On This Date

On this date, seven years ago,

the doorbell rang and my good friend and neighbor

brought a little gray furbaby to live at Twisty Lane.

His name is Teddy.

He grew from this little squirt into a big, beautiful boy.

He supervises everything that goes on in the house.

Does he look better against blues or pinks?!!!

He likes baseball, too.

And does a great Owl imitation!

Happy seven years, Teddy!

Cassie and I love you!

Be sure to check out the other Camera Critters.

Wishing YOU well and a fun weekend!

Just Look At That Face!

Just look at that face!

He seems to enjoy having his portrait taken.

He is a Saki Monkey and he lives in the Natural Encounters building 

at the Houston Zoo.

My BGD (beautiful god-daughter) and I were quite taken with him.

Look at his hands and his long fingers.

A New World Monkey, Sakis are small sized monkeys with long, bushy tails. They live in the trees of the rain forests and only occasionally go onto the land. They are generally very shy and cautious. Their range includes northern and central South America, extending from the south of Columbia, over Peru, in northern Bolivia and into the central part of Brazil.

While not endangered, they are vulnerable due to the destruction of their habitat by humans. They are also hunted for food and for the pet trade.

A big thank you to Misty for being the hostess each week for Camera Critters.

Wishing you WELL and a JOY filled week.

It's a Bird!

BGD (Beautiful God Daughter) and I visited the zoo on one of the last

days of truly nice weather ... not much heat and very little humidity.

Days like that are few and far between this time of year.

We got to the zoo when the gates opened at 9:30 AM.

Had lunch at Twiga in the African Forest.

Walked and walked and walked

(and I had been to the gym that morning).

We visited with this fellow.

Amazing, isn't he?!!!!

Shoebill at the Houston Zoo

 

The Shoebill is named for its clog-shaped bill, which is an adaptation for catching and holding the large, slippery lungfish, its favorite food. This big bird (standing about 3.8 feet tall) also eats turtles, fish and young crocodiles. 

They are entirely gray, with broad wings and long legs. The head is large in proportion to the body and the eyes are large.

The Shoebill is a solitary species, rarely found in groups. 

Other common names for Shoebills include Shoe-billed Stork, Whale-headed Stork, Bog Bird.Though most consider it as a stork, the Shoebill's antecedents are unclear, and no relatives are known. Shoebills have their own family, Balaenicipitidae. Although they share some characteristics of storks, they are more like the herons in many of their behaviors and physiological features, yet also share common characteristics with pelicans. The population of Shoebills is thought to number 5,000-8,000 but is difficult to estimate given the swampy/marshy habitat in the Sudan, Africa. 

The Houston Zoo is well known in zoo circles for its bird collection.

Misty is our hostess each week for Camera Critters.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Wishing you well.

They're Back!

Born in Kruger National Park, these young adults spent several weeks

in acclimation bornas (huge holding areas) to prepare them for 

their 54 hour flight to Houston.

The Houston Zoo's original pair of white rhinos, Bu and Marci

also came from Africa in the early 1970's and were beloved ambassadors

for their species for over 30 years.

It is very exciting that rhinos have returned to the zoo and the wonderful

African Forest exhibit. 

The first phase of the African Forest is 6.5 acres and includes

habitats for Chimpanzees, Rhinoceroses, Giraffes, Cheetahs, Kudu, and Ostrich.

It is expected that this trio of Rhino,

one male and two females,

will produce rhino calves and add some much needed

genetic diversity to the North American zoo population.

Due to their strength and size - second only to the elephant as far as land mammals 

white rhinos don't have many enemies, except for man. 

Without increased protection, all rhinos could disappear in the wild

in the next 20-50 years.

Misty just celebrated 3 years of Camera Critters.

Be sure you visit!

Wishing you WELL and a JOY filled weekend.

Trouble ... Who Me?????

Mom, look at the pretty new flowers!!!

Did you bring them home just for me?

I promise I won't hurt them!

Camera Critters is hosted each week by the lovely Misty.

