This is the guy in my main shot and I had to share at least one more. I was so fascinated by this fellow and really have never been this close. He was no more than four feet away from me when he was hanging on the fence.
Snow Leopard -
I took this last night but I love this entire series of shots. I can't believe that I willingly went to the zoo with snow on the ground and spitting snow at the time. I freeze most of the time; I'm hyper aware of falling as I have a couple of stress fractures in my hip and next time the doc says I get to be bionic. So, we went anyway and I don't know when I've had this much fun. The Snow Leopards were spectacular. They were also having an incredibly good time last night with snow on the ground of their exhibit. The Cincinnati Zoo has two of them. This guy literally was hanging on the fence like this for at least 10 minutes. We kept thinking his other paw was bothering him as he was sucking on it. I was trying to figure out who to tell - no keepers around at night - when he walked around normally. I think we stood there watching and taking shots of him for at least 20 minutes. I'm not sure I've seen them move before. They are so graceful - so gorgeous. He looks like a big kitten in this shot. But bear in mind that the sign says they go around 120 lbs.
I love this guy ... it would be hard to keep from shooting him for hours!! Lucky you to be able to get so close. AND I'm glad that you didn't fall. Stay safe.
