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.

Chicago Done Naturally (Post 6 of 10) - Brookfield Zoo

Brookfield Zoo

Brookfield is much bigger than Lincoln Park. It’s a pay-admission zoo, and even a pay-to-park zoo, if you’re not a member. However, if you’re big on public transportation, the Metra lets you off just a few blocks from the zoo, so you can avoid the parking fee.

Brookfield is very photo-friendly. They even have a list of shooting suggestions on their website. Obviously, you’ll want your tripod and telephoto/macro lenses if you have them. Being bigger, and admission-based, they tend to have fewer school groups during the day, or at least they’re less concentrated.

It’s unlikely you’ll be able to see the whole of this zoo in one day. So you might want to download a map before you go and make a plan.

Flash photography is allowed in certain indoor exhibits at this zoo. The free-flight area of the perching bird house and the penguin/inca tern habitat are a few places where you don’t have glass separating you from the animals, and you’re allowed to use a flash. Watch for signs – places like Habitat Africa and Australia House have a number of nocturnal animals and flashes are not allowed, at least in certain areas. There’s almost always a keeper or docent within sight and they know the rules, so if in doubt just ask someone in a green shirt. Tripods are allowed and even with the carefully controlled lighting to try and make nocturnal animals interesting during the day, a lot of them are still enough that you can get a good shot without the flash and a long (sometimes really long) shutter.

For example, this hyrax was taken in a very dark environment with an 8 second shutter at f4.5 on a tripod.

To hit:
From Memorial Day to Labor Day there’s a fantastic exhibit, simply called, Butterflies! And it’s exactly what it says on the tin. About 20 species, hundreds of specimens, in free-flight around you in a big net house. The best way to get good shots is to get to the zoo a few minutes before it opens, and go straight to there once they let you in. (It’s just on the left of the North Gate) At that point the butterflies are lying around on rocks and the pathway (watch where you walk and put your tripod!) warming up and they haven’t been annoyed into finding hiding places yet. While they’re still cool from the night, they’re still and their wings are open. Great shooting!

The free-flight area of the bird house is great. There are two huge red McCaws on a perch right next to the observation deck, but the more interesting birds are in the trees. You can use your flash and tripod here and either these birds are fed *often* or I’ve developed a knack for going there when they’re being fed, which brings them down from the higher limbs or denser bushes.

Tropic World: This is three separate environments for the various monkeys and apes of the world. You’re up on walkways, so there’s no glass or bars, but the flipside is, most of the monkeys stay pretty far back in the huge exhibit. Bring your telephoto for good shots. The apes tend to stay a little closer to you. Also, watch the signs – they rotate the hippo and the otters in the middle part, so you may want to come back later to get the other animal.


To miss:
The dolphins have returned to the Seven Seas exhibit, which was recently redone, but they haven’t announced an opening date. Breaking news off Facebook: Dolphin shows are scheduled to resume Memorial Day weekend.

Likewise, for the next little while (until May 8, 2010) the bears are off exhibit as they get used to their new home.

Chicago Done Naturally (Post 4 of 10) - Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo

One of the great things about LPZ is that it’s free. It’s open 365 days a year and if you pack a lunch, you can get in and out without spending a penny. Going to the zoo in the winter in Chicago sounds kind of nuts, but a fair number of the exhibits are indoors, and in the winter there are very few people at the zoo. School groups get thick starting in about April, but the good news is, most of them leave before 1:00 or so. So if you really want to cover the whole zoo when it’s less crowded, think of spending two half-days instead of a whole day. Easy to do when you don’t have to pay admission. Once the schools are out for summer it does not get any better. In fact it may be worse, because that’s when the camp groups start showing up. Again, the later you can go in the day, the less crowded it’ll be.

The grounds are tripod-friendly for the most part, but look out for small children, who don’t see you/your tripod. The vast majority of the indoor exhibits are marked ‘no-flash’, and since most of the exhibits are either glass or plastic-enclosed, you probably wouldn’t want to use it anyway. Outside, flashes are fine.

To hit:There’s a duck pond with several interesting breeds of ducks and geese that you can shoot from the picnic porch without glass, bars or fencing interfering with your shots. The ground is concrete and flat, which makes setting your tripod easy. You’ll see it as you walk through the grounds, near where the flamingos are in warmer weather, but the best shooting is from the opposite side where the picnic tables are under the shelter, so it’s worth taking the walk around.

Regenstein African Journey: The pigmy hippo often likes to sit right in front of the glass, with his mouth open, showing off his teeth. And his tonsils, if he had any. Further down, the meerkats are in an open-air enclosure. The plastic partition is about four feet high – so as long as you’re taller than me , you’ll be able to lean over it, again, shooting without obstruction.

(Yeah, this shot is pretty crap; I think all the good ones got lost in the great I-dropped-a-half-Terabite-harddrive crash earlier this year.)

 

 

 

The monkey house is fun, but it’s very dark, so you’ll need a tripod. Of course, an interesting monkey is a moving monkey, so it’s a tough shot. On the good news side, there’s almost always at least one baby in the exhibit.

To miss:
There is a penguin house, but they have a serious humidity issue and the glass is constantly fogged up and impossible to shoot through.

In the spring and fall they have to soap outside windows (like the ones on the polar bear exhibit and the lion glass observation area) to avoid bird wrecks, which makes them messy and tough to see through, let alone shoot through.