Wishing you well and a JOY filled weekend.

She's Growing Up!

Little Miss Cassie is growing up!

She's become quite the lady.

Prowling her world which looks like a toddler playground! 

A big THANK YOU to Misty for hosting Camera Critters.

Wishing you well and a fun filled weekend.

African Forest

The Houston Zoo opened the new African Forest to the public in December.

It is 6.5 acres of fun!

The Greater Kudu is an African antelope and he shares his space with 

three young white rhino.

This kudu is quite handsome with his stripes and curled horns.

Love the tongue and it was one of those surprises I discovered when I got home and looked at the photos.

The white rhinos are young... one male and two females.

They were born in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

They were carefully selected for temperament and overall health

and prepared for their 54 hour flight (KLM) to Houston

and their new home at the Houston Zoo.

They seem to love their new home -- especially the mud wallow.

The Masai giraffe herd has a new home and larger area to roam

complete with an area where visitors to the zoo can feed them - supervised of course.

Masai giraffe are the most numerous of the nine giraffe subspecies, but only 90 are exhibited in North American zoos.

I hope you enjoyed this brief visit to the Houston Zoo and the new African Forest.

Thank you to Misty for being our Camera Critters hostess

and to

Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday.

Wishing you well.

African Forest

One of our good baseball buddies joined me for breakfast and a members only tour of the new

African Forest at the Houston Zoo.

It was a beautiful morning.

Chimps have returned to the Houston Zoo with a family of ten.

The chimps have a half acre to explore. Fun!!!

Have you heard of Koolookamba?

From the mythical unicorns to the more modern day Yeti and Bigfoot, humans have a long history of fascination with animal legends and lore.

In Gabon today, there is a belief among the human population in a chimpanzee-gorilla hybrid, which they call the "Kooloo-kamba".

Fact or fiction, as visitors move through the African forest, they can find faces of the Koolookamba -- fun for the kids.

Be on the lookout! 

The journey through the African Forest continues next week.

A big thank you to Misty for being our hostess for Camera Critters.

Wishing you well and JOY filled weekend!

Camera Critters

It's Saturday and that means Critter Day!

After Mr. Dragon and yours truly visited the Dinosaurs at the Houston Zoo,

we shared a drink and sat watching for any action on the pond.
It was late in the afternoon and everything was quiet.

No kids running around.

I saw the egret fly into the tree and thought it was probably too far away to get a good shot.

I took several shots and when I uploaded the images when I got home I found this one.

I didn't see the second egret when I took the shot.

Surprise!

Did you know that a group of turtles is called a bale?

I had to google!

Here's a bale of turtles on a very small island in the pond.

Camera Critters is hosted each Saturday by the lovely Misty.

Have a wonderful weekend.

We have a college baseball barbecue today!

YeeHaw!

Camera Critters

Camera Critters is hosted each Saturday by the lovely Misty.
If you are a critter lover, you must visit to see the wide variety offered each week!

Many of you have been wondering about our new kitty, Cassie.
She's growing like a weed and hasn't been cooperating getting photos taken.
She's a perpetual motion machine and she thinks she should be able to play with the camera while Mom takes her picture!

Here she is in a quiet moment.
(It didn't last long.)

She likes playing with this toy we call the roller ball.
But then, everything she sees is a prospective toy!

Wishing you well and a wonderful, cool weekend!

Camera Critters

Camera Critters is hosted every Saturday by the lovely Misty.

If you are a critter lover, you must visit!

In early May, Mr. Dragon and I went to the Houston Zoo for the elephant open house.

Star of the show, was the one month old, Baylor.

Baylor was named for the Baylor College of Medicine where researchers are investigating the elephant herpes virus. Asian elephants are threatened, not only in captivity by the herpes virus, but also in the wild. The research that Baylor is doing is very important for the species.

Baylor with his Mom, Shanti.

Baylor has no fear. He runs right in the middle of the other elephants.

He's a busy little guy.

We took oodles of photos of this little guy.

I put the camera on sport mode and just let the camera go!

