Conservation

by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

So what comes after Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Tiger Tuesday! Have several big cat photos I took in Las Vegas I wanted to share. So what better way to do that than pile on to the naming day craze?

Last week I showed the picture of the white tiger cub so this week I wanted you to see both cubs. They told us they never know when they will get a white or a golden tiger cub in a litter. I love both!

In this photo the cubs were in the nursery display area for four hours each day. Even with attendants, a large stuffed white tiger helped to ease their missing Mom. Obviously, the golden one thinks it’s Mom since he or she is cleaning the tiger. How adorable!

Next up is a close up of one of the leopards on a high rock shelf. This is the zoom full out. How gorgeous is this big guy? It took some framing of the shot to get his eyes between the link fence, but I am so happy I got him looking at me. I’m quite sure I bored him or her, but wow what a beautiful pussycat.

Came around the corner from the leopard and there was one of the large male white tigers with his eyes locked on the prize. Another leopard next to him had been out of his enclosure next to this guy and then came back in; white tiger had his eyes on him. The leopard never looked at him. I can understand why. I was not more that ten feet from the white tiger and he couldn’t care less about us humans, it was an amazing show of territory among big cats.

Just to prove he really didn’t care about humans, how about this close up?

And last but not least, who could leave without a swim by from one of my favorite mammals, the dolphin. Here is one of the boys keeping an eye on me and the rest of the two-legged humans. How amazing is he?

I always wonder what they’re thinking. I know they are so much smarter than moi. Easily.  And they can fly in the water! I require flotation devices, at least two.

If you get a chance to visit Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage in Las Vegas, go check it out. Your visit helps their conservation programs, including the one for the white lions of Timbavati who were rescued from the brink of extinction by the entertainers.

Maybe white lion pictures next Tuesday? Every Tuesday should be Tiger Tuesday!