Alas, I cannot have an awesome leopard as a pet, but I can have a leopard's diminutive cousin in my house! Housecats at least retain the athleticism of their wild relatives, if not the size or spots. And they are pretty cute:
Thursday, January 13, 2011
More zoo animals
Since I haven't been doing fieldwork lately, I'm getting my wildlife fix from the zoo--I realize that captive animals by definition are not wildlife, but they are still really awesome. Take this Chinese leopard, for example. How often have you gone to the zoo and all the animals are asleep? This guy was up close and personal, pacing (in his enclosure) just a few feet from me! I practically could have touched him, though I would have lost a few fingers in the process.
Alas, I cannot have an awesome leopard as a pet, but I can have a leopard's diminutive cousin in my house! Housecats at least retain the athleticism of their wild relatives, if not the size or spots. And they are pretty cute:
Alas, I cannot have an awesome leopard as a pet, but I can have a leopard's diminutive cousin in my house! Housecats at least retain the athleticism of their wild relatives, if not the size or spots. And they are pretty cute:
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
I didn't go to China...
...but I DID get to see pandas! I went to the San Diego zoo for my annual homage to my favorite animal, the giant panda. I had a panda obsession as a child and it is definitely resurfacing. Last year when I saw the newest member of the San Diego clan, Yun Zi, he was just a baby and was only in the exhibit for a few hours each day. This is Yun Zi a year ago, when he was 5 months old (pictured with his mom):
And this is Yun Zi now, happily eating bamboo. He is 17 months old and is almost fully weaned from his mother--they are still in the same enclosure but he will be independent in another month.
And this is Yun Zi now, happily eating bamboo. He is 17 months old and is almost fully weaned from his mother--they are still in the same enclosure but he will be independent in another month.
Interestingly, China owns all pandas, even if they were born in the United States. Apparently China does not recognize US citizenship laws--because if they were human, the pandas born here would be US citizens!