Yet another quick trip to the Maryland Zoo
What is there to say? It’s a Tuesday and I went back to the Maryland Zoo… yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll just get to the pictures.
African Journey
On the prowl
European White Crane
All in the family
Cheetah
“Do you mind? This is a private conversation”
African Elephants
The big boy is 7 months old now
Samson and his mother Felix
So, this month’s Samson update: He’s now 7-months-old and about 625 lbs. Looks like he’s doing well and was rather playful today. It has been neat to watch the little guy grow.
Polar Bear Watch
Sly, the Arctic Fox, napping (as always)
Anoki swimming
Maryland Wilderness
Oops, I think I disturbed someone’s nap and he’s not happy about it
Cattle Egret, in the Marsh Aviary
Today’s Flickr set: animal photos
Another afternoon at the zoo
Another day, another visit to a zoo.
African Elephants
5-month-old African Elephant calf
Samson and his mother, Felix
Today’s Samsom update: he’s 5 months old and now over 500 lbs!
African Journey
One’s napping…
and the other is sunning
Addra Gazelle
It’s a long way down to the grass
Polar Bear Watch
Alaska splashing around
Sleep tight Magnet and sweet dreams
Wait a minute, who’s this??
That’s right, there’s another new addition to the zoo… another adult female Polar Bear. Anoki is apparently on loan in hopes she’ll mate with Magnet. Interesting.
Anyway, in other exciting news: Olympic Opening ceremonies tonight!!!
Today’s Flickr set: animal photos
Checking in on Samson at the zoo
My research group meeting was cancelled this morning, giving me some unexpected free time. Wonder what I can do with that extra hour before therapy in Baltimore? I know, visit the zoo with my camera!! Heaven forbid, I actually stay at in the office on such a nice day. Productivity can wait, procrastinate now. Anyway, while I am getting a little bored of photographing zoo animals and flowers, that’s what’s available to me at the moment, so bear with me.
African Journey
A better vantage point
A morning swim
“What do you want?”
The African Leopards were actually awake and activity during this visit!! That’s always fun. I also made it just in time for breakfast at the Black-footed Penguins’ exhibit, which means they were all over the place. Some times I find it hard to visit the Chimpanzee habitat, because a few of them look so down. I know they are well cared for, but I feel like their eyes often look sad and even empty.
African Elephants
3-months-old and already playing ball
Samson and his mother, Felix
Polar Bear Watch
Alaska
Today’s Flickr set: animal photos
A baby elephant at the MD Zoo!!
Warning: I’m in the midst of a self-pity party this evening, which hopefully won’t bleed into this post. I’m tired and feeling sorry for myself because of my continued ‘misfortune.’ For whatever reason, today’s activities have worn me out more than normal, which bothers me. I’m ready to be over these physical limitations.
Anyway, I was in the Baltimore area for an early morning appointment, so I just stuck around and went to the Maryland Zoo. I spent about two-and-a-half hours there, which is still a lot for me these days. I had to take a few breaks, but I managed to tour the entire zoo again. Fortunately for me, it was not nearly as crowded as I feared it would be as I pulled up into the jam-packed parking lot. Seems there was some type of festival in the neighboring park.
African Elephants
Samson at 2 months old
Samson and his mother, Felix
First and foremost, there‘s a new addition at the zoo, baby Samson. He was born in March, I guess not long after my first visit. He’s so small compared to his mother, but I think he’s almost 400 lbs now!
African Journey
Heart… melting…
Yum??
“You wanna piece of dis?”
Today I managed to swing around to the Chimpanzee Forest within the African Journey exhibit. The chimps were out in their yard, which was fun to watch. There were a few young ones playing around for a while. Too cute. The Reticulated Giraffes were out, ready to be fed. The African Penguins were also pretty spunky today.
Misc Animals
5-week-old baby camel
Magnet napping AGAIN!
So Samson isn’t the only new kid of the block, there is also a not-as publicized baby camel. He/she tagging along with his mother, and the other camels, as they gave rides. I also stopped in on the polar bears.
Today’s Flickr set: animal photos
Trying out a different zoo
Continuing with the recent ‘zoo-theme‘ I‘ve been on, today I tried the Maryland Zoo. It’s smaller than the National Zoo, but has a different variety of animals, including a set of Polar Bears and a leopard! Anyway, I thought I’ve give it a try. Surprisingly, to me at least, it was actually a fairly hopping place. There were a few small Easter Bunny/egg hunt activities scattered throughout the afternoon and it was a beautiful weekend day, so there were a lot of families out.
The zoo is set up into three main exhibits, of which I extensively explored each, so I’ll separate my post accordingly.
African Journey
The herds
Southern White Rhinos
Plains Zebra
The Reticulated Giraffes
I liked the large plain exhibit, with a pair of white rhinos, ostriches, and zebras. It’s very open and the animals are generally easy to see. The giraffes are off in their how fenced area, with a ‘Feed the Giraffes’ station. For a couple of bucks, you can walk out on a platform and… feed a giraffe or two.
Big Cats
African Leopard
Cheetah
The big cats were gorgeous as always. The leopards and cheetahs were next to each other, near the plains exhibit. The leopards had a netted area with a large tree and ‘rock’ to climb on. Both were beautiful animals. The cheetah was fenced in next door. She/he just paced a bit and laid around her/his yard.
The zoo also has a pair of lions, but I wasn’t impressed by their exhibit. They are hidden in a corner beside the giraffes with three little plastic windows peering into the area, but it was hard to see them. In addition, in the back of the section are the African Elephants. They have one male and three females, one being pregnant. Also, there’s a large group of African Penguins.
Polar Bear Watch
Alaska napping
and now swimming
The main reason the zoo has been on my must-see list is the polar bears. For whatever reason, they’ve had a special place in my heart for a long time. I’ve collected pictures of the bears since I was little. The zoo has two, Magnet, a male, and his partner, Alaska, a female.
Sly napping
Snowy Owl
I walked through the exhibit twice, but Sly, the arctic fox, slept through both trips. At least the second time around he was out of his log and napping on top instead.
Maryland Wilderness
One of the many ducks in the Marsh Aviary section
Mud bath!!!
Too early for a visitor?
Overall, I had a good time at the zoo. It wore me out, though. I caved before leaving and turned my ticket in, plus more money, for a membership pass. Looks like I’ll be coming back!
Today’s Flickr set: animal photos
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