The AZA ROCKS

The Only Big Cat That Likes Water

Thursday we walked through the zoo, which is just past the park we usually walk around. We have a membership and decided it's an easy way to stretch our exercise time to just sail through the gates and circle around whatever interests us. It's a big motivator when the scenery offers elephants, flamingos, bears, seals, raptors and lions.

It had been sprinkling and overcast, so the place was blissfully quiet and cool, unpopulated save for a few families, and thus free of the attendant chaos. The live oak trees --common to this area --with their incredibly long, low reaching limbs with fresh, shiny new leaves of spring fully unfurled on every branch created a protective canopy over our heads. We kept up our pace past twin cheetah kittens and the giraffes. But we were stopped dead in our tracks by the sight of one of the two brother tigers swimming his little lake.


Seems no matter what time of day we visit, usually the big cats are all sleeping. But there was the gorgeous, regal head of this creature, with it's bright orange fur slashed by jet black stripes, gliding smoothly though the darkened water.

His eyes were bright and blue. His thick paws were visible, paddling rhythmically, pushing him along on a diagonal and very deliberate path from one end to the other. He then climbed out, slinked across the grass past rocks and around trees to return to his starting point. Again he'd climb right in, and all but his paws would disappear as his body sank into the depths. His shoulder muscles were further defined with every stroke. Amid all this majesty, something cute: his tongue stuck out as he did it.

(click picture to enlarge)

We positioned ourselves (where I took the pic above) right in his sight lines. Here he swam VERY close to us. On one pass he made direct, proplonged eye contact. It was nothing short of chilling! This ain't no kitty, but a beautiful beast with quite humbling power -- a killing machine -- and there was only a short flimsy fence and an electrical deterrent between us.

The Big King

As I have mentioned before, Jonathan, the majestic and regal African Lion at the Zoo is my self-proclaimed boyfriend.... that is, when I am not crushing on Kiva, the 18-ft tall Masai giraffe. But this is all about Jonathan.

Jonathan.....

Look at that face.

*sigh*

I wasn't kidding about him.

You can see it can't you?

They All Sleep This Way: Jonathan the Lion

We all know cats sleep a lot, and are nocturnal. Big cats are no different. Some of our lions sleep up to 20 hours a day. So I have seen our magestic, gorgeous male lion Jonathan dozing or outright snoring a LOT. However, he sleeps in a really comedic way.

At least in this picture he had the manners to have his head facing the window!

Another Good Day

I stopped by The Center Wednesday in the middle of the day... now that I am working full time, and was packing/moving/unpacking in every spare second for the last 8 weeks, AND have had the absolute worst seasonal allergies ever for months, I have not been able to physically volunteer there. I have been doing other things for them and I do miss being hands on.

But I found a juvenile blue jay floundering in the middle of the road with two cars speeding toward it from opposite directions. I thought someone had hit it or it'd fallen out of a nest or had crashed trying to learn to fly. I leapt out of my car, stopped the traffic, grabbed some cloth from the backseat, slowly approached the bird, and it allowed me to pick it up ever so gently.

The mother was doing all kinds of kaw-ing and fluttering from branch to branch overhead. I did follow her onto someone's lawn and held the baby up to the mother, who definitely turned her head so that one eye could fix on the fledgling. I was hoping the bird would just fly up to mom, after being stunned in the street. It's mouth was wide open, and while there was no blood, it's right foot was crunched up beneath her and her right wing was askew. There was no flying to mom, and mom eventually flew further away, though still sounding distressed. I was thinking, broken wing, and was hoping it didn't mean internal injuries instead. So I put it in my carrier and called work.


My fabulous boss suggested I indeed go ahead and take it to the Center, which fortunately was only about 12 minutes drive (with me speeding a little, of course). I noticed that the bird seemed quite calm, and had shut it's mouth, and was not seeming stressed. That was good. When I dropped the bird off, no sooner was it put on triage row that it suddenly came to life. Both feet and wings seemed to work okay! And it was tapping it's beak against the glass, like let me out. I asked, "Do I take it back then, and set it free?" The answer was no. There could be injuries, it could have been a stroke... better to be there where it could be observed and treated if so, and well fed and protected from predators, leading to being set free in a few weeks anyway. Win/win.

