Being watched??

From 1206CMZ-Blog

Taj was not feeling particularly energetic today, i think he was being pensive.

From 1206CMZ-Blog

Almos seemed to be watching me..

From 1206CMZ-Blog

I'm not sure if thats a good thing

From 1206CMZ-Blog

Even Vitez seemed to be keeping an eye on me.

October 11th.

I didn't realize any of these would come out. I was lucky enough to get a few pictures of Nashi the Cougar.
It seems that it was a very snoozy day for the tigers Taj and Almos. Nashi was so alert because he had just been given his enrichment treats. You can see some hamburger hidden in the enclosure.

Rough Play

These big boys play rough.
When their paw connect, you can hear the thwap.
They are connecting, but without claw extended.
I could only imagine if they were serious what would happen.
At the end of combat, they groom each other.

CMZ 12-Sep-09

To get good at photography, take pictures of the same type of subject.

Java from Point Defiance Zoo (Tacoma)

I have not been to PDZA very often. I will be going more this year as my sweet wife got me a membership.

Sunday, Java was out, so pictures of him:

Vitez and Baghira Tiger cubs

Yes, more pictures of the tiger cubs.
Vitez is the little royal white, and Baghira is the standard orange cub.

Too cute to not post.

Tiger cubs attempt zoo-break

Tigers are crafty little creatures. On a recent trip to Cougar Mountain Zoo I captured photographic evidence to prove this hypothesis.

Watch as these two 11 week old cubs plan and execute an escape attempt.

Ever wary zoo general curator Robyn Barfoot, foiled said attempt.

UPDATE: 8-Sep-2k9 Enlarged to 600x400 slide show

Tiger Cubs - August 8, 2009

These little guys are too photogenic.

All 20 lbs, 18 claws and 30 teeth. (Thanks Robyn)

On Tuesday I get to play with the orange one. They don't have names yet.

My Tiger Videos

Almos is 2 years old and almost 400 lb.s

A sample of the photos taken at Cougar Mountain Zoo.

The Tigers at Cougar Mountain Zoo

A while ago I discovered the tigers Taj and Almos at the Cougar Mountain Zoo in Issaquah. I met the zoo's director Robyn, and yesterday we were talking about Taj and Almos.

The Zoo is in the middle of a construction project to build an much larger outdoor enclosure for the 2 existing tigers and hopes to get 2 more cubs later this year. Due to the rising construction costs and the economy, they are still short around $40,000 to ensure the completion of the project. The new enclosure will be better for these 2 growing young tigers, and will leave the existing space for the new cubs.

I would love to help them in some small way. If anyone reading this would like copies of any of my photographs (full resolution), I am happy to trade them for a donation to the zoo.

Sexy Sumantran

Back to photograph my favorite model, Jaya.

Beautiful day, and a cooperative model.

Cougar Mountain Zoo 6.15.2008

Visited Cougar Mountain Zoo today.

The Curator Robyn Barfoot is very cool and nice enough to remind me that there are more than tigers there. Who knew?

I had been meaning to see the whole facility after getting a membership and did get to see most of it today.

Rumor has it, baby tigers may be in the future for the Zoo!

It really is in a picturesque location, and the local bald eagles even showed up for fathers day!

For those residents of Seattle who have been to Woodland park, TAKE A TRIP TO ISSAQUAH!!

Nothing against Woodland park, but you've already seen it, go see Cougar Mountain Zoo.

Birthday Party

Yes, I must be obsessed. I spent almost 3 hours at Cougar Mtn. Zoo and took almost 1,700 pictures, of a tiger birthday party. OMG, that DOES sound crazy.



At 1 year old, they tigers are still playful. There are still signs they are cubs.

The short list of the pictures are on my TigersClaw Picasa web album.

Almos, the white tiger, was the "birthday cub". His friend Taj is the golden (read: Rare, no black stripes, orange on gold) colored one.

Here is Almos eating his hamburger birthday cake:


The blue stuff if the "icing" made from egg whites. So if you see blue on their faces, that is the cause.