tdierikx

We have a new arrival at Taronga this week... Kuma the Chimpanzee has finally had her baby!!! Born on wednesday apparently - so 2 days old in these photos... 18-10-2013-taronga 389 by tdierikx, on Flickr 18-10-2013-taronga 438 by tdierikx, on Flickr 18-10-2013-taronga 627 by tdierikx, on Flickr ... and the young Tigers were also in fine form this morning! It started like this... 18-10-2013-taronga 135 by tdierikx, on Flickr ... and escalated to this... 18-10-2013-taronga 213 by tdierikx, on Flickr 18-10-2013-taronga 226 by tdierikx, on Flickr 18-10-2013-taronga 248 by tdierikx, on Flickr 18-10-2013-taronga 256 by tdierikx, on Flickr 18-10-2013-taronga 258 by tdierikx, on Flickr 18-10-2013-taronga 295 by tdierikx, on Flickr The little tiger won... she's a feisty young lass... lol! Beat up her brother good! T.

Jelly, it's perfectly normal to not feel too good... you have done the hardest thing you could ever do for the girl you loved so deeply. You have given her the peace she needed at the time she needed it - and for that you have my heartfelt condolences and utmost respect. You will meet again... at the Rainbow Bridge... and all will be perfect... The Rainbow Bridge By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill, Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still. Where the friends of man and woman do run, When their time on earth is over and done. For here, between this world and the next, Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest. On this golden land, they wait and they play, Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day. No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness, For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness. Their limbs are restored, their health renewed, Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued. They romp through the grass, without even a care, Until one day they start, and sniff at the air. All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back, Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack. For just at that instant, their eyes have met; Together again, both person and pet. So they run to each other, these friends from long past, The time of their parting is over at last. The sadness they felt while they were apart, Has turned into joy once more in each heart. They embrace with a love that will last forever, And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together. T.

Greys will sometimes fight with each other too... I've seen some scary injuries come into the clinic Ted runs... T.

Ted Humphries is a wonderful man... he's been campaigning for a cleanup of the racing industry for years. This isn't the first time he's gone public - and probably won't be the last either. He's one of the premiere greyhound vets, and people travel long distances to take their greys to him - he also vets at races, so he knows exactly what he's talking about. We need many more people like him in the industry. T.

Jalur beat up a couple of cardboard boxes today... lol! 15-10-2013-symbio 470 by tdierikx, on Flickr 15-10-2013-symbio 477 by tdierikx, on Flickr How handsome is he though? 15-10-2013-symbio 335 by tdierikx, on Flickr Baby Cotton-Top Tamarins are getting very inquisitive about the big wide world... 15-10-2013-symbio 125 by tdierikx, on Flickr 15-10-2013-symbio 143 by tdierikx, on Flickr This is what happens when you know his name, and call him over... his name is Ralph... *grin* 15-10-2013-symbio 772 by tdierikx, on Flickr Ever seen a Koala yawn? Now you have... Ash showing off his pearlies... 15-10-2013-symbio 936 by tdierikx, on Flickr ... and just for the cute factor... 15-10-2013-symbio 975 by tdierikx, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/ for more... T.

Of the 12 dogs I have owned since leaving home - only 2 have had any problems... one was allergic to beef, and the other was allergic to fleas - neither could be attributed to genetics 100%. One was purebred but from a BYB, and the other was a mutt. One of my current dogs is a true blue Aussie Camp Dog - born in an Aboriginal camp in the middle of the NT - she is mobility challenged due to a scar in her brain of unknown origin, but it doesn't impact on her health or get in the way of having lots of fun with the other dogs... in fact, she is the most hardy of all the dogs I've ever owned... *grin* T.

Thanks Roova... It's been great fun watching the little Cotton-Top Tamarin babies grow up... they are completely adorable little critters. Watching Cinta run directly at the clam shell pool I donated was a huge buzz too... she also jumped off the platform and ran over to the fence earlier in the day when I was telling her how beautiful she was. I was so enthralled by what was happening there that I didn't even think to get pics of her running towards me me. She wasn't showing aggression, just curiosity at this strange person calling her name and talking to her... unlike Jalur who hissed at me a couple of weeks ago when he came over to the fence... lol! I suppose that was better than him spraying on me, as he's wont to do when he doesn't like something... errr! The new Reptile House is nearly finished, as is the new Koala Habitat - and the lion, cheetah, and lemur habitats will be started on soon... very exciting!! T.

Latest Symbio photos are up... http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/sets/ - Set is Symbio Zoo 14th October 2013 Here's a taste... 14-10-2013-symbio 009 by tdierikx, on Flickr 14-10-2013-symbio 146 by tdierikx, on Flickr I can do this Dad... 14-10-2013-symbio 329 by tdierikx, on Flickr 14-10-2013-symbio 355 by tdierikx, on Flickr 14-10-2013-symbio 358 by tdierikx, on Flickr 14-10-2013-symbio 399 by tdierikx, on Flickr Cinta checking out what's in the clam shell... 14-10-2013-symbio 490 by tdierikx, on Flickr Got it! 14-10-2013-symbio 495 by tdierikx, on Flickr Too late Jalur! 14-10-2013-symbio 518 by tdierikx, on Flickr A new toy... 14-10-2013-symbio 683 by tdierikx, on Flickr There are a lot of other animals in the set... enjoy! T.

Love the last shot of him begging from the squeaker... did it give him anything? T.

Haha! I performed my very first crop procedure the other day... baby steps here... lol! T.

