The World Famous San Diego Zoo

Any day at this 'world famous' zoo is a day well spent.  Really, really well spent.  

Here is a Saddlebill Stork, a very large bird with a most appropriate name.

As far as appropriate names go, this red tailed monkey is on the winners list also.

This is likely a mouth that only a hippopotamus might relish.   ... hard to imagine as that may be.

Here are two hippopotamuses [it passed the spell check!] just at the water surface. 

The exhibit was apparently closed when we arrived, but they opened it just as we arrived. Karma or what? The hippopotamus in the background just surfaced and flicked his ears causing that little splash of water at the top left of the picture.

We saw this fishing cat [I am not sure of his title or name] a few years ago, and we were blown back by the intense smell.  This time the cat was not in season, and it smelled just fine.  It still paced a lot and Joan and I both feel it is not a very happy camper.

Same cat, different view. It is a medium sized 'big cat'.

The zoo is particularly natural. You really are walking through a rain forest, a jungle or a desert as you walk from one display to the next.  As I mentioned before, you would be hard pressed to see the zoo from above: it would just look like a forest. All this to say, there is some wildlife to be found in strange places if you look for it.  

This is a fist sized bunny rabbit [how is that for a scientific name?] between the hippototami and the viewing wall. Just a little bunny eating quietly beside the nearby predators that would be delighted with fresh meat.  Cute or what?

We stopped for lunch at Albert's Restaurant where this next shot was made: a small waterfall behind some palm fronds. Great ambiance for Valentine's day.

On the way back to the exit, we stopped into the orangoutang exhibit for a while.  These guys are rarely overactive, but always interesting.

Here is Dad, doing what he seems to do best.

Next is Junior, a mischievous little guy who is always interesting to watch. I think he is up to no good, and seems to be planning some mischief or other... [click picture to see larger]

Mom is more serious and seems to be contemplating the meaning of life.

With some time left, Joan and I dropped in at the hummingbird house. With help, we spotted this hummingbird nest with two eggs in it.  According to the docent, the eggs are unfertilized since there isn't an appropriate male hummingbird in this house.

Here is Mom sitting on the nest.  Keep in mind, this nest is just a little more than an inch in size.

And finally, here is another hummingbird, likely a different species from the Mom, on a nearby twig.

While I normally do not agree with putting animals in cages, the San Diego Zoo is different: the animals have the superior land and space. 

While the tourists have comfortable and safe areas to walk,  this Zoo is definitely about the animals, and their comfort and safety to live in. The zoo has many breeding programs to save and multiply animals that are endangered, and has been very successful in re-introducing rare animals to their native homes.