The week before Christmas I attended yoga at Zoo Tampa. It was on an early Saturday morning. The weather was perfect. They had a few animals show up before we started. There was a goat but he took off before I could get a picture. Santa also showed up for a visit.
My new yoga buddy.
The view from my yoga mat.
After yoga I walked around the zoo for a while.
The baby primates are growing up quickly, out playing on their own.
I caught the youngest elephants playing a while before they noticed someone else was watching them. It was great to see them running around, playing together.
A lazy one.
A hooded merganser couple swimming close to the glass in the manatee exhibit. It’s rare to see them this close.
It’s nice to go the the zoo when the weather is cool. The animals are active and I don’t feel like I’m going to pass out.
Same tree, different colors.
Just a small sampling of the lights and entertainment at Zoo Tampa during their “Christmas In the Wild” nights.
You could still see a lot of the animals in their homes. A few of the nocturnal animals that you rarely see moving during the day were also moving around.
The trees over the alligator exhibit were full of ibis, snowy egrets and great egrets sleeping. There were 100’s of them. It was pretty crazy to see them in the dark.
Afterward we stopped at our local Chik Fil A to get milkshakes, even though it was cold outside (Florida cold means it was 50 degrees).
Linking to Wednesday Around The World.
That guy is safe, living at Zoo Tampa.
The orangutan babies are very popular with the kids at Zoo Tampa.
It’s rare to see the babies near Dad but this one was hanging out with him.
More shots of the baby Colobus monkey. He was all white fuzz a few weeks earlier.
The gibbon baby was also a hit. It was tough getting shots of the baby against the parent and into the sun so these are a little blown out.
Linking to Wednesday Around the World.
Zooming in on the marabou stork babies at Zoo Tampa (formerly Lowry Park Zoo). They are born looking like old birds. Reminds me of the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button where Benjamin ages in reverse and is born an old person and then turns young. Only these birds look old their entire lives.
A new baby out in the African exhibit staying close to Mom.
The fuzzy white thing is a baby Colobus monkey. So cute and easy to spot. The keeper said that the entire group helps raise the baby so the baby was comfortable moving around with all of them.
A wild baby tricolored heron waiting for Mom to feed it.
Little blue herons that were born weeks earlier over the alligator exhibit.
Wild baby mallards playing in one of the exhibits.
And just for fun, a turtle train.
So many babies born this early spring at Zoo Tampa. It’s fun to watch the kids get excited seeing all of the baby animals.
“Gimmi a kiss, lady”.
A fun day at the zoo over Thanksgiving week while my sister was visiting. The young zebra eating while mom was watching over was born last July.
A black and white warbler hiding out in a tree.
Pretty birds and lunch for some of the birds in the aviary. After this appetizing walk through the aviary it was time for us to leave and go have lunch (we opted for salads).
The zoo was decorated for the holiday season.
Not everyone gets to see a barred owl up close. At the zoo you can although I zoomed in on his face to get closer. Mr. Sleepy is permanently injured and lives at the zoo.
Above are some of the parrots that get to fly around the zoo in the mornings.
Pretty lorikeet in the aviary.
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” goes the old saying. She was feeding him something. Still, I’d be a little nervous doing that.
Another Mr. Sleepy, it’s rare to see a koala bear moving around during the day. I caught this one stretching.
Creepy critters behind glass.
Injured manatees recuperating at the hospital at the zoo.
Fun at the zoo in late July.
I was looking in the spoonbill exhibit and noticed a wild spoonbill on top of the exhibit looking in. I think he wanted to join the party inside for some treats.
Some wild birds at the zoo: a Carolina wren, 2 black vultures preening each other, a house sparrow working on a nest in the gift shop sign and a baby duck in one of the ponds.
Elephants playing in the first picture with the 3 legged impala watching.
Grumpy old bird (that was just born this spring). Marabou stork.
Making faces with Mom.
Showing off on a tree branch.
I was tempted to join these ladies who looked like they were having too much fun but I didn’t have the right color shirt or hat on.
I went back to the zoo in late June to see how the wild baby blue herons were doing. While most of them were almost all grown up, there were a few that had just been born. All of these are young little blue herons, all from a few days old to 6 weeks old. They will turn blue after their first full molt in about a year. The blue herons nest in the bushes over the alligator’s exhibit at the zoo. It’s funny to watch them at that crazy phase. The older ones were just starting to flap their wings.
Linking to Wednesday Around The World
