Dartmoor Zoo
Jun. 26th, 2010 10:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnWe went to Dartmoor Zoo today. Hadn't been for a long while and since then it has changed hands (and improved a lot of the more dodgy things)
There used to be a poor sad sealion in this pond, but now there are capybaras and Rhea in the enclosure with access to the pond. This seemed like a much more sensible choice, and they were clearly having a whale of a time - huge enclosure and lots of swimming room!
I love capybaras, their faces are so smug. Plus, they must get extra points for being the world's largest rodent!
How does a rhea cross a pond? Well, she could walk round. Or, if it's a hot day, she could decide to do this!
Her underfeathers got all soggy when she got out, but I don't think she cared!
More of the capybaras having a play. I do like capybaras!
OK, this is absolutely the last capybara swimming pic but c'mon - how many rodents can swim like this?
OK, enough capybaras. Here's a cheetah instead. She mewed at us. We were surprised.
The jaguar. I was sad to see that the sign that used to show in graphic detail what would happen to people foolish enough to climb into the jaguar enclosure had been removed. But the jaguar himself was menacing enough.
The lynx were not so menacing but very beautiful. It was nice to see that they now have a very large enclosure with lots of vegetation and hiding places.
Owls. Nocturnal, right? Apparently not: this one was definitely a sun-worshipper.
I know it's only a raccoon, but I was rather pleased with this pic. Though i can't claim it's down to expertise, it just came out like that.
Was quite pleased with this one of the tigers having a strop at each other.
This is daddy tiger. He was watching the other two.
Took this one of a wolf through the chainlink, so am quite pleased that you can't really see the fence, only the wolf. There were three wolves in the woodland, and they were all having a good snooze.
There used to be a poor sad sealion in this pond, but now there are capybaras and Rhea in the enclosure with access to the pond. This seemed like a much more sensible choice, and they were clearly having a whale of a time - huge enclosure and lots of swimming room!
I love capybaras, their faces are so smug. Plus, they must get extra points for being the world's largest rodent!
How does a rhea cross a pond? Well, she could walk round. Or, if it's a hot day, she could decide to do this!
Her underfeathers got all soggy when she got out, but I don't think she cared!
More of the capybaras having a play. I do like capybaras!
OK, this is absolutely the last capybara swimming pic but c'mon - how many rodents can swim like this?
OK, enough capybaras. Here's a cheetah instead. She mewed at us. We were surprised.
The jaguar. I was sad to see that the sign that used to show in graphic detail what would happen to people foolish enough to climb into the jaguar enclosure had been removed. But the jaguar himself was menacing enough.
The lynx were not so menacing but very beautiful. It was nice to see that they now have a very large enclosure with lots of vegetation and hiding places.
Owls. Nocturnal, right? Apparently not: this one was definitely a sun-worshipper.
I know it's only a raccoon, but I was rather pleased with this pic. Though i can't claim it's down to expertise, it just came out like that.
Was quite pleased with this one of the tigers having a strop at each other.
This is daddy tiger. He was watching the other two.
Took this one of a wolf through the chainlink, so am quite pleased that you can't really see the fence, only the wolf. There were three wolves in the woodland, and they were all having a good snooze.
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no subject
Date: 2010-06-26 10:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-27 06:20 am (UTC)Only in very small numbers. There is a story I remember from somewhere - maybe Gerald Durrell - about how an ambassador in Paris thought it would be great to have some on the big island in the lake in his garden. Unfortunately, the first thing they did was swim the lake and ruin everything in the huge formal gardens overnight.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-27 11:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-27 06:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-27 08:35 am (UTC)The doc (who is South African and claims to know these things) tells me cheetahs are the only big cats that purr like domestic cats. A fact for today!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-27 10:27 am (UTC)In an alternate universe where it is feasible to have big cats as pets I would definitely want a cheetah. They are like cat greyhounds!
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Date: 2010-06-27 01:39 pm (UTC)That cheetah looks sufficiently Bunglesque that I wouldn't trust it an inch in the kitchen.
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Date: 2010-06-27 04:10 pm (UTC)We put up a blind this morning with Suma Bungle supervising and 'helping', in that particular sense of help that actually means the job takes three times as long...
no subject
Date: 2010-06-27 10:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-29 01:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-29 01:17 pm (UTC)The very word I was going to use!
There really needs to be a children's book about Colin the Capybara and his smug and supercilious relatives.
You should write one. Or get a certain other children's-animal-books author to do so ...