Poetic Shutterbug

I am participating in Camera Critters

As you can see, these amazing creatures are very colorful.  The red coloring on the face of the male determines how dominant he is.  The male is twice as big as the female and stands about three feet tall and weighing in at about sixty pounds. Their canine teeth are as large as human thumbs.  Though mandrills sleep in trees, they are forest monkeys and spend most of their time on the ground.   They are endangered in the wild. Click the above widget for more Camera Critters fun.

Click the above widget for more Camera Critters fun.

This feline critter is solitary in nature and only do the males and females come together during breeding season. The resulting litter consists of three to five kittens who typically stay with their Mother for up to twelve months before they head out on their own. Once heavily sought out for their fur, the bobcat is now protected under law and relatively safe from hunters. Bobcats stalk and hunt their prey with a quick leap and attack method. They dine mainly on rodents and birds though can fill their appetites with rabbits, reptiles and even deer. Though by looking at the bobcat who is relatively small it is hard to imagine them eating a small deer. Their usual habitat is forests though they do make their homes in swamps and deserts as well. At the San Francisco zoo, the bobcat has a somewhat small habitat but is built to allow the cat everything she needs to fulfill her days. This particular bobcat at the zoo does not like people being around and taking photos of her. It...

Photos taken at the African Savanna at the San Francisco zoo Click the above widget for more Camera Critters fun.

Photos Taken at the San Francisco zoo Click the above widget for more Camera Critters fun.

Licking the salt water off the rock at the San Francisco zoo. Click the above widget for more Camera Critters fun.

Today marked the opening of the Big Bugs Outside the Box exhibition at the San Francisco zoo.  These life like sculptures of bugs and insects are simply amazing to see.  I am not a bug person so I didn't know if I would like seeing these so huge and up close but I loved it.  To see these creatures in detail gave me a new appreciation for the insect life.   The exhibition also includes detailed information about each species along with history and interesting facts.  If you are in the San Francisco area, this is a must see exhibition. Formosan Long - Armed Male Scarab Beetle These beetles use their long arm appendages to fight for female beetles and tree branches.  They are losing their habitat in the wild and are currently fighting for survival. Female Watanabe's Lanternfly These critters were called lanternflies because it was thought that the golden appendage on their heads would light up in the dark.  However, they do not lig...

All photos taken at the San Francisco zoo. Click the above widget for more Camera Critters fun.

All Photos Taken At The San Francisco Zoo Click the above widget for more Camera Critters fun.

Source: Photo of the Eurasian Eagle Owl taken at the San Francisco zoo. A Story Of Survival. The San Francisco zoo is a haven for rescued wildlife and the owl population is no exception. Meet Athena as pictured above. She is the Eurasian Eagle Owl who lives in the Children's zoo and is cared for by the Koret Animal Resource Center at the San Francisco zoo .. It is illegal to import owls and birds in general into the United States because they can carry disease. Nevertheless, a smuggler back in 2005 thought he would bring in over a dozen owl eggs into the country by dyeing the eggs to look like Easter eggs and sell them for over five thousand dollars a piece. Only three of those survived and one of them was Athena. She was rescued by the United States Fish and Wildlife service at the San Francisco airport and was brought to the San Francisco zoo for her own protection and to receive the care she needed after her traumatic event. Because her first imprint (m...

This is my adopted son Wilbur the barn owl, with the heart shaped face who has my heart and lives at the Koret Animal Resource Center at the San Francisco zoo.   Read about Wilbur's adoption here . I am using Wilbur as an example to bring you some interesting facts about barn owls in general. Barn owls have acute hearing with their ears being asymmetrical.  On a barn owl their ears are covered by feathers with one ear being on the top right side of their head and the other being on the low left hand side.  They work like cell phone towers with sounds bouncing off of each other.  If a barn owl were blind, he would still be able to hunt for food using his keen sense of hearing. Their eyes are tubular in shape which means that they do not have peripheral vision.  That is why they have to turn their heads up to 270 degrees to see around them.  They have no sense of smell at all and is why they have a heightened sense or hearing.  Wilbur also has d...