Columbus January 9

More from January 9th.

Bodega. He's a California sea lion that's about 26 years of age and is a lot bigger than the females in the tank. Males develop a bump on their heads as they mature.

Harbor seal. Unless the animal is close to the glass, it looks blue.

More Sunshine

The Animal Encounters Village has a rotating selection of animals. There's a tank near the entrance that has had penquins, otters, and a duck.

Melvin. She's a domesticated duck that will follow a person along the glass.

These blue-and-yellow macaws were preening partners.

sand cat

Stingray Bay is across from the Village's exit, so I wandered in before I left the zoo. Volunteers outnumbered visitors three-to-one and I was the one. I didn't have any interest in touching the rays, but one of the volunteers was very enthusiastic and I kept hanging around, so what else could I do?

Mostly, the cownose rays bumped my hand. What looks like a mouth in the video is related to suction that's used to get food into its mouth, which is on the underside.

Sunshine

I went to the Columbus Zoo January 9. I didn't have a solid plan, but I thought I'd visit the bonobos and maybe the gorillas. I was prepared for reptiles with a tripod for more focus-stacking, but I'd been in the reptile building a couple of times recently. The parking lot always feels colder than the zoo itself and I was cold, so, once inside, I headed for the nearest indoor exhibit which is the tunnel in Adventure Cove.

I've been in the tunnel only a couple of times--I've seen enough seals and sea lions go zipping by. I find it hard to get decent pictures what with all the movement and light scattering that makes everything look blue.

There was a chatty volunteer, and I learned that California sea lion Sunshine was the one most likely to interact with people. I had seen this recently in Toledo (see Instagram) but she paid me little attention. There are often students around the zoo recording behavior, and there was one there, and she and Sunshine had some fun.

Photo and posting with permission