grizabella

I hope you don't mind the load of favourites and comments you'll have to scroll through on your flickr! Lovely photos. :)

Wow- gorgeous photos Rainers! You've got some absolutely stunning pictures there of some familiar faces. :)

Poor Lulu, I hope she does get some support from Lubutu, but it must still be tough being an old lady in a big community of rowdy chimps! I'm looking forward to seeing your chimp photos tomorrow, I'll be visiting Monarto Zoo so I'll probably be posting a few pics myself. :) Hurray for shots actually being in focus! It took a few pretty awful and out of focus shots today of Bella having a run round the greyhound track, it's always nice when at least some of the photos turn out in focus!

Ooh, hooray chimp photos! You'll be very busy sorting through all those pictures, I hope you have a very large hard drive!

Love that one of Kimya, and the cockatoo in free flight! I hope your next visit is a bit more exciting. :)

They're beautiful, Sumo looks so snuggly!

That must have been pretty special to watch! It's great to see that they have such great bonds with their keepers. I've found that the best time to view the pandas (and the orangutans, tigers and sun bears as well) is just after the zoo opens when the animals are still going about their morning business and there aren't many visitors.

I've always thought Funi to exceptionally pretty, even by the high standards set by most giant pandas. She's so photogenic!

Lionesses, Yizi (foreground) and Amani The Girls by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Yizi rubbing up to her sister Someone to lean on by PANgrizabella, on Flickr The beautiful Kemiri, my favourite tiger Kemiri laughing by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Kemiri, female Sumatran tiger Kemiri by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Mujambi Mujambi by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Kluet, in his younger days Kluet by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Kluet, more recently Kluet by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Tuan Tuan Leaping by PANgrizabella, on Flickr

A few photos from Adelaide Zoo... Karta, a female Sumatran orangutan Karta by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Kluet, the male Sumatran orangutan Kluet by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Wang Wang, the male giant panda Wang Wang by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Funi, the female giant panda Funi by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Tuan, the male Sumatran tiger Water Fun by PANgrizabella, on Flickr

It's so lovely when you've been visiting a zoo for a while and begin to know many of the animals by name. I've been regularly visiting the zoos here (mainly Adelaide) since I was fourteen, so I've gotten to 'know' many of the animals. It gets a bit sad when they pass away or move to another zoo, as you do get rather attached to 'your' zoo animals. That sounds an interesting volunteer job, watching the animals' behaviour. I help out with making enrichment items for the animals as a volunteer- lots of papier mache! We've made lots of goodies for the upcoming birthdays of Zuri the chimp and Funi and Wang Wang the giant pandas. At Adelaide Zoo I know who all the orangutans, siamangs, tigers, lions, white-cheeked gibbons, sea lions and dusky langurs (although I don't yet know the name of the new langur baby)are. One of the orangutans, who sadly passed away in 2009, recognised me and would always turn around when he heard my voice- despite ignoring other visitors. I miss him very much, I used to spend a lot of time just sitting with him quietly. At Monarto Zoo I know who all the chimps are, and a few other animals. I'm particularly interested in great apes, and I don't like not knowing who anyone is when I visit zoos so I tend to research a lot before hand to learn who's who!

It's definitely worth the trip- lots of baby animals up there at the moment! I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of both litters of lion cubs, such beautiful little animals.

And just a few pictures of my absolute favourite animal at the zoo, the beautiful, cheeky and much cherished baby Zuri. Zuri by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Zuri by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Zuri by PANgrizabella, on Flickr She spent a good few minutes interacting with me at the window, she was especially curious about my camera and my fingers. :) Zuri by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Zuri by PANgrizabella, on Flickr

I thought I'd share a few of my many zoo shots here. I volunteer at Adelaide Zoo so I tend to take a lot of photos there, but I also frequently visit Monarto Zoo to go chimp watching. Here are a few of my favourite pictures from my most recent visit to Monarto Zoo- mostly chimpanzees! Boyd, a big fan of warm blankets. Boyd by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Boyd by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Galatea, one of the littler females. Galatea by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Sandali, the biggest chimp at the zoo and (in my opinion) the most handsome. Sandali by PANgrizabella, on Flickr All four male chimpanzees. Tsotsi, Gombe, Boyd and Sandali by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Not a chimp this time- the cheetah brothers Skukuza (front) and Tsotsie, who were on a walk with their keeper. Skukuza and Tsotsie by PANgrizabella, on Flickr

Wow, some cracking shot there! I tend to take WAY too many photos when I visit zoos as well, takes forever to wade through them all. :p That's a lovely idea to do a photo book for the keepers, they all do such an incredible job. :)

Hmmm... Bella's pretty close to my ideal, except for her reactivity to other dogs when on walks. I love the Saluki temperament; dignified yet nutty, devoted to their people but with a definite mind of their own, athletic yet a lover of a comfy couch, and with a wee bit of snootiness and snobbery. :) I have two very different fantasy dogs. Firstly, I'd love more Salukis, and secondly I daydream about one day owning a Leonberger or Great Dane. My fantasy dog would live a happy, healthy life into old age.

That's a very interesting video Kavik. I much prefer the look of the earlier dogs, although that may be partly due to the three point stack which really exaggerates the shape of the dog. Pockets, your girl is beautiful, it's really interesting to me to see what modern show line GSDs look like when they're not standing in such a exaggerated way.

My latest purchase is Bella's fab new collar, I am so happy with it. :) Bella by PANgrizabella, on Flickr Bella by PANgrizabella, on Flickr

That is an impressive breed selector, the Saluki came up as No. 2 when I tried it!

I'm so glad that his final years were with a gorilla family, but why it took so long is beyond me.

I'm so sorry Perse, you obviously had a special relationship with him. I was only lucky enough to visit Rigo a few times, but he made a huge impression on me and was a big reason why I love gorillas so much. Spending quiet moments in Rigo's presence will always be a special memory to me, he was truly a special gorilla. The gorilla keepers must be absolutely devastated to lose him so suddenly. It must be so hard for them, and for Rigo's gorilla family. Rigo lives on in his son Ya Kwanza/Mzuri, grandson Mapema, and four great-grandchildren. Ya Kwanza looks so much like Rigo, he has the same handsome face. Farewell Rigo by PANgrizabella, on Flickr

She is just gorgeous! Congratulations on your beautiful new addition. :)

I'll almost definitely be coming for the August oval track run. ETH, I think muzzles are required, but it may be possible to borrow one.

I'm very excited! Hopefully I'll be able to come along for a couple of the dates, dependent on when I'm rostered to work. Thank you so much for organizing this, it'll be awesome to have regular lure racing in Adelaide.

That's wonderful! I'll be crossing my fingers for everything to go smoothly for you, you certainly deserve it. :)