Spider-Monkey

I've been meaning to post these pictures for awhile now but somehow I never got round to them.  These pictures where taken at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park and we were lucky as just as we arrived at the enclosure the keepers opened up their enclosure to let the Spider Monkeys out.

As you can imagine, they are agile creatures and seemed quite at home with people being on their territory.  I was quite surprised how close they would come to the public as they explored their surroundings and sped across their runs above our heads.

Yorkshire Giants

I've previously had a take it or leave it attitude towards giraffes.  They are odd looking creatures for sure but have never really inspired in me the sense of awe that I feel when seeing a lion or a leopard on TV.   Until recently I had never actually seen a giraffe in the flesh and when I did so, it made me see them in a different light.

These photos were taken at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster back in July.  The all male herd are a fairly recent addition to the park.  During a talk by one of the keepers she stated that they were only allowed to have an all male herd to prove that they could look after them properly.  They were hopeful that they would be able to add females and participate in the worldwide breeding programme.

I took these pictures from an excellent viewing platform approximately twenty feet from the ground. To be able to look down on a giraffe does give you a different perspective than you commonly see in wildlife documentaries.  What struck me straight away was how the shape of the giraffe's head reminded me of those of dragons as depicted in the movies with their long snouts and the horn like ossicones.

 The lumps and bumps, ridges and fur on their faces also added to each individuals character.  I think the one below is a cross breed and certainly stood out from the Rothschild Giraffes in the group.  He certainly had a more "lived in" face.

 

On The Prowl

We've had a long awaited week off from work and decided to pay a visit to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster.  I came away with a flat camera battery and nearly six hundred photographs which I'm still in process of checking through.  If you get the chance to visit it's well worth a look and there is something for everyone.  The kids will love it.

The lions of the park were rescued from a zoo in eastern Europe and they live in three different prides in the park.  I've already put up a comedy picture of the lions here and they do spend a lot of the time sleeping and not doing very much so catching them moving is a bit of an achievement.

There are other big cats at the park, including three beautiful Amur Tigers that like to lie in the most difficult places to get a decent photograph of them:

There is an incredible walkway approximately 30 feet off the ground that enables amazing views into the tiger enclosures.

The third big cat at the park is the Amur Leopard which also lives in a huge enclosure with plenty of climbing structures.  This one, was just content to get out of the afternoon heat an take it easy.

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