Fossil Rim Pics - Finally

[byarger]

I've been trying to work through my pictures from two trips to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, and, as I promised, here are a few for your review and comment. Notice the Scimitar Oryx (I think) has lost something. The cheetahs very up and stalking as a large Red deer crested the hill and became visible to them in their enclosure, just as our car pulled up. The Red deer made tracks back down the hill when he saw the cheetahs were eyeing him. The trips produced a lot of interesting moments and were great fun. The glare and the very bright sunlight did create some harsh lighting conditions for pictures, though.

[Roy]

Great place to visit. I know you can use up some battery life there. Took over 300 photos there last spring and still haven't post processed 80% of them. Cheetah looks like meal time!

[CaptainTom]

I haven't been there in several years, but did love the Barbary Sheep.
I will definitely get down there soon. Thanks for posting the photos and stirring my interest again.

[byarger]

Thanks. In the three trips (2 day and the Sunset Safari) over the last couple of months, I took about 850 pictures, mostly with either the Canon 70-200 f4L lens or the Canon 28-135mm IS lens on my 20D. The pictures I missed were the ones that my wife and our friends got with their compact P&S cameras, the pictures that required too much physical manipulation of the camera in and out the window - primarily those where the animal came up to the car for feeding. There were a lot of good shots that the camera lens and body were just too big (physically) and too close to get. If I had some extra arms I could carry a P&S or smaller camera too.

[Jezebel]

The emus and ostriches at the place are so crazy! I've been out there twice and the first time I went they had their necks over a foot into each window. My boyfriend and I were squealing and recoiling into our seats while throwing food pellets out the window to get them away, hahaha. I remember looking at the car in front of of where a bunch of kids were in an SUV with the back window raised up. It was like a scene in a horror film listening to the kids yelling in terror as about 6 emus shoved their heads into the car looking for pellets. They weren't hurting anybody, but damn those critters are intimidating, haha! The second time I went the animals were all pretty full and didn't go nearly so crazy. I did have a giraffe stick it's into head into the car and eat from my hand though. That was a unique experience.

[byarger]

You're right about the "Big Birds" at Fossil Rim. On the first day visit with my wife, our friend and her 24yo daughter, the ostriches went nuts for hand feeding. The ladies were screaming a lot when the birds stuck their heads in for food. The emus, however, were not inclined to take food for us and, with those sharp-looking beaks, we weren't inclined to try to feed them by hand. The one in the picture just stood about two feet from the car and stared at us.
That trip was a hoot. When under siege by the ostriches, I was having a lot of trouble. Between driving the car, laughing hysterically at the situation, and trying to take pictures, I was hard pressed to do anything well.

[KeithnFW]

Cheetah is thinking of placing a "To Go" order. . . .