Singing to the Naughty Bird

 

Our Sunday (July 20, 2025) was quiet. The trip to Junction City for the birthday party had us thinking we would experience a serene day, but Terry and I love to experience things. We decided it was a perfect day to take a run through Wildlife Safari. 

If you follow the blog, you know this is our favorite place to go. We both love animals, and taking photos of them adds to the experience. Each memory is kept here, in this blog. Well, as many as we can capture anyway. We have had some fun times with the animals that we couldn't capture as quickly as we liked, missing the moment. For those who don't follow the blog, we typically post all our trips through the wildlife park here, for our own enjoyment and for others to experience the journey with us. 

It always begins with a trip through the grasslands first. Camels were lying in the shade, and one of them looked like he had returned from a frat party.

I think the poor guy tied one on last night and was not served his morning coffee yet. 

These are elands. They are known as common elands, as if they aren't good enough to be dubbed anything better. They are beautiful creatures and not common to me at all. This family was relaxing in the shade on this Sunday afternoon. 

I asked Terry to get this photo of a baby zebra. The last trip we made through the park, he was smaller and close to his mom, but this time he was a distance from his herd. 

A trio of zebras was watching over the baby. I'm sure one of these three is the baby's mother. 

These two rhinos were enjoying partial sun. This is their favorite place to relax and hang out. Each time we have been through the park, it seems these two are here. 

As we follow the gravel pathway around to the wetlands, we always look on the hill for this guy. Several years ago, my daughter, Marina, and I were traveling through the park and saw the ostrich hanging out behind the fence in solitude. We asked the staff about him and they let us in on a secret ... this guy is a naughty bird. 

She said they have to keep him alone due to his orneriness toward other animals, including other ostriches, and his picking at vehicles. He is grounded, so to speak. He's a bad bird. 

They gave him the entire hillside, so he has plenty of room to run. Today he was looking through the fence at all the pretty cars he could kick the crap out of. We always stop and say hello to this silly guy, but we do feel safer with him behind the fence. 

And today he was checking us out too. I'm sure the silver coloring on the Xterra had him wishing he could come on down off the hill to do some damage. 

Today we had a chance to see more babies throughout the park. These two bison were lying in a group where they were protected. 

This calf was curled up while adults stood close by. It's a beautiful thing to see new life in Wildlife Safari, especially after the horrible conditions that closed down the Bandon wildlife park. 

Around the corner were the bears. You never know if the bears will be up and moving or if you will see a bear butt while it sleeps under a covering. Today we did see some bears. 

Terry and I figure we will probably not see anything as fun as the two wrestling bear cubs he caught on video during one visit to the bear section. 

The bears were wrestling in the pond as we drove through. Terry was able to catch them in action. This was one of our favorite visits. 

Next up came these beautiful, regal American elk. These boys have some antlers to show off! There is one behind the tree if you notice the antlers poking out. Sorry, the grass is so high! 

Terry was able to zoom in and capture this beautiful face along with the antlers. 

While the boys were resting, the cows seemed to find solace in grazing during this lazy Sunday afternoon. 

Driving a bit further, we came upon the red wolf runs. Sometimes these elusive animals are impossible to see, and other times we have been able to get some good photos of them. We were able to locate one of them today. Terry captured a few good photos of it. 

This one poked its head out of the den, yawned, and stood still for a moment or two for Terry to get some good pictures. I was sitting in the driver's seat waiting for him to snap as many pictures as he could. I heard him mumbling about the wolf not being close enough and clear enough. 

Suddenly, I hear my husband's voice break into song. I immediately knew the first two or three notes and words he vocalized, and joined in on the fun. In unison, we both sang, "Come a little bit closer, you're my kind of wolf." This spurred laughter between us, and a couple of I love yous. We do seem to come up with the same ideas quite often, as scary or as good as that may be. 😉😆😯

After capturing this pose, the red wolf gave out a big yawn, then headed back inside. Apparently, the day was too dull. That, or he was sick of humans looking at him and singing songs out of tune. 

There seems to be visiting wildlife as well as the animals who are residents. This turkey vulture watched over us as we passed underneath this tree. 

A large rhino sits inside a private run once again. Not sure why it's kept in solitude, or maybe it is released during certain times of the day, as are the giraffes. Park staff tend to let giraffes run at times and then other giraffes at other times. Or it could possibly be a rhino they received from another park, and they are keeping it under quarantine for a while. I was thinking the other two rhinos might be a breeding pair and this one is a third wheel. Who knows? 

Elephants are a favorite animal too. Oh, I need to get real. All the animals are my favorite kind. Except snakes. I know they serve their purpose too, but yuck. 

I assume this is the old elephant I see all the time in the park. Many years ago, we were told this animal was 23, which isn't really old, but old enough. Terry told me about an article he read where an elephant lived to be over 100 years old and recently passed away. They are beautiful creatures!

Terry was able to get this close-up of the gray crowned crane, aka my boyfriend. During one of our earlier trips through the park, one of these guys came up to the Xterra and began singing to me and doing the mating dance. Terry told the bird I was engaged. We laughed, and ever since the bird has brought on a bout of laughter. 

Going through the African section of the park, we ran into the mother cheetah with her two cubs. I could see this one, but the other one was running around like a wild man, so I was unable to capture it too. 

The little one is so cute! Makes me want to pinch those cute cheeks. But with mom giving me that look, I think I'll pass. 

Terry wanted to go inside the village to see some things in the gift shop. We drove on through the rest of the cheetah area and the tigers, and parked the car. 

I stopped inside the gates to get a couple of pictures of a cheetah they had inside the run. Staff members were giving it treats and working on some training, although I do believe the cheetah was done. 

With looks toward the staff, he kept walking around without going too close to them. 

Meanwhile, in the flamingo pen, a few birds were upset with one squatting on the ground. Talk about ruffling some feathers!

Not sure if this one was training for some Taekwondo or was doing some sort of yoga in the park, but it was outside the argument the others were having. 

The canna lilies inside the flamingo pond area were finishing up their bloom season. I love these flowers up against the flamingos because of the orange color on both flower and bird. 

I went inside the gift shop, found Terry, and looked at a few things. We left the shop soon after arriving and headed out to the car. Before leaving, I had to get another couple of photos of the cheetah. 

It was as if the cat was posing and I wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity. 

Beautiful cat, beautiful day. 

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We would like to thank you all for reading the blog. We enjoy journaling our activities and keeping our memories fresh by putting them in the blog. We hope you are getting some enjoyment out of our experiences too. 

Until our next post, take care! Shine your light and count those blessings!

Terry & Vicki Macrae

Have an awesome week!