Zuri - 18th July 2013

 Now that the Summer has properly arrived it means that the zoo is now getting busier and busier, which is great not only for the zoo, but for myself as a keeper I love seeing the zoo being appreciated and the animals love all the attention too.

Zuri is looking absolutely stunning in this weather and his and Safi's enclosure is looking fantastic. Zuri turned seven on the 3rd July so he is now a middle aged grown up proper lion. So when I remembered my camera I was delighted to see Zuri posing away when I went to see him on one of my daily evening visits last week. All of these photos were taken on the 18th July. Whilst Zuri was in the outdoor enclosure Safina was spending the evening in the house, it is lovely and cool in there with all the tiled walls!

Zuri needs no more introduction really, and I hope you all love these photos of him. He really is a stunner isn't he?!

Enjoy!

Now that the Summer Holidays have approached us it is now the busiest time of the year for us. So at Linton Zoo we are providing some extra activities.

The lion talk given by myself (always check with me on here or ring the zoo up if you want to hear it especially) will be on most days over the Summer.

We also have two special late night opening events. The first event on the 27th July will involve our reptiles, comprising of VIP Tortoise Tours and snake feeding. It will also involve a special animal encounters session were everyone will be able to meet some of our reptiles who are not always on show to the public, they are always very popular especially with the kids.

The Lion Evening on the 10th August (World Lion Day!) Will not only celebrate the special day but also celebrate Riziki and Karla's tenth birthday. The evening will comprise of special talks given by myself as well as lion feeding and other events. I'm sure that this will be a very popular as our lion feeding are always when the zoo is closed, it will be interesting for everyone to see.

Both events will just comprise of normal admission fee with no extra charge for the feeds and the talks, so why not make your money worthwhile and get at 10 when the zoo opens and leave at 7:30 when we close!!

It will be great to see everyone there, and here is just one last photo of Zuri for you all to see.

Thanks everyone

James

Zuri & Safi - 5th July 2013

Hi everyone!

Well its been busy busy busy at the zoo, hence the lack of posting (sorry!) The summer season has definately set in and what with so many different school visits and weekend activities (and the forgetting of my camera) I have not been able to take many photos for you all to see. However with my camera now firmly in my bag for work, I can continue to take photos on my daily lion meets. All of these photos were taken this afternoon and evening during my lunch and after work. 

It was Zuri's birthday on the Wednesday the third of July. It is hard to believe that he is now seven years old, but he really is now a proper lion that is sure. I hope you all enjoy looking at the photos from today, he really is in his prime and he does look superb, he really is an awesome sight around the zoo, something that many members of the public say to me. As i'm sure you can all believe he has spent the majority of this weeks very hot sunny weather outside in his enclosure sun bathing, on his back a lot of the time! It is hard to not chuckle a tiny bit as you walk past him, he certainly is a very laid back guy, like most male lions I suppose!

Safina however, is a bit more sensible then her slightly younger toyboy of a companion. Safi spends the majority of her mornings spent in her bedroom, it is tiled in there, so therefore nice and cool, a much more civilised way to spend her time in the hot weather! I have not seen them mating recently, so it has been quite peaceful around the zoo, even more civilised! Zuri and Safi seem to be settling into a much more old married couple style now and seem to have grown out of the teenage phase!

Zuri really is the king of the beasts and here above he is showing the very famous one eye open lion sleep! He may look sleepy, but as you can see he is very intently watching what is going on. What amazing eyes he has eh?

However very soon he went back to his proper doze...

I love these two pictures above, Safi was more than happy for some company around lunchtime and definately wanted a fuss, isn't she absolutely lovely?! As I have to explain to many visitors who see me, I have a huge soft spot for this little girl, and it really isn't hard to see why!

Safi eventually woke up with a big stretch! She then sat down again and Zuri came and joined her.

I love this photo, it is becoming more obvious as you see these animals on a daily basis, that they must have an emotional attachment to eachother. Zuri came to sleep next to Safi, but far enough for no physical contact, Safi as soon as she realised that he was there, moved her paw to touch his tail.

The last few photos show Safi in the evening sun. She was resting in the center of their enclosure underneath the log, but came to say goodbye to me before I left. She really is a lovely lioness and I have to admit I could spend forever watching them both, I can't wait to see them tomorrow already.

I hope you have all enjoyed reading this post and seeing the photos, more shall be up for you soon (promise!)

Thanks

James