Who knew that bad meerkats got arrested?
Here are the recently released mug shot photos for Mickey the Meerkat, arrested for abandoning his post.
Here is what Mickey the Meerkat should have been doing at his sentry post:
Here is what the Meerkat Police, San Diego Zoo Division, found Mickey the Meerkat doing:
As promised yesterday, here are some pictures of the fauna residing at the San Diego Zoo.
Which is your favorite?
1 – Flamingo
2 – Panda with toothpick
3 – Bear (not sure which species)
4 – One-legged ball of feathers
5 – Meerkat sentry
6 – Secretary bird
7 – Capybara (world’s largest rodent)
8 – African lion
9 – Mountain lion
(the kind that lives in Southern California)
10 – Reindeer with an itch
after delivering all those Christmas presents
11 – Great white pelican
12 – White-faced whistling ducks
(wondering if the water is too cold)
Remember that if you come to San Diego for any reason and need a personal docent for the day, I’m always up for it. I often have free tickets to the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. They can be YOURS, free, just like I got them!
Yesterday I played docent for two old friends that I had not seen since 1983, other than Facebook, of course. Here are some pictures from our trip to the Zoo:
Grizzly Bear
Panda. Remember that these are not bears. Just pandas.
Baby monkey, although I don’t know what species.
A female gazelle, looking very pregnant
and being checked on by her previous child.
Polar Bear enjoying the San Diego sunshine.
Reindeer, but not Rudolph, obviously.
Arctic fox. There were two of them yesterday. In 23 years of going to the San Diego Zoo at least once a month, and usually once a week, these are only the second and third pictures I have gotten of the arctic fox.
Got a group photo of some well-known people.
California Condor. Extinct in the wild as recently as 1987 with only 22 birds still living, all in captivity. The San Diego Zoo’s breeding program has resulted in the re-introduction into the wild. It still is one of the world’s rarest birds, with 446 now living both in the wild and in captivity.
Hyrax. I got up close and personal with my 150-600 mm lens.
Meerkat. One of my favorite animals. They are so much fun to watch.
Hyrax momma and her two young ones. The look on her face! Is she thinking that some sort of pervert is taking pictures of her young ones sucking on her teats and is going to put them on the Internet?
Squirrel. This is a “local animal” according to the Zoo,
meaning that it is free to come and go at will. Of course, it knows
where the best food is, not to mention lots of friends!
Kookaburra. It’s difficult to get a good picture of these birds because of the tiny mesh surrounding their enclosure. They have to be at just the right distance from the mesh for my 150-600 mm lens to get through the mesh.
Silverback Gorilla, pondering.
Orangutan, also pondering.
Pictures taken at the Safari Park with the rented Tamron 150-600 mm G2 lens on April 26, 2017. These are the non-birds. If you want to see the birds, see yesterday’s post.
Sumatran Tiger
Male bighorn sheep
Female bighorn sheep
Meerkat
Lowland Gorilla
Contemplation
Chillin’
Baby Lowland Gorilla
African Lion Paw
African Lion tongue
Three adults examining baby Giraffe
Baby giraffe.
Awwwww.
Mama and baby bighorn sheep.
Unknown mama and her baby.
Unknown hoofed animals
It’s Russel!
He wants to put us in his blog!
Run for the hills!
I freely admit that I support zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries, and even SeaWorld to the max, 100%.
I even support circuses when it is done right, and I’ll define “done right” as using positive reinforcement rather than negative reinforcement.
To me, it’s pretty obvious when animals in our care have been trained with positive reinforcement.
It’s no different from you teaching a dog to roll over, sit, play dead, shake.
It’s done with treats, not whippings.
Perhaps that’s why I don’t like horse racing. I have been to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Races twice with a Photographer All Access pass. A total of twenty hours on two different occasions two years apart. I have yet to see anyone give a horse a treat. Rather, they prod them, poke them, whip them…….. Why are people not protesting that instead of SeaWorld? I don’t understand.
Do animals in our loving care remember those who care for them? I submit that they do:
Here’s another one:
Did zoos, aquariums, SeaWorld, and circuses abuse animals in the past? I believe they did. I believe taking animals out of the wild can, in many circumstances, be considered abuse.
However, I would rather have some of these animals in Zoos to save them than in the wild where they get slaughtered by poachers:
100,000 elephants killed by poachers in 3 years
I would also submit that in today’s world, if you were able to ask these animals if they would prefer to be in the wild struggling to find food each day, fighting for their lives each day…. or in a zoo or aquarium where they get love, attention, food, and medical care…. I believe I know the answer.
Without the leadership of the San Diego Zoo in getting other zoos and sanctuaries to sign on to its California Condor Conservation program, the California Condor would now be extinct. It actually was extinct in the wild as recently as 1987. Through the successful breeding programs of the San Diego and Los Angeles zoos, the California Condor was re-introduced to the wild beginning in 1991 in southern Utah, northern Arizona, central and southern California, and northern Baja California, Mexico. Here are a few of the California Condors at the San Diego Zoo:
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park has a northern white rhino as a resident. Northern white rhinos are functionally extinct, which means that the seven rhinos that exist in zoos throughout the world are beyond breeding age and that none exist in the wild. When these seven remaining rhinos die, there will be no more unless we can figure out cloning.
Many times each year the Zoo and Safari Park announce the arrival of big babies: orangutans, elephants, giraffes, gazelles, monkeys, and gorillas. If not for the Zoo, I would never have had the opportunity to see orangutans, elephants, giraffes, gazelles, monkeys, and gorillas. And my annual membership supports the Zoo’s conservation and breeding programs, to ensure that the California Condor continues to exist in the wild.
The Zoo also re-introduces wildlife to other parts of the world when possible. Unfortunately, people in other countries don’t have the economy that we have in the United States, so they don’t mind slaughtering animals for food and other products.
I try to go once a week to SeaWorld, the Zoo, and Safari Park because one never knows what’s going on each week and which animals will be photogenic for me.
Without Zoos, many millions of people, including me, would never have had the opportunity to see these beautiful creatures:
(Got the kangaroo in there for you, Laurie!)
Although I can cite no research to support me, I firmly believe that people who have visited a zoo, sanctuary, or aquarium are more likely to contribute to conservation efforts to save these beautiful creatures from extinction in the wild.
For those who want to release all of these creatures back into the wild, that cannot be done with many of them because they are injured and would not be able to survive. The two bald eagles at Safari Park come to mind, both injured in the wild and rescued, and both unable to fly.
If we take this to its logical conclusion, then all dogs and cats should be released back into the wild. After all, both species adapt quite quickly to life in the wild, so why are we keeping them penned up in our homes and teaching them tricks? For our entertainment, pleasure, and companionship….
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Need a unique gift?
Visit Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos at Fine Art America.
Today marks the beginning of the San Diego Nighttime Zoo for 2014. Instead of being open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m each day., the Zoo will stay open until 9:00 p.m. each and every day through September 1, 2014.
I love the Nighttime Zoo! Yahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! (Smile if you think I’m excited!)
Remember that if you come to San Diego on business or vacation, contact me because I often have free tickets to the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, or SeaWorld. With enough notice, I can usually play docent for a day!
Also, if you fly into San Diego, sit on the left side of the plane. The view of downtown San Diego as you are landing is awesome!
Following are some of my favorite pictures from past visits to the Zoo. Eventually, Photographic Art will be created from these pictures and Julian will upload them to my galleries at Fine Art America for purchase in many different forms (traditional prints, prints on metal or acrylic, posters, cell phone cases, etc.).
Need a unique gift?
Consider Photographic Art!
Visit Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos at Fine Art America.
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