Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Part II

Click here for Part I.

The drive through the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center was more enjoyable than I'd expected.  The opportunities to get decent shots of the animals were more abundant, too.

Giraffe, Fossil Rim Widlife Center
The giraffes have a sneaky second option for getting food out of you.  If you roll up your windows, they can try and get through the sun roof.

Giraffe, Fossil Rim Widlife Center
Nice profile.

European Red Deer, Fossil Rim Widlife Center
See those antlers on this European Red Deer?  They can leave some impressive scratches on your car.  Just saying.

Hartmann's Mountain Zebra, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
This young Hartmann's Mountain Zebra was mainly interested in soaking up some sun.

Cheetah, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
The cheetahs have their own enclosure behind a wire fence which can't help but get in the way of your photo.  It provides sort of a bokeh effect, so I thought I'd include one.  Besides, it's cheetah.

Addra Gazelle, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
This Addra gazelle is clearly the Neighbor of the Beast.  Get it?

White Rhinoceros, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
A small group of white rhinoceros are one of the last species you see on your drive.  I have no idea how they can eat enough grass to fuel those ginormous bodies.

White Rhinoceros, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
I wonder what made this rhino's horns grow so long.  Since the horns are made of keratin like human hair and fingernails, could it just be a sign of old age?  Whatever the case, it's gotta make it hard to graze.

Scimitar-Horned Oryx, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
I think I mistakenly called three other hoofed stock scimitar-horned oryx before we actually saw some.

Blackbuck, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
Nice light on the antlers of this sunbathing blackbuck.

Ostrich, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
Ostrich can give you some interesting images when they run around.  But like most of the other animals, by mid-afternoon this one just wanted to catch some rays.

We ended up buying a family membership, because we love supporting places like this.  I'm seriously considering a return trip for one of their guided photography tours, which take place in the late afternoon so you can get some great light from the setting sun.  But even right smack in the middle of the day, I was happy to get some decent shots!

No comments: