dozer update!

this is my guy dozer! i've mentioned him once before, but til now he hadn't had his own post becuz he moved to safari west (near santa rosa) before i started this blog. bulldozer became my fav becuz we share a birthday, august 11. he was born in 2007 to mama bititi and papa sam. dozer was always fun to watch and his sweet disposition always shined thru! the last three pix of him are mine. you can see he had a girlfriend in one of the female kudu he lived in the savannah with. i was lucky to catch this sweet exchange between them. ... since his move i had tried (unsucessfully) via several emails to get an update and pic of him in his new home. finally someone answered my twitter tweet the other day and posted a pic (the cute tongue one!) on their facebook site. they had some others as well and said it was cool if i post some here, so thanks to safari west for the first three pix. you can see dozer is still sweet dozer! loving attention and being a sweet silly boy! he looks like he is getting along fine there, but i miss him all the time! he moved there so he would be able to have his own family one day. looking forward to visiting him and someday seeing baby dozer's! love ya dozer!

big cats in sepia tone

i love using the sepia tone effect. i took some before last year, but for some reason didn't have any of the big cats. snapped these today. the one of tony (siberian tiger) playing with his ball is the cutest and one of my favorite all time pix i've taken at the zoo. ... the one of jahari full frame mane came out exactly how i wanted it to. all the male lion ones are jahari, female lion is amanzi. ... leanne (sumantran tiger) ... rigel (snow leopard) wasn't sleeping today but was on the go! too bad about the fence, but i like that i finally got him up and about! ... just looked at my photos again after posting and having eye contact with such majestic creatures makes me tear up. its really incredible when they look right at you and some you know recognize you. look at the pix of tony and jahari how they are looking right at me. even amazni was, but you can't tell the depth in that photo like with the other two.

gems from yesterday

i'm at the zoo at least twice a wk. i get some really good pix that i think capture the animals personalities. i'm going to start posting more of these gems. ... miss tallulah doing what she loves best, reading a magazine wrapped in a blanket. ... padang was grazing in the grass. i love how she looks against green, especially her eyes. ... jahari and amanzi were striking this awesome pose for quite sometime. ... jonesy and half sis zura, side by side, watching being watched. ... all the giraffes in one snap! papa sam, camilla, niklas, moms carolina and bititi. ... niklas.

niklas gettin' his groove on!

shot this video today on my digital camera. its a bit out out of focus at this size (my clips play better at small size) but it was a great moment to see and a close capture so easy to tell the detail of what is going on, even if not clear. posting it anyway becuz his playfulness was adorable! ... fyi niklas is seven months old now!

a personal memory - the old seal pool

i've been continually trying to organize my digital photos and in that attempt i keep coming across this pic. it is not from my childhood, but probably the last photo i took of a seal in the old pool and one of the cutest photos i've ever taken or seen. too cute to pass up sharing, so i thought i'd write a bit about what a highlight the seal pool was when i'd visit as a child. ... i remember before you even got to the area you could hear all the seals barking! as you approached you would see the line coming from the hut that sold fish you could buy to feed them. it was always a big attraction for visitors and for me. my parents would always get the fish. watching them swim fast around the pool and then jump up on the rock right in front of you so you could throw the fish to them, was one of my favorite things to do at the zoo. ... the seal pool is still there but not in use. it was last used as a rehabilitation holding area in connection with the marin mammal center. the photo was taken in 2002, so this cute harbor seal was probably a part of that program and was probably eventually released back into the wild. that partnership was a great use for the pool. its sad when things you remember so fondly are no longer, but in this case, there are better places for healthy seals to live, this pool is just too small. i'm also grateful that seals and dolphins are not housed at the steinhart aquarium anymore. great memories but not a size appropriate place for these animals. i note healthy, becuz we do have orkney, a gray seal with special needs and i believe the zoo is the best place for him. ... i think my experience feeding the seals at the zoo, was a foundation for another favorite activity that is no longer. up until pier 39 corralled the seal lions and began making a profit for free off that confinement, i used to go to marina safeway and buy a bunch of fish and go down to the area behind fishermans grotto and feed the seals. it was fantastic! i would dangle a fish over the edge and a seal would jump out of the water about a foot from me! so close that i would just drop it in their mouth! fun times. ... i mentioned the marine mammal center. great organization. if you are in the sf area, check them out. i haven't been there since they re-opened after a major renovation, but it used to be a place i visited regularly. one of the most beautiful things i've ever witnessed was one of their seal releases. it took place in the early morning near point reyes. they released three seals that were rehabilitated and ready to go back in the wild. it was incredible to see.

today's news, re the grizzly invasion

there are so very many things wrong with the outcome of this jury trial.

please read the article available via the sfgate.com website.

