I had no idea there was a Wildlife park near my parents house in Italy TX. (Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose) Okay, near in Texas terms is an hour drive, but still… We decided to take two cars Jessica, Doug and their two kids (Rachel and Joey) in one and Melinda, Shanna and I in the other. Dad drove to the park and with Jessica at the half way point in the park he moved to our car.
Wildebeest – Connochaetes taurinus
Ostrich – Struthio camelus
He’s looking in at Rachel & Joey in the back seat. This was before we got separated. I was much slower since I wanted to take pictures.
Ostrich with antelope
Blackbuck – Antelope cervicapra
Emu – Dromalus novaehollandiae
Addax – Addax nasomaculatus
Addax – Addax nasomaculatus
We thought the field of Addax looked a bit like a field of spears from a distance.
Fallow Deer – Dama dama
Ah yes, I’m taking photos out of my side of the car when Melinda says “Do you want to take a picture of this?” Why yes, yes I did.
Fallow Deer – Dama dama
Not only is there one in the shade, but his coat really is a dark brown. Fallow deer come in a range of colors.
Fallow Deer – Dama dama
This one was fighting the downed tree branches. Probably rubbing velvet off his antlers but it looked like an argument to me.
Sneaky White tailed deer – Odocoileus virginianus
And there in the middle of all of these exotic species was one little deer that didn’t look like the others.
Sandhill crane – grus canadensis tabida
YAY Birds! We also saw wild turkeys, though they were deep in the shade hiding from my camera.
Gemsbok – Oryx gazella
These gorgeous gazelles will always remind me of the movie Far Off Place. Reese Witherspoon stars in this when she was quite young. It’s the tale of two teenagers and their native friend who escape trouble by crossing the Kalahari desert.
Waterbuck – Kobus ellipsiprymnus
Waterbuck – Kobus ellipsiprymnus
Axis deer – Axis axis
European Red deer – Cervus elaphus
These guys look a lot like our native Elk – Cervus canadensis
Arabian Oryx – Oryx leucoryx
Giraffe – Giraffe camelopardalis
You could hear the girls in the car in front of us laughing in delight as they fed the giraffe.
Giraffe – Giraffe camelopardalis
I got to feed this one. So gentle, so amazing! Shanna and I recently watched a Nature documentary on PBS Giraffes: Africa’s Gentle Giants. It was wonderful.
Aoudad (aka Barbary sheep) – Ammotragus lervia
They walked towards the car looking like a gang ready to cause trouble.
Aoudad (aka Barbary sheep) – Ammotragus lervia
Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra – Equus zebra hartmannae
Love, love, love Zebras!!!
Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra – Equus zebra hartmannae
Cheetah – Acinonyx jubatus
Hooray for a telephoto lens. Dad & Shanna were the first to spot these spotted cats sleeping the day away under the trees. I don’t know that I would have been able to find them without their help.
Rhinoceros
If I had to pick a favorite animal from the park it would have to be a Giraffe. If I have to choose from the deer/gazelle/antelope which predominated then I gotta say I fell in love with the Blackbuck.
— Jenny
The end, by a Blackbuck 
BlueRavenBirders 