Rtas' zoo pics

RtasVadumee wrote:

Both are actually reflected in the water !

oh yes, it's clear now. The grass is very confusing

Clever photo. I didn't realise that the deer in the foreground was also a reflection, and I wondered why your photo was less well focused than usual.

I enjoy that you decided to present rhino pictures on your rhino's day. I agree calves are very cute animals even if they do not match the common sense of cuteness. On zebra's day you're showing a deers but actually the picture has a wonderful striped effect and I am sure there's a shortsighted crocodile around. That's really very artistic and if it was not Kostas pointing to it, I'd surely not guess what it was.

Exceptional pictures [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ! Love the stories too :)

Thank you for your comments guys ! I am glad you liked the reflected deers !

I never saw the rhinos, they look really lovely but the mother seems to have a large gash down her face

Species : Bonobo

Spot : Valley of the monkeys, Vienne, France
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Are there more fascinating species than the bonobo and the chimpanzee ? Is there a more interesting topic than their differences as far as social behaviours are concerned ? On the one hand, a patriarchal and tough society based on a very strict social hierarchy. On the other hand, a peaceful gynocracy in which sexual relationships are used to pacify conflicts. Those two ape species are so close and yet so different from each other and I think they reveal two diametrically opposite facets of humanity.
There is a place in France where those opposite sides coexist. It's the Valley of the monkeys, a beautiful park dedicated to primates, the only one in France to keep the rare bonobo. Thus, the apes you see on this picture are among the only representatives of their species in France and in Europe. I was looking forward to meet them and I have to say I was not disappointed. These guys are even more disturbing than the chimps. The resemblance with us is even more striking and they look like more primitive humans than monkeys.

Bonus pic : portrait of an old lady
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I always found the bonobos way of dealing with conflict was really really strange, and slightly disturbing.

Nice pictures again

Species : Great white pelican

Spot : La Bourbansais zoo, Brittany, France
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White birds in a green pond, I have always liked the color constrast of this picture.

Pelicans are so beautieful

In zoos I have seen two different pelican species: pink backed and great white

Species : Green whip snake

Spot : Alligator bay, Normandy, France
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Another picture from Alligator bay, a large reptile centre close to the famous Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy. The green whip snake is a species which can be seen in Europe.

Green? It looks blue/black to me Very epic photo, and for some reason it looks like I've seen this photo before

Nice snake

Species : Giant anteater

Spot : La Bourbansais zoo, Brittany, France
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This one may please Roger.
La Bourbansais is the closest zoo from my hometown, it's a small park without pretention but it was one of the first in France to keep giant anteaters. Anteaters were very rare in French zoos when I was a child and I remember being very excited when I saw them for the first time in that zoo.

All zoos except one I have ever visited hold giant anteaters. They make very unusual sounds and I love how they sleep

Hi friends.

The confinement is over in France and I have to go back to work. While most people here are happy to go back to a more normal life, I feel a bit sad since I really enjoyed staying at home without having to face the real world. It was a very good period in my life and I want you to know that I enjoyed spending it with you.

Now, I will have much less time to spend on forum and the daily update of this topic will have to end. Of course, I will continue to post pictures of my collection, it will remain my priority there. But I will post my zoo and wildlife pics much more occasionally now. I will still add new photos when I have time to but it will not be on a daily basis anymore.

Anyway, thank you for all your kind comments about my pics, I was happy to share them with you.

We also enjoyed and we will continue enjoying even if it is in a slower basis.
It is good to know you will keep updating your threads. Take care, you will face a somewhat different world.

Species : Golden spiny mouse

Spot : La Flèche zoo, Sarthe, France
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Until now, I mostly posted well-known and iconic animals which are not very interesting for people like Isidro. So what about a more unusual and rarer species like this golden spiny mouse ? It is only present in 9 European zoos and the one where I photographed it is not even listed on zootierliste ! I am talking about La Flèche zoo, you know, that very "mainstream" zoo with white tigers, white lions, known for its reality show... Well, it seems that behind the "bling-bling showcase" this park has something more to offer.

A small animal but interesting specie

Very beautiful animal. Thanks for showing!

I always resisted to comment in your Zoo and Wildlife photography threads and the main reason is that your photos are so incredibly magnific and unbeatable (overall when compared with my poor photowaste), that I feel that I will contaminate the threads with unaesthetic words. But I cannot resist anymore. A more interesting species and a mention to me... plus an occasion where I'm able to contribute... then I feel the need of write here, hehe.

Spiny mice are interesting as genus, tough there are so many nearly identical species, that as I already have a bunch of them, I lose a bit of interest in gaining new ones. However, I still lack Golden ones and they're undoubtely the most attractive species of the genus.
I must say that La Flèche zoo, is of course listed in Zootierliste: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] however golden spiny mice don't appear nor in their current nor in their former listings. Take in account that Zootierliste is done by a community of enthusiast and for those zoos that don't provide official updated species lists, the list of each zoo is mainly done and updated shortly after a visit of a curator or a friend of a curator that communicate what they see, as I've done sometimes with some of the zoos. Resuming: the lists of each zoo necessarily will show some inacurateness with species present but not listed, species listed but not present, etc.