Lions, Tigers and Wolves! Oh My! – NC Wildlife photography

Not only did I recently add chickens to my list of animals that I have photographed, I can now add wildlife! Specifically lions, tigers and wolves!  I took a trip to the Conservator’s Center in Mebane, NC the other week with The Triangle Dog (details on that later!).  The organization’s mission is to preserve threatened species through educational programs and support worldwide, and promote responsible captive breeding, and rescue wildlife in need.  A bad storm was coming, so we only had chance to see a fraction of all the animals there.  But the BIG CATS were awesome. I’ve always been obsessed with tigers. I named my first cat at the age of two Tigger, because I had fallen in love with Tigger on Winnie the Pooh.  I also remember taking a “Pretty Me” etiquette class in elementary school. At some point the teacher left the room and my friend and I had everybody start chanting “save the tigers.” Yeah….that really happened!

Look how majestic this lion looks! It is just one of the the coolest subjects I’ve ever had an opportunity to photograph!I’ve been to zoos and other wildlife conservation centers, but not since adopting my two dogs.  The Triangle Dog will have a special feature on some “singing dogs” at the center in the July issue. (yes, you’ll have to wait until then to see the photos!).  It just really hit me that lions and tigers are nothing more than truly BIG cats.  It was like being in one of the cat rooms at the SPCA! These cats were SO lazy! They just lounged around and even snuggled with each other. It was adorable! But the wolves and singing dogs were much more active and pacing around, much like my Lily and Baxter.  We were able to make it out just before a massive monsoon came through and we did manage to hear the lion’s roar in unison across the center. Chills! Mother nature is amazing!  Check out how you can support the center and even take a tour or “adopt” one of the animals by visiting their website.I would LOOOOVE for you all to come up with captions for the two photos below! They are hilarious and crack me up! In the first, I think the tiger is simply saying “ahhhhhh” and wiggling all around and getting warmed up to play. In the second I think he was just told they were switching to an all vegetarian diet. “WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!! No meat? ahhhhh!”  What do you think he’s saying?