Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Is It the Lion Inside the Cage or the Man?

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In my last post, fellow blogger Vanilla Seven had this question: Is it the lion inside the Cage or the Man?
Izu @ Lion Camp, San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park
And Mei had this to ask: That lion in the first photo is placed in a glass enclosure? 
Let me answer these questions first with pictures,
Lion Camp
In the picture above of Lion's Camp, we can see the open space that the lion can roam around, and play around. Men are not contained in a closed space either, both man and lion are in their own safe open spaces.
Izu and his yard
Mina or Oshana on top of a truck 
Resting Lions on top of Truck
Oshana and Her Little Lion
The lions are in an open space exhibit, and they do take advantage of their roomy camp exhibit by running around and playing.
Lion Camp Field
Izu Moving Around
Baby and Mom Play
How about the man? Is he inside the cage?
Lion  Camp Viewing Area
The structure you see has thick glass panels that separates the lions and men, to keep them all safe. They all are outside. 
Man and Lion
Rochelle further asked, if the glass walls are strong enough, yes, they are! Kids, among many others love to get closer to the glass so they get a chance to see the lions up close, since it is through the glass walls where viewing is as close as it can be. However, not all the time the lions are near the glass, they usually go there when a trainor is there to give us a talk, and calls them. Otherwise, I believe their favorite place is at the top of the truck, or simply lazying on grass somewhere.
Mom and 2 babies
This picture was not shot through the glass, but in other viewing points where there is no glass that separates men and lion, but then, the lion can not cross towards men because of the design of the exhibit, the lions are smart, they do not want to jump on a man-made cliff that separates them from the men. 
Dad, Mom and Baby
There are a lot more exhibits at Wild Animal Park, but you can probably only really get close to them by joining a caravan or other activities in the park.
Photo Caravan Safari
As for me, I am content enough with the "Journey into Africa" tram ride, since it comes with my membership fee,
Journey Into Africa Cart
this is the only tour I do since I do not have to pay extra :) 
the rest, I have to pay extra, and since I live in San Diego, I always tell myself, "next time, there will be many more tomorrows to do it". But there is one thing for sure, despite the many safari tours at Wild Animal Park, no one can get really up close with a lion, without a glass wall.
In my next posts, I will share the other exhibits I have photographed at Wild Animal Park.
♥♥
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35 comments:

  1. nice pics...keep up the gr8 work...

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  2. It is the man who is inside the cage. Haha :D Those lions were merely looking at u from our "Enclosure".:)

    I wish I can look at this lions too. So close...

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  3. WOW! That lion is on top of the truck!! Way awesome!! :D Betchai, I feel like a little kid that just went to the safari. Keep it coming! :D

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  4. The adventure to the Lion camp is very interesting. I'm sure the lions feel safe at that open space zoo. I wish i could go there too.

    Nice .And the giraffe? So cute. Wish i could hold its nose.

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  5. very fascinating! i love watching the lions' and their lifestyle on animal planet..

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  6. Awesome pictures, and to me the glass is the safest. I don't know if you remember the story about the lion that got over the stone wall, and mauled a young man to death. I think if we are going to have animals, in captivity for pleasure, it has to be safe for both the animal, and humans. These animals certainly look well nourished, and taken care of.

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  7. Those are just fantastic pictures of the lions! Feel like I was on a tour with you, betchai!

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  8. With all these question, then come the old and usual one: you have to pay in order to watch the lion, but the lions do not.
    They are cheaper.

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  9. So close to the lions! Awesome.

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  10. Oh wow..the setting's like a safari. And for a moment, I thought you guys were in the truck and the lion was on top of the truck! That would be kinda of scary...hehhe.

    I wish our local zoo would improve. It's such a shame for tourists from overseas to see the condition of our local zoo.

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  11. this reminds me of Azlan from Chronicles of Narnia... (did i remember it right? haha!)

    great shots as usual, Beth. relieved to know you and the visitors are safe watching them. :)

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  12. reminded of safari world in Thailand. the closest way to wildlife...

