A guided bus tour of the San Diego Zoo and excursions behind the scene of the Giraffes and Elephants. The bus tour took us through the various canyons and to the construction site of the new Elephant Mesa. The pictures from the upper deck of the bus did not allow posing or selecting the best angle and the speed made it almost impossible to catch some of the more elusive or camouflaged animals. I lucked out with one shot of a Panda alas no face.
The Koalas, and Wallabys started our excursion after the tour. We did not have the patience to wait for a tete-a-tete with the Pandas and opted for the Ituri Forest walk, past the Hippos and up Tiger canyon. To get good Tiger shots, one needs to hang out for a while but we were headed for Absolutely Apes and Gorilla Tropics and they gave opportunities for a couple of shots.
The Skyfari gave an overhead view both ways and a brief visit with the polar bears from the road. Some skyline shots and Balboa Park buildings are from a unique perspective.
Date(s): 9/20/2008. Album by Heinz Steiner. Photos by Heinz Steiner. 1 - 36 of 83 Total.
1 Hi, I'm the senior Giraffe here, got any food for me?
2 Near Giraffe:"See those nosy visitors? that one guy tried to go beyond the barrier and come down to us." Far Giraffe: "Yea I see him, the guide made him go back!"
3 Acacia PLEASE!
4 Yea ... that stuff in your hand .. reach it up to me!
5 Hello YOU! just let me strip the leaves off that twig with my 12 inch tongue!
6 I'm the tallest around here! Don't be shy, I won't bite ......
7 The Oryx hay tastes good to at least one Giraffe, are they wasting money cutting all that Acacia?
8 The little Giraffe on the far left is less than two months old!
9 The near one is still complaining about that rude guy ...
10 The Oryx hang out with the giraffes and pose no danger of stealing their food, it's the other way around!
11 The tour guide called the elephants for the group picture and they did show op for a backdrop.
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13 Behavior and health notes are kept on these tablets
14 It looks like Tembo and Sumithi were 100 lbs apart at the last weigh in but switched the heavyweight position.
15 In the behind the scenes area are their bedrooms (the drinking fountains are outside, so they can't rip them out. This big boy wanted to say hello through the massive gate.
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20 The white Rhinos are the pride of the Wild Animal Park.
21 They gave him a big heavy ball to play with. I guess big because they can't see well and heavy to keep it in the pen.
22 Yes, he actually plays with it!
23 Just trotting around you get the idea that they could be quite fast runners.
24 Such a 'pretty' face.
25 He's got the routine down. Drink first ....
26 ... stir it up a little ...
27 ... then let it out as far from the drinking end of the pond as possible.
28 It's some kind of 'bearded' hog.
29 Looking down from the bus here's a gazelle.
30 ...and I think this is an old Gnu.
31 These brown bears hang out by the gate that leads to a darker bigger bear,
32 ...perhaps a 'Black Bear'?
33 My ONLY Panda Picture! Yup, this is a Giant Panda in the best pose for the drive-by picture shooting.
34 This is some art work that is for sale. It's not Dean's kind of art.
35 and I used it as an intro to the camels, these are still shot from the upstairs of the bus ....
36 and they got my request for a scenery change ...
