BIG CATS AT NORFOLK ZOO

Just a note to let you know that I wrote this post several years ago, and any information on the animals, statistic and so on, may be out of date now.

There are two wonderful sculptures that I like at the zoo.  One is at the entrance.  It is an African elephant created by Matthew Gray Palmer of Friday Harbor, Washington.  He calls it "All Things Within All Things".  Not only does it hold a golden butterfly on the tip of its trunk, if you look closer you will see the elephant is made up of thousands of aluminum butterflies (10,000 to be exact), and if you look at that golden butterfly more closely, you will see that the wings are the side view of  an elephant.  You can see more photos here.

Here is my other favorite.  A tiger standing in the front of the Trail of the Tiger exhibit.  The tiger sculpture was erected in honor of the two beloved Siberian Tigers Shere Khan and Shaka Khan.  

Below are photos I took of one of the two Malayan tigers.  The exhibit now houses Kadar and Tahan.  It was fun to see them so clearly.  According to what I read, "Malayan tigers are endangered and recent counts showed there may be as few as 600 in the wild.  

It is perhaps the smallest subspecies of tiger, with an average weight of nearly 300 pounds for adult males, and just over 200 pounds for females.  They are found in the tropical forests of the southern and central Malay Peninsula."

We were also very lucky to get some decent shots of the African Lions.  I read the following on the website's information page.  The male lion weighs 364 pounds and its mate weighs 344 pounds.    African lions are found throughout the south Sahara desert and in parts of southern and eastern Africa.  

When we first arrived we heard the male lion roaring.  He was very vocal and you felt that roar reverberate right through your body!    

He almost looks like he is smiling in this one doesn't he?

One last shot, nothing to do with the rest, but it caught my eye.  A toucan made from an old tire.

And that's it for our trip to the National Zoo, a very nice memory with the hope that we will revisit one day.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your week.

RED PANDAS AT THE VIRGINIA ZOO, NORFOLK, VIRGINIA

Today I thought I would share a few photos from the Virginia Zoo.  It is a few hours drive south in Norfolk and these photos were taken in 2013.  

One of the first stops was at the Red Panda enclosure.  As we walked down the path we saw a couple over our heads.  They were walking along a large tree trunk above the walking path.  This one turned around and repeated the process several times.  He attracted a lot of people.

They were very active climbing the trees and they put on quite a show.

 

My research online revealed that the Red Panda resemble raccoons and are about 42 inches long with a long, bushy tail.  Their soft, dense fur covers their entire body, including the soles of their feet.

 They use their long, bushy tails to help them balance when they are in the trees.  They also cover themselves with their tails to keep warm in the winter, which is what snow leopards do as you can see from my post about them here.  

 Red Pandas live in the cool temperate bamboo forests in Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces in China, the Himalayas and in Myanmar.  They share part of their range with the Giant Pandas.

 Red Pandas eat bamboo leaves, berries, blossoms and bird eggs, though they are mostly vegetarian.  

 They are also endangered due to habitat loss.  There are fewer than 2,500 adult Red Pandas in the wild. (Please know that this post is from several years ago, and any statistics may have changed, hopefully for the better).

Red Pandas red and black colors camouflages them from their predators.  The red on their backs is exactly the same color as moss found on the trees where they live.  The black on their stomach makes it difficult to see from below.

Like Giant Pandas, Red Pandas have an extra 'thumb', which is an enlarged bone for grabbing bamboo stems and tree branches.  Red Pandas claws are sharp and can be pulled back like a cat.  They also do not have paw pads like many mammals.  Red Pandas have fur covering the soles of their feet, which is believed to add extra insulation from the cold and help grip onto slippery, mossy branches.  

I found my information and a lot more at this website.

I have a few photos of big cats from the zoo which I will share another time.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day.