Sometimes photos taking in low light start to look like paintings.
Tag Archives: Central Park Zoo – NYC
Japanese Macaque
Japanese macaques are native to Japan (obviously) and, as of 1972, to Texas where 150 of them were relocated to the South Texas Primate Observatory. While none of the accounts I’ve found have bothered explained why anyone thought this was a good idea, they all confirm that several monkeys died after the move. It seemsthe climate of South Texas is somewhat different from what they were used to. However, they adapted and the troop thrived and grew to over 600. Then, being monkeys, they started to pick locks, climb fences, and otherwise escape into wider Texas.
Texas, being Texas, decided that monkey hunting season should be a thing because while the monkeys were a protected species, they weren’t native to Texas and could be shot. This decision was later reversed under the clarification that it’s not okay to shoot someone else’s animals even if they were trespassing … even though it seems to be okay in non-monkey circumstances.
Basically, the only way this makes sense is if the monkeys are now considered Texas natives, so the protection list applies.
Slender Tail Cloud Rat
It’s hard to get good photos of cloud rats because they’re nocturnal and like to hide. I was lucky to stop by at feeding time.
Satyr Tragopan
Mr. Tumnus looked very different in the books.
Harbor Seal
If the emperor had made a Death Seal, Luke would have had to make a choice.
Duck
For a number of very good reasons, you are not supposed to touch the animals at the zoo.
That said, when you accidentally back into this duck when you’re taking photos of something else, you learn that it complains to you through a high pitched warbling whistle noise that sounds almost exactly like “Dude, really?” but, you know, in Duck.
Crane
Birds don’t have backward knees. Birds have really high ankles.
I like how well this photo illustrates that common misunderstanding.
Northern Luzon Giant Cloud Rat
There are several types of cloud rats in the world. This one is doing fine which, oddly, means that they’re really hard to find in zoos. So if you want to see one, you stand a better chance to visit the Philippines … Luzon island in particular … The northern end … at night.
Tentacled Snake
The “tentacles” are the little mustachey bits on the end of the snake.
The end with the head, in case that wasn’t clear.
Bird
Given where birds spend most of your time, you’d think there’d be more green ones.
Duck
I am assuming that the duck has coated its feet with glue or something.
Bali Mynah
Last year she figured out that if you line your nest in papers, the baby birds find reading a lot easier.
This year, she’s raising accountants.
Red Bellied Piranha
It’s a little known fact that if you’re attacked by a flock of piranhas, you can sprinkle pepper in the water. This will make them sneeze and you’ll have a chance to get away.
White-crested hornbill
One problem with shooting at zoos is that you can’t control the other people there. In this case, someone with a brilliant blue jacket was skulking about in the background and made the photo very distracting.
Luckily, one desaturation later and you can’t even tell.
Parrot
What’s brown and sticky and yummy and covered in parrot spit?
Pig
You can’t tell ’cause he’s wearing a mask, but this is a pig.
Knight Anole
Sometimes I can get good lizard photos even when I don’t have flash. They look very different, of course, but still, it’s a neat effect.
Sign
I love so many things about this sign.
I love how it’s so NYC centric in exactly the say that no New Yorkers would even think twice about it but everyone else has no frame of reference for exactly how tall some of those buildings are.
I love how it shows just how amazingly tall mountains are.
I love how there is some three-dimensionality both in how the sign is angled and in how the mountains and buildings are layered on top of one another.
Most of all, though, I love how if that snow leopard on the sign were moved into NYC, we’d have a full fledged “monster destroys the city” thing going on.
Harbor Seal
It took untold generations, but seals have finally invented cubical ice.
Building the igloos is rather harder.
Green Peafowl
Must be awful to put all that work into your feathers and wind up being the least popular peacock.
This is the Shemp of birds.