Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

During our last visit to the farm, my father had a hen and several chickens that had hatched recently. They were awfully difficult to photograph and kept moving. This is a closeup of one of the chicks. The white on the right of the photo is the hen’s breast.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters.

This week I’m posting a photo of an ostrich, taken at Wellington Zoo. I have actually seen ostriches in the wild and have vivid memories of a male ostrich with twelve chicks running after him. This ostrich is a loner.

A few facts about ostriches:

1. They’re the world’s largest flightless bird.
2. They live in savannah and desert lands and get most of their water from their food.
3. Ostrich kicks are capable of killing both humans and predators such as lions.
4. Ostriches live in small herds with an alpha male taking charge (I wonder if anyone has written an ostrich shifter???)
5. Ostriches do not hide their heads in the sand, but they do lie low and attempt to flatten themselves against the ground as a way of hiding.
6. Ostrich meat is delicious to eat (according to Mr. Munro) and very healthy for you.
7. They live for about 30 – 40 years in the wild.

Source: National Geographic

To see more animal photographs visit Camera Critters.

I took this photo at Wellington Zoo a few weeks ago. I can stand and watch the merkats for hours. They’re so cute and feisty. Seeing them standing upright and on guard never fails to make me smile.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters

I took this shot of a sun bear at Wellington Zoo. They’re called sun bears because of the creamy round sun shape on their upper chest. (You can’t see it in this shot) They come from the Southern Asia region.

Visit Camera Critters to see more animal photos.

We came across these mountain goats on the side of the road near Mt. Rushmore. Hubby and I were more excited about seeing them than the president’s faces. The animals ignored us as they took a drink from the water that trickled down a rock face.

To see more photographs of animals visit Camera Critters.

The Columbia River is a huge river and we spent some time driving beside it, driving over it on the Astoria Bridge (longest bridge in the USA) and looking down on it. No doubt about it, the river is impressive. So is the wildlife. This is a heron fishing in the Columbia River.

To see more photographs of animals visit Camera Critters.

One of the animals Mr. Munro most wanted to see during our last trip to the US was a bull moose. We came across this one while driving in the Grand Teton area. It was a hot day and he was ambling down the small waterway, ignoring all the tourists taking photos of him.

To see more animal photographs visit Camera Critters.

This photo of two otters playing was taken at Bear Country in South Dakota. They were having a fine old time and enjoying the sun.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters.

“Careful! Watch the knot. Do I have to go to work today?”

“Can’t we go faster?”

“Ah! Dinner time at last.”

“And maybe time for a snooze.”

These photos were taken at our local farmers’ market where they give pony rides to the children. To visit more animal photos follow the links at Camera Critters.