goobers sfzoo friends

new blog information

2011-12-11T23:09:00.000-08:00

I have created a new blog that contains the information below, which is a one stop synop to all my zoo related sites. the direct url is http://mysanfranciscozooexperience.blogspot.com/ ... see link to the left. Note that on the site called san francisco zoo FAILS, I have detailed information regarding the recent tragedy in the Park at the Bison Paddock. Though not a complete FAIL on the Zoo, it

A San Francisco Zoo Crime

2011-03-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

Last month my friend lee and I got our zoo memberships revoked, without any reason given. I have tried to not make this public, by first contacting various VIPs. Those VIPs obviously don't care, since we have not heard back from any of them. Maybe the media or public won't care either, but I feel I need to speak out about this crime committed against us. If you are interested in the

sorry, there will be no further updates

2010-12-16T08:43:00.001-08:00

i am sorry for not updating this site since august. i have been conflicted whether or not to continue to update and have decided not to. i love my zoo friends and will continue to post photos of their cuteness on my shutterfly photo site (link on left bar), but i feel my original mission to educate and endear people to the animal residents only, helps an organization who doesn't see the

visit my other zoo friend sites!

2010-12-16T08:40:00.000-08:00

learn more about the zoo residents enrichment fun here:http://thebigcatnip.blogspot.comsee more photos of the zoo residents here:http://gooberssfzoofriends.shutterfly.comvideo clips of the zoo friends here:http://www.youtube.com/user/leo811sfread more about padang and her milestone birthday here:http://tigerbirthday.blogspot.comphotos from padangs party here:http://padangsparty.shutterfly.com/

we got em', flamingo chicks!

2010-08-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

i was told by a keeper on thursday that two of the ten ( i think) eggs had, i forget the term he used, pinned/pinged? (the day before) which means they had just broken the shell in preparation to emerge from the egg. from then, it should be about two days before the chick will fully hatch. that put babies for friday. the flamingos were my first stop today, as i must see babies! and yippee! i

new babies on the island!

2010-08-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

three twelve week old male penguin chicks, who were hatched on penguin island, have finished socialization and fish school. last week they took their big boy march along the parade route in their honor, that led them back to the island! pictured are each one of the chicks a week later. the one with the red band is named floyd, the black banded will be named by an auction winner, and the one

capy happy!

2010-08-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

two year old capybara sisters (ria and kyme) born at the san diego zoo are now living at the puente! after losing our lottie last year, the puente has been missing cute little capy faces. the girls seem to be adjusting well and will at some point be introduced to the anteater couple who also make the puente field their home. i hope it all works out, it will be a joy to watch them all out

happy birthday goober!

2010-08-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

today was goober's 16th birthday! my friend nica and i went to the zoo today to wish him a happy day! goober was happy to see us and loved our song for him! check out his big smile! he was saying "thank you for the birthday wishes! i am the goober-licious!" love ya sweet goob! ... when we arrived for our second of three rounds of goob bday greetings, the zoo camp gal brought over a card the

happy belated birthday! sukari!

2010-08-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

african lion sukari recently had her first birthday as a resident of the sfzoo. she turned eight years old on june 23rd. the big cat keeper enjoys celebrating the cats birthdays, so special treats were given to her and her companion tunya (and all the other cats too!) last saturday. her birthday came during a time when she and tunya were separated due to her new birth control implant needing

july birthdays

2010-08-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

sorry for the delay to anyone who is following the blog closely. the month of july was the birth month for many of our zoo friends. luckily with the cooperation of her keeper, sumatran tiger leanne's seventh birthday was celebrated! you can see photos from all the fun on the photosite (link at left). before leanne's party i went by and wished cobby a happy birthday! and when i went to

sweet tony

2010-06-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

last tuesday, sweet tony joined his sister emily and his companion tatiana, where i'm sure they are playing in a meadow in the afterlife. ... i could write alot on tony as he was one of the dearest zoo friends i've come to know. those who haven't had the opportunity to really know a non domesticated fur friend, have no idea how special they can be. tony was i would imagine, like no other

birthdays!

2010-06-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

happy belated birthday to sam, the herd's male giraffe! he turned eight years old on friday (6.11). i love this pic of him i snapped last year, becuz he looks so much like his son dozer! ... today the fishing cat girls angelfish and goldfish celebrated their seventh birthday! this pic is of goldfish that i took this past wknd. angelfish still lives up at the fcc, while goldfish and their

baby face!

