Journeys›Photograph

Sunny Weekend at the San Diego Zoo

·San Diego, California·#spring#San Diego#zoo#weekend#animals
A dark animal is partially hidden among dense foliage and tree branches with dark wrapped poles.

Down in San Diego for the weekend, and the zoo in Balboa Park took the whole sunny middle of it. The place turns a hundred this year — opened 1916 — and it wears its age well, mostly in how big the trees have gotten.

Started near the koalas, or tried to. Found one wedged in the crook of a branch, deep in the shade, and it did not move once. Better luck at the flamingo pond, where the flock was up and honking, and one bird stalked right along the low mesh at the front, close enough that I could see the bands on its legs. The Wildlife Alliance makes a point of letting them do their flock displays, and today they obliged.

Worked past a zebra standing alone on its rocks, then ended at the giraffes, which they house as a group here. One had its head buried in a thatched feeder basket on a pole; another walked straight over and looked down at us with the eucalyptus canopy behind it, chewing the whole time.

Thirteen pink flamingos stand near a green pond, enclosed by a fence, with trees in the background.Pink flamingos and a duck by a pond, surrounded by green foliage and tall trees under a blue sky.Several pink flamingos stand in and around a pond, with one large flamingo in the foreground behind a green mesh fence.A zebra stands on a rock formation behind a fence in a sunny outdoor enclosure with trees and a blue sky.A giraffe stands at a tall feeder, with smaller hoofed animals and trees under a clear blue sky.A giraffe looks towards the camera, with another giraffe, tall trees, blue sky, and a straw-covered structure.

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