I have never visited Taronga Zoo in Sydney. I am in two minds about the animals. In previous zoos I looked at them in the small enclosures, lying around or pacing to and fro and felt sorry for them. But the practical side of me can appreciate that without zoos and the care they take of the wild animals, more species would become extinct. Many are already on the brink of extinction. With WordPress I follow Sue of “A word in your ear” and take a virtual journey with her as she travels through Africa. Her photos are stunning, she captures the spirit of Africa. I recommend you take a look at her post.
I will never get to see these animals in their natural surroundings and the photographer in me relishes the thought of all the photo opportunities these captive animals present.
The zoo is set in beautiful surroundings on the harbour and a short ferry ride takes us there. The day is perfect, blue sky and a slight breeze and I’m enjoying taking photo after photo then, oh dear, about 20 shots and the battery goes flat on my camera…
So Jack and I share his camera, a bit frustrating, but time to study the animals as I wait my turn. Between us we take almost 300 photos. This selection is a mixture of the photos we both took. I hope you enjoy them…
Mother and child (PC)
Good friends (PC)
Relaxing (PC)
Feeding time (PC)
Well camouflaged.
As I took this photo of the Sumatran tiger my batteries ran out
Having a good scratch (JC)
This tastes good (JC)
Deer again notice how it blends in with the shadows
Mountain goat
How many can you see? I count 5…..
Then we came to the lions den. How majestic they look.
Red Panda
The brolga strides by
The stunning snow leopard
gypsy life 
Great pics, Pommepal. Love the little red panda bear, 🙂
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Thanks Ad, I loved watching dainty way that red panda picked up his food and then nibbled at it.
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AWESOME photos! Thanks for the tour!
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I’m pleased you could come with me.
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Your pictures are wonderful. I love the monkeys/gorilla. We were to the Cleveland Zoo recently and could really only view the animals from a distance. We had a wonderful day, but your day was so much better!
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Thanks Maddie, it is a well organized viewing experience as they have glass (strong I hope… ) windows to look through and the animals come up close and personal, I guess they are as interested in us as we are in them lol
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I also have very mixed feelings about zoos. But I have visited several including Taronga – it is in the most amazing location. My memory though is of koalas!! Some zoos are good, some leave me feeling frustrated. I much prefer wildlife parks where the larger animals in particular have more space.
BTW PP if you like Africa you might like to read my trip there in 2000, a bit tongue-in-cheek but it was a marvellous journey of discovery – both scenery and wildlife. http://smallbluegreenwords.wordpress.com/
Jude xx
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Yes I think the wildlife parks are much better for the animals. We didn’t get to the Australian section of the zoo as we have seen plenty of Aussie animals in the wild and wanted to concentrate on the exotic animals.
Thank you for the link I’m looking forward to going on an African safari with you Jude.
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I think someone has a bright future as a wildlife photographer!!!
I’m totally on board with what you said about zoos. Taronga, though, is such a beautiful place. It’s so well-designed that it seems like the animals are in their native habitats.
It looks you guys are having a blast in Sydney … then again, how could you not? It’s Sydney!!!
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Thanks for the lovely compliment Stephen. Every where in Sydney is soooo photogenic and the light is superb.
A week is hardly time to scratch the surface and each time we go we find new things to see and do. I know you love the place too
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Beautiful photographs there, but that last picture of the Snow Leopard is magical.
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That is my favourite too
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Fabulous photos, we visited the Sydney Zoo in May, a stand out for me was the Eagle show. Rae xxx
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Yes that show was great and what a backdrop of the harbour and Sydney to look at as you sat there admiring the birds
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What wonderful photos. You must have had a long distance lens to be able to get the shot of the mouth? My family lived in Mosman and we spent much of the school holidays there living just around the corner from Taronga Zoo. It has changed massively since I first remember it to the last time I went which was probably in the 90s. It has probably improved even further. You’re right about saving the animals – I think we need zoos for this to happen. Have you been to Australia Zoo?
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My camera, that’s batteries died, has the long zoom, but most of the animals come quite close to the front of the enclosures so did not need the long lens, just patience to wait for them to come closer.
No I haven’t been to Australia Zoo yet. Have you?
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Yes. I thought it was absolutely fantastic. I might do a post on it. The animal enclosures were huge and some animals had different enclosures for show and night/days off. I felt there was a lot of love there which the animals responded to.
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That sounds really worth a visit, it is not far from home so I will make it an outing before we go away again. I will watch for your post… 🙂
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