I was there too
A man walks through Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakesh with a monkey on a chain, looking for tourists who will have their photo taken with his companion.
We humans don’t treat animals well.
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 179mm |
| ISO | 500 |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s |
Two young baboons in their enclosure in Bioparc Valencia, caught in a playful moment.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 120mm |
| ISO | 250 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
A Western lowland gorilla from the Republic of the Congo sits on the ground outside a viewing area where humans gaze at him.
He lives in the Bioparc in Valencia, Spain, and I think his name is Mambie. He was born in 1991 and is a beautiful animal, but when we were there, he charged and rammed into the glass windows twice. The Wikipedia page for these gorillas describes that behaviour as stereotypic behaviour, or abnormal or compulsive behaviour. It’s easy to imagine that he’s not happy there, but he is hand reared, as he was born in a zoo. This life is all he knows. These animals are endangered, and there’s a population of 500 living in zoos worldwide.
I was sad to see him in captivity. Valencia Bioparc is small, compared to wildlife parks like Fota in Co Cork, but the larger animals had room to roam about. At least, as much room as a 10 hectare site will allow.
It is definitely worth going to visit if you’re in the city. Just don’t eat in the overpriced restaurant.
| Aperture | ƒ/3.5 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 1000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/60s |
Blarney is surrounded by fields, and up a country road from where I live you’ll find farm animals in the fields. It’s mostly cows, and when I approached a gate of one such field, the curious cows came over to watch this strange human on a bicycle.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.7 |
| Camera | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Focal length | 6.3mm |
| ISO | 10 |
| Shutter speed | 1/230s |
Mommy Cat, the oldest of our cats passed away yesterday at somewhere around the age of 17. We’re not sure, because she adopted us around 15 years ago. We are sure that she was roaming the estate for some time before that.
She had lovely kittens, but only one is left now, Hoppy, who is in the centre of the image here.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.7 |
| Camera | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Focal length | 6.3mm |
| ISO | 10 |
| Shutter speed | 1/340s |
A black and white Ruffed Lemur in Fota Wildlife Park in 2011.
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 300mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/400s |
Mommy Cat, a now elderly cat who has lived with us for over 12 years now, is a semi wild cat who brought her kittens to us many years ago. There were six cats altogether. Three boys, a girl and their mother. She has never let us rub her, unless we get a sneaky rub in as she’s facing away but she immediately tries to bat our hands away. However, her offspring were and are the most affectionate cats. Unfortunately the three boys were killed on the main road beyond the ditch. Mommy Cat rarely leaves our garden now, and Hoppy mustn’t go far as there are feral cats around.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 600mm |
| ISO | 8000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
