Jan. 7, 2018 - Wildlife Safari Park - 3

Here are some more photos from our trip to Oregon last October. They were taken at the Wildlife Safari Park in Winston, Oregon. Today I’m featuring some of the larger animals in the park.

There are several subspecies of Zebra that live in Africa. The park brochure lists theirs as Demara Zebras. Notice the thin, brown stripes between the black stripes on the back end of this zebra. They are found only on this subspecies; other zebras have only black and white stripes. Each individual zebra has its own unique pattern of stripes.

ZebraDemaraWildlifeSafariWinchester20171022

Watusi Cattle have the longest horns of any breed of cattle. They look so big and heavy, it’s a wonder they can hold up their heads! Apparently, they have very strong neck muscles.

WatusiCattleWildlifeSafariWinchester20171022

A Wildebeest is also called a Gnu. In fact, the park brochure says this is a White-Bearded Gnu. Wildebeest are the animals that are shown migrating in huge herds when you watch wildlife documentaries about Africa.

WildebeestWhitebeardedGnuWildlifeSafariWinchester20171022

This Tibetan Yak looks like it has been using its horns to dig in the dirt. There are herds of wild Yaks, but the Yak has also been domesticated for thousands of years. It is used for transporting goods and is kept for its milk, meat, and hide.

YakTibetanWildlifeSafariWinchester20171022

This Hippopotamus was content to almost completely submerge itself in a pool of water. That’s appropriate; its name comes from a Greek word meaning river horse. They resemble pigs, but their closest relatives are whales, dolphins, and porpoises. They are also very large; adult males average about 3300 pounds. Among land mammals, only elephants and rhinoceroses are larger.

HippopotamusWildlifeSafariWinchester20171022

Here’s a funny front view of the Hippo.

HippopotamusWildlifeSafariWinchester20171022