As regular readers of this blog know, many (if not most) of my "Photos of the Day" come from my regular trips to local zoos, primarily the Bronx and Philadelphia parks. I haven't been back to any of them since I got my new camera, but this summer I've got a few trips planned to replace some of my lost photographs.
- Sometime after June 20th I'll be headed back to the WCS-run Bronx zoo, the park finally opening a new exhibit all about Madagascar. There will be lemurs and cave-dwelling crocs, but the creatures I most want to see are the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox).
- In July I'll head back to the Philadelphia zoo. There isn't very much new there (except Gus, a new giraffe who I assume is a replacement for the recently-deceased Puzzles), but I definitely want to replace some of my lost photographs of the Amur leopard there.
- I had never visited the National zoo in Washington, D.C. until I spend a day there las spring, but I enjoyed it so much that I've been thinking I need to go back for more than a year now. I'll probably head down there sometime in August, and if anyone is interested I wouldn't be adverse to holding a D.C. area meet-up for any readers in the area.
If I had my way I wouldn't have to only see these animals in zoos, but being that I don't have the opportunities or funds to go running around Africa and Asia zoos are the closest that I can get. Someday I hope to travel to Botswana and other places to see the animals in their natural habitat, but unless National Geographic calls me up and wants to send me on my way I won't be leaving North America anytime soon.
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You need to come to the NC Zoo in Asheville and spend at least one entire day there - it is really cool, but you may not see everything every time as there is enough space for most animals to hide from view. You need to know something about the animal behavior in order to time your visit to the right enclosure at the right time so you can actually see the animals and watch them actually behave. You can also follow the news there on the Director's blog.
I'll be in the D.C. area August 16-19. I've been to D.C. many times, but haven't been to the National Zoo.
If for some reason or another, you actually find yourself flying down to Singapore, I can bring you down to the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari. =)
Brian,
Have you been able to go back to the Bronx Zoo to see Madagascar! yet? If not, you should definitely make it over there, as the exhibit is very cool.
If you and your readers want a taste of the exhibit before heading over there, the New York Academy of Sciences recently did a Podcast with the director of the program there, Helen Crowley, which is very informative. She talks about the exhibit itself, Madagascar's wildlife, and what the Wildlife Conservation Society are doing globally to help. You can listen to that here.