Captive Critters...

​Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

Male captive Black Bear, Ursus americanus, came to Bear Hollow Zoo as an orphan in 2006. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA. The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America.

Friday, 10:00 AM - I’m off work for the Good Friday holiday. My girls are at school and my wife at work. Having a desire to shoot something, I head over to Bear Hollow Zoo in Athens, Georgia.
 
I arrive just before the opening of the gates. Although I had to wait about fifteen minutes, it turned out to be quite an advantageous time to visit. I entered the park along with one of the caretakers who proceeded to make his rounds of feeding and checking on the animals. Each became quite excited and active as we passed their enclosures. Otherwise, visiting later in the day, the zoo animals are hidden away or sleeping.
 
The older bobcat became quite active as he threw down bits and pieces of meat and other food items. The Black Bears explored and paced their enclosure to scarf up each treat and piece of fruit scattered strategically around. After about 20 minutes of exploration, all three lay down in the sun for a nap. No more photographs.
 
The captive bald eagle sitting close by the observation platform made for some wonderful photographs. Most of the other raptors were contained in cages behind bars making photography and effective.
 
Although the shots are quite beautiful, there’s just something about shooting captive animals in the zoo that feels like cheating. Of course, I load all the images to my stock photo portfolio, but I’m sure to note that they are captive animals. Yes, there are ethics even in wildlife photography.

Captive American Alligator came to Bear Hollow Zoo in 2009.

Male captive Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, came to Bear Hollow Zoo in 2005 with wing injury preventing release back to the wild. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA.

Female captive Black Bear, Ursus americanus, came to Bear Hollow Zoo as an orphan in 2010. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA. The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent`s smallest and most widely distributed bear species.

Female captive bobcat, Lynx rufus, came to Bear Hollow Zoo from a wildlife rehabilitator in 2006. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA. he bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semidesert, urban edge, forest edge, and swampland environments.

Captive Whitetailed Deer with broken antlers. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA.

American Crow - not quite a captive at Bear Hollow Zoo. But drops in for morning feedings nonetheless.

Male captive Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, came to Bear Hollow Zoo in 2005 with wing injury preventing release back to the wild. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA.

Male captive Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, came to Bear Hollow Zoo in 2005 with wing injury preventing release back to the wild. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA.

Male captive Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, came to Bear Hollow Zoo in 2005 with wing injury preventing release back to the wild. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA.

Male captive Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, came to Bear Hollow Zoo in 2005 with wing injury preventing release back to the wild. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA.

Male captive Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, came to Bear Hollow Zoo in 2005 with wing injury preventing release back to the wild. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA.

Male captive Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, came to Bear Hollow Zoo in 2005 with wing injury preventing release back to the wild. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA.

Black American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos, perched on a stump crowing. Photographed in Bear Hollow Zoo in Athens, GA. American Crows are fairly common and conspicuous throughout most of the lower 48 states outside the southwestern deserts. You can find American Crows by looking around open areas near patches of woods, or in human modified landscapes like city parks, garbage dumps, campgrounds, manicured lawns, athletic fields, cemeteries and parking lots. Listen for their loud cawing.

Black American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos, perched on a stump crowing. Photographed in Bear Hollow Zoo in Athens, GA. American Crows are fairly common and conspicuous throughout most of the lower 48 states outside the southwestern deserts. You can find American Crows by looking around open areas near patches of woods, or in human modified landscapes like city parks, garbage dumps, campgrounds, manicured lawns, athletic fields, cemeteries and parking lots. Listen for their loud cawing.

Female captive bobcat, Lynx rufus, came to Bear Hollow Zoo from a wildlife rehabilitator in 2006. Bear Hollow Zoo is a local wildlife rehabilitation facility and native wildlife zoo in Athens, GA, USA. he bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semidesert, urban edge, forest edge, and swampland environments.