Wildlife Safari

I have been looking for an excuse to revisit the San Diego Zoo Safari Park for a while. My renewed interest in this place was spurred by the knowledge of it being home to the only two surviving Northern White Rhinos in the world (a species I got particularly attached to after reading Douglas Adams' book Last Chance to See and watching the follow-up BBC documentary shot 20 years after the book). My PowerShot SX40 HS, which has been sitting practically unused since purchase, gave me that excuse I needed to make this long overdue visit finally happen. The SX40 is a high-end, super-zoom point-and-shoot. Most of my captures are of either distant or moving targets. 

African lion at Lion Camp enjoying his siesta

Awake but groggy King of the Jungle

Clicked while waiting in queue for the African Tram Safari. Palm trees blurred in the background.

White rhinos (possibly Southern Whites, closest cousins of the near-extinct Northern Whites) on the African Plains (shot from the African Tram Safari vehicle).

Scimitar-horned oryx (shot from the African Tram Safari vehicle). These are adapted to survive without any water for long periods of time. Unfortunately these creatures are extinct in the wild.

Ugandan giraffes group up on the African Plains (shot from the African Tram Safari vehicle)

It's lunchtime for this African elephant at Elephant Valley

Trying to recall the name of this particular type of lily

Pelican at Mombasa Lagoon

Cormorants at Mombasa Lagoon

California condor at Condor Ridge

Another close-up of the California condor

Red-knobbed hornbill. This shot was challenging as the bird was particularly restless and the cage netting was in the way.

Another shot of the red-knobbed hornbill