Wild Animal Park PhotoBlog! - Part I

I'm finally getting this post up. Sorry it's taken so long - I had some technical difficulties. That and the fact that I've been really busy didn't help at all.

Anyway, about two weeks ago my aunt and uncle from back east were visiting Southern California, so we decided to make a trip to the Wild Animal Park. Naturally I was very excited. Not only do I get to see exotic animals, I also get to photograph something besides school buildings. Apparently I was incredibly excited by that last bit because, as stated in my last post, I took about 500 pictures. But don't worry - they're not all going to get posted. Some didn't turn out while others are simply multiples of the same shot. But even so, this post is humong-o, so I'm gonna start now. Let's start at the beginning...

I was intending to get a shot of the entrance pavilion, which has all sorts of cool animal banners hanging from the rafters. Unfortunately, my camera needed its batteries changed, and by the time I did that we had passed through the turnstiles, so I got this shot instead, which was incredibly overexposed. Even my Mac couldn't save it.


Right across the way from that first shot was this cool pond that was very popular with aquatic fowl...


...including these two cranes.


First stop for the trip was a tram tour through the park's African enclosure. Here you can see all sorts of African animals dwelling together naturally, just as they would in the wild. Sometimes I think that if the park really wanted to show how animals live together they should put some lions and zebras in the same enclosure, but that wouldn't be humane OR family friendly.
Anyway, I sat on the far right side of the row, hoping that being on the edge would allow me to get good shots. Unfortunately about 90% of the animals were on the left side.

I know there's no animals in these shots. They were beautiful anyway, so I took them.


Dang! Blurry shot.


The tram driver explained that these animals were naturally sitting in a circle so that they could guard themselves from all sides. Isn't instinct great?!


These two giraffes are mother and son, and at the time were grooming each other by rubbing necks. The driver said the technique was called "necking". This picture (as well as the next several) were shot by my mom, by the way.


Close-up!


The problem with shooting from the tram is that sometimes fences get in your way.



This is where I started taking pics again.








So after we got off the tram we headed over to a place called Lion Camp where the lions camp out... and do nothing all day long.

Here's a fine looking specimen.


And that's the most action we got out of her.


Now this lion wasn't terrible for photographing. She wasn't facing the camera, but she was close to it. I just wish the framing in this shot had turned out better.


I got this one to turn out better.


I flat-out missed on this one.


Since everyone was standing around trying to decide what to do, I decided to get this shot.


Ooh! Elephants.


That guy with the tusks was, like, the boss.


Here's us at the elephant show.



Here's the elephant at the elephant show. Her name was Cha-Cha.


This was a demonstration of an elephant's strenght. That log in Cha-Cha's mouth weighs 300 pounds.


Elephants also have very prehensile trunks, as was demonstrated by Cha-Cha catching several sticks. I figured this ws better demonstrated by video than by pictures. Oh, and there's no sound, just so you don't think you've gone deaf.


Elephants have good balance.


That's the end of the elephant show, and that's also the end of Part I. Keep checking pack - I should have Part 2 up soon. Oh, and sorry about the lack of Film Fest Friday. Again, I've been busy.

Good morning/afternoon/night
T.H. Excellence