Saturday, July 10, 2010

Camera Critters

If you love critters of all kinds, then you must visit Camera Critters.
Our hostess each Saturday for this event is the lovely Misty.

Back to the Houston Zoo and the Asante Dinner with the small cats.




Leopard


You can see the male leopard really *got into* his meat treat.



Leopards


His lady friend, the black leopard (not really black ... up close you could see her spots)
would have enjoyed a little treat herself, but he wouldn't give up! You could hear him growling at her when she got too close.

Interesting about this particular leopard and how his habitat was set up. Like some of the animals at the Houston Zoo, the male was adopted. He had been declawed (horrors) and his habitat was built with that in mind. Leopards love to climb and he does -- with help from the habitat designers.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Stay cool!

Joy to You!


19 comments:

Dorothy Borders said...

It's good to know that zoo habitat builders do actually take individual animal's needs and eccentricities into account when planning for their habitats.

Cezar and Léia said...

Bonjour chèrie!
wow they are big felines, my cousins from there!
By my side I need to confess that I'm a kind of Veggie girl, I only eat my cooks here and sometimes I steal "lettuce", because it's delicious.Anyway mommy is not mad about anymore! :)
Happy weekend
and thanks for this impressive post!
Luna - We love Luna

eileeninmd said...

Great time to visit the leopards at their dinnertime.

Indrani said...

Great action shots!

wildcatwoods said...

Great shots. Glad they made the habitat for the poor declawed cat! Who would declaw a leopard?

carolina mts

Adrienne Zwart said...

Such lovely creatures. I can't even imagine declawing them! Glad he has a habitat that still allows him to climb.

Janet said...

Oh, that's terrible that he was de-clawed! Who would do that?

Doro said...

Poor guy to have had his nails taken away! Glad that the zoo has done all it can to make his life as normal as possible regardless of his situation. He's beautiful.

I was just reading about "rat popsicles" that have been fed to some of the carnivores at the John Ball zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They use the frozen treats to help keep the animals cool, while still entertaining them. I always amused to read or learn about how the zoos try to take care of their animals in terms of health (not only physically, but keeping the animals from depression as well).

Carletta said...

He has nothing else on his mind! :)
It's wonderful that the habitat designers took into account he had no claws.
Was the black leopard not fed at the same time?
(Carletta's Captures)

Chubskulit Rose said...

Gorgeous shots of the leopard!

Hope you can drop by to see my Camera Critters, have a happy weekend.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

What a gorgeous animal. Declawed???? Goodness---what was he--someone's 'pet' at one time???? Heaven help us!!!!!

He was enjoying his dinner though--and did not want to share...

Gorgeous leopards.

Hugs,
Betsy

Maria-Thérèse ~ www.afiori.com said...

Very small cats, I'm sure!
I accidentally read "Leopards love to climb and eat does". Which they probably also do.

Maria-Thérèse ~ www.afiori.com said...

P.S. Congratulations!! In case you haven't read Vanessa's post yet - you're late! ;)

Michael said...

They are beautiful creatures. Very sad about the claws.

Crafty Christina said...

He's clearly enjoying his meal!!

Unknown said...

The Houston Zoo looks wonderful. You are really good at capturing these amazing animals.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Karen

Cheryl Kohan said...

I think the leopard's coat is just amazing. Such beautiful markings. As Michael said, it's very sad that he has been declawed. But I feel good that the zoo designers cared enough to make his habitat accessible to him.

Joanne Olivieri said...

That leopard is gorgeous and what a treat to visit at dinner time. Great capture.

Barb said...

Don't pull his tail, Snap! Declawed?? So sad. You got a great capture of his dining habits.