Mearkats seem very popular at the zoo these days and I suspect it has something to do with a certain advertising campaign. I don’t think this one had a Russian accent, but it did stand up straight and pose for me. Again, it is a shame that the light was coming from over his shoulder, otherwise there would have been more light in his eyes.

This ostrich was eating, so I had to get the timing right and wait patiently until he lifted his head up. Sadly, by the time he did he had turned so that the sun was directly behind him. This has meant that his body now casts a big shadow over his head and neck. I wanted to ask him to move, but he didn’t look too happy that day!

I could watch Chimpanzees for hours. They are so close to us humans it is sometimes quite scary. At Chester Zoo they have a very large indoor and outdoor play area with climbing frames and ropes. You see the younger ones inside a lot, but in the half dozen times I have been I don’t recall every seeing them outside on the ropes. It seems they always sit or lie just at the doorway here in a group, just as you can see above.

Baby swans are called cygnets for those of you who don’t recognise this little critter. He was racing after his mother mute swan on the Bridgewater Canal last week. Sadly the camera was on the wrong setting and made the water very grainy / noisy looking. I put my hand up – it was my fault! Fortunately I just got Adobe’s latest Photoshop CS5 which has a fantastic “noise reduction” tool. Time to reprocess some of my older images!