Monday, October 23, 2017

Eleven Views of the Smithsonian National Zoo #5


From Pandas I went to the Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) habitat--it's a fine set up for sure.  Only one thing was missing...Sloth Bears.  I have yet to arrive when they are out and about...   Leaving the Asian Forest Trail area it's an easy walk over to a rough circular hill called Cheetah Conservation Station.  A good 25% of the space is dedicated to Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), and two of the males were on display.  I had some the best images of Cheetahs I've ever seen and even got a couple of good pictures.  I happened into a conversation with a very chatty gentleman from India and we swapped stories of visiting game parks in Africa: he from Kruger National Park in South Africa and me from Hwange and Matopas National Parks in Zimbabwe.  He was quite a pleasant fellow, and with his camera in hand, I recognized a fellow zoophile without a caveat.


 The rest of the mound is divided into 4 more habitats:

1) for Red River Hogs (Potamochoerus porcus) and the zoo's lone Sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekii),

2) for the heard of Addra Gazelles (Nanger dama), a pair of Rüppell's Griffon Vultures (Gryps rueppellii) and the pair of Scimitar-horned Oryx (Oryx dammah),

3) for Maned Wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) from South America, and

4) for Grevy's Zebras (Equus grevyii). 

No one was home in the first habitat.  The second had the vultures and the male Addra Gazelle, Edem.  Edem is the man of the hour have this year sired a foal with each of the zoo's 3 female Addra Gazelles thus functionally double the size of the zoo's collection!  And you could see the two Oryx inside the adjoining enclosure, but they were not out.  I don't think the zoo lets the little gazelles and the oryx out at the same time.  The Maned Wolves were no en casa, tambien, and the male Grevy's Zebra was out, but hugging the far end of the enclosure.  There is also another habitat across from the mound that is part of the general area and it is home to Lesser Kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis) of which the buck was also out.






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