So I finally returned to Lincoln Park Zoo on a mission to get what pics I could. ; It wasn't an ideal day, it was fairly cloudy and ISOs were high, plus I was surprised to find my 400mm lens was too long for a lot of the animals. ; I saw a lot of other photographers walking around with what looked like variants of the Canon 70-200 and should have taken the hint. I guess it's a credit to the zoo that they let you get that close, but I wasn't in the mood to be changing my lens all the time so I just stuck with 400mm and got what I could. ; So without further ado, let's get on with the image attaching. Here's what we've got. ; Starting off the process is a melanistic leopard. ; That's right, I said melanistic. ; It's a leopard, unfortunately I forgot the species. ; It is black through a mutation that effects the coat color, often if you look carefully you can see the original coloration through the otherwise black coat. ; Not a great shot, but I was pushing my hand holding speeds awfully far and was kinda shaky anyway. ; That was taken at 1/60th of a second at 400mm, and I took a bunch of shots to try to get at least a few that were usable. ; Yeah, the barrier comes through only too clearly, in this case they used thin vertical wires and the leopard was right next to them. ; But I've never gotten a picture of a cat like that before and I had to get it. Next up is the star of the trip as far as I'm concerned, a Pallas's Cat. ; I've been wanting to get a shot of one of these guys for a while now. ; It's a very cool looking wild cat with a very heavy coat of fur that gives it a fairly serious, rugged appearance. ; According to the info at the zoo they're fairly fierce and even the kittens growl before they can open their eyes. ; I think this one was showing a bit of 'tude as I photographed it. The Pallas's Cat has the unusual distinction of having what seems to be an Internet meme of it's own. ; Here, check this out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizzystewart/2808815696/# Next up, nested zebras. ; What can I say, I love zebra striping. ; It almost hurts my eyes to look at it, yet I find it sort of hypnotic. Followed up by a little roo aggression. ; Red Kangaroos, probably two males, engaging in a little combat. Finally, pull up a chair and spend a little time with Mr Andean Bear. ; A seemingly mellow sort, he posed for a while for me, almost challenging me to try to deal with the dynamic range issue between his darker fur and the light background.
It's nice to see that other Zoos have the Pallas Cat. ; I had posted a few photos of them at my local zoo on this thread titled "Dead Cats"... http://www.themagicinpixels.com/forum/index.php/topic,6212.0.html
Nice set Dan! ; I am really drawn to the zebras, maybe the contrast does it (or they are hypnotic?). Plus the kangaroos brawling is cool!