the judge is the lamest excuse for a justice renderer and in my opinion the jury is worse becuz they are supposed to be the balance of logic. to me, this jury is made up of those same people who i witness every visit, rapping and tapping on the glass of enclosures, and yelling and roaring out to the animals. the people who come up to me and ask why the animals are all napping. can't we go and "get them to move around." ... i'm not a fan of humans and during one jury selection poll, when the judge explained to me the process was to also ensure my right to a jury of my peers if ever needed. i told him i would wave that right. evidentially you are not allowed to wave that particular right. so, its not a right at all , its a mandated demand. anyway, this jury's logic or lack of proves that i was wise beyond my years as the cliche goes. i would not want people so inept making a decision on my life. ... so the judge doesn't know the meaning of the word "trespass", and both deemed the guy too mental to know what he was doing, but still let him go with no reprimand, not even to deal with fact of said mental issue. .. it was noted that the bears did nothing to him so it wasn't an "intrusion"? how would the judge and jury have justified if the animal had lost its life becuz of this creep?

bottom line, its just another bad message being sent to those who lack a moral conscious in regards to how animals should be respected. who is going to set the precedence on how to punish these people? its obviously not the justice system, so it needs to be zoos, just flat out saying "if you go in, too f-ing bad." sorry if this offends anyone, but i'm pretty pissed and tired of the same old human bullshit in regards to animals.

george update!

george, now offically able to claim his given name of bali (by a public vote) made his debut at his new home at the point defiance zoo on saturday. here is a local news article with all the details and a photo! ... i miss you georgie!

Big cat delights crowd at zoo

New tiger: Despite a ‘mob scene’ Bali takes his first appearance in stride

PHOTOS BY DEAN J. KOEPFLER/THE NEWS TRIBUNE

Judging from the intensity of his eyes, Bali, the newest Sumatran tiger at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, enjoyed a meat-sicle at his debut Saturday as hundreds of visitors watched the spectacle.

JOYCE CHEN; The News Tribune

Published: 10/25/09

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium’s newest Sumatran tiger made his big debut Saturday.

Bali, an 11-year-old transfer from the San Francisco Zoo, lounged around in the 4,950-square-foot Asia waterfall display, unperturbed by curious zoo visitors.

“We had a big mob scene,” zookeeper Andy Goldfarb said. The number of tickets sold on “Tiger Day” was not available Saturday night.

Bali’s brother Java and the resident female tiger Jaya also were on display - in separate exhibits. Zoo officials hope that Bali and Jaya will produce offspring to bolster the Sumatran tiger population, which is listed as critically endangered, with about 70 living in captivity in North America. (About 250 live in the wild.)

Bali first arrived at the zoo mid- September and spent a month in quarantine, which is standard zoo practice. Goldfarb said that Bali handled the transition admirably.

“He’s been a good boy. He gets excited, but he’s never charged the mesh (barrier) at us.”

One quirk: the 294-pound Sumatran shares his brother Java’s affinity for the special treat whipped cream – only the real kind.

“They won’t eat the fake stuff,” Goldfarb said.

On Oct. 14, Bali and Jaya had their first meeting, separated by a mesh metal gate. Although the 6-year-old Jaya seemed apprehensive, Bali was relatively relaxed.

“When he saw Jaya for the first time, he chuffed,” a puffing sound used as greeting among tigers, Goldfarb said. “Java took a year before he chuffed at Jaya.”

Bali and Jaya will continue living in side-by-side enclosures, and zoo staff will monitor the new tiger’s behavior when Jaya goes into estrus, or heat. If Bali shows signs of interest over several of Jaya’s estrus periods, zoo keepers will place the tigers together for breeding.

The odd tiger out, Java will depart at an undetermined date for the Los Angeles Zoo, where he will be partnered up with a female tiger who has littered before.

Meanwhile, visitors get to enjoy the spectacle of three tigers at the zoo.

boo @ the zoo day two

the big cats are always great to watch get treats because they really get into them. i watched kimani and tunya come out first. kimani went straight for the treat (frozen bunny) and tunya went right for the big cat nip (rhino pee scent hay)! kimani turned her back and guarded her food, like most kitties like to do, while papa got high rolling around and making the most adorable faces :) and his signature "tunya" pose, to which kimani said "my dad is silly!" so cute! jahari and amanzi got their sheep legs today. it was hard to get good snaps of jahari and amanzi since so many people were around the enclosure, but i watched jahari fight with the one tied to the tree. he must have defeated it and drug it to the ground where he was enjoying it when i came past the second time. amanzi had hers in a far corner, closer pix were obstructed by her party box. i love these cats.

