I was going to just put all this in the Pics thread, but then I figured that it might as well just be it's own topic. Because why the hell not?
I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo a couple days ago and took a lot of pictures. So if you don't want to see a bunch of cell phone photos of zoo animals and listen to me sperg about them forever, this is your chance to escape. Otherwise... onward!
Visiting on a weekday in December has a lot of perks to it--mostly just less children and people in general, but that's a pretty huge fucking perk if you ask me. But a major drawback is that most of the outdoor animals aren't around in the winter.
But that's what snow leopards are for! This one was eating a squirrel. Basically a living example of Darwinism, because no squirrel that is stupid enough to get caught by a caged snow leopard deserves to pass on its genes.
It seems strange that flamingos don't mind the cold, but I'm not complaining.
Luckily, the indoor exhibits are the same year-round. I believe these ones are Mexican lance-headed rattlesnakes.
I also believe that @Philly Cheese Steak desperately needs to own a monitor lizard someday.
There were so many dwarf mongooses (mongeese?) and they were incredibly active and a lot of fun to watch. Unfortunately, "playful" doesn't usually coincide with "easy to photograph."
That middle naked mole rat is looking about as dignified as a naked mole rat can. Which isn't very. But still, props!
And then there's the sand cat, which couldn't have given me a better shot if it was trying.
I also ran into @Darky but he ignored me when I asked him if he wanted to grab a pint after. Rude.
Cinereous vultures aren't the most traditionally beautiful, but I find them incredibly impressive. This one was nice enough to oblige me with some flaps of its wings:
But unfortunately, a photograph can't really convey just how fucking huge these things are and just how much you can feel the force of them 10 feet away.
This sparrow flew out of the vuture habitat and hopped around my feet while I was taking pictures, so I took her picture too so she wouldn't be jealous.
The indoor bird house is one of my favorite parts of the zoo. This is a female Palawan peacock pheasant, and I am dying over how much I love those eye spots.
I kind of wish I could turn all the pigeons in the city into Nicobar pigeons. They'd still shit all over the place, but at least they'd be pretty!
My favorite part is a room with free-roaming birds. They don't let you get super close to them, but it's definitely a lot more interactive and makes for much better pictures. Especially when Mandarin ducks are nice enough to pose.
I tend to call Inca Terns "hipster birds" or "the most cheeky little fucks at the zoo." This is because they have mustaches and like to pretend to divebomb people.
An especially regal-looking Kingfisher.
The African wild dogs are my favorite animals here, but they're away for the winter so this was the closest I could get.
I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo a couple days ago and took a lot of pictures. So if you don't want to see a bunch of cell phone photos of zoo animals and listen to me sperg about them forever, this is your chance to escape. Otherwise... onward!
Visiting on a weekday in December has a lot of perks to it--mostly just less children and people in general, but that's a pretty huge fucking perk if you ask me. But a major drawback is that most of the outdoor animals aren't around in the winter.
But that's what snow leopards are for! This one was eating a squirrel. Basically a living example of Darwinism, because no squirrel that is stupid enough to get caught by a caged snow leopard deserves to pass on its genes.
It seems strange that flamingos don't mind the cold, but I'm not complaining.
Luckily, the indoor exhibits are the same year-round. I believe these ones are Mexican lance-headed rattlesnakes.
I also believe that @Philly Cheese Steak desperately needs to own a monitor lizard someday.
There were so many dwarf mongooses (mongeese?) and they were incredibly active and a lot of fun to watch. Unfortunately, "playful" doesn't usually coincide with "easy to photograph."
That middle naked mole rat is looking about as dignified as a naked mole rat can. Which isn't very. But still, props!
And then there's the sand cat, which couldn't have given me a better shot if it was trying.
I also ran into @Darky but he ignored me when I asked him if he wanted to grab a pint after. Rude.
Cinereous vultures aren't the most traditionally beautiful, but I find them incredibly impressive. This one was nice enough to oblige me with some flaps of its wings:
But unfortunately, a photograph can't really convey just how fucking huge these things are and just how much you can feel the force of them 10 feet away.
This sparrow flew out of the vuture habitat and hopped around my feet while I was taking pictures, so I took her picture too so she wouldn't be jealous.
The indoor bird house is one of my favorite parts of the zoo. This is a female Palawan peacock pheasant, and I am dying over how much I love those eye spots.
I kind of wish I could turn all the pigeons in the city into Nicobar pigeons. They'd still shit all over the place, but at least they'd be pretty!
My favorite part is a room with free-roaming birds. They don't let you get super close to them, but it's definitely a lot more interactive and makes for much better pictures. Especially when Mandarin ducks are nice enough to pose.
I tend to call Inca Terns "hipster birds" or "the most cheeky little fucks at the zoo." This is because they have mustaches and like to pretend to divebomb people.
An especially regal-looking Kingfisher.
The African wild dogs are my favorite animals here, but they're away for the winter so this was the closest I could get.