I'm sure you'll be seeing more of him in the future.

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.

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

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!

Camera Critters

I'm a little late with my Camera Critters post (hosted every Saturday by the lovely Misty), but I wanted you to meet our new kitty, Cassie. She's a little doll and a perpetual motion machine!

Do you think she has enough toys?

She can sleep. This time on the back of Mom's chair.

A safe place, on Mom's chair or around Mom's neck!!!

It is never dull and boring around our house.

Teddy and Riley even think Cassie is okay.

Happy Critter Day.

Have a safe and wonderful July 4th weekend!

Camera Critters

Camera Critters is hosted each Saturday by the lovely Misty. Be sure you visit to see more critters!

I'd like to introduce you to one of my favorite critters - the fossa.

This male and female live in the small cat area of the Houston Zoo.

The photos were taken at during a special event at the zoo. The keepers gave each of the small cats a treat while they talked and answered questions about them.

First the photos and then information about the Fossa.

Here's the female working on getting to her treat.

This is the male Fossa.




The female Fossa taking a short rest!

A relative of the mongoose, the fossa is unique to the forests of Madagascar, an African island in the Indian Ocean. Growing up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) long from nose to tail tip, and weighing up to 26 pounds (12 kilograms), the fossa is a slender-bodied catlike creature with little resemblance to its mongoose cousins.

It is the largest carnivore and top predator native to Madagascar and is known to feed on lemurs and most other creatures it can get its claws on, from wild pigs to mice. Unlike mongooses, and more like felines, the fossa has retractable claws and fearsome catlike teeth. Its coat is reddish brown and its muzzle resembles that of a dog.

The fossa is also equipped with a long tail that comes in handy while hunting and maneuvering amongst the tree branches. It can wield its tail like a tightrope walker's pole and moves so swiftly through the trees that scientists have had trouble observing and researching it.

The elusive fossa is a solitary animal and spends its time both in the trees and on the ground. It is active at night and also during the day. Females give birth to an annual litter of two to four young, and adulthood is reached after about three years.

Madagascar is home to an enormous variety of plant and animal life, and a number of species are unique to the island—including over 30 species of lemur, the fossa’s prey of choice. Explorers first arrived on the island some 2,000 years ago, and scientists believe that they would have been met by a bizarre assemblage of now-extinct beasts, including lemurs the size of gorillas and a ten-foot-tall (three-meter-tall) flightless bird.

Presently, fossas are endangered creatures due to habitat loss. Less than ten percent of Madagascar’s original, intact forest cover, the fossa’s only home, remains today.

(Text information from the National Geographic.)

Camera Critters

Camera Critters is hosted each Saturday by the lovely Misty. Be sure you visit to enjoy the other participants.

Our vet told us about a very nice lady who was fostering some kittens.
She lives nearby and we just HAD to go see them.

Two males and two females (we think -- they are so tiny -- hard to tell for sure).
This was their first day on solid food and they loved it.

It was very hard to get them all in one shot.

Too much fun! You could sit and watch them for days and never get bored!

This little blond furred, blue eyed beauty will be coming to join our family in a week or so.

Camera Critters

Camera Critters is hosted every Saturday by the lovely Misty. Be sure you visit!

Yesterday I went out into Musashi's Garden to take some shots of the newly blooming zinnias.

This is what I found.

Who is that peaking around the corner?

Come out, come out. Whoever you are!

There you are!

Happy holiday weekend everyone.

Stay safe, enjoy and remember what Memorial Day is all about.

Joy to You!

Camera Critters

Camera Critters is hosted each Saturday by the lovely Misty. Be sure you visit!

I missed last weekend because of thunderstorms in my area.

Today I'll finish with the critters we found on our adventure to the Japanese Garden in Hermann Park.

The turtles were out sunning themselves.

I think the mallards have a nest under the bridge.

And last, but certainly in his mind, not least ... the mockingbird who did not want his portrait done. Too bad!

Happy Critter Day everyone!

Joy to You!