Big cats at the National Zoo

August 27, 2015 by Mike Powell

On a trip to the National Zoo earlier this week, I was walking around in heat of the summer sun, unlike most of the animals, who were relaxing in the shade or finding other ways to cool off.

This female lion was dozing in the shade and would periodically raise her head and look in our direction with sleepy eyes.

This tiger decided to swim a bit in the water of the moat at the front edge of its enclosure. I couldn’t tell how deep the water was—at times it looked like the tiger was merely walking in the water and not actually swimming.

This cheetah seemed a little agitated and was not relaxing. It was walking back and forth along the fence line that separated its enclosure from the adjacent cheetah enclosure.

I’ll probably never go on a safari and see these beautiful creatures in the wild, but my trip to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. afforded me a glimpse of their power and their majesty. I am happy that the National Zoo is active in efforts to ensure the preservation of endangered species, in particular the cheetah. Check out this article for more information about those efforts.

10 Responses

on August 27, 2015 at 6:08 am | Reply Eric Klingenberg

Thanks for posting these great pictures. I’ll show them to my youngest, he’s big cat mad.
- on August 27, 2015 at 7:07 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Eric. One of the cool things about living in the Washington D.C. area is that the Smithsonian museums, including the National Zoo, do not charge admission.
on August 27, 2015 at 8:10 am | Reply Dan Antion

Amazing animals.
- on August 27, 2015 at 10:26 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Indeed. Thanks, Dan.
on August 27, 2015 at 10:13 am | Reply joeleagle

Wow Mike, the lighting on your lion is awesome!
- on August 27, 2015 at 10:24 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Joel. As you can probably tell, it was a mixture of sunshine and shade, though the shade was light shade. When the lion lifted her head, the lighting seemed almost magical.
  - on August 27, 2015 at 10:25 am joeleagle
    
    Agreed! Beautiful
on August 27, 2015 at 4:31 pm | Reply Charlie@Seattle Trekker

We have lost about 40% of our total big cat population since 1970 so I am always glad to see organizations join the fight to reverse this…The photos are gorgeous, and I to do not see myself getting all the way to Africa.
on August 28, 2015 at 5:17 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

These are beautiful animals. I love that shot of the tiger.
- on August 28, 2015 at 8:27 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Allen. it was especially cool to see the tiger in the water. I didn’t have my long lens with me, but was happy that the 70-300mm worked out.