2010-06-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

one of the emperor tamarin pairs have twins born last saturday! i was lucky to not only get to see these babies riding on one of the parents back, but the parent came up to the window as if to show us the babies! soooooooo cute! got some decent snaps too! in case you can't tell the babies are so small, their head is probably not even the size of a half dollar. precious baby faces.

monkey business

2010-06-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

i heard about this from a primate keeper before the monkeys had arrived at the zoo. i am so happy they were saved! and look forward to seeing them live a new happy life!Zoo saves monkeys from euthanasia By: Kamala Kelkar Examiner Staff Writer

happy birthday orkney!

2010-05-31T08:24:00.001-07:00

who wouldn't want to wish the happiest seal out there a BIG happy birthday!? my friend hazel and i went to the zoo today to do just that! ... the list i have shows today being orkney's 48th bday, but theres a discrepancy between the list and what's posted at his enclosure. i talked with the keeper and he did indeed come to the zoo in 1970 at approx. one year old, so that would make him 41 today

prince charles

2010-05-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

in keeping with my black and white theme, i'd like to post about one of my childhood favorites, prince charles. sadly he is no longer with us. i've missed him ever since the visit i returned and he wasn't there. he was the only zoo animal i knew by name. i still remember seeing him standing near the edge of the moat in the corner grotto where he lived. he was really something to see. i

black and white

2010-05-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

two pairs of gorgeous birds you will meet at the zoo are the black swans and the american white pelicans. the swans live on the west side of the pachyderm building. they are two females named sydney and sheila and they will greet you with a high pitched honk as you walk by! i am told by a keeper that they like seeing people, so i'm happy that this path was re-opened after being closed. my

happy birthday gauhati!

2010-05-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

gauhati is celebrating his fifteenth birthday today! happy birthday gauhati! i hope there was a special treat in your day! someday i would like to know the hoofstock keepers well enough to be able to bring prizes and treats for their special occasions! i love the birthdays and want them all celebrated! ... gauhati is a big fav of mine! he is just plain cute! he makes the cutest faces when

lucy

2010-05-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

another friend who lives in the ARC that came out for a visit was lucy the opossum. how cute is this face? its very sweet looking i think and she seems kinda shy. her little ears, nose and feets are precious! you know i had to give them alittle touch! not sure you can tell from the photo, but she has longer hair than ones i've seen before. i'm not sure if that's a different breed, but

sassafras

2010-05-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

i first saw a photo of her online and was like what is that? (prehensile porcupine) and where can i see such cuteness?! since then i have been trying to meet sassafras for over a year! finally the other day when i got to go behind the scenes at the ARC i was able to! sassy lives in the ARC and is there when they are open to the public which is usually only 1p-2p on the weekends. i've gone

inti

2010-05-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

yesterday i was lucky enough to get to meet inti the bobcat! i have a photo from several years ago that i have always had in mind and wondered "what happened to that bobcat?" cuz i haven't seen him in as long and even then it was from a distance as he wasn't on exhibit. then recently someone mentioned him and i realized he still lives at the zoo. he lives in the ARC behind the scenes area of

june birthdays up!

2010-05-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

check the calendar part of the photosite, direct link> http://gooberssfzoofriends.shutterfly.com/calendar... archive photo from wishbone and annie's 22nd birthday in 2008!

happy birthday ming wah and rigel!

2010-05-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

today was the female snow leopard ming wah's eighteenth birthday! i made some birthday themed enrichment prizes for both her and the male snow leopard rigel. the information i had didn't have rigel's birthday listed, but i found out last week that his bday was in april. so i combined the celebration to include them both! i was lucky that the keeper put stuff out while i was there so i could

lions versus bugs!

2010-05-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

it was enrichment crafts out again yesterday in the lion grottos! my friend andiecatt brought some big bugs, which look like fantastical ladybugs, but she calls beetles. these paper mache bugs were put out for amanzi and jahari with their blood sickle treat inside! i was on amanzi's side, and only got pix of jahari when he came over after to make sure she didn't leave anything lol! andiecatt

happy birthday pescita!

2010-05-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

today was the female river otter's birthday! i brought a couple coconuts by and the bday girl, pescita and her mate trent, enjoyed playing with them, in and out of the water! the keeper said she had given them coconuts before and they like trying to hold them under water ;) they float, so i figure they will get alot of use out of them! after they had played a bit they went back on land and

birthdays!

