The only wildlife I seem to photograph is captive, such as the butterflies I've posted. And now a lumbering brown bear, on display at a zoo a few miles south of Sitka, Alaska, named "The Fortress of the Bear." This young bear is one of two at the compound. They were orphaned after their mother had to be be destroyed. The crime the mom had committed was that she had made her way into the kitchen of a resort. Once a bear has tasted peanut butter and jelly, she is less inclined to eat berries and salmon. And before you know it, they'll be back in your kitchen. Here's another view. (click)
Animal
03-10-10 Got Your Goat
in Animal
Of all the things we saw during our trip to Sitka, Alaska, this celery-crunching goat is perhaps the most paradoxical "wild" animal. We had gone to a place to see brown bear that had been captured rather than be destroyed. (Their mother did have to be destroyed). Next to the bear compound was a kind of a children's zoo with all sorts of animals that don't necessarily symbolize rugged Alaska. But he's a photogenic goat, isn't he?
In his face and well-worn horns there is an interesting mix of curiosity and menace. Now that I think of it, as a classroom teacher for over thirty years, I've seen that same look in my students. Fortunately, students don't have horns.
02-25-10 Dark Beauty
I have been "dusting off" some old photos and this is one I took a few years ago at the Butterfly House in Sioux Falls, SD. I'm not sure you can see it here, but there is blue speckling this butterfly's wings which is anything but random. Part of the disguise? Part of the reproductive game? I don't know much about butterflies but the more I look, the more I marvel.
Here's another one from the same day.
Incidentally, did you know that if you click on the picture displayed when you first go to a page in my blog, you get a bigger view of the same photo? In fact, most of these photos are uploaded at a resolution of 1680x1050, which is pretty big. I hope you have a good connection?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
12-13-09 Can You Handle Cute?
in Animal
I took this photo over 30 years ago when I was in college living off campus in a little silver trailer that I rented for $40 a month. I had my books and I also had cats, including this little kitten, who seems to be looking at me curiously.
12-12-09 The Curious Cat
Can you handle the inquisitive, yet trusting look of a cat. This isn't just any cat - it's Brian's cat, Lucy. This isn't the only post about curiosity. Do you see any similarities in this photo (click)?
05-05-09 Polly & I
Forgive the self-portrait, but since I posted my cat Mac yesterday, I thought I owed it to my dog Polly's memory to post one of her.
This is the last photo taken of Polly. She had been struggling with bladder cancer and had already had 1/3 of her bladder removed when symptoms of her problem recurred. On the day we took her to the vet to have her put to sleep, she and I went out to my studio for one last official portrait. I set the camera up on a tripod and hooked up a self-timer and took four shots. This is my favorite.
People who see this picture comment on the adoring way she seems to be staring at me and the way her paw seems to be posed on my bare foot. The adoring look really comes from Polly's eagerness for another treat, which I am holding in my hand. And the paw just happened to rest on my foot - it wasn't posed there.
They say that we should try to be the kind of person our dogs think we are. Even though Polly has been gone for over five years, I still try to keep that saying in mind. Are we too crazy about our pets?