Fossil Rim tours

[BullSpit]

I grew up with the gentleman who is in charge of all animal care at Fossil Rim.
I believe his title is Head of Animal Care.
He tells me that the cooler weather (fall & spring) are the very best times for seeing the many spectacles.
He also told me that when I am ready, (I planned to do it last fall, but my equipment was stolen) to come and he will take me on a trip through that is not available to the public.
If anyone is interested this fall, let me know. I plan on making a few trips.

[zeroendless]

Kendall, Bullspit.

That's very helpful. Thanks for the trouble. While you at it, since ya guys have the contact. Any chances to see cheetah cubs this year? Is cheetah i'm aftering over there, far as i know they are behind the wire and only safari tour let you get behind it?

Bullspit, Keep me posted, i have extra long lens if you shoot Canon. Glad you have the main man behind us, I'm all in for Fall.

[Wes]

Used to be that you could buy several containers of food prior to going out into the park. Nowadays they limit you to 1 because the animals are getting overweight. I've heard of some that will buy extra food from grain and feed stores.... ;)

The Ostrich's and Emu's can be pretty aggressive. The Oudad's (the small "ram" kinda looking goats) will get hoof prints and scratches all over your car if you don't get the food out to them fast enough. If you have a vehicle with a sunroof you can actually get the giraffe's to stick their head into your car to eat out of your lap. Beware of their 20 inch long, slobbery tongue. You'll get slimed. The Zebra's have been known to bite so I wouldn't advise trying to feed them out of your hand. I've been several times now and the most fun that we had was back when we had a minivan. Just open the sliding doors on the side and sit on the floor dangling your feet out of the side of the vehicle (not really dangerous since you're only moving at something like 5 mph). Great shots, plus the kiddos got to meet the animals up close and personal. Just close the doors and move on if you get near some of the more aggressive animals (Ostrich, Emu).

Have a blast! I'll probably get back out there myself sometime this fall.

[byarger]

We went on the Sunset Safari tour with the dinner last fall. It was very interesting, but didn't provide the full photographic experience (a night drive with the guides shining a large red beam on the animals). Just the day drives through the park were great.

[krodgers]

haha.

zero look at your reply, kinda caught me off guard. "kendall bull@#$" is what I saw
-- then realized you where refering to bullspit post also.

i agree from what I hear it is definatily better on cooler days for viewing animals, maybe a earily winter gathering might be the way to go.

[K1000]

I've been on the mountain bike tour with D.O.R.B.A. (www.dorba.org). We saw parts of the facility only available to the staff. We rode our bikes and hiked parts of the land. I'ld be interested on another tour in the Fall.

[Breezy]

you guys have given me some great feed back on this place. I was just suggested it yesterday and had asked a ?? in the open talk forum.
I think we will be doing this next week :D

[savitale]

I was a docent at Fossil Rim. Technically I still am, though other obligations have kept me from doing tours for a while. There are several photo-friendly options for viewing the park: 1) drive through yourself, 2) take a Behind the Scenes Tour, 3) arrange a custom tour.

Driving through yourself is great fun, you will have a blast. For the safety of the animals, you cannot get out of your car. You will be able to get some great photos just through the open car windows.

The Behind the Scenes Tour does most of the normal drive through route, as well as take you back into the IMA (Intensive Management Area) which is not open to the general public. Photographically, the advantage of the Tour is that you will be in the back of an open truck. There can be up to 12 other visitors in the truck with you however, including small children, so it would not be possible to spend a long time waiting for just the right photo to compose itself. Depending on the size of the group a tripod could be impractical.

We have done custom tours for photographers, either in trucks or jeeps depending on the size of the group. If you are serious about taking photos, this is the way to go. The cost is not trivial, but it is much more economical than a flight to Tanzania, which is about the only other place you could photograph this much African wildlife in a natural environment.

[Keyser Soze]

Just went this last Thursday. May be much better other times of year, but many photos you are in bright sun and the animals are in the shade. I am a newbie to DSLR and here also (my first post) but here are a few shots

[Nancy D.]

I am very interested in this. Can you let me know if you get a group together? BTW, what is the cost?

Thanks!
Nancy D.

[savitale]

I'll find out. Cost will depend on the number of participants, but I'll get details. As the previous post pointed out, August is not THE best time to go, as the animals are smart enough to stay in the shade while the humans roast in the sun. However it is a great place to go any time of year. Be prepared to get up early if you want better photo opportunities.

By the way, nice pictures, John. I really like "Giraffe with tongue" and "3 sleepy zebras".

[Nancy D.]

I'm willing to wait for a better time.
Thanks for your quick reply!
Nancy S.

[Breezy]

I am loading my pics. We just went yesterday and yes we roasted lol.