Today’s Post by Joe Farace
I love to go to the zoo. But not on Sunday. I don’t like to see the people making fun of the animals, when it should be the other way around. — Ernest Hemingway
On April 8th, National Zoo Lovers Day encourages us to explore our local zoos. Each year millions of people visit zoos to learn about the many animals that live there. Also known as zoological parks, many zoos serve as breeding centers. These kinds of facilities are important when species are endangered or at risk of becoming extinct. They also serve to provide education to the public about a broad variety of animals and their habitats.
The Denver Zoo, for example, is a 80-acre campus located plop in the middle of an urban area is considered to be an urban field station, where more than 2,500 animals “serve as ambassadors for their wild counterparts all over the world.” The zoo’s award-winning education and outreach teams spark inspire and educate learners of all ages throughout metropolitan Denver. In addition, the zoo’s global Field Conservation and Emergency Wildlife Response teams have worked for more than two decades to protect species threatened by human encroachment, habitat loss and catastrophic events
Here’s few zoo facts:
- The Vienna Zoo is the oldest existing zoo and was opened to the public in 1765.
- The Central Park Zoo was the first zoo in United States that was open to the public and opened in 1864.
- The Philadelphia Zoo holds the oldest zoo charter, formed in 1859. It officially opened to the public in 1874.
- There are 350 zoos in the United States
- Approximately 175 million people visit a zoo each year.
- More than 3.2 million people visit the San Diego Zoo each year.
How I Made this Photograph: I don’t often do cute but for some reason, when it comes to photographing animals, I can’t resist. Especially when it comes to primates like this baby gorilla hugging his mother. It was made at the previously mentioned San Diego Zoo that is located in Balboa Park. I made the photograph with a Canon EOS 30D with EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens (at 105mm.) The exposure was 1/100 sec at f/4.5 and ISO 400 with a minus one and two-thirds stop exposure compensation. It’s perhaps not as sharp as I would have liked but I, nevertheless, like the feeling.
Some tips on How To Observe National Zoo Lovers Day
- Visit your local zoo.
- Make a donation to a zoo program.
- Share your zoo experiences with others., like what I’m doing today
- Take a virtual tour of a zoo. There are many different kinds of zoos.
- Use #NationalZooLoversDay to post on social media.
If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to buy Joe a cup of Earl Grey tea ($3.50), click here.
Along with photographer Barry Staver, Joe is co-author of Better Available Light Digital Photography with new copies are available from Amazon for crazy prices (for some crazy reason) but used copies start around four bucks.