Banham Tigers....and some other stuff....but mostly Tigers

There'll be some of you that will say these photos are not wildlife photos, because they were taken in a zoo. To that I say you are entitled to your view. And that I got closer to these animals than I have to any in the wild, separated from the largest of the big cats by a pain of glass.
When a friend mentioned in conversation that she and her daughter had seen not only tigers, but cubs at Banham Zoo in Norfolk I jumped at the chance to see them myself one Saturday a few weeks back.
The Tiger is an animal I have always been struck dumb by. Their shier size and power, along with the thing that I expect attracts a lot of people to big cats, the sometimes unnerving characteristic likenesses to their own pet moggy.   
Banham Zoo is a small site in Norfolk, near Attleborough. They have a modest range of enclosures housing a range of creatures. Owls feature heavily on entrance to the park. A beautiful pair of Snowy Owls were my particular favourites. 

A small herd of Giraffe populate a large open enclosure and house with dual level viewing platforms inside and out. All were indoors eating contently.
Turning the corner in the path from the cheetahs, we were treated to a profile view of a full grown male tiger passing the large viewing pane in font of us as we approached the enclosure, devoid of any other spectators. My first site of a tiger always induces the same response; a sharp intake of breath and a prolonged dumbfounded silence. I could watch them forever. 
Although our journey to the zoo was punctuated by a number of heavy rain storms, once we entered and had meanderingly made our way to the tiger enclosure the sun was shining bright, flooding the lightly wooded areas within in great shards of yellow beams, producing quite pretty shadows and reflections. 
I sat and snapped away as first the adult female passed the glass and sauntered around the bloated pond towards the opposite viewing window. To my right, 2 cubs approached the other side of the pool playing boisterously. Followed finally by the adult male, a huge beast of a cat. 

These are Amur (or Siberian) Tigers, typically the largest of the tigers. All adult tigers are impressive but this male is a monster. The size of his head, framed as he lay in the house entrance made me gawp audibly as we arrived at the indoor section of the enclosure. He stared at us with deep eyes as I stared back, uneasy in a way, only ten feet from his gaze.
by this time one of the cubs had made a bed in the corner by the glass, this made for some more involuntary vocal sounds.

I was dragged away from the enclosure with the promise of return later in the day.
And so up the hill towards the Meercat, (disappointingly quiet) Otter and Red Panda enclosures. 
En route is a pond with various wildfowl and a large field with many sheep and an expansive colony of Prairie Dogs which squeak loudly at the slightest sight of danger.   

Geoffroy's Cat

The Meercats didn't disappoint with the usual chatter and stretching. The Red Panda seems an illusive creature. I've only ever seen these outside for a short while before retreating back to one of it's many nest boxes in the trees, where it stubbornly stays.

Our first visit to the Lemar enclosure, an open area where the animals are free to roam as you walk around a marked out route through the enclosure was met by a sign telling us the Lemars would be locked inside for a little while as food was being laid out. Our second was more of a success. We were me firstly by a small Red Lemar group sitting, motionless picking at the grass. We found the ring tailed variety playing and eating, further into the enclosure.

 Making my way to the exit after a final look at the tigers I popped into the education centre which also houses a small reptile and invertebrates collection. A good chance to practice some narrow depth of field shots.