#zooanimals

#bigcats are powerful, dangerous, beautiful predators. They’re perfectly adapted for the #ecosystems they live in, and have inspired #myths and #legends for millennia. Even so, they’re still sometimes just #cats who do quintessential things - as perfectly demonstrated by this #jaguar taking a bath up on a nice high perch at the Houston Zoo. #catsofinstagram #bigcat #houstonzoo #toebeans #cutecats #zooanimals #catsbeingcats #pantheraonca (at Houston Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Btq9gKCB2-O/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=md5b988mb0q5

#bigcats are powerful, dangerous, beautiful predators. They’re perfectly adapted for the #ecosystems they live in, and have inspired #myths and #legends for millennia. Even so, they’re still sometimes just #cats who do quintessential things - as perfectly demonstrated by this #jaguar taking a bath up on a nice high perch at the Houston Zoo. #catsofinstagram #bigcat #houstonzoo #toebeans #cutecats #zooanimals #catsbeingcats #pantheraonca (at Houston Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Btq9gKCB2-O/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=y37sgbzntx18

A #lion at the Houston Zoo shows off his incredible #canines and rough tongue after sniffing something stinky the #zookeepers scattered around his habitat. This funny face is called a #flehmenresponse - it allows #cats to pull air (and the funky smells it carries) to a specialized organ at the roof of their mouth. While normally a behavior used to detect chemical stimuli, all species of cats will happily use this adaptation to investigate all sorts of interesting scents. #bigcat #bigcats #lions #catbehavior #catbiology #wildcats #zooanimals (at Houston Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Btj5QcWhmLt/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1925vi49hpj4v

An ambassador #aardvark at the #omahazoo digs into a small planted area while zoo guests watch. Harness training allows zoo animals to get valuable #environmentalenrichment and #exercise by exploring zoo grounds with their handlers, while visitors get to observe natural behaviors like digging prowess of an aardvark up close. #zooanimals #harnesstraining #enrichment (at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrV5v4WB4H1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1pr2aql8xekbl

Leadbottom the #andeancondor had a ball with his #enrichment one warm fall day at the #zoo in Los Angeles. As scavengers, #condors have strong necks and a hooked beak adapted for ripping apart carcasses - or milk jugs, in this case! Andean condors also have one of the largest wingspans of any living #bird species, which he kindly showed off for the camera while having his fun. Turn up your volume to hear @cocoachuffs cooing her adoration at this big handsome man. #lazoo #losangeleszoo #condor #zooanimals #environmentalenrichment #birdlovers (at Los Angeles Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrGHH6LhuYK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=5gkcyltinnn2

African painted dogs at the #oregonzoo rest in a patch of late-afternoon sunlight. The lovely dentition being shown off by the dog in the back is part of what makes these #canids such successful and specialized carnivores: modified carnassial teeth allow them to shear meat quickly and effectively. #africanpainteddog #wilddog #doggo #zooanimals #lazyafternoon (at Oregon Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqs9LdBhKoJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=129461lzhqkbc

A #zebrashark “poses” next to his ID sign in the Tropical Reef tank at the Minnesota Zoo. Zebra sharks are actually only striped as babies - as juveniles grow into adulthood, the stripes fade out to spots. Even though he’s big, this #shark isn’t a potential predator for any of the other fish in this tank; zebra sharks prefer #mollusks and small #crustaceans for dinner. #reeftank #coralreef #aquarium #zooanimals #zoo #minnesotazoo (at Minnesota Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoR_dDRgyVs/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=105iacnd6hcve

Asian #elephants Shine, Rose, and calf Lily take a dust bath in the pouring rain at the #oregonzoo - while the dirt won’t fulfill its normal function as sun protection when it’s so wet out, but dust bathing together as a herd also increases social cohesion. #asianelephant #rainydays #elephantherd #cute #zooanimals (at Oregon Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoKdj71AUtk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rvdgtxa4lpk2

#seaotter #bathtime at the #oregonzoo! Sea otters are actually the largest members of the family #mustelidae - a group of #carnivorous mammals that also includes badgers and weasels. Sea otters depend on their super-thick fur to stay warm in the cold ocean, which makes grooming themselves pretty much a full-time job! #otter #zooanimals #otterlyadorable #fur #haircare (at Oregon Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoDHNRIAWm_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ye4w2z2xbasj

A #lion at the #oregonzoo munches on what’s left of a whole carcass. The lions get fed #meat every day, but once a month, they get two whole carcasses as #enrichment! He’s already gorged himself on this calf, but wasn’t willing to give up what was left to the #lionesses yet. Feeding out whole carcasses help keep predators’ jaws healthy and strong, keep the animals active, encourage natural social dynamics within the pride, and educates guests about the reality of top predators and the circle of life. #zooanimals #predators #environmentalenrichment #felidae #cats #wholeprey #gore #deadanimal (at Oregon Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoDFL9Wggo_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=tpeohvfdib4i

