This parrot was named by Cassin in 1853. Meucci didn’t complete his proto-telephone until 1871.
Therefore, despite how it may seem at first glance, the naming wasn’t just phoned in.
He probably used a postcard or something.
Margay
Figures. Over seventy zoos in under ten years … I finally find a margay … and it’s asleep.
Rhea
Her parents told her she was a rhea. Her teacher told her she was a ratite. Her classmates jeered at her, saying that ratites couldn’t fly.
Nevertheless, she persisted.
Meerkat performing Jew of Malta
And when we grin we bite; yet are our looks
As innocent and harmless as a lamb’s
Fish
“bloop”
Fish
The anti-vaxxers have gone too far.
Madagascar Hissing Cockroac
Gregor had had better days.
Fish
Some fish are hard to see.
Meerkats performing Tamburlaine Part II
The Grecian virgins shall attend on thee,
Skilful in music and in amorous lays,
As fair as was Pygmalion’s ivory girl
Or lovely Io metamorphosed.
(This is the photo off their self-titled debut album.)
Bald Eagle
The bald eagle was also the national bird of the Cisalpine Republic.
Blue Tailed Skink
The zoo calls this a “blue tailed skink”, but according to the , it’s actually a Scooter Tailed Skink.
Squirrel
One problem with posting once I get done processing and not when I take the photos is that sometimes I post an autumn photo in the spring.
Twist
This is a twist formed out of two twisted cables, which are made of twisted metal wire.
I have no idea if the twisted structure extends to the metallic crystals within the wires, the atomic structure of the atoms, or the subatomic structure of each atom’s nucleus.
But I like to think it does.
Flower petal
One of the newer lenses I recently acquired is a super macro. It’s a bit hard to use, but it does give me 4x the “close-up-ness” of any previous lens.
This is a flower petal.
Fin Whale
If homeopathy applies for conservation*, we’re doing just fine. Years from now, the entire ocean will hold onto a low resounding echo of whale song, persisting for generations after the last lonely whale is gone.
* Spoiler alert: it doesn’t**
** It also doesn’t apply to medicine
Prairie Dogs performing Sonnet CXXVIII
Making dead wood more bless’d than living lips.
Since saucy jacks so happy are in this,
Give them thy fingers, me thy lips to kiss.
Red-breasted goose
Sometimes I can’t come up with a good caption but want to share the photo anyway.
People Zoo
It was opening day for the season at People Zoo and the goats were visiting. The kids liked to visit and play with the people, feeling safe with the barriers in place. Some of the older animals sometimes thought it cruel to keep the people trapped but when they looked at the widespread devastation they had wrought when previously unchecked, they realized that things were better this way. Besides, the people got better food and health care in captivity than they had been able to get in the wild. They lived longer. They seemed happier. It was probably a good system. After all, it was better than letting them go extinct, right?
There were still the debates. A radical people rights activist group once broke into People Zoo and let several people free. However, unable to provide for themselves in an environment devoid of fast food stores and malls, they were eventually re-captured, dirty and starving, and re-introduced to their clans. Some falsified documentaries were made to drive interest in the cause, which caused a bit of hubbub for a while before the animals realized what had happened and came to their senses before anything catastrophic was done, that could have risked the long term survival of the people.
Eventually, some animals got the bright idea to ask the people if they were doing okay, both individually and as a species.
The people blinked at them a bit, then grabbed a bag of chips, a soda, and went back to watching TV.
Chalkfest Eyes
… and, umm, these.
You should come to ChalkFest. It’s not creepy. I promise.
Chalkfest Dragon
… and a dragon …