Home»Zoo»2013 Red River Zoo

My mother brought her granddaughter to Red River Zoo. I came along. It is a small zoo, but it has a good collection of animals. Many from China, as the RRZ specializes in animals from similar climates. The habitats are very nice and look comfortable. The zoo made sure those of us who like to take photos don't have to shoot through wires or bars. I really appreciate that. Mom took up the Zoo Director, Lisa Tate, on her offer of a personal tour. Lisa showed us the work on a new wet habitat for the Otters. My niece enjoyed the animals including brushing the goats and feeding the donkey.

I used a 70-300mm for most of the shots. I also used a 10-20mm zoom for the wide shots, and a fast 50mm lens for the insects and reptiles. I also used a point & shoot camera to get close-ups of the chickens. The descriptions come from the plaques in front of each habitat. If I forgot to photograph the plague- the information comes from the Zoo's website, or Wikipedia.

Thanks to Lisa Tate and her staff for putting together a real neat zoo in our own backyard. It was a great way to spend a couple hours.

On the way home, we rewrote a beloved Christmas Classic..
Rudolph the black nosed Mule Deer
Had a very dark black nose,
And if you ever saw it
You would never say it glows.
All of the other Mule Deer,
Use to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any Mule Deer Games.

The one recent Christmas Eve,
Lisa came to say,
"Rudolph with your nose so black,
Won't you help deliver Santa's sack."
Oh how the Mule Deer loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
"Rudolph the black nose Mule Deer,
You'll go down in history!"