Busch Gardens Zoo, Florida

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American Alligator (Alligator mississipiensis) (sic) - Southeastern United States.

American Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) sometimes called "wood Ibis" has a black head, black bill and long legs. This stork stands about 42 inches. Florida to South Carolina.

Lions (Panthera leo) come from Africa, South of the Sahara and parts of India. Several lions belong to a pride (group including female, male and cubs ).

Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata) - Mexico and as far south as North Argentina, Paraguay, and South Brazil. This is a large owl about 18 inches tall. They have a face mask and a beautiful tawny-colored chest and front. The feet have two toes in back and two toes in front. The owl will roost in trees in the day and hunt by night - especially on moonlit nights.	White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) - Gulf Coast to Florida andin the Carolinas. This ibis is about 24 inches tall and has black wing-tips. The curved bill is a good identifier plus the red face and legs.

White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus) - Sub-Saharan Africa. The lack of feathers on their heads enables them to stay cleaner while eating. African Vultures depend on their vision to locate food.

Red-legged Seriema (Cariama cristata) - Brazil, Paraguay, North Argentina, East Bolivia. This bird is very fast and runs rather than flies to escape danger.

Giraffes and Ostrich roams this area in peace.


Aldabra Tortoise (Geochelone gigantia) - Aldabra Atoll (North of Madagascar). Aldabra Tortoises are about 4 feet long and can weight as much as 550 pounds. They can live over 100 years. Despite their massive size, these tortoises are good swimmers, being neutrally buoyant.


Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) - Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur Catta) - Southwest Madagascar. What a beautiful tail. These tails are waved to warn approaching rivals. The front teeth of the Lemur's bottom jaw stick out to form a comb that they use for grooming. Unlike other Lemur, the Ring-tailed Lemur spend most of their time on the ground.


African Lions (Panthera leo) - Sub-Saharan Africa, grassy plains of Savanna, open woodlands and dense brush. The lions are the most inactive of all the cats, resting 19 - 20 hours a day. They are sociable cats living in prides.

Grey's Zebra

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibious) - Sub-Saharan Africa round the Nile River Delta and other water ways. They spend most of their day in the water to keep cool. They feed at night on grasses when it's cooler. Hippos usually stay submerged under water for 3 to 5 minutes. They can, however, hold their breath for up to 30 minutes. The FISH in the tank are African Cichlid from Eastern Africa. There are over 10,000 Cichlid in this tank, over 1,000 different types of Cichlid in the world. These fish play an important part in the ecosystem. They have been seen cleaning algae from the body of Hippos and other animals that share their water.

The Asian Elephant on the right had just finished "dusting" so dirt is all over her back.

Lowland Female Gorilla(

Lowland Gorilla Silver-Back (Gorilla gorilla) - Cameroons, Gabon, Zaire.

American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) - Southeast United States. Alligators are integral to their ecosystem creating wallows known as "gator holes" that stay filled with water during times of drought which provides a source of water for many other animals.

Treats for The Asian Elephants came in a bucket. The Elephants all anticipated there snack with glee. Each trainer had an elephant to treat. They tossed the healthy food over the barrier and they elephants enjoyed the experience.


Jungle Music was playing and the elephants seemed to sway back and forth to the music. The Elephant is such an intelligent animal.

Rhino

Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius) - Northern Africa, Middle East, Northern India and Central Australia. This camel has one hump on their back. The humps are made of fatty tissue, not water, and serve as an energy source when food is scarce. Camels can fluctuate their body temperature throughout the day which allows them to conserve water by not sweating as the environmental temperature rises.

This is a Serval, a spotted cat with stripes on it's head, very large years and the ability to spring leap in the air.

Serval (Felis serval) - Africa: Southwest Uganda and East Zaire they are very common. They can leap as high as twelve feet. Catching birds in the air seems to be one of their favorite prey.



Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus) - Canadian border through parts of the United States to South Brazil.

Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) - North and South American on coast, Venezuela to South Brazil. This shorebird has scarlet plumage like no other. The long, slender curved bill is used for probing into shallow water for food.

King Vulture

This Emu wanted to get scratched by his trainer after performing in the show.