A Day at the Dallas Zoo

A friend recently told me about a photography contest that the Dallas Zoo was holding called Feathers, Fur and Scales. So, a few weekends ago we headed off to the zoo to get up close and personal with the animals. I must say, the new Giants of the Savanna exhibit was beautiful! This friendly giraffe got so close she was nudging me. I think she thought my camera strap was food. I love those long eyelashes and chin hairs! :)

The elephants were pretty friendly as well. Although, I think this one might have been playing hide and seek. She put on a show for me while we were there...eating, drinking and just being plain cute!

Next up was the aviary, which was full of birds of all kinds. This one in particular caught my eye with its vivid orange color. And lucky me caught a shot right as it was flying away from its nest. I get to submit three pictures for the contest and this was the first I chose.

I love meerkats! I don't know if any of you have ever seen the TV show "Meerkat Manor" that is on the Discovery Channel, but these little guys are so much fun to watch. They always have one that is on the lookout, and this guy was working hard to do his job. I love that he is covered in dirt and almost looks perturbed at the fact that I was taking his picture. Can't you just see him tapping his foot and saying "Are you done yet?" This was my #2 picture that I submitted.

And last but certainly not least...I could have stayed in the gorilla exhibit for hours. One of the zoo keepers had just put a bunch of hay in the enclosure for them to play with and they were incredible to watch. This one big boy in particular captivated me. I don't know if it was those intense orange eyes or the humanlike hands but I'm pretty convinced we bonded.

And then he got tired of me taking his picture and I'm pretty sure he was pondering ways to escape. You know...that did actually happen at the Dallas Zoo once?!?!? The picture below was my favorite from the entire day and was the 3rd one I submitted. How anyone can look at all of these beautiful animals and not think of our Creator and His endless imagination is beyond me. It was such a perfect day and now I will just wait to see if any of my photos were selected. :)