No, I haven't exhausted my store of photos from Busch Gardens yet. But don't despair. Another post or two should suffice.
Bengal Tiger
Tigers are the largest members of the cat family. The average weight of male Bengal Tigers is 488 pounds (221.2 kg). The heaviest known tiger was a huge male killed in 1967 that weighed 857 lb (388.7 kg). This specimen is on exhibition in the Mammals Hall of the Smithsonian Institution.
This one was shut out of the main enclosure for some reason. He had just a small walkway with a closed door on one side and an opening under a waterfall on the other side. Here, you can see him looking at the waterfall.
The white tiger is a recessive mutant of the Bengal tiger and tends to be somewhat bigger. The white tiger in the photograph above was in its own enclosure. In the background you can see a small glassed viewing area where one or two people at a time could enter to get close-up views of this magnificent animal.
Doesn't this one look as if the tiger is proudly displaying a framed portrait of his little human?
The anteater has such an unusual color pattern. In the above photo, doesn't it look as if it has two heads?
The optical illusion isn't as apparent in this picture.
The above two images are of an African Crowned Crane.
The Bengal is special for us because it's LSU's mascot. The white one is gorgeous. I thank you for posting the second anteater pic because the first one had me stumped. The crane is crazy colorful and beautiful. What a place. Putting this on my list!
ReplyDeleteyou just can't help but be in awe of those powerful felines. so soft, so beautiful, so potentially lethal.
ReplyDeletei did like your two-headed anteater. :)
The Omaha zoo has the most white tigers and often loans them out .Love the anteater
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. You had me doing a double take on that Anteater. That is crazy.The Tiger is a beautiful animal.
ReplyDeleteI'm not the least bit tired of seeing your photos from Busch Gardens. Your first photo of the anteater had me scratching my head for a few moments. Your photos of the tigers are marvelous. I really like seeing that white tiger.
ReplyDeleteGail - The Bengal Tigers are amazingly beautiful. Not something I'd like to run into in the wild, though. That first anteater photo stumped me, too, when I saw it. Thankfully, I had that other shot to put it into perspective.
ReplyDeleteTheresa - It is amazing how like a house cat the big cats are...except for that potentially lethal thing. Glad you enjoyed the two-headed anteater.
Ruth - Welcome to the "double-take" club. That anteater photo had me going for a minute, too. I agree about the tigers...they're just so beautiful.
George - Thanks for the encouragement. You're not alone on the head scratching over that two-headed anteater photo. It puzzles everyone until they see the next picture. The white tiger was very regal looking.
Steve - There were other white tigers at Busch Gardens, too. I'm not sure how many, though. Glad you liked the anteater.
You could win awards with those pictures Linda! They were all great! I especially enjoyed the Bengal Tiger pics and the white tiger with it's 'picture' of the little human :)
ReplyDeleteAw shucks, Diane. Thanks for the sweet words. But if you could see the pictures taken by some of my blogging friends, you'd realize how mine pale in comparison. Aren't those tigers just too gorgeous for words?
DeleteThat anteater does indeed look two-headed. It looks like one of them is an elongated raccoon. That tiger is incredible. How I'd love to hug one.
ReplyDeleteHilary - That anteater photo is a puzzle until you see the other one. As for hugging a tiger...I personally think that we'll be able to hug those big cats in the next life. It's exciting to think about, isn't it?
DeleteThe "two-headed" anteater is fascinating. I was completely tricked as what I thought to be the head turned out to be its leg instead. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the head of the tiger watching the waterfall!
Petra - Those were two of my favorite images, too. I felt sorry for that tiger, though. He really wanted to have admittance through that door. I'm sure it was a temporary situation that he was shut out just then, but he was confined to a small enclosure above our heads and was obviously not happy about it.
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