So I went to leave, and one of the volunteers happened to walk by holding this:

A most beautiful bobcat. Look at that foot! I'd never seen a bob cat before, and here this little one was, as sweet and docile as any house kitten. I asked if she snapped or bit or clawed and the answer was no... but we all know someday soon, that will be her nature. In the mean time I did have to reach out to touch it's furry head and take hold of one paw, just because...

I'd read on their website about this one who was brought in by a hiker who said it had followed her around the woods for over an hour, no mom in sight. I thought, darn, I will not be able to see something so extraordinary, because I'm not able to be there as much right now. And lo and behold, I got this little blessing.

Add that to the fact that the blue jay did not meet her end on the hot concrete and has another chance to grow up and live and fly, and it was a damn good day.

On the Topic of Spots

Here's a little clip of the 14 month old cheetah brothers, who were particularly active the other morning. It was quite chilly in Houston and I think it perked them up.  Normally, I catch them napping more often than not, but not this time. 

Can you tell they are the fastest cat by the little sprint the brother makes at the end?  That's nothing. They get up to speeds of 65mph.  But while that may enable them to catch their prey, they often are so pooped after such exertion that often they have no energy left to fight off hyena or other meal thieves!

Since we were looking at the differences in spots on the previous post, I thought I'd upload this so you can see that the Cheetah's spots are just solid black. These guys still have adolescent fur sticking up. I think their keeper told me they will not be so bushy looking but will develop sleeker coats as they mature.

Beautiful faces, eh?

You CAN Tell a Cat by It's Spots!

You might look at this gorgeous guy, see his spots and think "leopard", but indeed, this is a jaguar.

So how can you tell the difference?  While both are from Africa, the leopard is from the plains and the jaguar is native to the South. The jaguar has shorter, thicker legs than a leopard, but for me it's all in the spots. Jags have a kind of rosette pattern to their spots, which you can see clearly on the photo above (it's a little cloudy as I was shooting through thick pelxi-glass). There are black "petals" around a tan colored spot and inside also are black spots, like the center of a flower. If you look below, you'll see that leopards fur just has black circles with varying colors of tan fur filling the center. Both are striking, aren't they?

Photo credit for leopard print above by jeniflower from virtualtourist.com

This little-of-the-big cat below is an Ocelot. At just about twice as large of a domestic house cat it's easy to forget you can't just cuddle her. She's wild as can be and can still give you a good swat or bite. But she has leopard-like spots. Notice that they are elongated along her trunk though, and a leopards' would not be.


This handsome fellow here is indeed a leopard, but not the kind we were thinking about. he's a clouded leopard, and they are gorgeous. You can see from it's wide, diffused, cloud-shaped spots where they got the name.

Purrrrdy kitty.

Cat Nap

Before being able to work with animals was ever a possibility in my consciousness, let alone getting close to the big cats, I went to New Zealand on my honeymoon and saw a billboard in the middle of nowhere that read: PET A LION CUB. There was a picture of it's irresistable, furry face and a big arrow pointing down the deserted highway. I had to restrain myself from bouncing up and down in my seat and pointing as if I were two years old again. Instead I managed to say "Let's go" in my adult voice to my husband. And we did.

We found a small private zoo of sorts, very green and tropical, with short paths to a few exhibits. We made a beeline to the cat cages and there we found not one but a pair of sleepy kitties. Lots of folks came up being loud and taking pictures, who had no more interest than to see them and leave. We hung around so long, chatting with the keeper about their care and purring to the babies, that she let us touch them on their faces instead of just on their paws. Guess she knew true animal lovers when she saw them.

I just loved the way these big kitty feet were pushing against the fence while he snoozed.

As usual, you can click on any photo and it will enlarge. The first one is worth seeing the cat's face better!

The Other Man

I said in a post you can find here that I had a wicked lovefest going on with a male lion before I fell for my big, hunky giraffe guy.  I figured you'd like to see him, now that you've seen the G.  It certainly will convince you, if you ever had any doubt, of my very, very good taste.  I mean, look at that face!  And that three toned mane -- reddish blonde that turns first to chestnut, then into dark, mahogany brown. He's the only lion I've seen whose mane continues all the way down his chest and abdomen... it's a testosterone trifecta.  