2010-05-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

first, i missed a timely post yesterday wishing george a happy birthday! even though georgie has moved to point defiance zoo, he is not forgotten by his zoobie friends! i sent him a card with wishes from andiecatt and i. i love and miss you georgie and think about you often! ... today was bititi's birthday! friends and i were lucky that the keeper let us feed her and her giraffe family! we

wild pigs in the lion grottos!

2010-05-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

amanzi and jahari pig out! jahari and amanzi were the ones to get the pigs. the keeper set one pink pig and one brown boar out. she put a blood sickle in each as their treat! they are always a joy to watch as they are always the most excited for stuff. its almost like when they go in (when the keeper then goes out to put stuff), they expect there to be a treat waiting and they come

tiger fun in the LH!

2010-05-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

it was a busy weekend and i'm just now getting to blogging about it. ... my friend andiecatt and i again brought enrichment crafts for the cats. both stuff for the biggin's and for the smaller ones. stuff to use whenever the keeper thinks the cats need some special enrichment, but its always fun to watch them enjoy something you've made! andie outdid herself and me but making stand up pigs and

wakodaman!

2010-05-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

my barnyard boyfriend, navajo churro male wakoda got his winter coat shaved off. he is a doll and protested a bit before but relinquished like the good boy he is! the zoo has a professional shearer come in to do all the sheep (navajo, jacob, and barbados) and the two alpacas. the wool from the navajo churro sheep is sent to a group of navajo people in new mexico who use it to teach the younger

tony's girls

2010-05-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

from time to time i'll search online for random things about the zoo residents. i searched tony the other day as most can tell i love that big cat! i came across a great site made by a gal who is a longtime friend to the zoo and the big cats are one of her favs. she was a weekly regular before i was, so she got to know the residents then, the way i have now and her page about tony and his

groovy!

2010-05-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

i made 3 groovy balls (paper mache) and lucky i got to see one being used during yesterdays visit! first the keeper tried to see if sunfish the male fishing cat would be into it, but he just took a sniff and a lick and continued outside. no worries cause it was now free to go to tony! i'm good with any of the cats getting the enrichment of my crafts, but i did make at least one intended for

celebrate world GOOBER day!

2010-04-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

happy world tapir day to sweet GOOBER! the happiest tapir in the world! love to you from your adoptive parent! i love my goob! he should be celebrated!

peek-a-boo orkney!

2010-04-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

orkney has been increasingly out and about and this was the first time ever i got great snaps of his cute face! i actually think it may be the only time i've seen his face full on like this at all or at least for any extended amount of time! thankx for the peek at you cute orkney! ... see his bio on last years entry for updated information.

prairie pups!

2010-04-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

the first prairie dog pup emerged from a burrow on march 31st! since then babies have been bouncing out to the to date total of 13 or 14! they emerge at about six weeks, so the smallest ones are about that. we saw a couple that only came to the rim of the burrow hole, never leaving it, so they must be just at the six weeks! sooooooooo cute! the one in the close-ups is one of those tiny

happy birthday chimp girls!

2010-04-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

today marked the birthdays of two of the female chimps, tallulah and minnie. maggie's birthday was on april 14th and we missed it :( yesterday my friend andiecatt and i brought the three girls a birthday card and andie made all four chimps (including their man cobby!) some presents,. we didn't see anything out today, so hopefully they got them. miss tallulah turned a milestone 55! which i

globe-trottin' otters!

2010-04-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

harlem globetrotter moo moo evans came to the zoo today and tossed the balls with river otter couple trent and pescita! i was there today but it wasn't advertised that the otters were going to be part of the fun and so i just missed it ;(chk out the video at this link http://cbs5.com/video/?id=64413@kpix.dayport.com

evita checks out the puente!

2010-04-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

the new female giant anteater is out of quarantine and can be seen strutting her stuff in her new home in the puente! evita is her name and she came here to be our male angelo's mrs.! she is still young, so hopefully when she reaches maturity in the next year, they will produce babies! would be the cutest to see mini me anteater babies in person!

beach balls in the grotto!

2010-04-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

ti brought some paper mache beach balls i made for the lions and was again lucky that the keeper was able to give them to the cats while i was there! thank you again! ... amanzi and jahari got theirs first. amanzi ran out sooo fast! amazing she passed jahari in the race, he usually pushes ahead of her. she ran to the one on my side and jahari ran to the opposite side. she broke hers open

cats weigh in!

