Photo Safari

At the Fort Worth Zoo at 1989 Colonial Parkway near downtown, participants 18 and older can take pictures of the animals through this event.

The series runs through May 5th from 9-10 a.m. on the first Saturday of the month.

Admission is $20 or $15 for zoo members and $5 to park.

For more information, call 817-759-7200.

On Sept. 2nd the lion was the featured photo opportunity and on Oct. 7th the white-tailed deer and sandhill crane will be the next pictorial spots. The white-tailed is tan or brown in the summer and grayish brown in the winter. A deer’s home range is usually less than a square mile. The white-tailed deer lives in wooded areas. Deer and people are living closer to each other because of human development and growth in human and deer populations. The white-tailed deer is an herbivore or plant eater. They mate in November in the northern parts of their range and in January or February in the southern parts. The mother leaves her young for hours at a time while she feeds.

The sandhill crane is 37 inches with a wingspan of 80 inches. They are large and long-necked bird with long, pointed bills. They hold their neck straight both at rest and in flight, not tucking it in like herons do. Their dark gray legs are extended in flight and their long, fluffy tertials droop down over their tail and primaries. Adults have dark bills with unfeathered red crowns and lores. They also have entirely gray plumage that often becomes stained with rust or brown, especially around the back and wings. As juveniles they have feathered crowns and gray-brown plumage mottled with cinnamon.

These cranes are found in open, grasslands, meadows, and wetlands. The sexes look alike and males are slightly larger. They make a deep, rolling trumpet sound and rattling. They are one of the few crane species in the world that is still common, not breeding until it is two to seven years old.

On Nov. 4th zebra will be featured in the zoo series and on Dec. 2nd, bison.

Jan. 6th will introduce the Indochinese tiger to the series and on Feb. 3rd the Abyssinian hornbill, gerenuk, and kudu will join in.

The distribution of the Indochinese tiger is centered in Thailand and it is also found in Myanmar, southern China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and peninsular Malaysia.

On March 3rd the white rhino and black rhino will be added to the schedule and on April 7th, the giraffe.

The series will wrap up May 5th with parrots.