Walking and Takin

So I completed my 5k walk this past weekend and survived with only minor pain and blistering. I am very glad I made myself go. It rained quite a bit again last week and the days that were nice I had access to the car (hubby was out of town for work)so I spent most of those driving around, shopping and finding nice places to sit outside to eat, drink and read. But despite my failure to work my way up to 3.1 miles I survive just fine. Was tired but it was well worth the free safari bus ride even though the AC wasn't working right. Got to see lots of animals I had only ever seen on TV like camels, rhinos, cheetahs and giraffes. Got some great pics too including the one above of some stubborn wild horses who didn't want to let us pass. The bus driver eventually had to turn on her windshield wipers in order to scare them away so we could finish our tour.

These pics were taken by a friend as I could only take 4 pictures on my camera as I forgot my memory card.


This is a Takin, it is considered a goat-antelope. They are from the Himalayas.


These interesting creatures are East African oryx a relative of the antelope.



These are three of the 4 pictures I was able to take and they were all at the carnivore area. The carnivores are kept in their own special place because all the other animals are grazers and potentially food for these guys.


Cheetah laying around like the big kitty that she is.



These are painted wild dogs normally found in Africa.



This is a dhole and it is part of the kanine family. Poor guy was raised by humans and so he just stayed right next to the fence whenever anyone passed by and whimpered.

I almost feel sorry for these animals but several of them are endangered so the Wilds preservation actually helps increase their populations through breeding programs. It was a very interesting experience to visit the preservation. I've never seen anything like it.