Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: arboreal

The last but one time that I visited the Calgary Zoo was on 6 October 2015. I used to go fairly often, but my usual parking lot and Zoo entrance then closed for the winter. Since then, road construction and bridge replacement have been going on, but have now been completed. The drive to the north entrance of the Zoo is definitely out of my driving comfort zone, so I had been waiting for this day for a long time. June 26th 2018 was THE day - for me and for half the people in the city!! It was packed! I had decided to go before schools close for the summer. However, I suspect some schools had end-of-term Zoo visits on this day. Also, when I checked the weather forecast, rain was in the forecast for the next six days, so I knew i needed to go straight away. My visit only covered about half the Zoo, as I usually spend a lot of time in the Conservatory, enjoying the plants and tropical butterflies. My daughter had taken a photo of a gigantic lily pad, Victoria Water Lily / Victoria amazonica, and I really wanted to see it. There were three or four of these in a tiny pool. I love the pattern on the underside of the upturned edge of each lily pad, I didn't see a huge variety of butterfly species that day, but there were enough to keep me happily clicking for a while. They vary from day to day, as new butterflies emerge from their chrysalises.. My intention had not been to visit the newly arrived Panda family, as I was sure there would be an extremely long line-up. However, I could see that there was no line-up at all and I was able to just walk in, which was great. How lucky we are to have these four amazing animals visit our Zoo. They were in an inside enclosure, full of plants - and Bamboo, of course. I'm not sure how many hours a day these animals sleep, but two of the three that could be seen slept for part of the time I was there. Had to smile at the very uncomfortable positions in which they slept. Part of the enclosure has glass, which made it almost impossible to get photos without the reflections of the crowds of people. The Bactrian Camel had recently given birth to a baby, named Gobi - such a cute little thing. No sign of the Red Pandas when I passed their enclosure. One of the birds I love to see - though these birds tend to hide! - is the amazing Himalayan Monal. The male, especially, takes my breath away each time I see it. A few hours well spent happily clicking. Hopefully, it won't be almost three years before my next visit, though the west entrance does close each winter. It felt so good to once again be back in a place full of colour and interest.

I have been taking so few photos recently, so am now having to dig into my archives most of the time. The few times I have been out, I have either seen nothing or nothing that I can photograph. Now, there are very urgent things that need to be done, and I must put them first. The Calgary Zoo has a male and a female Mongoose Lemur, though I don't know if they are actually a "pair". They are to be found in the Transalta Rainforest building. Usually when I see them, they are up in their tree, curled up into a tight ball of fur, but when I spent a few hours at the Zoo on 28 September 2014, this one did occasionally open its amazing eyes. The lighting is far from ideal in this large exhibit, and usually my photos tend to come out a little blurry, though this time, I did a little better. These animals are not in a cage, but in a large "room" that has a pond and is shared with a variety of tropical birds, big and small, all flying freely. Warning - they may be cute but they do bite! Their status is Critically Endangered" "The Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz) is a lemur ranging from 12 to 18 inches long plus a tail of 16 to 25 inches. The Mongoose Lemur lives in Madagascar dry deciduous forests within Madagascar as well as in Comoros forests on the islands of Comoros. The Mongoose Lemur mostly eats fruit, though flowers, leaves and nectar also make up part of its diet. It is unusual in that depending on the season it is either diurnal or nocturnal. The Mongoose Lemur is arboreal and lives in small family groups, usually consisting of a bonded pair and 1 to 4 children. These groups rarely encounter one another, but when they do, they are aggressive." From Wikipedia. "Mongoose lemurs have soft grey-brown fur with a pale grey muzzle and black nose. The males have reddish-brown cheeks and may have a bald patch on top of their heads, caused by rubbing when scent-marking their territories. Females by contrast, have whitish cheeks." From www.bristolzoo.org . en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoose_lemur

The Calgary Zoo has a male (seen in this photo) and a female Mongoose Lemur, though I don't know if they are actually a "pair". They are to be found in the Transalta Rainforest building. Usually when I see them, they are up in their tree, curled up into a tight ball of fur, but when I spent a few hours at the Zoo on 6 October 2014, this one did occasionally open his amazing eyes. The lighting is far from ideal in this large exhibit, and usually my photos tend to come out a little blurry, though this time, I did a little better. These animals are not in a cage, but in a large "room" that has a pond and is shared with a variety of tropical birds, big and small, all flying freely. Warning - they may be cute but they do bite! Their status: Critically Endangered" "The Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz) is a lemur ranging from 12 to 18 inches long plus a tail of 16 to 25 inches. The Mongoose Lemur lives in Madagascar dry deciduous forests within Madagascar as well as in Comoros forests on the islands of Comoros. The Mongoose Lemur mostly eats fruit, though flowers, leaves and nectar also make up part of its diet. It is unusual in that depending on the season it is either diurnal or nocturnal. The Mongoose Lemur is arboreal and lives in small family groups, usually consisting of a bonded pair and 1 to 4 children. These groups rarely encounter one another, but when they do, they are aggressive." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoose_lemur "Mongoose lemurs have soft grey-brown fur with a pale grey muzzle and black nose. The males have reddish-brown cheeks and may have a bald patch on top of their heads, caused by rubbing when scent-marking their territories. Females by contrast, have whitish cheeks." From the Bristol Zoo website. www.bristolzoo.org

