Field Trip to the Minnesota Zoo

 There's a swap on Swap-bot that I signed up for with a focus on sharing photos of three animals. As I went back on my photos over the past month, I realized I didn't take any pictures of our dogs or wild animals that I've seen around our home. Instead, these are all photos of animals I saw at the Minnesota Zoo.

I went to the Minnesota Zoo on a field trip with the sixth-grade class and was assigned to a student in special education. It ended up that another student I work with wanted to join us, so the three of us explored the zoo together. It was a lot of fun, especially since I gave them their own photo disk and let them borrow my camera. They took over 400 photos of the experience there.

So, I had very little time to photograph animals myself, but to see the joy of the boys as they took documented their trip was well worth it. 

At any rate, below are some photos I took that day. The first two are of snow monkeys. Snow monkey are from Asia and they live farther north than any other non-human primate. In Japan, they are able to survive the cold northern temperatures because of their long, thick fur and occasional dip in a volcanic hot spring. 

Snow monkeys have long canine teeth and are very strong which helps keep them safe from predators when they are on the ground. They also have special cheek pouches. While foraging, they stash extra food in their pouches and chew it later.  

It was a beautiful, sunny day when we were at the zoo, so the brown bears (grizzlies) were resting. Brown bears are among the biggest animals on earth, and they are particularly large in Kamchatka, in Russia’s far east, and on the coast of Alaska. They may grow to be ten feet tall and weigh 1,300 pounds.

This is an Amur Leopard. These leopards live in the eastern part of Asia and are on the brink of extinction. With deer populations declining and their habitat being disrupted, the leopards are in a precarious place with fewer than 50 individuals living in the wild.

As we were walking on a path, a chipmunk came running out. It stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and it watched us as we watched it. Chipmunks have either seven or nine stripes depending on their type (Eastern or Least) and weigh only from one to four ounces. They have short lifespans - up to two years. 

Like the snow monkeys, chipmunks have cheek pouches too. However, with chipmunks, the cheek pouches can enlarge to three times bigger than their heads.          

Zoos, for me, are challenging. Although I love to see different types of animals and appreciate that they are keeping some species from extinction, it is difficult for me to see animals in captivity - especially large ones with small enclosures or land space. I'm not sure the solution to this issue because, in some cases, the animals are safer than in the wild where poachers will kill them. 

So, for the time being, I need to focus on the gift of being able to learn about and see these animals; and for being made aware of the challenges that they face in the wild.