zoo

A lion cub (Panthera leo) stalking its sibling, photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
A gelada (Theropithecus gelada), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
An Inca tern (Larosterna inca) about to crush a clump of dirt, photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
A ring-tailed mongoose (Galidia elegans), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
A male lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
Ann Littlewood is a one-time zoo keeper and now-time murder mystery writer whose stories take place in and around zoos. An awesome combination if you ask me. I'm very much looking forward to reading her upcoming book, Did Not Survive, but in the interim, I will wear my dog as a hat. As you can see in this artfully composed camera phone pic, Ann provided me with a classic shot glass from the Oregon Coast Aquarium and Julia Goolia provided me a Louisville Zoo shot glass, bringing my total collection to... a lot: Adventure Aquarium Aquarium of the Bay Baton Rouge Zoo Birch Aquarium at Scripps…
A black leopard (Panthera pardus), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
A baby Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
I have had this picture for a while just waiting for groundbreaking news about Bat-eared foxes. Well it never came but I can't just stare at the little guys any longer and not post them. Photo credit Floridapfe of South Korea's Everland Zoo They aren't babies and therefore not ZooBorn's fodder, but they are pretty ridiculous. Insects make up 80% of the Bat-eared fox diet. The other 20% comprises rainbows and Hello Kitty memorabilia.
A Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer), photographed at the National Zoo.
In 1997, Swedish inspectors found several stockpiles of missiles hidden in a local zoo. Apparently, the arsenal had been gathered together for the express purpose of being used against civilians. And who was the mastermind behind this collection? A 19-year-old chimpanzee called Santino. Santino was born in a German zoo in 1978 and transferred to Furuvik Zoo at the age of 5. To this day, he lives in the zoo's chimpanzee island - a large outdoor enclosure surrounded by a moat. Throughout his residence, he was mostly docile towards the eager visitors, but all of that changed in 1997 when he…
Thanks to a few recent generous donations, the World's Largest Zoo and Aquarium Shot Glass Collection is coming along quite nicely. I know you were all burning to know. Below is a picture of the fabulous collector's case I have stuffed most of them in. You will see it doubles as a shrine to lobsters. Please remember, I happily accept donations and will thank you in the sidebar leading to certain fame and fortune. So here's the count: Adventure Aquarium Baton Rouge Zoo Bronx Zoo Brookfield Zoo Cincinnati Zoo Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Florida Aquarium Georgia Aquarium Knoxville Zoo Lincoln Park…
Don't know the background here. Not for those with weak stomachs, pretty incredible though.
I stumbled into a meeting my brain and experience are wholly unqualified to report on, so instead, I will tell you about this much more exciting piece of information. Today, from 4PM-7PM, the AZA will be holding a live auction of paintings created by animals. Anyone can join the auction online but be aware you must register first. Thanks to reader JuliaGoolia for cluing clueless me in. Check it: Art by Mishindi the Rhinoceros from the Denver Zoo Art by Hari and Hakuna the Meerkats from the San Diego Zoo more below the fold Art by the Chubs Raccoon Family from the Huchinson Zoo Art by…
Imaginative but effective ads from the Buenos Aires Zoo. Via Toxel and thanks once again to Kevin Z. "Get Much More for Less" Ads "The Kangaroos Have Arrived" Ads Many more below the fold "Now We Are Open Late" Ads "115 Years" Ads Together Video (note that we cannot endorse the historical accuracy of this friendship...) Argentine readers please take note: I still do not have a shot glass from this zoo and Labor Day is coming soon, which is a HUGE gift giving holiday up here in the States.
Wolves are among my favorite carnivores, but they're often shy even in zoo settings, making them difficult to photograph. During my visit to the National Zoo this past spring, however, this Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) came down to get a drink from the pool at the edge of the enclosure, allowing me to snap a few photos. Not everyone likes wolves as much as I do, though, and the Mexican Wolf is currently critically endangered with only about 200 individuals left in the wild. As with other wolves, this subspecies (ranging from Mexico across the southwestern U.S. and as far north as…
Today's photo, like yesterday's, was taken at the Philadelphia Zoo, and I was fortunate enough to be able to catch the Hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) as they were entering the water. I'm sure everyone has heard of their aggressiveness via television documentaries and other sources, but few have heard of the fact that hippos sometimes consume flesh. While hippos occasionally nibble on or play with carcasses in African waterways, in severe drought conditions they sometimes kill prey (as in one account of an impala running into the water to avoid Wild Dogs, only to be killed and consumed by…
The American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) is so common in northern New Jersey that many people don't need to go to a zoo in order to see one. Although there have been occasional sightings of the animals in New Brunswick, I've only once seen a Black Bear in the wild, a large individual that quickly ran off through the forest as soon as I saw it. Still, the Black Bear population in New Jersey exponentially increased in a very short period of time, many state conservation and wildlife agencies coming under fire for supporting or not supporting a bear hunt (at least one official left their…
Today's photo comes from the National Zoo in Washington D.C., the only place where I have seen the Gavial (Gavialis gangeticus) in captivity. This crocodylian is one of the most endangered in the world, and the National Zoo has a male and female pair (and I can only assume that the zoo staff hopes the two will breed). The above photograph is the female, males of the species having a bulbous growth or "ghara" on the tip of their snout. Outside of being a signal as to which sex an adult belongs, the ghara is also used in vocalizations the male makes and blowing bubbles during mating displays,…
Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) have always been favorite animals at zoos and aquariums, but the current problem of anthropogenic global climate change has popularized them further by making them extinction's poster species. While many documentaries show the loss of ice as one of the primary factors that is threatening the bears, the overall rise in temperatures is having a more subtle (but widespread) impact on the unevenly distributed populations of bears. Polar bears have adapted to cold climate so effectively that they do not do well when temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and…