little elephant

Like a child grabbing their parents' hand, the little elephant touches its trunk against the one of a friendly adult. The third lens I bought gave me many pictures like this. Heartfelt moments captured at a safe distance yet appearing so close.

It captured the wild swimming maneuvers of the sea lions during feeding.

And even a net or fence didn't stop me with my new lens. Close enough to the thin, annoying obstacles and they melt away like the background. No, even more. Like it wasn't there. But it still leaves it's fingerprint: a close look at the eye reveals a four pronged star where a round reflection of the sun should be!

The melancholic seeming look of the monkey reminds me that I feel ambivalent about zoos. It is difficult to justify keeping wild animals with often much less space than would be natural. And there are few other places where I have taken such varied and beautiful pictures of animals I may never otherwise meet. Or get close enough to take a good picture.