“Kitties”

“Kitty” I heard some children scream (in delighted tone of voice) when they saw these furry animals sneaking around in the high grass, and balancing skilfully on narrow branches high up in the trees, wagging their long furry tails…

The red panda (Ailurus fulgens), also called red cat-bear, is a small tree-living mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China that has been classified as vulnerable by IUCN.

The red panda is slightly larger than a domestic cat. It has reddish-brown fur, a long, shaggy tail, and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs.

In its original surroundings it feeds mainly on bamboo, but is omnivorous and also eats eggs, birds, insects, and small mammals. It is a solitary animal, mainly active from dusk to dawn, and is largely sedentary during the day. [Wikipedia]

The red pandas did not seem at all sleepy but rather out on their morning run when I happened to be passing by their enclosure at the zoo, though.

… finishing off the walk with breakfast …

 

Here are two other kind of “kitties” (not so little):

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large feline  inhabiting most of Africa and parts of Iran. The cheetah can run faster than any other land animal— as fast as 112 to 120 km/h (70 to 75 mph) in short bursts, and has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in three seconds.

The cheetah is listed as vulnerable, facing various threats including competition with other carnivores, a gene pool with very low variability, and persecution by mankind. [Wikipedia]

Cheetahs are notoriously poor breeders in captivity, but at our zoo they have been successful. A couple of years ago, one female had a litter of seven and another a litter of five. Those kitties (cubs) are now grown up and have been exported to other zoos (alas it’s not a good idea to let them all stay on in the same one…)

There are also Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) in the zoo. They come from a mountain region in the Russian Far East and are listed as an endangered species. They have had cubs in our zoo too.

King & Queen of the Forest

Alces alces, the Eurasian elk (or moose in North America) is the largest living species in the deer family. Here in Sweden it is often called the King of the Forest.

The number of elks/moose was in decline in Sweden back in the 1800s; but has since increased again, and it is not an endangered species here now. It is estimated that there are about 400 000 of them in our forests in the summertime; of which about 25% are shot each autumn in the annual elk-hunt in September-October. (The exact time period for the hunt and the number of animals to be killed is regulated separately for each district.)

There are quite a few traffic accidents each year caused
by collisions between cars and elks crossing the road.

For some people the elk-hunt is a very important annual event. I can’t recall any hunters among my family or close friends; but whenever the topic comes up, my thoughts always go to a workmate at one of my early jobs (where I was a secretary, and he was one of the engineers), who always used to take a week off this time of year for the hunt.

The ones in the pictures above will be safe from the hunt though, as they live in the zoo!

Bear With Me

The Brown Bear is the hugest predatory animal in Scandinavia. An adult male can weigh 150-300 kilos, the females 100-200. A few years ago at our zoo the bears were allotted a considerably larger area there than they had before. In fact they have so much space now where they can hide (if they want to), that sometimes when you visit, you don’t see any! That was the case last time I visited the zoo, a couple of years ago. Then I could just barely spot a bit of brown fur behind a rock, and got no pictures. I was beginning to think I would have no more luck this time, because when I first walked around Bearland (above), I did not see any sign of activity there at all.

However, after I’d had my lunch (at a restaurant situated between Bearland and Wolfland) I had better luck. Now the bears were not only up and about on land; the young ones were well in the mood to go swimming and put on a wrestling show for tourists too.

- I challenge you…

- Okay, here we go. Let’s make that bridge shake…

- Yes, using teeth is allowed!

- Now who is stronger…

- You know I love you really, don’t you?

- Enough is enough. Time to get up…

Shakin’ it off…

- I’ll tell you a good trick you can use next time…

- Phew, now I really just want a good rest in the sun…

*59*

On Friday morning I woke up and found myself to be 59 years old, and the sun unexpectedly shining from a clear blue sky (in spite of rain being forecasted for the weekend). I had not made any special birthday plans whatsoever, having been busy with other things earlier in the week (mostly to do with our house finally now being offcially put up for sale – with the internet ad being published on Friday too) – and not expecting the weather to be fine either.

And as I had not invited anyone, and no one had called in advance to ask if I’d be at home, I wasn’t expecting anyone. Two birthday cards had arrived in advance by mail though, which I opened at breakfast:

I’m not sure how much impact it had on my train of thought, that both cards had animal pictures on them…

… But anyway, I suddenly decided that it would be a good day for the camera and me to visit the Zoo.

So we did. And it was (a good day).

Now if you will just bear with me…

… until I get the rest of my birthday photos sorted …

 

 

Weekend Reflections: Wolf

Hmm… Nice-looking reflection… Not sure I really need a bath?

Well go on then, maybe just a quickie!

That’s enough!

Borås Zoo, 29th August 2014.
(More pictures of other animals will follow…)