Flamingo Friday: Strange Angles

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Submit!

[Pandora the octopus]

Just a reminder to send your invertebrate blog-post submissions for February's Circus of the Spineless to me at squidfan@gmx.com.

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Wild Wildlife: Waiting It Out

I didn’t spend a lot of time in the zoo this morning, and I didn’t get many good shots of zoo animals at all—but it was a very satisfying visit nonetheless. As I entered the zoo I heard roaring; this did not alarm me, as it was coming from the lion enclosure rather than, say, the cafeteria or the kids’ farm. It did make me decide to visit the lions and tigers first, though, and so I began walking up the path, lined with tall, bleached grasses, that leads to the “Great Cats” exhibits.

Suddenly, a whole flock of little birds flew into the grasses with the speed and violence of a spattering of buckshot. Because I know a bit about the significance of such behaviors (though not as much as does Lynda at Mainly Mongoose—nor, luckily, do I need to be quite so aware!), I guessed that they were hiding from a predator, so I looked to the skies, where I saw a Cooper’s hawk pursuing a desperate and wildly veering pigeon. They disappeared behind a building before I could see the pigeon’s fate; from what I saw, it could have gone either way—though I admit that I was rooting for the pigeon. The little birds waited a while to make sure the coast was clear before going about their business again, and it was in that momentary, cautious pause that I was able to get some photos of this impressively perched song sparrow.

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Flamingo Friday: Tail Trails

[hey, the titles of these posts
can't all be gems]

- Don't forget to send submissions for the February Circus of the Spineless blog carnival to squidfan@gmx.com! -

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Ringmaster Ringworm

Things are a little busy these days, but I haven’t forgotten about the blog—nor have I forgotten that Beasts in a Populous City will be hosting the February “Circus of the Spineless” blog carnival! So submit your invertebrate entries to me at squidfan@gmx.com.

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Flamingo Friday: Spectrum

[the wings and underside of a flamingo
during a head-bow courtship pose]

Flamingos are a whole sunset’s-worth of colors, and those colors appear even more vibrant, and varied, during mating season. Note the line of deep magenta right above the leg and running under the rump—a not-so-subtle direction indicator, perhaps? (I’m pretty sure I don’t see that color in that place during other times of the year. Or maybe they’re just not flaunting it then…)

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One Good Shot: "Really...?"

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The Nose Knows

When we first saw the polar bear at the Indianapolis Zoo, it looked—maybe not dejected—but certainly a little overwhelmed by holiday ennui. Soon enough, however, it became more active and, seemingly, more sanguine—a word that I choose quite deliberately.

After pacing around its enclosure and relieving itself, much to the fascinated—and highly vocal—horror of some zoo visitors, the polar bear started sniffing the air with great interest.

The air in our direction, that is. I’m pretty sure we were upwind of the bear (er…that’s where they can smell you, right?), and it seemed pretty sure of that as well.

It’s a little unnerving to have a gargantuan, clearly carnivorous creature with claws the size of human fingers sniffing at you.

It’s more unnerving when said creature, presumably in response to what it has smelled, starts licking its chops.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not complaining about getting a chance to see a polar bear, and certainly captive animals have a right to whatever entertainment they can get, provided they don’t eat the visitors (well, provided they only eat certain visitors; I have a list).

Still, it was not a cute-and-fuzzy sort of a moment, and it left me in some doubt as to whether polar bears or tigers are the scarier. I’m still not sure, myself, but I’d be interested in your opinion on the subject.

Scream and run from this:

...Or this?

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Flamingo Friday: Precise Preening

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Just One Shot: Enter the Work-Week

If for you, as for me, this is your first day back in a while--well, you might identify with this young lion.

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Happy New Year!

[the baby African elephant
at the Indianapolis Zoo]

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