A Trip to The Indianapolis Zoo

My mom and I recently went on a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo. it was a very hot day, so a lot of the animals were hiding when we arrived. However, some of them - mainly the ones who were used to hotter conditions, like elephants or rhinos- were out and ready to pose for me. My mom and I decided to go to the Plains area first because I often get great photos of my favorite animals, including wolves and tigers, but not necessarily the elephants, giraffes, or birds at the zoo.

So we headed to the Plains area and first stopped at the elephant exhibit. The elephants moved their heads to the side so that I could get a few great shots of their eyes up-close. We then traversed to the giraffe exhibit, where I got a wonderful photo of the tall giraffe's spots as it trotted around its exhibit. I also focused on his (or her) face and profile and took as many photos as I could, hoping for at least one great one! From there we walked around the rest of the zoo. When we made our way to the Arctic fox exhibit, we discovered that she (or he) was hiding because it was too hot. That pretty much summed up this particular visit to the zoo! On a brighter note, we found that the flamingos were happy in the heat and I took a great photo of one of the bright pink birds soaking up the rays. This zoo visit shows that even on days when not a lot of animals are out, you can still enjoy yourself and maybe get a few good photos. Animals are very unpredictable, and sometimes you get great pictures and sometimes you won't, but you know that in the process you'll have loads of fun!

The Unappreciated Beauty of Wolves

Once again, I've returned to my happy place...otherwise known as Wolf Park! For my birthday my parents gifted me a photography session with Mr. Monty Sloan, the wolf photographer at Wolf Park. I was so excited to be back at Wolf Park! When my mom and I arrived I attached my telephoto lens to my camera and we walked in to meet Mr. Sloan and the adorable Wolf Park wolves. We went in and two wolves, Aspen and Mani, came right up to the fence. I immediately got down and started taking photos. I took the advice of Mr. Sloan and I zoomed out my lens and got as close to the fence as I could. Mr. Sloan was throwing treats up over the fence to the wolves and they were very excited as they ran after them. It started to rain, but my mother helped me throw on a rain cover on top of my camera as I continued to click the shutter button. Then, an amazing thing happened. Mani threw back his head and howled just for us. A moment later, his brother Aspen joined in. In the distance, we could hear the other wolves howling back. Wow - what a memorable moment!

We moved on to the other side of the pen where one of the other Wolf Park wolves, Khewa, emerged. Her light gray fur stood out perfectly against the dark green foliage. I watched as she snuggled Mani, and I was able to capture the sweet moment. After that, we headed to another pen, which held their older wolf, Timber. She posed for me, even though she's shy, and when Mr. Sloan howled, she howled right back. We left her exhibit and then went to the final enclosure which held the other two wolves, Niko, a big black wolf, and Sparrow, a sweet and light-colored wolf. Niko was right up-close to the fence, so the bars of the fence were more visible, but Sparrow was further back, and I got lots of great photos of her as she rested. The entire experience was amazing and exceeded my expectations. I am already looking forward to my next trip back to Wolf Park!

About Wolf Park:

Wolf Park is an amazing nonprofit organization just outside Lafayette, Indiana. Their mission is to teach the public about wolves, as well as providing a space for behavioral research and education. Teaching people about wolves is one of the best ways to help them. Wolf Park is doing a lot to help gray wolves, but what can you do? One of the things you can do is check out Wolf Park's page. There, they list many ways that you can help, from wherever you are! Check it out here- https://wolfpark.org/.

Another great page to check out is the Relist Wolves page. The Relist Wolves page explains how you can help gray wolves. The page includes information about wolves as well as common misconceptions about them, as well as a petition to sign and a prewritten letter to submit to your lawmakers. It also includes tips on writing your own letter for kids grades K-12. Please sign this petition, send the letter to your lawmakers, and simply learn about these misunderstood animals. By just learning and clicking a few buttons, you are greatly helping to save an important, essential, and loving animal. Here's the link- https://www.relistwolves.org/. Thank you so much for doing what you can to help save these amazing creatures!

Back to the Cincinnati Zoo!

I'm back at the Cincinnati Zoo for more fun and animals! My family and I recently went on a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo, one of our favorite zoos, for me to take photos of their gorgeous animals. When we arrived I attached my telephoto lens to my camera, and into the zoo we headed! The first animals we headed to were, of course, their Mexican wolves. I took an insane amount of photos of the wolves, who were resting and being cozy in their nice exhibit. After spending a considerable amount of time with the Mexican wolves, the next area that we headed was the Cat Canyon, where I photographed a gorgeous Sumatran tiger who was resting and looking right up at me. After watching the tiger, we headed through the rest of Cat Canyon and then headed to the Africa area, where a beautiful cheetah was pacing in her exhibit. I got a crystal-clear photo of her, where it shows her vivid and colorful eyes. I think the cheetah photo might have been my favorite from the day! We also saw a lion and a pack of painted dogs, a few of which I was able to capture yawning adorably! So cute!

It's important to note all of these animals are endangered. You may be thinking, my voice won't make a difference, I'm just one person! But the truth is, your voice matters. Every voice speaking up for these animals on the brink of extinction makes a difference, and every time you write a letter to your lawmakers, sign a petition to help endangered animals, or just recycle or turn the lights off when you leave a room, you cause a ripple. And when we each cause tiny ripples, it creates a big wave of change and can save animals from extinction. Your voice makes a difference, and together we can save endangered animals. Please do your part!