Big cats at the zoo

Went to shoot the big cats at the zoo today. Got a few shot of the caracal, one nice photo of the lion and a lot of cheetah photos.

Caracals are said to be bird’s worst nightmare. They are so agile that their can take a dash, jump up in the air and grab the birds when they try to fly away. This is one of the pair living in the Toronto Zoo. It patrols its route meticulously. And at time stares down the noise Canada goose that’s making a lot of noise on the side. Lucky for the geese that the caracals can’t reach them.

Pair of lion is taking an afternoon nap on the nice and cool fall afternoon. Now you might think this is a pair of male and female lion. But this is not the case. They are both male, in fact brothers. Both are castrated but somehow one developed mane while the other one remained almost like a female lion.

So here’s the biggest loot of the day. Cheetah in the Toronto Zoo likes to reset far away from the viewing area, making them a difficult animal to get a good picture of. Recently, the Toronto Zoo got 2 new breeding pairs to continue their captive cheetah program. These new cheetahs appears to be less shy and stayed close enough to the viewing area for me to grab some photos. What’s also different is that finally these cheetahs looks like cheetahs. The old cheetah (Picture 1 and Picture 2) is a bit fat and I always thought they lost what makes them cheetahs already.

The four cheetahs now at the Toronto Zoo are breeding pairs. They are very affectionate of each other. Of course, they take their time to get their lover’s portrait shot.

Nice long slender legs. Now only if I can get a shot of them running around.