Maryland Zoo Redux #2 - African Spurred Tortoise, Caribbean Flamingos and West African Black Crowned Cranes

A trio of the lesser included animals on exhibit: The West African Black Crowned Crane, the African Spurred Tortoise and the Caribbean (or American) Flamingo.  There are two species of the Crowned Crane kept in North American Zoos.  This is the less likely to be encountered of the two; the more commonly kept being the West African Grey Crowned Crane.  Both are spectacular creatures in my book, and this pair is always a delight to me whenever I visit.  Of tortoises there are about 10 species that are found in North American Zoos and the Africa Spurred (or Sulcata) Tortoise is one of the most common.  The tough "plate-like" structures on its legs make it easy to identify.  And finally the Maryland Zoo is home to a flock of the most vivid of Flamingo Species, the Caribbean (or American) Flamingo.  There are 6 species of Flamingos in the world.  Two reside in the Old World and four can be found in the America's   The most common of these four species are the American Flamingo (my preference) which can be found in colonies along the coast of Mexico, Belize, throughout the Caribbean Islands and even on the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean.