Lincoln Park Zoo - 2.16.11 - Show Me Your Teeth!

Apparently Lady Gaga has been at the zoo.  All the animals felt it necessary to Show me [their] teeth! (The little monsters...)

*NOTE*  The last two pictures in this post are of carnivores, you know, being carnivores.  The tiger and the wolves were given some kind of bone with meat on it.  Personally, I don't find it any more disturbing than walking through the fresh meat department of your neighborhood grocery store.  It's not like you can even tell what kind of animal the meat comes from.  But if you're sensitive to that kind of image... you've been warned. :)

Stripping Branch

 I spent an inordinate amount of time watching the giraffe strip the bark off this branch.  They didn't want to eat the wood, but they seemed to really enjoy pulling off the bark with their tongues and lips.

Nimble Lips

It was amazing to watch how deftly they use their lips to maneuver the branch.

The Gang Says "Ahhhhh!!!!"

All the meerkats were into showing their teeth.  I think the guy on the left wanted me to see if meerkats have tonsils!

I'z not fat!  Dere's Two of us!

This shot cracks me up because it looks, at first, like there's one huge meerkat in the foreground.  There's not.  There's one in the foreground and one in the midground, with his back turned and face hidden.

What do you mean, you're "missing" a dentist?

Polar bears are the biggest bears in the world.  Which means their teeth are right up there in size.

This Siberian Tiger was actually enjoying the snow.  He was rolling in what was left of it.  And showing his teeth while he did it.  But we got an even better view when he got fed a few minutes after this shot was taken.

Teeth: This is what they're made for

 Those are some serious incisors.  That 'upstage' paw holding dinner still is a healthy size too!

Hungry Like the Wolf

There's something very classical about this image.  A wolf eating a piece of meat.  I think it's the kind of thing we all think of when someone mentions wolves to us.  Well, that and a certain young lady in a red cape. ;)  Or you know, if you're me, a certain Duran Duran song.





Later... eyes and toes.