2010-04-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

happened upon the big cats getting weighed today! first time i'd seen this. saw padang first, and she was not really wanting to cooperate. she quickly got on to fetch the lure snacks, but didn't fall for that trick twice. she walked around the scale trying to figure out how to get the snacks without getting on the scale! ... when amanzi and jahari came in, amanzi went straight for the scale

big cat fun!

2010-04-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

the lion house was jumpin' today! as soon as we walked up to the cats, amanzi and jahari were doing some major playing and then she entertained herself with the big red ball! i snapped a quick not so great one as she threw it to the pond and made a cute playful kitty face! ... while waiting for the LH to open we spied sunfish out front and center stalking fish in his pond! ... after the LH

easter in the LH, lions!

2010-04-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

jahari and amanzi got their treats first! these two are so silly when they know there's a treat and are waiting for the keeper to open the door to their night quarters in the lion house. usually jahari is waiting to push in first, but today amanzi was right there to rival him for first place and she almost made it but his head and shoulders pushed her aside and he ran in first, again! these two

easter in the LH, leanne!

2010-04-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

easter in the LH, tony!

2010-04-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

easter in the LH, padang!

2010-04-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

all the big cats got easter treats on easter sunday! andiecatt brought padang and tony easter bunnies and i brought tony an big mache easter egg! my goal was to have eggs made for all the big cats, then as time went on at least four for the lions, and finally my project went whack in the drying process so i only ended up with one good egg ;( i suck and had no back up plan. i felt bad that i had

ulu bunny!

2010-04-03T18:50:00.000-07:00

my friend andiecatt and i brought easter prizes for some of the animals. the big cats will get theirs tomorrow, but ulu bear got her bunny from andiecatt today! keeper dave was nice enough to stop and make it happen right when we showed up, so that we would be able to watch her play with it! he scented it and put it out with a romaine lettuce snack. ulu came looking for it, gave it a sniff

happy birthday niklas!

2010-04-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

today was niklas' first birthday! here are a few pix of him, one of him and his family when he was just 2 days old!, one of him taken in january and one of me tryign to feed him in the early days of him learning to eat bananas and still dropping them! mama and papa looking on. hope your bday was fun little guy!

kimani update

2010-04-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

New Lioness Becomes Queen of the Tautphaus Park Zoo Thu, 4/1/2010 - 5:07 PMBy Bill Gersonde Idaho Falls, ID - A new female lion is calling the Tautphaus Park Zoo home. Kimani arrived from the San Francisco Zoo following a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums African Lion Species Survival Plan (SSP). “It was sad to say farewell to our lioness Sukari who went to the San

nice pix of padang!

2010-04-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

here a a group of great padang captures i got the other day. she was enjoying the crappy weather, which unfortunately was freezing and it poured five minutes after i got in my car. timing is everything! i went to see tony, and when he decided to nap i was lucky to see padang motoring about. she seemed to be surveying the grotto. after she checked all corners of the yard she went inside to

tony in the house!

2010-03-31T22:03:00.000-07:00

you may have read in the news that tony had overstayed his last visit to the moat in his yard. the way it was reported in the media i have to say really bothered me. i really took offense to the title using the word lazy to describe him. a title that has now made national news. he wasn't being lazy, there was something else going on. maybe becuz of his age there was a physical or mental

break dancin' bear!

2010-03-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

ulu bear was having a party today, rollin' about and scratchin' her back!

penguin faces

2010-03-26T18:05:00.000-07:00

while waiting for the lion house to open today i got some great snaps of the penguins. the composition is nice in the way i've captured the black and white on some and they have cute facial expressions goin' on! enjoy! ... #182 is howard ; #4B is scooter ; #155 is pippin

padangs puppy

2010-03-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

padang got a stuffed puppy doll in her gift bag and a blood sickle and meat treat! she came in and had her snack first, then checked out her bag, knocked it over, teared it open and grabbed the puppy out and carried it to the next room and dropped it on her bed for later! she is so cute with her stuffed animals. a couple weekends ago she was sleeping with her head on one. sooo cute!

leanne and her new playmate

2010-03-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

no there isn't a new tiger in the house, but she had a sheep head in her bag of goodies! its alittle too much nature for me since i love the barnyard buddies, but its all natural for these carnivores. she was sooo funny to watch. when she first got to the bag, she got out her meatloaf. the head was wrapped and when she got it free of wrapping, it kinda rolled and she jumped back. then she

grrreat birthday bash for tony!

