The Wilds Of The L.A. Basin!!!

You didn't really think I would spend all day watching football, did you??  A little bird landed on my window sill and said there were animals all around us.  You know I'm all about the animals, so how about another adventure!!  Off I went bright and early on a photographic safari through the L.A. Basin to see what dangers I might encounter!!  The first major danger was the freeway ... I got pushed off on I5 South, but spotted Colorado Boulevard immediately, and just made a big circle back around to the freeway!!  Navigating the jungle can be dangerous!!  It didn't take me long to find suitable premium parking ... for free at the Los Angeles Zoo!!  Entry however, was $16.00 for this senior.

The prairie dogs were warming up in the morning sun ... okay, heat lamp actually, but agreed to pose!!  The guy above on the rock spent the entire time looking up for signs of danger and let everyone know I was sneaking around their house.

We all know the elegant flamingo .. but did you know how bad they smell??  Apparently it's the result of their shrimp diet.  There were several different varieties here, with this gentleman being the only one who wanted his portrait taken.

Although they all posed nicely, many didn't speak my language, so I've no idea what type of hawk this is.  BIG ... VERY BIG!!  He's almost two feet tall!!

This wolf was rather shy ... it took a couple of shots to get something other than his butt as I hid behind a tree.

The jaguar wasn't shy at all, but was too busy licking the rocks to look up ... I assume looking for salt.  A couple of seconds later, she was back in her lair.

Many were eating breakfast.  This black bear looked up to be sure I wasn't going to steal his food and even growled a bit ... I backed off quickly!!

I had to watch my back, as many of the critters were up and around.  The tiger really wasn't in to photography at all, as you can tell by the look on her face!!  Two seconds later, she was asleep with her back turned to the peanut gallery.

Amazingly, there are hardly any humans around this early.  Good for lurking in the shadows and getting images of the camera shy.    I waited for quite a while, but baby was fast asleep and not moving a muscle.

This rhino was holding up the tree for the first ten minutes, before beginning to lick the tree.  Must have tasted pretty good!!

As usual, the rabble rousers were screaming and hollering at the top of their lungs.  There is a sack at their throat that expands with a grunt before the screaming begins.  These guys had NO problem posing for me and let EVERYONE know I was in the neighborhood!!  What a racket!!

Then I came to the brand new baby in the zoo ... she's pretty skittish, so I imagine she hasn't been outside long.  Mom kept a close eye on her.

Talk about striking a pose ... this beauty just stood and looked at me longingly for several minutes.  I imagine she was looking for goodies ... which I'm sure she gets with these doe eyes!!

Breakfast was on the grass, which kept these two occupied.  Baby was enthralled with the screaming human on the other side.

 Here's a nice shot ... he turned from side to side to be sure I got his BEST side.

Mom kept watch while dad slept ... sound familiar??  She was a beauty, but only interested in one shot before she too hit the hay.

This is a Bongo ... what a gorgeous animal.  His horn is a little screwy, but he still held a striking pose for my picture!!

And here's Billy.  He didn't want his picture taken until he had his morning bath.  What a beauty he is!!

He didn't tell me what kind of elephant he is ... Indian maybe.

Always the performer, he showed his prowess at flinging the tractor tire.

Then he put the block in the tire, followed by the ball, using both his trunk and feet.  He's pretty agile!!

Just to show how tall and strong he is, he belched and bellowed until the trainer threw him a carrot.  Spaghetti squash and cantaloupe were also on the menu.

The great apes were aloof as usual.  He threw his breakfast branch on his back and walked up to the back fence where he proceeded to eat and scratch!!  I didn't get too close to these guys .. they're much faster on the ground than I am!!

When I asked this guy to pose, he said "why of course, my dear" .... and here was the result.  He even smiled for me!!

The Grevys Zebra were camera shy ... zebra butts were all I could see!!

With the face only a mother could love, this Komodo dragon stuck his tongue out at me before turning to look at the wall.  Okay then, I'll look elsewhere!!

 As I snuck around the eucalyptus trees, I found the koalas busy eating breakfast .....

and sleeping.  Nothing better than a sleeping koala image however!!

 Here's another ... how sweet are they??

By now I'm totally under the cover of dense jungle  ... with nasty tempered creatures and thankfully three inches of glass between them and me.  The human variety of creature is here also, with the young ones screaming and going crazy!!

It's pretty difficult to get shots of these amazing and scary creatures with little kids grabbing your legs!!

 Snake tongue ..... he wasn't very happy about this image!!!

No clue ... it was just on the ground where I could get a good shot!!

This baby is one of my all time favorite reptiles to photograph ... the Gibbon Viper.  Spectacularly colored, they blend in with their surroundings so you never know what hit you ... then you die.  See the heat receptors by his nose??  Scary scary .........

By now the human creatures are making me crazy, as I beat a path out of the jungle.  Now you KNOW I couldn't leave without hitting the gift shop and adding to my collection of the weird and wonky.  This little anteater is the newest addition to my menagerie!!

I survived the jungle and all the scary creatures to photograph another day.  The good news is that I'm back at the rig just in time for the football game!!