Serval at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo

A photo posted by @photoquist on Dec 12, 2014 at 4:22am PST

This is a serval at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. Handlers had it out on a leash exploring part of the zoo. They will use the animals in shows and educational programs, and I presume the walk aimed to get the animal used to the leash, and to having people around. These cats live wild in Africa, and they can leap 15 feet in the air to snag an unsuspecting bird.

This one appears to have a potential meal in sight. Shot taken with a Canon 7D Mark II with an EF 200-400mm f/4 USM lens.

Lowry Park Zoo

Sign of the times. Five-dollar day at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo costs $6 now. I have less luck each time I go shoot at the zoo.

Some of the exhibits aren't as good as they once were. Some of the animals stayed either out of sight or at least out of shooting range to avoid the sun. And, finally, I had trouble with my camera not liking the new SD card, and I was stupid enough not to have brought a backup (Yeah, lesson learned!).

So I got only a few decent shots. These are not cropped, thanks to the joy of a 500mm lens.

Photos of Birdies on the Golf Course

And a gator who was kind enough to pose for me near the 11th tee. These shots are minimally cropped, though I had a 300mm lens that helped me get close.







I even had a birdie using my golf clubs. How about that?

You can see more of my photos at PHOTOQUIST.COM