San Diego Zoo (and Photoshop!)

This was my first time at the San Diego Zoo and I loved it!  There were tons of animals and most of them were out and about so you could actually see them.  Plus, it was also way less crowded than Disneyland. 

Hattie loved the flamingos!

Also, I got Adobe Photoshop Elements for Christmas!  I'm rather proud of this photo (although I'm definitely still learning!) because I lightened Hattie (but not the background), brightened her eyes, and got rid of a weird shadow on her forehead.  (I didn't edit all of the following photos, but I noted most of the ones I did)

Olivia liked the 'mingos' too!  I used a warming filter on this one.

I saw a rhinoceros for the first time!

There were lots of giraffes!  The little one in the back is baby Penelope.  She's was born in May 2013- so she's younger than Hattie!  The giraffes were super dark in this photo because the sun is behind them so I lightened them up and upped the contrast.

Did the same on this one and added a warming filter.

I have never seen an elephant with such giant tusks before!  I thought he was fake at first.

I love this picture for some reason.  He looks like an old, happy elephant.  Although I do worry about his sunk-in skull.

I'm proud of this edit as well.  The 'before' is below.  I think the colors are a lot better.

This poor guy only has one good ear!

The only reason the elephants were in the cages was to get pedicures.  Otherwise they are free to roam their habitat.  They are so well trained!  They just stuck their feet out and let the zoo keepers do their thing:

The below elephant is a new acquisition to the San Diego Zoo from New Zealand.  He hasn't seen another elephant in 35 years!!!!!  I didn't hear why, buy I think it's because he was the only elephant at his old zoo.  So after his quarantine (all new animals go through this) they will slowly reintroduce him to his own kind.  How sad!

All the elephants we saw in the cages were 30-50 years old.  In captivity elephants live for up to 70 years!  The longest lifespan on record is 71.  In the wild their lives are much shorter 30-40 years.

Lili loved the elephant statue :)

Can you tell what I liked best?  I've always been partial to elephants!


Livi was a little scared of sitting on this crazy cat.

We saw some maned 'wolves'.  They're actually closer to a canine.  The zookeeper was in with the wolves and told interesting facts about them.  What makes them extremely unique is the way they walk.  They move both legs on the same side together like a giraffe does- no other wolf/canine does this:

I thought these deer/antelope things were beautiful!  Those stripes are so cool!

And here's a blurry picture of Hattie in her souvenir t-shirt.  It says "pawsitively precious" and "San Diego Zoo" on the back. 

We saw tons more animals including camels, koala bears, wallabies, pelicans, lions, a polar bear, zebras, antelope, giant rodents, birds, meerkats, horses, jaguars, and more!  I also loved that we saw and talked with zoo keepers on a few different occasions.  It was fascinating hearing what they had to say about the animals!