Saturday, March 1, 2008

Field Trip ~ BIG CATS!...

It's March 1st, and a simply delightful day for a field trip to visit one of the country's largest wildlife sanctuaries here in Colorado. We made a spontaneous trip to meet JP's sisters and family for a self-guided tour of the grounds. I didn't realize this refuge was so close to home, so we drove out to Hudson to support the admirable efforts to save abandoned and abused wild cats, bears, and other beautiful creatures.
The refuge is called The Wild Animal Sanctuary, and they have a series of suspended bridges, platforms and lookout towers where you can look out and below at over 100 cats, including lions, tigers, spotted and black leopards and mountain lions. I took some photos to share with my friends in blogland, so enjoy!
~ Johanna


* Ahhh, I only ~wish~ I could curl up and snuggle with these furry creatures, but I think I will just leave that to my imagination!..... Time for a cat nap.....

* This is a great overhead zoom I got!.... Looks like I was standing directly over this sleeping beauty, but a bridge kept us apart.....


* Wow!....Big lazy lions were sun-bathing in a distant field.... Their composure reminds me of our domesticated cat companions.....


* A zoom on this lazy lion......


* A tiger laps up water on our warmest day of the year so far......


* Look at the exotic patterns on this dark-colored tiger..... wow!


* A lioness relaxes next to her large bathtub.... she looks so gentle....(from a distance)


* A colony of blackbirds perching in this old, crooked tree caught my eye as we were leaving the grounds.... I'm drawn to natural compositions such as this.....

As always, I have birds and cats on the brain :)



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful cats! I'm glad to see that they have been rescued :)

~ Tammy

Christopher A. Klingler said...

Johanna ~ WOW!!! You and JP always go on the coolest field trips. These pictures are stunning!

My favorite is the snuggling one...too cute. Yes they do look quite tame from a distance, don't they? '-)

PS: Thanks on mine too! :)

Hugs,
Chris

Carolee said...

Gorgeous photos, and how wonderful to see these magnificent creatures in person!!

~ Carolee

Anonymous said...

Johanna,

What a wonderful experience you must of had! The big cats are beautiful. :)

Candy

vintagepaletteart said...

What beautiful creatures they are! Thanks for sharing with us Johanna!

Hugs! *Lori

AwtemNymf said...

OhMyWings- those are beautiful pictures of the cats! I LOVE love love the snuggling-cats one! Great shot! What a day that must have been for ya'll!
Blessings-
AwtemNymf

Trudy Honeycutt ~ Folk Artist said...

How cool is this?!?!?! Another great get-away to add to the growing list!! We haven't been out there yet, but read about it!! Now I must go for sure!! Thanks for sharing, Johanna!! Hugs to JP, too!! Sincerely, Trudy

Kitty Forseth said...

I forgot to comment on the big puddy tats! I would love to go there sometime, lucky you! I really admire the work that these people do, you can see how well cared for the cats are.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful, sweet pics :).

~Kitty

Nabeel said...

the pictures are great .. the tigers and the lions are huge .. usually one can't tell their size but when next to one .. you can really see how big they are.

LYNDY WARD said...

WOW, I wish my backyard was on a wildlife reserve & filled with these gorgeous big cats!

Beautiful Cats & Beautiful PICs!

>^..^< MEOW, Lyndy

Emily said...

Wow! Love the lion on his back...so cute!! And those birds on the tree...what inspiration! Looks like a lot of fun! :)