Grizzly #bear girls Betty and Veronica sleep off the #heatwave in their shady cave at the #centralparkzoo . No point in worrying about graceful repose when it’s so darn hot! #grizzlybear #bearaware #zooanimals #bettyandveronica (at Central Park Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnE4y7og-UH/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=jigkmoxy40qq

Got the #mondayblues ? Here’s some late-summer photos of baby African elephant Fitz, from the Louisville Zoo, to brighten your day. He was about a month and a half old in these photos: just brave enough to start exploring the habitat a little on his own, as long as mom Mikki was just a few steps away. #babyelephant #elephant #africanelephant #cute #allears #zooanimals #zooborns #louisvillezoo (at Louisville Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B53XzxRhvCG/?igshid=eaauocdvh2z9

Nothing to see here. Just Gidgee, a juvenile rednecked wallaby, staring balefully at the intruding camera while holding onto a nipple she doesn’t want to lose track of. While that thought may have you thinking “ouch!”, marsupial nipples are highly specialized and are meant to extend that far when the joey is close to permanently leaving the pouch! When a joey is born and manages to crawl into the pouch, the nipples it finds there are also super tiny - once it latches on to one, the nipple actually grows so that it fills the joey’s mouth and they can’t disengage. This works really well since marsupial babies are born very premature and do most of their development in the pouch, so they need to be kept latched on to a food source until they’re functional enough to find the nipple again on their own. As the joey grows, the nipple changes size in parallel - and the concentration of the nutrients in the milk adjusts too - always staying large enough to fit in their mouth. Joeys continue to nurse during the period when they’re exploring outside of the pouch, and often after they’ve grown big enough they’ve had to pretty much leave it for good: and so the nipples adapt, to be long and flexible, so they can be easily accessed by a joey from the outside. After a joey weans, that teat will shrink back to being tiny, and wait for a new tiny bean baby to be born and start the process all over again! #sorrytointerrupt #marsupial #wallaby #redneckedwallaby #zoo #zooanimals #zooborns #nursing (at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Yd1YPhgPe/?igshid=1r0zmub7hx5md

A man in his prime. At 19, Kwame - a Western Lowland Gorilla - has really come into his own. This silverback was transferred last year from the @smithsonianzoo in DC to @woodlandparkzoo in Seattle to join (and lead) a group of females whose venerable male had passed away earlier in the year. It was perfect timing for Kwame, as in the wild, males begin to assume leadership roles in their troop right around his age. On this cool autumn day, Kwame seemed right at home balancing his responsibilities: foraging through the fall foliage, calmly interacting with the girls, and posing for guests. #gorilla #westernlowlandgorilla #zoo #zooanimals #woodlandparkzoo #nationalzoo #fallfoliage #autumn (at Woodland Park Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5TYa6FBLTk/?igshid=18d58m1arkcrj

A #hippo soaks up late afternoon sun at the Dallas Zoo. While it may look like she’s floating, you can just barely see she’s actually stretched out on a rock under the water. Hippos are so heavy that they can’t float, and actually walk along the bottom of a body of water instead of swimming. #hippopotamus #zooanimals (at Dallas Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwnLuXcBMjw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=awh8slpg3dg7

Elephants have six sets of chewing #teeth that cycle through their mouth over the course of their lives, with older ones being pushed out by the new ones growing in. This means that old #elephants must use their last, worn set of molars to eat for the last years of their lives. As a result, elderly elephants fare better in human care - where we can modify their diet to accommodate their dental needs - than they do in the wild.

Ambika, a 71 year old elephant at the National Zoo, is the third-oldest Asian elephant in North America. In this photo, her keepers hand-feed her soft and pre-ground foods so that she doesn’t have to chew solids with her last set of molars.

#asianelephant #elephants #askmeaboutelephants #elephantcare #zoo #zooanimals #animalwelfare #matriach #goldengirl (at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvoY2wbh6GE/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1andk24021rss

Snow Monkeys - Snowball Fight

#Repost @starryeyedprincxss
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Ok but my @thelittletude zoo onesie is killing me w cute I can’t wait to get better photos at the zoo! #littletude #thelittletude #onesie #rippedtights #ageplay #little #littlespace #tattoo #tattedgirls #ddlg #mdlg #cgl #ageregression #regression #regressor #giraffes #zooanimals #daddy #daddydom

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Little teeny tiny pandas!
What are some of your favorite animals? Comment with emojis!

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#pandas #panda #pandaexpress #pandabears #blackandwhite #bear #bears #zoo #zooanimals #wwf #capronparkzoo #rogerwilliamszoo #pandalover #pandalovers #southwickszoo #animals #animallover #animallovers #wildlife
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ2cNSIL0xr/?utm_medium=tumblr

I’d tell you a bird pun, but that would be fowl
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#macaw #parrots #scarletmacaw #emperorvalleyzoo #wildanimals #zooanimals #trinidad #trinidadandtobago #theartysts #socality #folksouls #earthfocus #bevisuallyinspired #stayandwander #roamtheplanet #getoutside #eclectic_shotz #gramslayers #viewtt #ttunseen #pathfinderstt #lifeintnt (at Emperor Valley Zoo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxio3V6huY6/?igshid=oc08iedv38z4