Spike and Ralph in black and white.
Since it was Spike’s birthday and I know he loves opossums, I called in all my favors at the zoo to arrange a visit from Ralph the Opossum. The zoo does not do this kind of thing for anyone and I am eternally grateful they made a one-time exception to make my friend smile. I hope you had a good one, Spike.
Animals have an amazing way of making us feel better. My cats have a way of calming me in a way no human can and the animals at our local zoo have a way of doing even more.
Kit had only arrived at Riverside Discovery Center, but I got to sit and play with him for a little while after his training was completed for the day.
I cannot resist spending time at the zoo. This is such a well-known concept at the Star-Herald that if I happen to not be in the office for a few hours, people assume I am at Riverside Discovery Center hanging out with the animals. It is an incredible place of conservation, survival, and care that it is often the first place I go to when my mind needs to be calmed.
After dropping by the zoo on Saturday, August 25, 2018, to cover a story about raptor recovery (link will be here once it’s published), I got sidetracked on the way to my car. Outside the gift shop is are several boxes with flowers for pollinators. Here are a few of the photos I took of the bumblebees flying around.
On December 16, 2017, Sarah sat and posed for me. This was the result.
I walked into the zoo well before it was open to cover a story for the Star-Herald. When I was done, I decided to walk around and take some pictures before the zoo opened for the day. I strolled past Cyrano, a Lynx rufus at the zoo, and hung out there for a while. I always enjoy paying him a visit even if he sleeps the entire time I’m there. That’s what cats do.
Eventually, I made my way past the bison, zebras, Eurasian Lynx and tigers and walked into the indoor enclosure for the chimpanzees. It was a cool morning and I wasn’t sure if Scooter and Sarah would be outside that day. Sarah was in the right indoor enclosure. She was sitting down and as soon as she saw me, she got up and started to walk toward me.
The black leopard, Panthera pardus, is not a separate species of leopard. The coloring comes from the area that is their natural habitat – the dark, dense, tropical jungle of southeast Asia. When the light is just right, you can see that Maydoc is not black.
It took me several years, but I finally have some great photos of Maydoc, a black leopard that lives at the zoo in Scottsbluff. Since she moved to a new enclosure, Maydoc has been more active, playful and it’s been easier for me to take photographs of her.
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