Posted on by Anne Sandler · 8 Comments

Talking with the animals: Sacramento Zoo

I love our small zoo. Why? Because I can walk it and take pictures within 1 1/2 – 2 hours. But we need more land for a larger zoo. We don’t have many large mammals because we can’t house them. Right now the Sacramento Zoo is in negotiations to move to Elk Grove where the zoo could grow into 70 acres from its now 14.4 acres. That’s a lot more room for the current animals and animals to come. Aside from the longer drive time, I’m wondering whether I will love a large zoo as much as this one. That move is a few years away so let’s look at some pictures I took in my visit early in May.

Let’s look at the birds first. Where I could ID them, their names are in the captions.

One of my favorites, the Black Crowned Crane
My first time seeing this duck, the White-faced Whistling Duck
I couldn’t find this one in the Zoo website.
Of course,
I love the
Flamingos
This pelican is also a favorite. I’ve never been able to get this close. The keeper told me to watch out, he was in a MOOD!

Next we have one of the alligators, quiet, he’s sleeping! And the Chimpanzees are grooming each other.

The River Otters are in a glass enclosure which is difficult to photograph through, but they were in great positions.

It was a great day to photograph the Red Kangaroos in their new larger enclosure. They were just given something to nibble on.

The Cheetahs were trying to nap but this one kept lifting his head to see what was going on.

My last two pictures are of the Giraffe (They make such funny faces.) and the Red Panda.

Full and tired after finishing their bones, the big cats were sleeping. The Orangutans didn’t want to come out to play. The Zebras were still eating. Everything was as it should be at the Zoo. I can’t wait until I go visit again.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 22 Comments

The more I photograph, the behinder I get: Sacramento Zoo

I love Thursdays at the Sacramento Zoo because it’s bone day–the day they give the big cats bones to snack on. For a photographer, that means they are likely to be out and chomping. We went to the zoo on a Thursday in December 2021. We hadn’t been for a while and the animals didn’t disappoint us.

The Jaguar was enjoying his bone.

The lions weren’t as cooperative. I had to go back a couple of times to get a good photo of only the male.

The orangutans were out and playful, putting on a show.

The newest zoo addition is Chigüiro the Capybara–the biggest rodent in the world. He’s sort of cute for a rodent!

Did you know that the Okapi are related to the giraffe? You might think the zebra would be a better choice, but no. They are beautiful no matter who they are related to.

One of my favorites, the white pelican, was preening himself. He lives with the flamingos. He has only one wing, and will never leave the zoo. Fortunately, he was facing the right way for me to photograph him. He’s another of my favorites.

The flamingos weren’t doing much. At one point, they were all sleeping. I happened to be talking to a docent about the flamingos when I saw an opportunity to photograph one asleep with its feathers being blown by a slight breeze. As I was shooting, this particular one opened its eye as if to say “Can’t you see I’m asleep!” This image won picture of the night in the open category at the Sierra Camera Club. Patience prevails.

I’ve renewed my zoo membership, so there will be more visits and more blog posts about these animals.