Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: mane

A couple of days ago, on 3 November 2014, my daughter and I spent a few hours at the Calgary Zoo. I rarely visit the Lion enclosure, but I’m glad we went on Monday, as the lions were reasonably active – at least the males were, while the females looked on. African lions live on the plains and savannahs of East, Central and Southern Africa. The Calgary Zoo has four of these animals – 2 males who are brothers and 2 females. The two male lions were born at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. on September 22, 2010 ((corrected from 2012) and arrived at the Calgary Zoo late July 2012 . "They are of the lion subspecies krugeri (Panthera leo krugeri) and since their parents are directly from South Africa they are considered founders in the Species Survival Program and North American population. The two females are about 18 years of age, so there are no plans to breed them with the immature males. However, it is expected that the Species Survival Plan will eventually see breeding-age female lions transferred to Calgary to be paired with the male lions.” Their Conservation Status: Vulnerable. “Lions are the only cats that live in groups, which are called prides. Prides are family units that may include up to three males, a dozen or so females, and their young. All of a pride’s lionesses are related, and female cubs typically stay with the group as they age. Young males eventually leave and establish their own prides by taking over a group headed by another male. Only male lions boast manes, the impressive fringe of long hair that encircles their heads. Males defend the pride's territory, which may include some 100 square miles (259 square kilometers) of grasslands, scrub, or open woodlands. These intimidating animals mark the area with urine, roar menacingly to warn intruders, and chase off animals that encroach on their turf.” From National Geographic. www.nationalgeographic.com/prototype/topics/african-lion/...

When I spent the day driving the backroads SE of the city with my youngest daughter, on 14 April 2014, we photographed this and a few other rather distant beautiful horses. They were in the field across the road from Superman's farm (from the 1978 movie "Superman: The Movie"). Does anyone know what breed of horse this is?

This was one of a group of four horses I passed yesterday, when I drove NW of the city in the hopes of finding a Great Gray Owl. For some reason, when I go looking for these Owls, I come home with photos of horses. I suspect that I'm getting out there too late in the day and the owls have tucked themselves in amongst the trees for an afternoon nap. I don't know if these are old horses or not particularly healthy horses, but they just seemed "different". There is a greyish white one that never looks that well whenever I see it - just looks depressed. I know nothing about horses, so maybe these four animals are simply "being horses". I had hoped that some time away from my computer might help my extremely painful arms (from too much mouse-clicking), but I suspect that gripping the steering wheel for about three hours of driving in windy conditions wasn't the best thing. I need to go and look at window blinds as soon as possible. I've no idea how far round my complex the window people have got, but it can't be too much longer before they come to remove all my windows and patio door. To say that I am not looking forward to this being done is to put it mildly : ) I can't reach the blinds to remove them and I certainly can't reinstall them, so will have to buy new ones that can be installed by the store. At the moment, sometimes I can barely lift my little point-and-shoot up to my eyes, so all the moving of furniture, ornaments, wall pictures, etc. in preparation for the window replacement has come at a bad time, ha. Will be SO glad when all this has been done!

Taken through dirty glass on a VERY busy day at the Zoo! "The lion (Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four big cats in the genus Panthera. With exceptionally large males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with a critically endangered remnant population in northwest India, having disappeared from North Africa, the Middle East, and western Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene (about 10,000 years ago), the lion was the most widespread large land mammal beside humans. They were found in most of Africa, much of Eurasia from western Europe to India, and the Bering land bridge and, in the Americas, from the Yukon to Peru. Lions live for approximately 10–14 years in the wild, while in captivity they can live over 20 years. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. While lions, in general, do not selectively hunt humans, some have been known to become man-eaters and seek human prey. The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of 30 to 50% over the past two decades in its African range; populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not well-understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Lions have been kept in menageries since Roman times and have been a key species sought after and exhibited in zoos the world over since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic subspecies." From Wikipedia.