November 8, Detroit Zoo, part 3

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There was a wall of plexiglas between us and the arctic fox. Luckily my better half was taller than the wall, and could take pics above it, neatly avoiding the glare and fingerprints.

This is a very fine-boned and not-very-big critter. Less substantial than Wilbur (but with a lot more hair!). Amazing that it can make its living in such a harsh climate............ Polar bears, I can imagine, but this little bitty guy? How do they keep those skinny little legs warm enough to function?





The Detroit zoo has seals (didn't see what kind, but an arctic kind, I bet), and at least one polar bear. The bear was asleep ("See that white blob over there?"). The seals were swimming, but with a horde of squealing children between me and the plexi-with-glare-and-fingerprints, so I didn't attempt pics.

The grizzly bear was asleep (we actually saw that brown blob I mentioned before), but the black bears were awake.





I held the camera above my head to keep the people standing in front of me out of my pic, and didn't realize I was getting sun flare. Ah well.

(Digression -- when I first got a digital camera, I always looked through the view finder, just as I was used to doing with the film camera. My little camera does not *have* a view finder, so I was forced to move into the new millenium. I have discovered that I really like being able to have some idea what I will capture while not having my nose next to the camera. I can hold the camera down low for a closeup of a dandelion, or I can hold it up higher than eye level so the people between me and a bear are not in the frame. I can hold the camera a good distance from my face and still see what I am framing, on the little screen. But I can't see things like sun flare. End of Digression.)





Lesser kudu. Wasn't it thoughtful of him to strike this interesting pose as my shutter clicked?





Can you hear the camera chortling? THIS is what it loves to focus on.

These were pretty far from us, and the day was hazy.......





Rhinos.

There was a keeper behind that fence. You can see hay on the ground, and we think she also gave them pieces of oranges.





Here are some more guys who were wide awake and lively. I wish I'd taken a pic of their enclosure.... They had a large artificial "mountain" and a bunch of dead trees, and they were adept at scaling both.

They staged an altercation for our entertainment, and chased around, up and down, with lots of screeching.

Japanese snow monkeys.





Crowned crane.





Stork.





Flamingos again.

I can't quite see how this can be comfortable.





It is clear the Accepted Way to snooze; they were all doing it.



Look at all the feathers on the ground. Wouldn't you buy a flamingo feather (or a stork feather, or....) in the gift shop on your way out? I would!

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