Dance of the Jellyfish is very beautiful and sensational. Fur however, is a little more haunting. Perhaps because these large felines are decreasing in number. Perhaps because the large tiger head has the slightest cross hatching over its face like that of a cage. This is correct, as I took the photo through the wire fencing of the enclosure.
Fur is full of the lion golden, the tiger striped, and the cheetah spotted. I wish I had more photos of leopards to work with, but they are rare in zoos, and even rarer in the wild to spot. The closest I got to a leopard encounter was having my safari guide tell me there was a leopard in the tree yonder as he watched it through his binoculars.
My camera didn’t blot out the wire completely. I thought it might ruin a lovely shot of the tiger’s face, but when I pulled the image up to edit, I think it adds the urgency to protect these gorgeous beasts. It’s a sobering thought when you realize there are more of these animals in zoos and enclosures than in the wild. Something very wrong.
I feel Fur is a plea. A non-verbal plea on behalf of these wonderful creations we were instructed to look after.
Most of these photos were taken at zoos, including Gulf Breeze Zoo in Florida, Cango Wildlife Park in South Africa, and Hammerton Wildlife Center in the UK. But a few were taken in the wild (near enough) Kruger National Park, South Africa.
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