Heather and I had a lovely time at the zoo yesterday. The weather was perfect – a little cool, but sunny and nice. The animals were active, so we got in some really nice animal viewing.
The star attraction was Antoine, the white alligator on loan from Louisiana’s Audubon Zoo (he’ll only be here until October 1). Antoine and his 17 brothers are not albinos, they have a skin condition called “leucism“, which is a reduction in skin pigment. But they have blue eyes, not red.
(Click on a photo description for a bigger image of that photo.)
1. Antoine, the white alligator
2. Baby Giraffe He was so cute! He kept wanting to nurse, but momma wasn’t letting him.
3. Camel Smoking a Camel? It was really a stick, of course, but it really looked like he was having a smoke.
4. Amur Tiger Isn’t she beautiful?
5. Hyrax The sign said these are the closest relatives to elephants. Weird.
6. Angora Goats At least we got in a few fibery animals!
Every time I go to Hogle Zoo, I remember seeing Shasta, the liger (half lion, half tiger). She was born at the zoo in 1948, and died in 1972. But the zoo had her stuffed, and she was on display there for a while. It was actually kind of creepy, and I’m glad they finally took her away. Evidently she’s now at the Bean museum at BYU.
Oh, and I guess it’s WIP Wednesday, isn’t it. Well, nothing new to report there. A little work on Tubey, and a little work on the Alpine Lace shawl. I guess I need to decide on my next project!
I haven’t been to the zoo in years. It looks like a much improved place!
Nice pictures. We love going to the zoo.
Wow!! White Aligators, Ligers and Goats! Oh my! 😉 I wish we had a zoo near here.
Wow, you got some great pictures!
Ok, the blue-eyed alligator is kind of crazy! I had know idea tigers and lions interbred…
Hey, we went to the zoo yesterday, too! But in a different state. :o)
Dude, there’s nothing they won’t stick in the Bean Museum. I used to skip classes in high school and hide out there sometimes. Much weirdness.