Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Too many pictures of Tautphaus Park Zoo

So the last blog to catch you all up on our fun trip to Preston contains far too many pictures. That is because it is about yet another zoo. Steve and I LOVE a good zoo. And as far as bang for your buck goes, Tautphaus blew us away! We couldn't believe all the amazing animals that were there for such a cheap admission, and being in IF! So we loved seeing all the animals (as always) and I (once again as always) can't choose just a few pictures to share. And there were loads of other animals that I just didn't get any great pictures of. Enjoy! We would definitely recommend that if you go to IF you visit their zoo.
So as per usual, one of the main categories of animals in the posting: Birds

Tropical penguins. A zoo favorite, as well as one of ours as penguins are a part of Steve and my courtship. Gotta love flightless birds, especially if they smell of rotting fish. Yup, that's romance for you.
Next, this bird also has special meaning to those of us at the Bennett Zoo. This bird may not look evil, but examine the beak and talons on this sucker. Then you will understand why our gliders play more freely when Steve assures them that there are no kookaburras around. In the wild, this bird would react to Keena and Zahira like Steve to a steak... Either way, not a pretty sight.I included the pelicans because they were funny all hanging out together in a group, and they're always impressive.Random pretty bird #1Random pretty bird #2 (accompanied by nest)Random pretty bird #3RPB #4RPB #5And finally... Random pretty bird #6And from random to bizarre, I give you this pigeon. Every time I see it I think of some rich woman wearing a fluffed up fur coat, probably circa 1920's.Probably my favorite bird from the whole zoo. Cute, little, gray, and fluffy! He reminds me a lot of a baby penguin (maybe part of the reason I like him) And then there's just the fact that he's a cute little baby. In case you hadn't noticed, I have a tiny soft spot for babies...
Speaking of babies....
We were really impressed at all the breeding that was going on at the zoo! Especially knowing that breeding such exotic and sometimes endangered animals takes a lot of effort, education, and precision to ensure good genetic variation within the greater zoo system. Who would've thought in IF?

Baby Pika. There were at least 3 of these little guys running everywhere!
Not so little, but younger tortoise. The older ones were huge!Baby with mama. I don't remember what these guys were called.They also had numerous types of baby birds, a baby camel, ring-tailed lemurs, and more that I couldn't get good pictures of!

Next of course, there had to be kitties!

Pretty serval.
Sleeping tigers. I like to think the one had its paw over its nose because subconsciously not even it could stand their musky odor!The stinking snow leopard. This thing played hide and seek with my camera forever! Poor Ray and Reva got to see just how determined to get a picture I can be, but we were running low on time and I gave up with the following attempt.They also had a breeding pair of beautiful lions. Such impressive creatures.
And no zoo is complete without primates! And monkeys for them to look at...


And finally, a random assortment of animals for your viewing pleasure.

A cavy, which due to its rabbit-like face always makes me think Kerry would like them...
Otters. I sat and watched these 3 play forever. And probably could have watched all day had there been time. So much energy! If we could bottle the energy of just a few otters we'd never go through energy crises or shortages again!This porcupine was just too cute. Enough said.
A reptile to balance things out.This guy loved that pink ball and ignored us completely, preferring his toy.So this squirrel cracks me up. He had beautiful colors, but for me it's all in the face. Somewhere between Hammy from Over the Hedge on caffeine and Scrat from Ice Age... Lastly, a beautiful animal that was also elusive as far as getting a great picture that showed off how cute and pretty they really are. Here's him on the move so you can appreciate the color.And his friend sleeping so you can appreciate the "Awwww" factor involved.
Don't worry, even though all of these animals were great to see, Steve won't let me get any of them, so the Bennett Zoo is still figurative. For now.

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