2010-03-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

it was an awesome time with the tigers today! tony's birthday is tomorrow, but we did a celebration today! lee and i brought him and his gal pals some special enrichment items for the bash. tony got a paper mache ball i made and he also got a HUGE birthday bag. all three tigers got flowered (in honor of it being the first day of spring) bags as part of tony's celebration. i painted the ball

cats in the sun

2010-03-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

it was a gorgeous warm day at the zoo yesterday, with the elusive miss sukari making an appearance and my first sighting of ming wah doin' a tunya! complete with baby do! style bunny feet! ... in case i haven't made the reference before, a "tunya" is when an animal is asleep on its back with its legs in the air, ala tunyaman! tunya has made this pose famous as he is the lounger in chief among

annie on a mission!

2010-03-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

per the previous post, bears go green, here are some of the pix from annies mission to get the ice cake to the nest so her man can have a treat! you are precious sweet annie! i wish i had gotten a snap of the kiss!

bears go green!

2010-03-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

yesterday at the zoo all the bears got special st patricks day enrichments! the goods were great! kudos and thankx to deb (bear keeper)! i stopped at annie and wishbone first, then at ulu, then andy and pike, then the grizzly girls. all were entertaining so i kept going up and down the bear corridor checking to see what they all were doing. these are the highlights... annie found a frozen

the many mane-ly do's of tunyaman

2010-03-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

tunya is an expert lounger! he is so goofy cute and fun to watch. he can be sitting there looking at you or off like he's thinkin', then with no notice he will do the tunya plop and just flop his head down and there it stays. when he wakes up his big gorgeous mane seems to never look the same. its always tussled this way and that, sometimes showing off those cute ears with mane hair just

jahari in the box!

2010-03-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

big cat keeper barb did some great enrichments again this past sat. leanne again got her food divided up and placed in different places in six different night quarter cages AND jahari and amanzi got their food in small boxes like leanne last weekend. when barb opened the sliding door, jahari had his huge head right there, ready to squeeze under before it even was pulled all the way up and open!

resident updates

2010-03-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

the last couple times i went by the warthog enclosure i only saw one out. when i see an animal missing it always takes my breath away for a second becuz my mind goes directly to the fear. sadly its true in this case, mrs warthog, bess as i first knew her, tho her listed name now is boudin, has passed. born at the little rock zoo on april 7, 1995, she would have been 15 this year. she lived a

will work for food

2010-03-08T15:04:00.000-08:00

big cat keeper barb thought of a great enrichment for leanne and luckily we were in the lion house at the right time to see it. she took six small boxes, each filled with approximately a pound of meat and put them on the ledges inside six connecting cages in the lion house quarters. leanne is young and full of energy so this was a great way for her to use that energy and work her

got acacia?

2010-03-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

andy bear did! and boy did she love it! she had a big branch full of leaves and was rubbing her face all over it! it was polar bear catnip! she made the cutest faces and smiled the whole time! i love our happy bears! ... check the photo site for more pix from this series > http://gooberssfzoofriends.shutterfly.com/

hasani takes the gold!

2010-03-08T14:31:00.000-08:00

if anyone has checked here lately and wondered what's up, i apologize for not posting in a couple weeks.got this cute snap of hasani during olympic week. i think he's wondering if rock climbing is a medal event! ... check out the rock formation to the top left of the photo. it shows the face of a monkey/ape! i checked when i was there last and its not visible to the naked eye, so kudos to me

water dance

2010-02-25T14:56:00.000-08:00

the zoo was gorgeous today and i was again over dressed! there were a couple moments i wished i was cooling off in grizzly gulch too! ... kachina was having another time of her life, enjoying the warm sun by playing in the pond with a stick and a corn husk. its as simple as that to make this girl happy! and those cute feets were up in the air most of the time! just watching her play will

cobby gets physical

2010-02-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

San Francisco Zoo's geriatric chimp passes physical with flying colorsBy Linda Goldston Doctors from the University of California San Francisco, and Veterinary... ( Maria J. Avila Lopez ) viewer_currentlySelected = 1; viewer_lastIndex = 5; viewer_images = ['http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site568/2010/0224/20100224__cobby~4_

zuraland

2010-02-16T08:12:00.000-08:00

i am now calling gorilla world zuraland. during recent visits i have been most drawn to zura. it started when i went to the zoo for the first time with nica (a new friend then) and she was trying to photograph zura doing "her tongue thing." i had never noticed it before, but started noticing that she did it every time i'd go. first mostly when she saw nica, then she started doing it to me.

