Animal Kingdom!

A trip up to Safari Park, part of the San Diego Zoo, on this warm Sunday afternoon found some great shots of animals, including some newborns. Above a night heron poses on a rock.

_MG_9778 — This white pelican shows off its colorful beak.

_MG_9732 — This newborn elephant stays close to the watchful eye of its mother

_MG_9754 — Shaking its head and giving the monkey the eye

_MG_9626 — This giraffe has to spread its front legs to take a drink

_MG_9650 — These three giraffes share a piece of Sunday brunch

_MG_9665 — A newborn giraffe nurses from his mother

_MG_9679 — A shy Thompson’s Gazelle gingerly approaches a feeding tray

_MG_9691 — These East African Tufted Cranes display their colorful plumage

Kongo is a frequent visitor to the Safari Park, located in Escondido about 25 miles north of downtown San Diego. Today was a San Diego Charger playoff day so the locals were home watching San Diego trounce the Cincinnati Bengals and the park was pretty empty. The temperature was 80 but the animals were pretty active. In the summer when temperatures get up toward 100 or so the animals spend most of the time hanging out under shade trees making for difficult photography. Today all you had to worry about was a harsh afternoon sun.

Travel safe. Have fun. Go Chargers!