Wattled Crane

This Wattled Crane from Africa was photographed at the Lowry Park Zoo. I love their bright red faces. This is a huge crane, standing up to 6 ft tall. This is the second largest crane in the species, second only to the Sarus Crane.

Settings used making this photo are 1/3200 at F7.1 in Aperture Priority mode with partial metering on the bird's face at ISO 400 with 235mm focal length with my 55-250mm lens.

White Tiger with Cubs

Today my friends and I went to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, FL. We've been watching these little cubs grow up ever since they were born. They are male and female twins.

The mother tiger is extremely gentle with her young and a great mom. If they start to get out of hand, she's not afraid to give them a little, loving whack now and then.

We watched them frolic around for about 40 minutes this morning. They have so much fun together. Mom is always very close by to keep an eye on them.

It's really fun to watch them practicing they're skills for survival. We watched as they stalked their mother, then pounced on her, then they would stalk each other. What adorable little creatures.