He's ALL Man-Cat.  Look and weep gals and guys. You either want him or want to be him.

First Day as a Keeper AId

The first thing I did this morning out in the zoo was to tag along while the carnivore keepers took the cheetah cubs for a walk. Apparently they do this most every morning before opening, for enrichment. My question is who gets more enriched -- the animals or their humans?!?!

I can't tell you how exciting it is to see these tall cats, sleek and gorgeous, saunter out on a leash, completely calm and comfortable among us. Watching one climb up and perch on a picnic bench and get his ears scratched by his keeper was nothing short of intoxicating (This is the only big cat that purrs and they do it for the same reasons domestic cats do. And it is LOUD!). Every cell in my being was drawn to reach out too, yet the rule for anyone but their handlers is to stay at least two leash length's away.

They're great ambassadors for their species. Cheetahs are perhaps so well suited because they're non-confrontational and I'm told they don't prey upon anything bigger than them. But it's a testament to their trainers that they can walk around the public safely --albeit carefully. They stick close to the animal, one on each side escorting them to a spot where people can see, and other staff is never far. Sigfried and Roy would tell you their tigers can be tamed, and folks who raise Grizzly's may too. But everyone agrees it's imperative to remain acutely aware of their wild nature while enjoying the miracle of getting close.

The path they took went right past the giraffes who live next door. Surely with their height they've had no problem watching the cheetahs day in and day out. But as we walked past, all five of these gentle giants focused on the cats, their curious faces on those towering necks peering intently at them and us. I've never seen all five of them walk together, all at once like a herd (and so quickly) to follow us, legs akimbo, batting their ultra-long eyelashes. Since their fencing is almost invisible, it gives the illusion that they are free and just happened to walk up. It's just too surreal for me to accurately describe. Fortunately I took a snap to capture what I could.

This is a terrible shot because they were backlit by the rising sun but it's better than nothing. I just knew it was one of those images I'd never forget in all my life yet would never be able to describe how it felt to have the rapt, active attention of these 5 amazing beings. Look closely til you make out all their heads. From left to right you have the male (he's tallest, natch, and I have a total crush on him), one female, two babies and another female.

After the walk, one of the cats just wasn't ready

to go back into his habitat. He hesitated at the

gate several times, but proceeded obediently. Once inside though, he decided to clunk his long

limbs down, buying himself a few minutes more.

The second thing I did on my first day as a keeper aid was shovel bear poop.... ah, but that's a story for tomorrow.

The Only Big Cat That Likes Water

Thursday I walked through the zoo, which is just past the park we usually walk around. I have a membership and decided it's an easy way to stretch our exercise time to just sail through the gates and circle around whatever interests me. It's a big motivator when the scenery offers elephants, flamingos, bears, seals, raptors and lions.















It had been sprinkling and overcast, so the place was blissfully quiet and cool, unpopulated save for a few families, and thus free of the attendant chaos. The live oak trees --common to this area --with their incredibly long, low reaching limbs with fresh, shiny new leaves of spring fully unfurled on every branch created a protective canopy over my head. I  kept up my pace past twin cheetah kittens and the giraffes. But I was stopped dead in my tracks by the sight of one of the two brother Malaysian tigers swimming his little lake.


Seems no matter what time of day I visit, the big cats are all sleeping. But there was the gorgeous, regal head of this creature, with it's bright orange fur slashed by jet black stripes, gliding smoothly though the darkened water.

His eyes were bright and blue. His thick paws were visible, paddling rhythmically, pushing him along on a diagonal and very deliberate path from one end to the other. He then climbed out, slinked across the grass past rocks and around trees to return to his starting point. Again he'd climb right in, and all but his paws would disappear as his body sank into the depths. His shoulder muscles were further defined with every stroke. Amid all this majesty, something cute: his tongue stuck out as he did it.

(click picture to enlarge)

I positioned myself (where I took the pic above) right in his sight lines. Here he swam VERY close to me. On one pass he made direct, proplonged eye contact. It was nothing short of chilling! This ain't no kitty, but a beautiful beast with quite humbling power -- a killing machine -- and there was only a short flimsy fence and an electrical deterrent between us.