boo @ the zoo day one

today's featured pumpkin treats were scheduled for the chimps, meerkats and spectacle bears. since i saw the chimps on wed at the preview, i went late and got there for the meerkats. i haven't done a post on these little guys yet, so i'll post alittle info on them here. they live in the children's along side their neighbors the prairie dogs. at past boo events, the meerkats are always fun to watch get their treats, pumpkins filled with meal worms! yum! our group of meerkats (called a mob) consists of three females and three males. the girls names are, victoria, ness, and okeechobee. the boys names are, saro, huron, and bailko. they are all named after rivers. ... i was disappointed when i got the schedule for this years event and saw that many animals (tigers, polars, lemurs, gorillas,) who usually get treats would not be, but i also thought maybe some might still even if they weren't listed and i was right. while wandering around visiting all the friends, i caught this female patas enjoying her pumpkin. the tamarins had treats too and i heard there was pumpkin remnants at gorilla world. as well when i left i saw displays at the lemurs, so maybe tomorrow for them? the lions will get their halloween treats tomorrow but had sheep legs today! its a bit too much nature for me, but they seemed to really dig them, especially kimani who grabbed hers and headed to the bushes with it. ... before wishbone and annie (spectacle bears) came out, it seemed the gulls were stealing all their treats ;( , but thankfully when they got at em, there were still enough fruits and veggies for them! i love when i get snaps of wishbone with his tongue out! do you see his tongue in the pumpkin? these two are so precious.

the name game

our male sumantran george aka bali moved to the point defiance zoo in tacoma last month. he is set to leave quarantine and debut this saturday. the zoo is having a vote to decide which of his two names he will be called by them. here's the link, if you want to cast your vote. http://www.pdza.org/ ... i voted for bali. i have only called him george, that is becuz that was the name i first came to know him as before i knew his given name was bali. he will always be my georgie, but i think bali is what he truly knows and i think the keepers still used this name. becuz i think he knows bali to be his name, its only right. i don't like when animals have their names changed. ... often zoo animals will have a "public" name and a given name. the public name is chosen by someone who has donated money to a zoo for the naming rights to an animal. if its a name given at birth it usually stays with the animal while at the zoo it was born. if an animal is transferred, like george was, the animal staff will most likely still use its given name and then if there's a "new" name, that name becomes the name the public will know the animal as.

BOO!

today the zoo had a pre- boo @ the zoo event for the press. the chimps were the lucky recipients of halloween treats! i took alot of pix, but these were my immediate favs! ... come out to the zoo (or check your local zoo if out of the sf area) for the annual boo event this weekend! i love halloween, mostly becuz i love pumpkins! so seeing the animal friends get pumpkins and other hallo themed treats is most enjoyable for me. will post more pix from the event next wk!

another note about respecting animals

kudo's to the zoo for finally posting a "respect the animals" sign at the gate house (entrance). it is long over due. i hope they take the initiative to post such signs at every enclosure. i have written how its a daily occurrence that someone is violating these animals homes, whether it is vocally (yelling, roaring) or physically (slappin/tappin walls and glass). i wish zoo's would band together and support one another to finally go the un-PC route of having to bow to society when some Ahole, whether mentally challenged, stupid or just downright evil, invades an enclosure and post a sign the basically says "IF YOU ENTER AN ANIMAL ENCLOSURE ON YOUR OWN (IE NOT FALLING IN) YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. STAFF WILL ATTEMPT TO EXTRACT YOU, BUT NO ANIMALS WILL BE HARMED IN THIS ATTEMPT." ... this comes in the wake of the guy who invaded the grizzly girls home a couple weeks ago. he may have been deemed mentally challenged in some way, but he was able to calculate how to get in there, so for me he is responsible for his actions. the sad thing is, if one of the girls didn't find a "distaste" for him, she may have paid for his actions with her life. that is very wrong and its time to change the way these incidents are handled.

giant eland

since i posted about the new rhino enclosure, i'll add bugsby, the giant eland, who lives next door. bugsby came to the sfzoo from san diego in 2007. my bad for not knowing more about this guy, but he is beautiful to see an photograph. probably the most magnificent looking horns i've even seen.

speaking of baby lions

here's some pix from my archives. ... 1997 cub who wanted to play ball with me. seriously, it batted the ball from the other side til it got close to me. it was in front, but when it hit the fence it rolled a bit back. very special moment to me. a keeper recently ID as baby kita! kita was kimani and jahari's mama. even though at the time i didn't know them by name, when i heard she passed, i just knew that it was her who i shared that interaction with and i really felt her passing. i feel lucky to have had that moment and to have this photo of her.... spotted cubs from 2003. baby kimani and jahari! jahari is the one with the dark spots. he looks like a leopard! you can still see spots on kimani's legs but none on jahari. kimani still rules the rock!