Arriving as the gates opened and heading directly for the Carnivore’s trail, we found the African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) having a stretch in the early morning sun.
These predators are endurance hunters, chasing their prey, like antelope, until it either makes a mistake or collapses due to exhaustion, ranging over wide areas of land in the process. African Wild Dogs are classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List and are under increased threat in the wild, mostly due to habitat fragmentation caused by human activities. Conflicts between humans and wild dogs often arise when domestic cattle herds are brought in close proximity to their territories, usually resulting in the wild dogs being killed by farmers trying to protect the cattle. This close proximity also increases the risk to the wild dogs of infectious diseases which can decimate a pack.
Moving on, we headed over towards the snow leopards in the hope of catching another glimpse of Miska. Our previous encounter with Miska was only a view of her at the door of her night den, as can be seen in the following photo.
Snow leopards (Panthera uncia), like many cat species, are crepuscular, meaning that they are usually most active near dawn and dusk or in dull light (e.g. cloudy/overcast days). Snow leopards are also solitary animals, often difficult to spot in the wild due to their natural camouflage. This behaviour and elusiveness not only adds to their mystique, but also makes it difficult to get an accurate assessment of their numbers in the wild and population trends. The IUCN Red List currently classifies the species as vulnerable at present, with an estimated fewer than 10,000 mature animals still in the wild.
Miska’s keeper was finishing up cleaning duties as we arrived and then began placing out meat and enrichment items through the habitat for Miska, giving us the perfect opportunity to place our cameras. The local bird life were eager to grab a share too.
Once the door to her night den again opened, it wasn’t long before we could see Miska (just) checking things out.
Although she did take several looks back into the night den, making us fear that she would once again only give us a glimpse before retreating out of sight.
We needn’t have worried though as it wasn’t long before she wandered out into full view,
scared off the birds and picked up her meat.
Miska then went climbing up onto the ledges and investigated the enrichment items left out for her, which included cardboard boxes with straw from other animal enclosures, such as the Red Pandas.
After briefly playing with the panda box, she decided to climb higher up, giving us a great view of her.
Upon reaching the top, Miska promptly settled down to watch the goings on around her, like a queen sitting on her throne.
Occasionally Miska would give a yawn that gave us a great view of her teeth, facial muscles and tongue.
Before once again settling down to observe her surroundings
Eventually something seemed to attract her attention
and she decided it needed to be investigated
which meant she returned to her night den and out of sight. Having nearly an hour in her presence was a truly magical experience and we took heaps of photos of Miska. We then moved on to visit Indrah, the Sumatran tigress, who was napping behind the bamboo of her habitat. We sat and waited a while, talking with a few volunteers and other visitors to the zoo. Our patience was rewarded when Indrah eventually decided to stroll into full view and sit on a rock at the water’s edge.
After spending so long with Miska and Indrah we decided to head over to visit the Red Pandas and found one enjoying lunch in their hut that is practically at eye level. Despite being in a good position to view personally, the perspex wall, along with the smudges left by their wet noses, made it difficult to get any worthwhile photos. Again, however, patience paid off as eventually lunch was over and a climb back up the tree began
with a stop on the way for a snack.
All too soon it was time to go home for us, but no doubt we’ll be back again to visit Miska and many of the other animals soon.