My day at the Zoo (dial-up warning, lots of pics)

[ET Awful]

Hornbills are odd lookin' birds:



I was dumb and didn't write down names for all the critters, this bird was awesome looking though:



Ring Tailed Lemurs have got to be one of the coolest looking critters around:





Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you . . . a goofy lookin' Gorilla :)





This guy makes me laugh every time I see him, Capybaras are one funny lookin animal :)



(more in next post)

[maveric]

1. What Zoo did you go to?

[ET Awful]

6. Franklin Park Zoo in Boston :)

It was 93 degrees and miserable, but I had a blast :)

[maveric]

16. I used to go there as a kid when the place was a dump.

I take it they fixed the place up a bit?
We also frequented "Benson's Wild Animal Farm" in Hudson NH.

[ET Awful]

17. Well, it's still not the best zoo in the world, but they do take good

care of their animals for the most part and it's a pleasant walk. It's interesting when you get off the trails a tad and find places where there used to be exhibits or enclosures in days long gone that are no longer in use.

I found a really cool little stone bridge on a hill that looks like it hasn't been used in decades (cracked stones, a bed of grass that hasn't been stepped on, etc.). If I'd had a wide angle lens on the camera, I would have gotten shots of that too, it was really pretty (had little flowers growing up between the stones and moss all over the sides, it was really cool).

[maveric]

18. Is the Stoneham Zoo still there? Whats it called now? Stone Zoo?

[ET Awful]

19. Yup, it's still there, I considered going to both today, but it was too

hot to bother :). I may go to the Stone Zoo next weekend and check it out.

[maveric]

20. We have a pretty fair zoo out here in San Diego.

I may take a lady-friend there on wednesday. She's never been there and wants to go.
I can also play with my new digital camera there.

[ET Awful]

21. The San Diego Zoo is the best zoo going :)

Seriously, you can't beat it. You will love it. Equally fun is the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Both are well worth visiting.

The Wild Animal Park has a more expensive tour you can do where instead of riding the tram through, you get a smaller guided tour for photography purposes, etc. It's pricey, but supposed to be well worth it (I never had a chance to do that one).

But I HIGHLY recommend the San Diego Zoo. It's a very well run place, it's huge, and they have an astounding variety of wildlife :).

[maveric]

22. I've been here in SD for 25 years and been to the zoo many times.

My lady-friend is from Scaramento, living here for 3 years but has never been to the SDZ.

[ET Awful]

23. It's probably been 15 years since I was there last :)

But I still have friends in LA who go there frequently. They take a 3 day weekend and go do the Zoo one day, Sea World the next, and the Wild Animal Park on the third :).

[Princess Turandot]

33. Nice pics! But I must differ on the zoos..

the San Diego zoo is very nice, but the Bronx Zoo rocks. Virtually all animals have been in natural settings for decades, some of which you can only see by riding a monorail.

I wonder if the one bird is some sort of vulture. It's got the beak for it.

[napi21]

2. Great pics! Thanks.

You must have a really good camera!!!

[ET Awful]

8. Ahem!

First, yes, I do have a good camera, and thank you. But, I'm an amateur. Just as a friendly word of advice, never tell a professional "You must have a really good camera" They get angry :). You wouldn't tell a professional chef "you must have really good pans" would you? :)

I jest!

Thanks for the comments, I'm glad you enjoyed 'em :).

[TK421]

3. Those are awesome pics...thanks!

:hi:

[ET Awful]

11. You're welcome, glad you enjoyed them :)

It was a blast taking them :).

[ET Awful]

4. More Pics

Sure it's a zoo, and they have exotic animals, but that doesn't mean I have to ignore the goslings:





Kanga kisses Roo:



While dad looks on from his relaxed position (well, actually it's another female, but the caption fit better with the flow of pictures :)):



Why do emus always look like they just heard the funniest joke in the world (or snorted the most coke, one of the two)



Zebras are always cool to watch :)





More to come next post . . .

[ET Awful]

5. Yet more

This guy was lucky, he had enough altitude to keep his head out of the heat :)



The only decent picture I could get in the butterfly house:



When you have a fur coat like this, shade trees are a necessity:



I couldn't get her to come any farther out of her bed of leaves, but she sure is pretty:



In the reptile house, I ran across this little guy:



Little did I know that he was that extremely rare species, the African Singing Turtle:



And, of course, the prairie dogs. I could stay all day and watch these little suckers. They are so damned cute and industrious :) Seriously, I spent 1/2 an hour just watching them run around and play :).

[demnan]

10. Thanks for the photos

Amazing how many different wonderful animals there are in the world, isn't it?

[ET Awful]

12. You're welcome!

I just wish some of the other animals would have been more willing to show themselves. The lions were hiding and wouldn't come out for me to take their pictures, same with the ocelot, and when she did come out, she stayed in the shadows so I couldn't get good pictures.

[CornField]

26. You always take the best pictures!

I'm like Pavlov's dog whenever I see one of your photo threads, droolin' with anticipation. LOL!

Zoos are one of my two favorite places in the world. Thanks so much for sharing your adventures with us.

[ET Awful]

27. I'm so happy you like them :)

As long as people keep enjoying my photos, I'll keep taking and posting more :).

[smbolisnch]

7. What kind of camera are you using ET?

Beautiful photos!

[ET Awful]

9. Nikon D70 and a 80-400 lens today (except for the butterfly pic which

was done with a smaller lens).

[smbolisnch]

Really beautiful photos-thanks for posting!!

:hi:

[ET Awful]

14. You're welcome!

I'm glad you like them!

[BrklynLiberal]

13. Absolutely incredible pictures!!! Wow. Thanks for posting.

[ET Awful]

15. I'm happy to do it, I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I

enjoyed taking them :)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

24. Misunderestimator and I love the zoo!

It was fun sharing your trip vicariously with you

[ET Awful]

25. I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

You got lots of the fun and none of the heat exhaustion :)

[ofrfxsk]

28. Wonderful pictures

You're a great photographer. I love the lemurs and especially that turtle. I put him on me desktop. Hope you don't mind. Don't know if that link works. I'm terrible at this.

>

edit=trying again

edit again=oh nevermind lol

[ET Awful]

29. Feel free to use it :)

I think he was actually yawning, but it had me cracking up in the reptile house :)

[ofrfxsk]

32. I love that picture.

Turtles just make me laugh and are normally so docile. He looks so mean, like revenge of the turtle people.

[Nikia]

30. Nice pictures

We went to the zoo too earlier in the day. I really like going to the zoo.

[ET Awful]

31. Thanks :). I'm glad you liked 'em, as to Zoos, I love 'em too

I need to go back on a day when it's not so hot. I haven't sweat that much in a LONG time. :)

[friesianrider]

34. Such beautiful animals...

I know I sound bleeding-heart, but I love seeing animals in a safe, natural environment.