This has turned out to be one of my favourite sets of Zuri and Safi photos
for a very long time! Thanks to the lovely weather today I spent a fair
time on my lunch and brought my camera with me.
Zuri and Saf spent most of the morning on top of their hill right in the way of the sun, both sat seperately and not together but still perfectly happy that way! After a few minutes I managed to persuade Safi to come over to say hello and as you can see this meant I was able to get some fab photos of her on her down to see me, my favourite is just as she approaches down and touches the grass with her eyes looking right at the camera! Isn't she great?! Safi came over to say hello and after a few rubs on the fence she settled down on the grass and after a few rolls and a lie down she settled for a sit down. Zuri then came down to say hello to Safi and they shared a few lion kisses and hugs, this was a fantastic photo opportunity as they were far enough away for the camera to focus completely on them, and the contrast of the green grass with no fence in the background was an added bonus in getting superb photos. After a few minutes Zuri went back up to his hill as he was before.
Safina however decided that she had had enough of sitting around doing nothing, and began to chase some of her bowling balls around. She managed to make it roll from the top of the hill and proceeded to chase it down round the fence line. This is really where you can gauge their strength as they can simply send these bowling balls flying with just one tap, it is fantastic to watch and no different to any domestic cat playing with a toy, just slightly more impressive!
With the zoo open fully now, seeing these animals in perfect weather is great for the visitors, and the very few number of people in the zoo today where able to witness Zuri & Safi have a great day in the sun. Nearly every visitor who has anything to say about the lions, always comment on how great Zuri looks on top of his hill. He adores that spot, he can see all over the zoo and like all cats lions love a vantage spot, and from his hill he can see many of the zoos animals, just like he would see animals on the plains like his wild cousins would.
Below are some of my favourite photos from today. Zuri came over to say hello and a quick greet to Safi, and as far as Zuri standards go he was remarkably subtle and very docile, all he wanted was a friendly hello! For those of you who may have gathered Zuri has definately got that male lion characteristic of wanting to pass on his genes anyway possible, and generally tries it on at every opportunity, but it was nice to see him not being a pain to Safina today and letting her enjoy her time in the sun and only coming down for a bit of company before retreating back up to his favourite spot.
Enjoy!
Having finished early I decided to go and see Zuri and Safi again after I had finished. Both of them were a lot more energetic after their doze in the sun and were busy patrolling around their enclosure waiting for someone to appear. And this person turned out to be me! Zuri definately seemed to be waiting for something, so it would not surprise me if they were fed later on this evening after I left. This is a huge highlight of working in a zoo, and seeing animals after visiting hours is i'm sure a dream to many of you reading this blog! The animals certainly come out more at night, and the lions are possibly the most easily noticeable to this statement. They are also more vocal in the evenings too, and they do roar to eachother frequently. Linton Zoo is unique its position of holding two pairs of lions in completely seperate accomodation. Both pairs are aware of eachothers presence but are unable to see eachother. So as lions would in the wild, male lions along with their pride females roar to proclaim this land their territory, to make sure that other male lions know that they are here and that this is their patch. However Zuri does not always give the last roar, and it is always Riziki who wins these battles. He is king of the zoo for sure!
This is one of my favourite photos of Zuri. He was stood up and suprisingly tall for his height. The way he was stood really allowed me to see how long and thick his mane is along his front and the way that his lighter streak continues down the center. Something had obviously caught his attention (I think the tigers across the path were just being fed, naturally food caught his eye!) He really is absolutely superb and a right old character, I do have a real soft spot for this guy, having known him since he was six weeks old. He really is one special lion, and it great to have the privilege to see him every working day.
I hope you have all enjoyed reading this post as much as I have enjoyed taking these photos today! Many more will be on the way shortly i'm sure.
Cheers
James
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