Awesome news garnali! What an amazing person you are to help with Hershey's grooming fears. T.

Doesn't say if Max was allowed to "run like a maniac" during his formative months... Sure - Max may have started off genetically predisposed to certain issues due to the "breeder" not necessarily performing specific health testing of the sire/dam - but a lot of orthopedic issues in pets can be partly (or in some cases, completely) attributed to factors completely out of the control of the dog's breeder. How many times will a vet tell a distraught owner that their dog's issues are genetic, when the case may well be that the owner may have had some part to play in the issues that have developed. When was the last time any one of us had a vet tell us that an issue with a dog we owned was all our fault? I'm NOT supporting Banksia Park's breeding practices - but I still think there may be more to the story than the owner has told the media. T.

Call Dogtainers in Sydney - best service ever... explain your situation, and I'm sure they will be able to work out something for you. T.

A new bright star was seen in the sky last night - shining love down on all... Run free and happy sweet Roo... T.

I'm using a Canon 60D with a Canon 100-400mm L lens. Sometimes I will use a Tamron 18-270mm lens if I am too close for the big lens. The animals are a lot closer at Symbio than at a lot of places... and I'm loving that a lot! T.

It was pretty fun watching scaredy Cinta barrel straight up to the new clam shell pool... but the even better part was watching the face on her keeper... a huge grin that said we found something that Cinta obviously isn't scared of... lol! As far as we know, Cinta hasn't seen one before... ... and the keeper loves the nice big carboard boxes I brought too... of which I can get a pretty steady supply of from work... yay! The Tamarins and Marmosets were all given pretty coloured mobiles today too (the keeper brought them) - and they had a great time making them jangle... lol! You are going to love the latest Tamarin baby pics I got today grizabella - one little one has decided it can run and climb by itself! Too cute for boots! T.

They may not be "party people", bt they sound like they may be a lot of other undesirable things... errr! T.

With family/friends/acquaintances, I will always say something - but try to put it nicely... like "oooh, who's a well loved puppy then?" while giving said dog a cuddle... T.

I took some large cardboard boxes and 2 clam shell pools to Symbio today for the tigers... and they used one of the clam shells to hide lunch in for the tigers... Cinta was the one to get the treat... yay for Cinta! Cinta is usually a scaredy cat when it comes to new things - but she ran straight to the clam shell and checked it out today. Took her 2 attempts to find the food hidden under the scratch, but it was obviously worth it... lol! Jalur was slower on the uptake today, so Cinta got both of their lunches... lol! It's usually Mr Piggie who gets all the lunch... Photos coming later... T.

LOL!! Quote of the day there! T.

Me likes! T.

Thanks Kirislin... Mary's tongue is only about halfway out in that shot... Sun Bears have extrodinarily long tongues! I didn't even notice the spider on Jantan's chin - awesome spotting there! T.

After missing out on Tiger pics at Symbio on Saturday - got me a whole heap at Taronga on Sunday... lol! Latest pics are up at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/sets - in the Taronga Zoo 13th October 2013 set. Here's a taste... Satu finding a tasty morsel... 13-10-2013-taronga 033 by tdierikx, on Flickr Tiger in a tree... 13-10-2013-taronga 170 by tdierikx, on Flickr Mary can sleep in the strangest places... 13-10-2013-taronga 283 by tdierikx, on Flickr Elephants in their moat... 13-10-2013-taronga 503 by tdierikx, on Flickr Giraffe tongues are fascinating... 13-10-2013-taronga 672 by tdierikx, on Flickr Tiger in the pool... 13-10-2013-taronga 720 by tdierikx, on Flickr He was actually yawning - despite what it looks like... *grin* 13-10-2013-taronga 766 by tdierikx, on Flickr Dixie the Whistling Kite catching and eating her lunch on the wing... 13-10-2013-taronga-dixie3 by tdierikx, on Flickr Enjoy! T.

No tiger pics on Saturday - Kato was out in the morning and refused to come back inside so that Cinta and Jalur could come out and play... Jalur was not happy and made it known by roaring a few times during the afternoon. Naughty Kato! Even a huge leg of venison wouldn't tempt the old bugger to come in - he just looked, then rolled over on his back and went back to sleep. Someone may be too well fed methinks... lol! No biggie - there are plenty of other cool animals at Symbio to get nice pics of - and I got to pat a few Koalas as well... *grin* Pics can be found here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/sets/ in the Symbio Zoo 12th October 2013 set. Here's a taste... Millie having a drink... 12-10-2013-symbio 021 by tdierikx, on Flickr Joeys are getting bigger! 12-10-2013-symbio 039 by tdierikx, on Flickr Kelly doing what Kelly does best - chillaxing... 12-10-2013-symbio 174 by tdierikx, on Flickr I think this is Lone Wolf... 12-10-2013-symbio 184 by tdierikx, on Flickr Ani leading the Kangaroos off to the iso area after one of them was injured... 12-10-2013-symbio 231 by tdierikx, on Flickr Ash watching Izzy approach him (it's mating season)... 12-10-2013-symbio 298 by tdierikx, on Flickr Young love - Izzy on the left, Ash on the right... 12-10-2013-symbio 301 by tdierikx, on Flickr Enjoy. T.

Daisy Ninja does kinda suit her, doesn't it? Poor Puck - has his nose out of joint over Mummy's new little friend, does he? Maybe when she's bigger, he can teach her the joys of playing in mud puddles... lol! I want Penny snuggles photos... T.