The Calgary Zoo has a male (seen in this photo) and a female Mongoose Lemur, though I don't know if they are actually a "pair". They are to be found in the Transalta Rainforest building. Usually when I see them, they are up in their tree, curled up into a tight ball of fur, but when I spent a few hours at the Zoo on 6 October 2014, this one did occasionally open his amazing eyes. The lighting is far from ideal in this large exhibit, and usually my photos tend to come out a little blurry, though this time, I did a little better. These animals are not in a cage, but in a large "room" that has a pond and is shared with a variety of tropical birds, big and small, all flying freely. Warning - they may be cute but they do bite! Their status is Critically Endangered" "The Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz) is a lemur ranging from 12 to 18 inches long plus a tail of 16 to 25 inches. The Mongoose Lemur lives in Madagascar dry deciduous forests within Madagascar as well as in Comoros forests on the islands of Comoros. The Mongoose Lemur mostly eats fruit, though flowers, leaves and nectar also make up part of its diet. It is unusual in that depending on the season it is either diurnal or nocturnal. The Mongoose Lemur is arboreal and lives in small family groups, usually consisting of a bonded pair and 1 to 4 children. These groups rarely encounter one another, but when they do, they are aggressive." From Wikipedia. "Mongoose lemurs have soft grey-brown fur with a pale grey muzzle and black nose. The males have reddish-brown cheeks and may have a bald patch on top of their heads, caused by rubbing when scent-marking their territories. Females by contrast, have whitish cheeks." From www.bristolzoo.org . en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoose_lemur

Another photo of the female Spruce Grouse that I saw NW of Calgary on March 29th. This one let me get out of my car and walk very slowly till I was within maybe 10' or 12' of it. It gave me various "poses" and then it just calmly walked off into the trees. "The Spruce Grouse or Canada Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) is a medium-sized grouse closely associated with the coniferous boreal forests or taiga of North America. It is one of the most arboreal grouse, fairly well adapted to perching and moving about in trees. When approached by a predator, it relies on camouflage and immobility to an amazing degree, for example letting people come to within a few feet before finally taking flight, a behavior that has earned it the moniker "fool hen". Spruce Grouse are 38-43 cm long (15-17 inches); males weigh 550-650 g (19-23 ounces) and females 450-550 g (16-19 ounces). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spruce_Grouse

I lucked out yesterday when one of the Red Pandas actually kept still for a moment or two. It was up in its tree-house and lay there, watching me take a few photos. Taken at the Calgary Zoo on April 20th. I prefer the more natural looking shots, but with these guys, I'll take anything : ) "The red panda has given scientists taxonomic fits. It has been classified as a relative of the giant panda, and also of the raccoon, with which it shares a ringed tail. Currently, red pandas are considered members of their own unique family—the Ailuridae. Red pandas are endangered, victims of deforestation. Their natural space is shrinking as more and more forests are destroyed by logging and the spread of agriculture." From National Geographic. animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/red-panda/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda

To say that I lucked out with timing yesterday is an understatement! I was so very lucky to come across two of these beautiful Grouse on a snow embankment along the gravel road I drive on to see the owls. One of them was going into the trees, but this beautiful female stayed where she was and made a few different poses for me : ) This was the first time I'd ever seen a Spruce Grouse and, though a male would have been amazing, I'm very happy to have seen this female. Oh, and I saw my very first Mountain Bluebirds of the year yesterday, too! Always such a thrill to see the very first flash of brilliant blue after the winter months. And we saw about 30 very distant Swans on a slough, too - again, my first of the year. Too far to tell if Tundra or Trumpeter, but most likely to be Tundra. My drive yesterday was about 225 km, and I was exhausted by the time I got home. Just noticed some great news from the Calgary Zoo. "Between approximately 4:30am and 7:00am today three Amur tiger cubs were born to female Katja; father is Baikal. The birth of these tiny cubs, each weighing an estimated 750 grams is potentially great news for this highly-endangered species." High mortality rates are common in tiger births, so hopefully some or all of these new cubs will survive.

Not the most elegant photo of this Red Panda at the Calgary Zoo, but they have either been out of their enclosure or fast asleep, hidden inside their wooden tree houses the last two or three times I've been to the Zoo. Was lucky to see this little guy/gal taking a nap. "The Red Panda is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN red list (2009.01), and is listed in CITES appendix I. It has been previously classified in the families Procyonidae (raccoon) and Ursidae (bears), but recent research has placed it in its own family Ailuridae, in superfamily Musteloidea along with Mustelidae, Procyonidae, and Mephitidae.[5] Two subspecies are recognized." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Panda

Two of the Red Pandas at the Calgary Zoo were asleep in the snow on my last but one visit about a month ago. This little guy, curled up on top of one of the tree houses, opened his eyes for a quick second and then was back in zzzzz... land. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Panda

Yesterday afternoon, I called in again to see the two Koala Bears that recently arrived at the Calgary Zoo. Both animals are usually sitting in "trees" right at the back of the enclosures, fast asleep with their backs towards the visitors - of course, ha, ha. However, I was lucky that one of them (4 years old) was closer and partly facing outwards. Still fast asleep though : ) The two male Koalas - Mundooie and Budaru - will stay at the Zoo's Australia exhibit until just after the Labour Day weekend. The pair are on loan from the San Diego Zoo, which has more than 20 Koalas. Koalas sleep for 18-20 hours a day, basically waking only to feed : ) As Koalas are solitary animals, each has his own separate enclosure. Under the Koala loan program, our Zoo pays a monthly fee to the San Diego Zoo, which it sends on to a conservation organization in Australia. Sounds good to me. (Uncropped). www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/iphone/news/calgary/story.h...