Atlanta, Georgia

After I left the panda area and began exploring the other paths, the first thing I saw was the other side of the tiger habitat - providing an unobstructed view of one of the tigers, though at a greater distance. And the next was a takuni - which looked sort of familiar, though I didn't recognize the name - until I realized it's what we know as a raccoon dog, and is one of the creatures we sometimes see along with the eagles on the Estonia Winter Feeding Station Cam! They're fairly small - a bit over 2 feet long, and weighing 14-16 pounds. Unlike many of the animals at Zoo Atlanta, they are not endangered - but that could change, because they are widely hunted for their fur and their bones (which are used in traditional Asian medicine).

There really was a lot to see there, and since I don't really want to write the "great american novel" I'm going to just provide a sampling. The next thing I though was especially interesting was the African Plains area, where there a number of species sharing a habitat. I'm not actually sure how many species are there, but I saw zebras, giraffes, a rhinoceros, and a pair of shy ostriches, who stayed in the shade at the far side of the habitat and adamantly refused to stay in focus when I tried to take their picture.

There were some lions nearby - but not surprisingly in a separate habitat. They were dozing in their cave so I don't have a picture of them. Also nearby was the habitat for the elephants I'd seen earlier. I was surprised initially to see that they were a reddish brown - I'd always thought elephants were gray! - but then I realized how well they blended in with their habitat - and looked at the lovely reddish "mud hole" provided for them to wallow in - and I think I know why these elephants are not exactly gray. The fourth picture in this group is of their neighbors, a pair of warthogs - who I suspect might also be a different color if they were in a habitat with less vividly colored soil.

As I was strolling along, I noticed the work that went into little things - like the walkways. I think they were basically concrete - but many had "fossils" - or whatever the proper term is for taking the time to put something in the partly set concrete to make it reminiscent of ancient soil. And about that time, I was reminded that I'd be up since about 4 am, and I'd been doing a lot of walking, and it was hot - so I went in search of one of the other features of Zoo Atlanta - the carousel! I checked to make sure that adults were welcome, then bought a wristband good for an unlimited number of rides. The charming young clerk told me it would also allow me to try the climbing wall - I said, "well, good to know, but...." - and we both laughed. Some of the "animals" looked a bit past their prime - but I've always had an active imagination - and enjoyed the vision of riding forth on a fearless panda and a mighty tiger. And my feet enjoyed the break. I also rode the little train that provided a view of the other side of a few habitats - I wish I'd taken a picture of the cassowary from the train because it wasn't easy to see from the walkway - but I was mostly just enjoying sitting back and enjoying the ride.

Afterwards I did visit the Australian corner of the zoo that I'd seen from the train, and saw a kookaburra - that is such a great name! - and some kangaroos.

And last - but definitely not least - they had vultures! I'm not finding the bio info on their web site and didn't take a picture of the sign, but I think these may be Lappet-Faced Vultures - and I do want to make sure everyone knows that no zebras were harmed in the creation of their habitat - that's not a real zebra he (or she) is standing on.

I must admit I've not always been a fan of vultures, even though I know they serve a useful function in nature - but when we were in England a couple of years ago, I met a white-backed vulture named Grim who wasn't quite as spooky looking as this pair but was definitely a vulture. Grim mostly ran after his trainer - I asked afterwards if he'd been injured and they said that as far as they could tell, he was just scared of heights - which is a strangely endearing trait for a bird. But it was the part where they said they'd tried to put leather jesses on him like they did most of their educational birds - and he took one look and said the bird equivalent of "yum - spaghetti!" that I fell in love. Since then, I've been more open to the really weird sort of beauty you can see in vultures - though I admit this one's skeletal look stretched my openness a bit!

That's it for pictures from the zoo - but I did also get some nice pictures at the Aquarium, and have a couple of pictures of Atlanta - and those are all on Page 3.