Fun animals at Zoo Tampa in late February. The weather was cool so many of the animals were moving around. This was the first time in a long time I’ve seen the bears playing together.
The eagle was stretching and you can see he has part of his wing missing. He was injured out in the wild and lives at the zoo now. The other eagle was sitting high up in the tree looking over the zoo.
The lorikeets were all flirting and preening.
I can’t go to the zoo and not take a ton of manatee pictures.
I rarely see these guys moving around.
The koala bears are so cute but the glare on window makes it impossible to get a decent picture of them.
The elephants were eating.
It’s rare to see the otters close to the glass but this one was right in front.
The rhino pausing at the pool.
More up close with the manatees. I always take a ton of pictures when I’m there.
I recently hurt my shoulder (tendonitis) and was hurting one weekend but I still wanted to get out for a walk so I went over to the zoo with only my phone. I had a fun morning running around without all of my camera stuff.
A mallard was stealing food from the primates.
I love seeing the marabou storks.
A wild egret high up in a tree.
One of the resident eagles who’s missing a wing sits high up in a tree as well. He hops along the big oak tree until he can see over the exhibit.
The lorikeets were flirting.
Beautiful faces in the aviaries.
The manatees were eating close to the glass. It was fun watching them up close but it’s sad that there are so many here right now rehabilitating in the manatee hospital Most of these guys will be released once they are well enough. Many are here due to boat strikes or getting sick from the cold water or red tide.
Little critters at Zoo Tampa in late July.
Even though it was hot the gibbons were swinging back and forth and hooting.
Some of the other fun faces at the zoo.
A bird of paradise almost in bloom.
A cloudy almost rainy day is a good day to go to the zoo in late July. It’s too hot to go on a sunny day. Most of the animals were out moving around the morning I visited for a quick walk. There’s always something different there to see each visit.
The last remaining blue heron babies at the zoo in Tampa. Across the alligator exhibit I spotted a young tricolored heron looking grumpy. He still had that fuzz on the top of his head.
Some of the resident critters at the zoo.
One of my favorite birds in the aviary had babies this spring. The bottom 2 are offspring of the top one.
A wild mockingbird eating the berries.
A few fun things from Zoo Tamp in June.
Fun at the zoo in early June. The manatees are back at the zoo which is good and bad thing. The zoo has been updating their water system in the manatee hospital so any injured manatees had to go to Homosassa Springs for rehabilitation for 6 months. Now that the manatee hospital is updated they can take in injured manatees. The bad thing is that the manatees have to be here at all. It’s great that visitors can see these big guys up close and that the zoo treats them but it’s sad that so many are injured due to boat strikes or sick from red tide.
On top of the manatee pool, a few juvenile blue herons are learning how to catch their own fish. These were all probably born in the nests over the alligator exhibit next door.
Vultures were drying off in the bear exhibit. They do this in the morning to easily warm their body up. Not sure why, it was already 85 degrees at 10am. The bear eventually came over to check them out. The vultures didn’t fly off but just moved over. They didn’t seem to scared of the bear.
The last of the wild baby blue heron birds that were growing up over the alligator exhibit.
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.
Family pictures
All dressed up
“Wake up!”
Creeping around.
Pictures from the zoo in late September.
That guy is safe, living at Zoo Tampa.