bear feet

2010-02-16T07:55:00.000-08:00

i love me some animal feets! kiona was so cute just rolling on her back doin' a tunya and then she started to play with her feets! this one is my fav! she just released her toes and feets are in the air! she's just smiling and enjoying the sun!

wrestling grizzlies

2010-02-14T19:10:00.000-08:00

the sisters were having their typical rumble. they are so cute when they play together like this :) kachina was the instigator yesterday. sometimes kiona would pull back and just play with her feets and a log (really cute when feets are in the air!) and then kachina would run up and challenge a tussle! ... the first photo is my fav tho, and since today is valentines day its perfect! one

a bloody valentine treat!

2010-02-14T17:32:00.000-08:00

i interrupted jahari having his valentine treat! i think he knows my voice as he often turns his head when he hears it! i put my camera thru the fencing and he was licking the blood sickle and i said to myself (yes i talk to myself cuz i'm crazy like that!) come on jarjar turn around and this is what i got :) thank you sweet kitty! ... you can see he's got blood stains on his mouth :)

painted polars

2010-02-14T17:01:00.000-08:00

yesterdays zoo visit came with many surprises! so much eye candy with the bears! painted polars! wrestling grizzlies! lion treats! and a new couple (tunya and sukari can now be seen in the yard together! yay!)! ... the grizzly girls were doing their sister wrestle, but it was the polar girls who such a colorful time with their special valentine treats, that i couldn't pull myself away from them!

super birthday sunday!

2010-02-07T17:08:00.001-08:00

today the lions celebrated birthdays! amanzi whose thirteenth bday was on jan 4 and tunya whose thirteenth bday was on jan 26, celebrated a combined birthday with seven year old jahari, whose bday was today! jahari and amanzi got their treats first! on one side the keeper put a party favor that was filled with a knuckle bone and a big wrapped box filled with rhino scented hay and another favor

football or food?

2010-02-04T13:15:00.000-08:00

today the zoo had a go at seeing if cobby would predict a superbowl champ by picking one of the teams shirts. i think they all were just interested in the food! i'm with you guys! ... there was no one at the chimps when i got there about ten minutes before the event was supposed to happen. i heard a keeper who was behind the cafe talking to the chimps in waiting and all the girls came over to

bear sense

2010-02-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

annie the spectacle bear was having a good ol' time while her mate wishbone slept cozy in the corner den. there was a small barrel with holes that had treats (probably bear chow) in it. it was fixed so that it spun and annie was spinning that thing til there was nothing left! then keeper deb came out, after chatting and telling us about how much annie loves perfume, she called them in so she

watch out evil doers!

2010-02-02T23:10:00.001-08:00

the zoo now has recourse to prosecute people who visit zoo's and trespass into an animal enclosure or harass a resident! The vote went forth today and passed 10-0! ... Congrats to Supervisor Sean Elsbernd for all he did to get new legislation passed! He rocks for finding and sewing up this law loophole that allowed too many bad humans to go unpunished and continue to wander around doing no good.

warm winters day

2010-01-30T18:09:00.000-08:00

while its been storming here in san francisco, today's forecast for more rain was wrong! the sun shined the whole time i was at the zoo :) all the animals had smiles on their faces, just take a look at andy bear's grin! she had a seat and a smile, and sat there enjoying the warm winter day. ... lions jahari and amanzi got a special enrichment of sheets with rhino scent! the lions really love

baby boy howler is getting big!

2010-01-28T08:23:00.000-08:00

my pal nica took these great photos yesterday, of the new baby howler, bamba and his big sisters, lupe and baya, hanging with each other! her camera has a stronger zoom than mine, so she gladly donated them to share here. thankx nica!

yesteryday's lovely big cats

2010-01-28T08:22:00.000-08:00

captured some nice ones of the big cats yesterday in between visiting the friends and crime bustin'! ... more lions kisses! amanzi is just all over her sweetie jahari. i was right at the window and love this mass of mane and tongue! ... tony and his reflection in his pond. i love refelctions, shadows, ect. ... padang walking towards me against the bamboo. i love when i can get fav foliage in

january birthdays!

