Memorable moments: A lesson in interspecies etiquette

At the London Zoo, I decided to test my "horse-whispering" skills on a llama. I’d always found that a gentle, deep breath near a horse's nose was the ultimate ice-breaker—a way to build instant intimacy and trust.

I leaned in, eyes locked with the llama’s, and channeled all the calm, spiritual goodwill I could muster. I prepared for a moment of profound interspecies connection.

The llama, however, had a different communication style.

Before I could even finish my first "peace-offering" exhale, it launched a high-velocity, impeccably aimed spray of spit directly into my face.

As I stood there, stunned and dripping, a childhood memory flickered into view: a scene from Tintin where the exact same thing happens to a furious Captain Haddock. I’d read the warnings decades ago, but clearly, I’d forgotten the most important rule of the Andes.

Getting my photography juices flowing for the Arctic

A lovely day at Taronga Zoo yesterday, getting into the photography flow in preparation for photographing polar bears.  I'm happy with how the photos came out.  Hopefully, I'm ready to get that polar bear shot !  Wherever she is, dear Sue is smiling.

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• Our Arctic adventure: A list of posts

World of Birds - monkeys

Blackbutts Reserve (Newcastle)

George and I were ecstatic when this little baby koala emerged from it's mum's pouch.  It was very unexpected!  And set up some gorgeous photos.

Dubbo Zoo

We chose a very hot day indeed to explore the famous open plain zoo in Dubbo but had a great time cycling around checking out all the animals.  I used my big 400 mm lens and Dani borrowed my almost as big 200 mm one, so we looked like professionals.  Thanks goodness the bikes had handy baskets to keep the camera in, or our necks would have been very sore by the end of the day.  Dani's favourite animal is the Zebra and it was wonderful to see her enthusiasm when we came across them.

And the award for the cutest goes to...

... and a close runner up 

Award for the best rear end was tied three ways

The big cats were out...

... as were the buck

The last remaining African elephant in Australia

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Rhinos

And yet more animals

Wild birds we saw

Intrepid cyclist

Giraffing around

Next stop

Mudgee