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  13. And the questions were now answered... including mine... I knew a new post will answer them... I envy those close-ups with the lions Miss Beth...

    Waiting for your new post... :)

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  14. If I'm ever in San Diego, I'd sure like to visit the Wild Animal Park. Fascinating post and pictures. I love the one with the lions on top of the truck!

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  15. WOW! What an adventure seeing those lions so close! The photos are fantastic Betchai!


    Debbie :)

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  16. oh! wow bethchai, ysa would love to be in that glass enclosure, you can almost touch the lions.must be awesome to be that close to them and safe...!!

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  17. what great lion photos! Being in San Diego, you must have so many more great animal photos.

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  18. Too cool images, I like the idea of being behind glass, get in closer, and love the shot of the Lion on the truck

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  19. despite not being out there, you still managed to capture such wonderful shots through the observation area. I was curious too with the first photo with the lion so here i found all the answer as well. I hope we can go there in san diego and see you betchai.

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  20. Whoah!Look at the giraffe,so close to the people at the caravan.How exciting!I'm pleased to know that the animals have a vast playground.It's like they're in their natural habitat after all.At first I really thought they were enclosed in a small space.How could I think like that?Vets and animal activists wouldn't have allowed that,right?
    I love the pics of the lion on top of the truck,hehe.

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  21. I love lions. They're such beautiful animals. I would love to be able to go to a place like this to see all of the animals.

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  22. Beautiful beasts. I've visited that park years ago...glad you had fun!

    peace,
    mike
    livelife365

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  23. I bet my son is dying to be joining you on your next zoo excrusion trip!

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  24. Hi Betchai,

    Love these photos... Would you believe that the only zoo I've been to was the one at Safari World in Thailand? It was really awesome because I was able to see those wild animals up close and personal because they were not in cage... it was scary but fun feeding the hungry camel from our car with leaves we got from the nearby trees we passed by.

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  25. I love the idea that with those glass barriers you can get up close with them. I think the idea that they have so much room to roam and play makes it much better for them and they don't become frustrated as they do in our local zoo. There is hardly any room for them at all. These are fantastic photos betchai.

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  26. I haven't been out there in over two years! I have to get back out there. I am like you, I only take the ride that is included, but I always tell myself that someday I will do the safari one, just so I can get some awesome pictures!

    Hope you are finding a way to stay cool. This weather is just too hot.

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  27. ah my god, 1st time ko po dito at namangha ako, header pa lang ate panalo na...

    nakakatuwa naman para sa mga lions and their fellow animals... sana lahat ng zoo ganyan na lang...

    nice one Miss!

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  28. Betchai, makes me want to visit San Diego Zoo! I like the photo of the giraffe and the cheeta... but my favorite is lion and man.. it makes Kahi appear like the one who is inside the glass..hehe

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  29. I am glad to see they have lots of land to roam, but I guess if they go too far away, no one can see them. How did they get on top of that truck? Or, was it a prop?

    Regarding your comment on my blog, yes that is the Spanish Art Village and other post was a fancy bike rack. You are good! :)

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  30. Hi Betchai! Visiting here again. Looking at the photos, I realized it's been 2 years since Dana took me to Zoo Atlanta...I saw 2 or 3 lions there up close...:)

    Here's hoping you have a fantastic weekend!


    Debbie :)

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  31. Hi Betchai, I missed the Zoo in our San Diego visit. It is so beautiful! Our LA Zoo is quite smaller than yours. We also have membership, but the weather for the past couple of months has been warm so we'd rather go to museums or the beach.

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  32. Well... the lion is now inside my head... Great pix

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  33. Wow! Awesome photos! It would definitely be a great experience to see these wild animals as close as that. I have always been fascinated with lions and i just love your photos.

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  34. There was a woman that tried to get closer to a polar bear to get a good photo and was attacked. I don't think she sued.

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  35. wow! in my wildest dreams i think i could tame them hahahahaha,

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