2010-01-26T13:24:00.001-08:00

camilla and tunya weren't the only residents celebrating birthdays this month. i appologize to all the residents whose birthdays were not individually posted here. some i was there on the day or day about and blew a wish out to you. some i missed. i'm sorry. ... i have a birthday celebration plan that i pitched to the zoo director but got no reply. having been a small unofficial part of both

happy birthday camilla and tunya!

2010-01-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

celebrating her first birthday today! camilla was the first of two reticulated giraffe calf's born in 2009. she is the daughter of mama bititi and papa sam. her half brother niklas (his mama is carolina) was born three months after her, but she is still the tiniest giraffe on the savannah. ... january 26 also marks african lion tunya's thirteenth birthday! tunya came to the sfzoo as a cub in 1997

love is in the air!

2010-01-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

the sun was shining at the zoo today and the friends were out enjoying it. ... got this snap of jahari showing amanzi some love! she actually initiated it but out of a series of three, this was the best capture (you can see her tongue tucking in after giving him a kiss)! sooo cute! ... tallulah was wrapped in a blanket sleeping in the sun with cobby beside her. it even looked like they were

friends laying low during the storm

2010-01-21T19:25:00.000-08:00

the zoo posted yesterday via twitter that the chimps "were inside under blankets watching the movie shark tales." i asked if "they have the attention spam to watch a movie all the way thru?" and "if they talk to each other during the movie?" the zoo answered this today, "Cobby was watching the movie, Tallulah was reading the others were snacking." thankx to the zoo for this info! paints a very

more photos of the friends

2010-01-18T12:28:00.001-08:00

if you wanna rock like my kitten (seen here approving the new photo site!), please make sure to follow the link on the left sidebar to view more of my photos of the zoo friends. these are photos that i previously had on different photo hosting sites and i have now combined them onto one page, that is titled to reflect the blog name. ... i will also add pix weekly from my visits as well as some

update on harry the penguin

2010-01-18T12:18:00.000-08:00

Ill zoo penguin's health holding steadyBy: Katie Worth Examiner Staff WriterJanuary 16, 2010The San Francisco Zoo's Magellanic penguin Harry, left, became ill in December with a very serious respiratory infection. Harry the Penguin’s health has neither deteriorated nor improved in recent weeks, San Francisco Zoo officials reported. The Magellanic penguin – who famously left his longtime same-sex

fall for cublets!

2010-01-13T16:47:00.000-08:00

in corresponding with machelle from the akron zoo, she sent me a pic from halloween. i love animals and pumpkins, the boo at the zoo events are always a favorite of mine. i asked her if she had anymore with pumpkins and she sent me these great snaps of our boys! there's even some cute tongue action! they are too adorable. i love seeing still hanging out together. ... at the time, i had looked

FINALLY!!! new law on motion to protect the zoo friends!

2010-01-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

Zoo taunters face harsher dues By: Mike Aldax January 11, 2010 Unpunished: Supervisor Sean Elsbernd introduced new legislation after charges were dismissed against a man who entered a grizzly bear enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo. (AP file photo) After several incidents in which patrons of the San Francisco Zoo have either taunted the wildlife or snuck into enclosures containing

get well harry!

2010-01-04T21:46:00.001-08:00

i read last eve that harry the penguin is very ill. please say a prayer and send good wishes his way! my thoughts are with you harry! ... harry made the news in 2009 for being in a same sex relationship with pepper, then changing his mind and relationing with linda! i guess everyone loves them some harry! get well soon, they are probably missing you on the island! ... updated 1.13.10 news

cublets first snow adventure!

2010-01-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

if you are a fan of skylar and bali's cubs and have been following their adventures in life, here are photos of these beautiful babies enjoying their first snow fall in their new home at the akron zoo! my favorites are the one with all three of them with their heads on each other. incredibly precious! and the one of a cublet peeking out at the snow at what could be snow at first sight! .so

black and white lions?

2010-01-03T18:16:00.000-08:00

today felt like a black and white day, even though it was sunny out. i first took some pix of my kitten and then went to the zoo and took some pic of bigger cats! ... amanzi and jahari look out from the grotto as they spot keeper barb passing by. tunya was full of yawns as he lounged in the sun waiting to go into the lion house and catch a glimpse of his new girlfriend. the last one of tunya

winter on the farm!

