A day at the zoo.

Good morning, today is June 5th.  I left my notes out in the car so I am just going to go for yesterday.  We headed out to Tobias Wildlife Management Park, about 1 1/2 hours away from Delta.  It was a nice day, not over 76 degrees and a slight breeze to keep it pleasant.  (As a side note, it was 49 degrees here the other night.  We had to get blankies out to go to bed and stay warm.  I love snuggle blankies on a cold night,  Who would guess it is the first of June.  They tell me it's been around 90 back home.  Whew!!)

But I digress, I always hear that phrase on TV but never had a chance to use it, so there you go.

But I digress, it was quite a lovely day.  We took the safari ride that went over 150 acres of land with Rhea, water buffalo, bison, giraffe, Watusi cattle, elk, fallow deer.  

Then we walked around the zoo and saw other animals.  Enjoy!!

We came upon this panorama as we were driving up.  How spectacular is that?  The honeysuckle is blooming and the aroma is so sweet and lovely.

Rhea, yea, I didn't know that either!  And their eggs.  Apparently the only part the female plays in the scheme of things is to lay the eggs and then she is "outta there".  The male sits on the eggs and raises the babies for about a year and a half.  Hhmmmm!!

Here are the elk, the male's antlers are covered with soft velvet.  That velvet is comprised of a huge amount of blood vessels.  If you touch it you can rupture the vessels and it can bleed quite profusely.  The white elk are not albino, they are leucism, which is a partial loss of pigmentation and the eyes are not affected by the condition.

Water buffalo, their milk is 9 o/o fat as opposed to our cattle with 3-4 percent.  Mozzarella cheese is made from buffalo milk because of the fat content.

These are Asian deer.  As they grow they will maintain their spots, unlike our deer that lose there as they mature.

Bison, the white bison are not, they are creamy or golden yellow.  They are revered by the Native Americans and were not hunted.

and whose hand would that be????

This gentleman is a white buffalo and apparently worth a lot of money.

Llamas, your lesson here is.......

llamas have banana ears and alpaca's have round ears.  I have a problem remembering that so if I tell you out loud maybe it will help me remember.

The first swan was standing on the hill.  The second swan came out of the water with an attitude so #1 went scampering up the hill.

Immature peacock and female.

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And a grown up peacock.  He just runs around the zoo on his own, going where he pleases. 

I didn't edit these pictures yet so it is hard to see the extreme beauty of that blue color on these birds.

Getting tired yet??

This little guy was behind wire so it is hard to see him.

 So most of the rest of the animals are behind something, wire or glass.  The wild, dangerous ones of course so bear with me and look beyond that if you can.  We do our best and sometimes the camera will come through and sometimes not.

They have 2 giraffes there.  They are putting in a new compound for them so they are not one of their "attractions" as yet.  They have hung a cage up high with food in it so the giraffe will feel as though it is eating out of the tops of trees and it normally would.

 

Peek a boo

I left a couple guys out so I am going back.

This is the Watusi, cattle kept by the people they were named after.   The people do not eat these cattle, they are used as a form of prestige.  The more you have the richer you are.  The tour guide said it was like having $100 bills standing in the fields.

Check out the design between this guys horns.

The horns on these dudes grow to as long at 3 feet.

What a regal pair these two make.

Look at that face!!

 I was trying to get an eyeball shot off of this magnificent beast.  As I stood there focused on his eyes while he was looking out into the world, they drooped a little and then batted a couple of times and he was a goner.  His head floped to the floor and he was out like a light.  Must be a male thing!!!

What is a zoo without monkeys

Not nearly as exciting as the ones we saw in the Florida swamp, but cool none the less.

This is a capabara.  

and he was the small one.  The huge one walked around the corner and dissappered

 This dude pecked at my camera when I got to close to the fence.  Good thing I had a protective lens on it.  Who would have guessed, right?

Don't feed the pig, she is on a special diet.

All in all a very good day.

Love to all.