Po at Zoo Atlanta

The newest baby panda at Zoo Atlanta is named after the main character in the Kung Fu Panda 2 movie. The movie donated a large sum of money to get to name the baby after their star. I think it's marketing genius.  Po was born in early November and even though he's around 8 months old he still acts like a little baby. Hubby and I drove up to Atlanta to spend a long weekend with his family for the 4th of July. The first thing on my agenda was a quick trip to the zoo. I got lucky on Sunday morning. Po was up and playing around. I stood there for almost an hour watching him. The only downside of going in the middle of summer is that the pandas stay indoors most of the day due to the heat. They were in an air conditioned 65 degree room and we were standing outside in the heat watching. The glass kept fogging up. A volunteer there had a squidgy and was continuously wiping the windows down so that you could see inside. It was a challenge to get decent pictures behind that glass that was also casting awful shadows.

Before I left the zoo, I stopped by the gorilla habitat. The zoo in Tampa does not have gorillas and the Atlanta zoo has a pretty nice one. There were several juvenile gorillas playing around in the grass. Kids were going crazy watching them play.

Then I was off to find a cemetery.

Fall trip to Zoo Atlanta.

All of the trees at the zoo looked like the above.  Beautiful colors everywhere.

I saw this beehive high up in a tree.

The moon was still out right before lunch.

Meerkat poking his head out.

Baby giraffe at Zoo Atlanta. The keeper said it was almost 4 months old. It stayed in the back the entire time I was there so it was hard to get good shots.

Xi Lan is a new big brother this month.

The weather in Atlanta during our trip was just too nice to stay inside for even a second. I left everyone sleeping in one morning and headed out to the zoo just to get outside and walk around. The trees around the zoo were gorgeous. I think this is the first trip we've made to Atlanta since we left 8 years ago during the leaf changing season. I really wanted to see the pandas since we don't have them at the zoo in Tampa. My first lap around the zoo found Xi Lan sleeping. A quick second lap before I left found him eating. It wasn't until a couple of days later that they announced his mother, Lun Lun, had a baby. 

Skywatch Friday - Zoo Atlanta

New pine cones growing in the summer? No, it's not Tampa. I stopped by Zoo Atlanta for a quick visit while I was visiting my in-laws recently. Hey, anything to get out of the in-law house for an hour, right? The pine cones were bright green and looked pretty against the blue sky. They were in the asian section next to the panda house. The pandas were all sleeping while I was there so that was not fun. Below are some of the animals at the zoo. Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa does not have pandas, gorillas or lions so I was trying to get some pictures of those.

For more skyscape photography from around the world, visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/.

Atlanta Part 3 - Zoo's otters

On a recent trip to Atlanta, I stopped by the zoo. I happened to walk by the river otter exhibit when the otters woke up and started to play. Usually you pass by these guys and they are sleeping in a bundle. They were so cute. They had a big crowd watching and the kids were going crazy. Above are some of my favorite pictures.

Atlanta trip

Today I am on my way back home from Atlanta for a quick trip. Yesterday was such a beautiful day there I had to go to the zoo.

When I first arrived I noticed the baby flamingos. There were 7 babies. They were so cute in their grey fuzz. It's the first time I've seen kids get excited over flamingos.

Then I headed to the back of the zoo to see Xi Lan, the baby panda. She turns one this month but is still so funny rolling around and climbing the structure in the exhibit. A warning if you visit in the summer, the glass to see into the dayroom stays fogged up so it is hard to get good pictures. Because the dayroom the pandas are in stays around 60 degrees and the outside glass is so hot it stays fogged up.

The elephants there have an orange tint to them because of the good ole Georgia clay all over their enclosure. People always comment on their color.

Before I left I caught the lions running around for a few seconds before they plopped down for a nap. It's rare to see them playing, they usually sleep so much in the heat.