Out of Africa, Part 3 |
One of the highlights of any trip to Out of Africa is the "Tiger Splash". First a tiger is escorted through fully-enclosed paths (reconfigured by gates) to the arena which includes a tiger-size swimming pool. Since each day's action is enjoyed by a different tiger, the handlers have to be flexible with the routing. At one point in this one's journey, I was only a few feet away — he was not particularly concerned about me — but I could not help but think about escape routes, which in reality would have been useless if the fully-enclosed fence did not keep us apart.
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Once in the arena, this biggest of all cats (yes, tigers are bigger than lions) played like a little kitty cat — here rolling in the grass.
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He then took a stroll around the perimeter of the arena — perhaps thinking of his next meal. Funny, this little guy did not seem all that concerned.
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The biggest part of the Tiger Splash involves the handlers waving inflated plastic animals connected to rods in front of the tiger — again playing with this huge animal the way one plays with a house cat. Tigers enjoy water — so jumping for the balloon animal with a splashdown in the pool is total play fun for them.
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What is not fine with them is someone trying to take away their prize. Of course, the handlers cannot allow the tiger to consume the plastic remnants — so the handlers must distract the animal with a slab of meat — chicken or beef. Curiously, some of the tigers prefer one or the other — this one likes both.
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After Tiger Splash, I wondered the grounds and spotted a white tiger off in the distance. My 300 mm lens will bring them closer than it appears. I was probably 100 yards away but this guy spotted me and was watching me carefully.
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It was a warm day — the low nineties — which many of the big cats used as an excuse to catch a few winks — here a lioness resting in the shade.
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This young male lion, his mane not yet developed, was resting close to the fence of his enclosure.
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In another enclosure was a small pride overseen by a mature male. They preferred sleeping to posing nicely for me. Too bad, they could have become famous.
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In another enclosure was a female who looked like she was stalking an antelope.
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In fact, she was stalking this father and daughter — the latter would have made a nice snack — walking back and forth as they strolled around the enclosure. I thought that this photo was so cute that I gave the father my email address so he could contact me for a copy of the shot — which I sent to him a few days later.
To be continued... |
Life is good.