to turn their head and tuck their beak into their back feathers to have a nap. Distinctive red beak and white "moustache".
This little bird was wild. Haven't had a chance to look it up.
I spotted this insect on a bush. I posted it on iNaturalist.org and it was identified as an Umbrella Paper Wasp.
I happened to notice it was time for the bird show so I went to watch. My favorites were the Great Horned Owl and the Andean Condor.
I also spent quite a while trying to photograph the Cotton-top tamarins - cute little guys, but they don't sit still long.
Luckily it warmed up enough over the day that the meerkats could come out to play.
And some of the other usual suspects, all looking a little bored.
Not alive, but a nice sculpture. The overall shape was a giraffe's head, but the details are different animals.
There weren't many flowers out this time of year, but this one caught my eye:
I always like to see the bizarre red river hogs but these guys were quite entertaining. They were rooting around in the dirt (must have tough noses!) when they decided to traipse down to the water. The water was a "moat" separating them from freedom, and they appeared to know it. They kept wading out into the water until it got too deep, making a soft kind of squeak, and then retreating in apparent frustration. If that water ever drained, I have a feeling they'd be out of there in a flash!
See all 49 photos from the zoo
The El Paso zoo wasn't at its best in winter. It might be warm to someone from Saskatchewan, but to animals from Africa and Asia it's cold and many of the exhibits were closed because of that. On the positive side, it wasn't crowded!
The cool temperatures didn't seem to bother the lions. It's always nice when you can photograph without bars or dirty glass.
The king was looking pensive. So were the lionesses, until they got bored and started pestering each other.
Here's a more unlikely pair of friends. They were sharing an enclosure, but I didn't expect to see them interacting.
The Mexican gray wolves were beautiful. They are the southernmost gray wolves and most genetically distinct. They are critically endangered (because humans wiped out almost all of them). The last known Mexican wolf in Texas was killed by a trapper in 1970. In 1976 the remaining wild Mexican wolves were captured for breeding programs. They are being reintroduced to parts of New Mexico and Arizona.
I spent a long time in the aviary trying to catch some of the little birds flitting around. They were not being cooperative!
This is a red-crested cardinal (which is actually not a cardinal, it's a tanager)
I'm not sure what these next two are, but they were pretty!
This next one is presumably some kind of quail. Nice pattern on the feathers.
The Inca terns were more cooperative, but they had a tendency to turn their head and tuck their beak into their back feathers to have a nap. Distinctive red beak and white "moustache".
This little bird was wild. Haven't had a chance to look it up.
I spotted this insect on a bush. I posted it on iNaturalist.org and it was identified as an Umbrella Paper Wasp.
I happened to notice it was time for the bird show so I went to watch. My favorites were the Great Horned Owl and the Andean Condor.
I also spent quite a while trying to photograph the Cotton-top tamarins - cute little guys, but they don't sit still long.
Luckily it warmed up enough over the day that the meerkats could come out to play.
And some of the other usual suspects, all looking a little bored.
Not alive, but a nice sculpture. The overall shape was a giraffe's head, but the details are different animals.
There weren't many flowers out this time of year, but this one caught my eye:
I always like to see the bizarre red river hogs but these guys were quite entertaining. They were rooting around in the dirt (must have tough noses!) when they decided to traipse down to the water. The water was a "moat" separating them from freedom, and they appeared to know it. They kept wading out into the water until it got too deep, making a soft kind of squeak, and then retreating in apparent frustration. If that water ever drained, I have a feeling they'd be out of there in a flash!
See all 49 photos from the zoo
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