Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

Nashville Zoo - August 28, 2010

I've never managed to get good photos of the Siamang or White Cheeked Gibbons.  They are normally up in the trees, and I always seem to go to the zoo in the morning.  Their area is arranged so that visitors are facing east, right into the morning sun.  Every time I've been they have been terribly backlighted, and today was no exception.

The Flamingo Lagoon exhibit is new and this is the first time I've seen it.  When I was there last month it was still under construction.  I heard another visitor mention that it isn't even supposed to be open yet, but it obviously is.  The birds seem to be taking to their new surroundings pretty well, but haven't gotten used to the noise of the airplanes overhead yet.  Each time an airplane flew over they get very agitated and started trying to fly around.

The Clouded Leopards in the photos below are more closely related to the prehistoric Sabre Toothed Tiger than any present-day cats.  If you doubt that take a look at the teeth in the last photo on the first row below!

The first four photos are of Ming and the last two are of his sister May.  These are the first photos I've manage to get of May since she is normally hanging around in the back of the pen when I am there.  She was restless today and was pacing the pen until she finally decided to take a nap under a bush.

Nashville Zoo - July 11, 2010

How do you spell relief?  Around here we spell it R-A-I-N, at least temporarily.  Yesterday evening a few localized thunderstorms blew through and for a few hours it was wonderful!  It didn't last though and by mid-morning today it was back near 90° with humidity bouncing off the peg.

I wasn't really in the mood to ride my motorcycle today so I decided to go to the zoo for a while.  Some of the animals looked like they were just about as tired of this heat and humidity as I am, but it felt good to get out and walk around for a while.

Ever seen an Iguana getting a neck rub?  Apparently they are quite tame because if you look closely you can see that the crazy critter has his eyes closed.  I suspect he would be purring if he was capable of it!

The Clouded Leopard below is named Ming.  He and his sister May were born at the zoo and have been there for 7 years.  He looks like he has just about had enough of Tennessee's hot and humid weather to.

Ming was certainly taking an interest in my photographing him though.  As can be seen in the third photo below, once he noticed me he stared right down my lens trying to see what was going on in his domain.  That photograph isn't cropped at all and I was about 30' away behind a sheet of glass between the viewing area and the cats, but I felt like he was looking all the way into my soul.  Apparently he was satisfied with what he saw since he eventually decided to go back to sleep.

I really find the Schmidt's Guenon to be an interesting species.  Look at the expression on this guy's face, it's almost as if he is thinking about something.  I think that there is more intelligence in some animals than we frequently give them credit for.

Nashville Zoo - June 27, 2010

It absolutely poured down rain yesterday evening.  Very heavy thunderstorms for a couple of hours, trees and limbs down, and so on.  The forecast was for the low 90's today and with the moisture left over from the rain I knew the humidity would be horrendous.  When I got up the thought of riding my bike in the heat didn't appeal, but somehow I convinced myself that going to the zoo was a good idea.  I must have still been asleep or something is the only excuse I have for my delusion.

I got to the zoo just as they opened at 9:00 and it was already hot.  The Hyacinth Macaw is the first exhibit after entering, and by the time I got there I was already sweating.  I convinced myself that as the morning wore on the humidity would drop and it would start to feel cooler.  By 11:00 I was done in and headed home.  I only saw about half the exhibits, and some that I really wanted to see just wouldn't cooperate.  The Clouded Leopard was stretched out on a limb apparently trying to cool off and the Red Pandas were up high in a tree doing the same thing.  It was just plain the wrong time of year to go to the zoo so I'll try again when it cools down a bit.

Nashville Zoo - March 13, 2010

I went to sleep last night to the sound of rain and it was still drizzling when I got up.  Typical Tennessee March weather.  It quit during the early morning hours however the forecast, which turned out to be right for once, said that there was more to come later in the morning.  So rather than ride my motorcycle I went to the zoo for a couple of hours.

I was surprised that several of the animals were not out since it was actually warmer than when I was there in November.  I really missed the Hyacinth Macaws but I did get some decent photos of the other animals.

These two photographs show a Dwarf Caiman, both what is seen from above the surface of the water and what remains below the surface of the water.  That low profile makes it a lot easier to sneak up on their prey.

The photographs below are of a Clouded Leopard named Ming.  His sister May was in the same area but she was asleep under a bush and I couldn't get a good photograph of her.  I talked to their handler and the tree that Ming is sitting atop is apparently their "Safe" area.  Ming will chase May and May will chase Ming but once either of them reaches the top of the tree the chase is over since they have agreed between themselves that the top of the tree is the safe area.

Take note that in the second photograph his eyes are closed.  He kept dozing off while sitting on the top of that tree.  Apparently the fact that he was about 40' in the air didn't bother him in the slightest.  That's not real susprising since, according to what I read on Wikipedia, Clouded Leopards are especially well suited for climbing trees.  Their large paws and long tails give them a distinct advantage over their other cat cousins, but their ankles are also extremely flexible.  This allows them to climb down a tree, not jump from a tree but actually climb down, head first.  They can also climb along limbs hanging upside down from the bottom of them.  No other cat can do these things.

Nashville Zoo - November 21, 2009

Today was a beautiful late fall day with temperatures forecast to top out in the mid 60's.  Not a cloud in ths sky, and just too nice to stay inside.  I went by Radnor Lake and took some photographs and then headed for the Nashville Zoo for another visit.  Some of the animals that were out earlier in the year were not there today but it was still a gret way to spend a few hours and take some cool photographs.

As I mentioned, the weather was absolutely perfect and, this late in the year, the crowd was rather small.  Naturally my only complaint about the entire afternoon would be about the weather.  The path through the zoo makes a large irregularly-shaped loop so, in theory, it should not have been possible for virtually every one of the animals to be back-lighted.  It seems to me that this was the case though because no matter where I went it seems like the sun was behind the animals and I was having a difficult time metering the shots.  Oh well, that's the story of my life ;)  Most of them still turned out pretty decently.

Nashville Zoo - April 11, 2009

I've lived about 3 miles from the Nashville Zoo since it was built but have never been to visit it.  I decided I needed to go see what was there and take a few photographs of the animals, so I headed over there.  I wish I had picked a day other than the day before Easter since there were hundreds of kids everywhere having an Easter Egg Hunt, but other than that it was an interesting and enjoyable way to spend a few hours

African Crested Porcupine

African Crested Porcupine

African Elephants

African Elephants

African Elephants

Bengal Tigers

Bengal Tigers

Bengal Tigers

Bengal Tigers

Cougars

Cougars

Double-Wattled Cassowary

Double-Wattled Cassowary

Double-Wattled Cassowary

East African Crowned Crane

East African Crowned Crane

East African Crowned Crane

East African Crowned Crane

Eurasian Lynx

Eurasian Lynx

Hyacinth Macaw

Hyacinth Macaw

Hyacinth Macaw

Masai Giraffe

Masai Giraffe

Masai Giraffe

Masai Giraffe

Meerkat

Meerkat

Mountain Bongo

Mountain Bongo

Mountain Bongo

Mountain Bongo

Ostrich

Ostrich

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Ring-Tailed Lemur

Ring-Tailed Lemur

Saddle-Billed Stork

Saddle-Billed Stork

Schmidt's Guenon

Schmidt's Guenon

Schmidt's Guenon

Schmidt's Guenon

White Cheeked Gibbon

White Cheeked Gibbon

White Cheeked Gibbon

Zebra

Zebra

Zebra

Zebra