Saturday, June 02, 2007

Shy Little Face

This morning the sun was shining and the day promised to be exceptionally fine so I packed up my camera and set off for Bristol Zoo to photograph some animals. The zoo is currently going M.A.D for Madagascar which means it is taking part in the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) conservation campaign to raise awareness and funds for the unique wildlife of Madagascar. As part of this, the zoo has opened a new enclosure called the 'Lemur Walk Through' where you can actually enter the enclosure and see the Lemurs without the impedance of mesh or glass.


The Lemur in the photos is a male Red Ruffed Lemur. Lemurs are only found naturally on the island of Madagascar and some smaller surrounding islands. All lemurs are endangered or threatened and many species became already extinct in the last centuries due to habitat destruction and hunting. Although conservation efforts are under way, options are limited because of the lemurs' limited range and because of Madagascar's economic situation relative to the developed world. The actor John Cleese has been extremely active in helping to save the lemur. His love of them started at the age of twelve when he would regularly play truant and visit the lemurs at Bristol Zoo. In 1997, Cleese helped raise money to support the work of the Madagascar Fauna Group, an international consortium of zoos founded in 1988 to conserve Madagascar's wildlife and in 1998 he made a documentary to raise awareness of this gorgeous species plight.

The Lemurs were quite shy and stayed a healthy distance from the few people that were allowed in at a time. This made photographing them quite tricky, especially seeing as the female was curled up asleep and the male was hiding, but I had my zoom lens, time and patience so I lined up my camera and waited. I was rewarded with the photos you see above and I just love them. I have more photos I took at the zoo to share soon including one of a baby gorilla :0)

22 comments:

Azgreeneyes said...

Beautiful photos, I absolutely love lemurs!
Here from Michele's

Thumper said...

Wow...look at those eyes and fangs. Those are awesome pictures; I'm not sure I would have had the patience needed to shoot them.

Here via Michele's today!

Anonymous said...

I love these photos. They are wonderful and I would have to agree, I love Lemurs as well. You have a keen eye for taking just the right kind of shot...of knowing how to make your audience react. Heh..my first thought when I saw the photos was "Awwwww....how adorable is that?" Great job!

kenju said...

I love watching lemurs in the wild (in programs like those on Discovery TV); they are so cute. Your photos are wonderful, and thanks for the nice compliment on my wedding flowers.

Melody said...

Those photos are amazing! Well done. Those eyes are so peircing aren't they?

Dewey said...

Wow, he's gorgeous, and so are your photos.

rashbre said...

Those are great shots of the lemurs. The second one looks as if he's just received his Inland Revenue forms.

I shall wait to see your other Bristol zoo photos, with interest!

Here today via Michele! Hiya!

rashbre

sage said...

Great photos, such neat animals. Thanks for sharing. Here from Michele's

Anonymous said...

You've managed to get some great photos! :D It's great to read some background info on the lemurs too. Thanks for that :)

Margaret said...

What great little faces those guys have! Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos.
Here from Michele.

Anonymous said...

I'm here via Michele and I'm so glad! Beautiful pictures.

Unknown said...

I think lemurs are so adorable. I just love them. We don't have them in our pathetic zoo here in Boston, but I've seen them in other Zoos and always thought they had the cutest little hands.

Awesome photos!

Michele says Hi

kenju said...

Michele sent me back to see your lemurs, Bob-kat. They are very cute, but the teeth concern me....LOL

Ramona said...

Love Love Love! These Pictures! When I was at University I majored in Anthropology and took every primatology course I could get in to.
They are amazing little creatures and you've captured wonderful photos of them.

Anna said...

Their eyes freak me out....in a cute and cuddly kind of way! :)

OldLady Of The Hills said...

How did I miss this..? I swear I was over here on Saturday...LOL! These pictures are FANTASTIC! Such a very very dear sweet face B-K...You did yourself proud with these photograohs...but then you always do....I do think that these are exceptional because you caught something so emotional in these faces...so sad and scared and as I said, so very dear...! Stunning picturs you might see in National Geographic! I bet John Cleese would adore them!

Thanks for your lovely words about my post....and yes, it is the Theatre Connection and Bettie Page...I will tell more about it in Part 3 perhaps.

Chicote said...

Great photos. We don't have those animals here.

Chicote

Beckie said...

Oh, the faces...they are so cute. You must have incredible patience to get such great photos.

JAM said...

Wonderful photos. I like the fangs peeking out in the first one. That second photo is pretty much what I look like if you quickly turn on a light and yell my name when I'm asleep; my eyes look like that;)

MaR said...

Such cute little animals!! great pictures!

Anonymous said...

Wow BK, those are excellent photos!
I can just see you waiting patiently, camera with zoom lens in hand...."heeeeere Lemur, come out for a photo!"

Shephard said...

I've always loved lemurs and other prosimians. They're the highlight for me of any zoo visit.

I didn't know about Cleese, and think that's wonderful. I wish I see the documentary.

These photos are so sweet.
~S