2010-01-03T17:47:00.000-08:00

the last day of the zoo's winter goes wild event brought mini snomen and presents to the barnyard buddies! this was the first time the goats and sheep have gotten this type of enrichment so when they were first let out for their morning stampede from their night quarters to the yard, they looked at the obstacle course of goods and was like "whoa, what is that?" then they took off in little

updates

2010-01-01T17:08:00.000-08:00

please check the posts "new lioness in the house" and "kimani update". i have added to them since the original posting.

kimani update

2009-12-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

after 4 unsuccessful attempts to get info via email from the tautphaus park zoo where kimani went to, i called them. the gal said "they do not give out info on the animals?!?!?" but i got some info on kimani (and sukari-see new lioness in the house post for update) ... kimani was just out of quarantine (odd since she left us on nov 18th and our quarantine is 30 days. anyway, today was her

the tale of mishaki and the christmas tree

2009-12-29T16:36:00.000-08:00

today's winter treat enrichment was for the black rhino's. the winter gone wild schedule isn't really helpful, since they seem to be changing it daily. black rhino's were supposed to be on sunday and they were switched to today. as well the time was changed. no matter, the male, mishaki aka gene, put on quite a show and it was well worth the wait! he was in the back part of the enclosure

sukari

2009-12-27T13:54:00.000-08:00

sukari was out in the grotto today! she must have made some real progress overnight as far as her comfort level. when i got there she was just getting up onto the ledge above the cave entrance. she settled in and stayed there looking out, just taking it all in. it must be hard being moved from one home to another without any say in the matter, but she looked calm. she makes cute little

new lioness in the house!

2009-12-26T18:47:00.000-08:00

the new lioness is out of quarantine and now living in her new home in the lion house. sukari was moved to the lion house last wednesday and spent her first day getting exams and settling in. for now she will only have access to the night quarters in the lion house while she gets used to her new surroundings, keepers, neighbors and companion. her access to the outside grotto exhibit im told

snowing in san francisco?!

2009-12-23T15:30:00.000-08:00

it did for andy and pike, the two polar bear companions! monday the san francisco ice company once again gave a generous donation to the zoo. they donated enough ice to spray the girls grotto with snow! i wasn't able to go on monday morning and attempts by phone to the zoo to confirm whether there was still snow on tuesday were useless, BUT i went out there this morning and there was still a

lions get holiday treats!

2009-12-20T10:44:00.000-08:00

this was the first day of the zoo's holiday season event called winters gone wild. there is a schedule posted on the zoo site of who gets what when. i've been sick so yesterday was the first day i was able to go. i almost said, my pix didn't come out as great as i'd hoped, but now looking at them again they arent bad. the window ones could have been better. i tried a new thing since i'm still

hasani's great grandma turns 53!

2009-12-16T23:12:00.000-08:00

colo, a female gorilla at the columbus zoo will celebrate her 53rd! birthday next tuesday december 22nd. i read about her (for the first time) yesterday in an article that i found via a twitter post by, zoo and aquarium visitor, one of the animal organizations i follow. i shared it with some friends as i thought it was special that she was not only reaching this great ape age, but that she was

and we got face!

2009-12-11T10:23:00.000-08:00

i'm going to stop apologizing for my wacky screen caps taken off tv with my cell phone, cuz so far, these are the only pix posted of this week old baby's face! so, im inclined to kudo myself and say i rock! ... it was the sweetest interaction! baby was clinging to mama (as it will do for a long time) and sister lupe came over and stuck her head right near the baby and the baby turned and

happy birthday handsome!

2009-12-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

tuesday was baby gorilla hasani's (meaning handsome) first birthday! if you don't know hasani's story, in short, he is the first born to papa jonesy and mama monifa. his mom wasn't quite into it, so the primate staff stepped in and hand raised him (kudos!). during this time, veteran mama troop mate bawang showed interest in the baby and the staff began to train both hasani to take a bottle

photos of the day!

2009-12-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

i've said it before, but i'll say it again, elly loves her new home! i have not seen her sitting down once, and that is all she used to do in the old black rhino enclosure. everytime i go by there she is still doing the happy prance! today i got this great shot of her, looking straight at me and she has a smile on her face! i love the captures of the zoo friends with smiles! i like how