grizabella Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I really hope the big cat area at Taronga is indeed getting an upgrade in the near future, both the lion and tiger enclosures are what I would consider the worst out of the exhibits for these species that I've seen in Australian zoos. Symbio's tiger enclosure sounds great- but I don't think there can be much out there to beat Monarto Zoo's 8 hectare lion enclosure, it's AMAZING. A load of rabbits (unwisely) built a lot of burrows in the middle of the enclosure, so every now and then the lions will actively hunt them. It's a bit unfortunate for the poor rabbits (even though it's obviously good to keep numbers of introduced species down). Wow, cheetahs! I think they may be my favourite big cat, absolutely gorgeous! <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 8 hectares?!?! I bet the buggers are hard to photograph when they are sheltering from the sun or rain... *grin* At Symbio's tiger enclosure, sometimes wild birds may decide (foolishly) to land in the enclosure... Cinta catches and eats them, but Jalur prefers his food delivered without too much work on his part... typical male! T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 It's just one brilliant shot after another! that zooming kite, and the swimming otter, and the bird with the fake eyelashes, and the funny tapir who looks like it's stolen someones false teeth :laugh: You get so many shots where they're actually doing something too. They're amazing. I only ever seem to get them sleeping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 If you go every week, you start to learn when the various animals are likely to be awake and doing something interesting... *grin* As for the zooming Kite... you have no idea how many blurry or crappy photos I have taken of her in order to get that really good one. She moves at around 60k/hr, ducking and diving, and I'm handheld trying to track her with 2 kgs of camera/lens... errr! You should have seen the air punches and happy dances I was doing when I saw that one photo on the big computer screen... *giggle* I've got a sleeping Malayan tapir with teefies photo from last weekend... they are gnarly looking pegs, aren't they? The other one is a Brazilian tapir I think... The bird with the cool eyelashes is a Guinea Fowl - they run wild around the zoo near the giraffes and zebras. Ugly critters close up, aren't they? The otters are the hardest I reckon because usually by the time I get to their enclosure (near the exit for me), the sun glare off the water onto the glass is horrible. I tried earlier in the morning, but the little buggers had made splashes all up the glas which was equally as annoying to try to shoot through... grrr! Overcast days are the best for the otters... Still gotta go through last weekend's pics from both zoos, and upload them to Flickr... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iggy mum Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Awesome photos T.!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 the guinea fowl are amazing, those funny growths around their beaks must be like cupped hands to make their voice throw louder in the direction they're calling. Fascinating. If that was my bird I'd name it Priscilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 Last weekend I got the poops at the bird show at Taronga. One of the "crowd control" people was new, and taking her job way too seriously. She made me move twice to let people with prams in because they wouldn't take their bloody squalling kids out of them and park them in the stroller "parking" area - then the person she seated in front of me decided to put up an umbrella to shield themselves from the sun and she wouldn't ask them to put it down! I just did my lolly (with a couple of choice words) and stomped off... Fortunately one of the bosses saw my obvious displeasure - and probably because I talk the the keepers a lot and have given them printed photos that I've taken of their charges - he went and gave her a bollocking she won't forget in a hurry. My friend caught up with me up at the tiger enclosure and told me that she'd been told off, which was a small consolation at least. Dog I was mad! We had gotten to the bird show area an HOUR early to get the position we wanted in order to get some nice photos - and got shunted for prams and umbrellas that arrived 5 minutes before the show started and insisted on being fit in to the by then completely limited seating... grr! At least by arriving early I got to take some really nice close-up head shots of George the baby Wedge-Tailed Eagle... he's a stunningly pretty boy! T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grizabella Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 8 hectares?!?! I bet the buggers are hard to photograph when they are sheltering from the sun or rain... *grin* It can be REALLY difficult to get a good view, very hit and miss. You go around the enclosure on a bus so can get pretty close to the lions on a good day, and the backdrop makes photos look like they could be taken in the wild. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 8 hectares?!?! I bet the buggers are hard to photograph when they are sheltering from the sun or rain... *grin* It can be REALLY difficult to get a good view, very hit and miss. You go around the enclosure on a bus so can get pretty close to the lions on a good day, and the backdrop makes photos look like they could be taken in the wild. :) Last time we stood on the viewing platform and could see 1 of the females with her cubs patrolling the far fence, got on the bus and by the time we were down there they were snoozing under a tree We have booked in to the members breakfast with the Cheetahs in Feb. Champagne breakfast, keeper talk, up close and personal with the cheetahs, there whn they let them out for the day and watch them send their food in on the lure :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 That sounds like heaven piper! T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Great photos as usual T, very happy to hear the big cats might be getting an upgrade. I agree with Grizabella, those enclosures are not good enough, they don't seem any bigger from the inside either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lasareina Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 beautiful photos as always ... we are going to Australia Zoo on Friday for our work party :) I hope some of the animals are awake while we are there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted December 4, 2013 Author Share Posted December 4, 2013 beautiful photos as always ... we are going to Australia Zoo on Friday for our work party :) I hope some of the animals are awake while we are there! Oooohhh! Sounds like fun! Don't forget your camera... and post some pics for us all to enjoy... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted December 4, 2013 Author Share Posted December 4, 2013 Great photos as usual T, very happy to hear the big cats might be getting an upgrade. I agree with Grizabella, those enclosures are not good enough, they don't seem any bigger from the inside either. The problem with doing the upgrade at Taronga is that they are planning to move ALL of the big cats away to other places while they do it... and if they take as long about it as they have done with the still unfinished Lemur enclosure, then they may well see gate entries drop... most people (and their kids) want to see a lion or tiger when they go to the zoo... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grizabella Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 That is a shame if visitor numbers suffer. I understand on some level, as Taronga Zoo is VERY expensive and you'd want to get your money's worth. Myself, I'd rather the animals had good enclosures than they stay in poor ones just for the sake of the visiting public. But then, without money coming in from visitors, improvements can't be made! It's all a big juggling act really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted December 4, 2013 Author Share Posted December 4, 2013 Yeah - but it'a amazing when chatting to people on their way through the gates and asking which animals they especially want to see - they invariably reply "tigers and lions"... Well - on the upside - maybe Symbio will get more people through their gates to see their tigers... *grin* I must say that I'm especially enamoured of the tigers - at both zoos I visit regularly - but Taronga does have a HUGE selection of other animals to get to know too. Mary the Sun Bear is a complete crack-up, the Chimps are always good value, the Elephants are fun when they get playing (and you can see them getting their baths up close too), not to mention all of the Australian wildlife, the bird and seal shows, the farmyard animals you can actually pet, etc... way too many things going on to fit into one day really... *grin* I'm still trying to find out when the bloody Platypus at Taronga tends to make himself available for photos... maybe if I spent less time at the big cats, I might find and photograph him? T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Maeby Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I always love your photos T, especially of the tigers :) Do you take any lion pics? Lions are my favourite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 The lions at Taronga have a nasty habit of sleeping all day, and the keepers need to trim all the bloody rampant bushes that are blocking any decent view... grrr! There are quite a few lion pics from my various Taronga visits though... if you check out the Taronga sets, I'm sure you'll get enough ey-candy to satisfy... *grin* http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/sets/ T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 How excitement... Taronga have messaged me asking to use one of my photos on their website, and in a publication called Peninsula Living... full naming of me as the photographer. It's a good start, yes? T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Flying Furball Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 How excitement... Taronga have messaged me asking to use one of my photos on their website, and in a publication called Peninsula Living... full naming of me as the photographer. It's a good start, yes? T. Excellent and well-deserved. How did they see them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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