In addition to photographing airplanes and bridges, I enjoy doing zoo photography. Zoo photography is a little more challenging because you have to work with natural light, the enclosures are often in the way, you cannot pose the subjects, and the zoo visitors get in the way. The end result of a good shot is a photo that looks like it was taken in the wild. Here is a group of my favorite big cat photos from the 1989 to 1993 era. Note that these are copyrighted photos and may not be used without my written permission.

This is a large African Lion at the Indianapolis Zoo, located in Whitewater State Park near downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. This is a relatively new zoo having been founded in 1968, and being at its current location since 1988. The result is that it is not an overly large zoo, but each exhibit is well done. The Indy Zoo is a member of the Species Survival Plan for the African Lion. In this photo, the lion is doing what a male lion does the most...lounging around on his favorite rock.

This is a female African Lion at the Los Angeles Zoo, located in Griffith Park just northwest of downtown LA. This zoo is also relatively new, having been founded in 1966. Zoo LA is a very large facility with a wide variety of animals. The warm climate allows the zoo to grow a wide variety of plants that are native to the areas where the animals would live in the wild. This makes the zoo photos look a little more authentic. In this photo, the lioness is on patrol walking around her habitat waiting for an early morning meal.

This is a tiger at the cat complex in the Henry Doorly Zoo, located on the west side of Omaha, Nebraska. The Henry Doorly Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in America, and it is famous as the home zoo of Marlin Perkins, host of the Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. The cat complex was the largest cat facility in America when it opened in 1977. It is a key facility in supporting the Tiger Species Survival Plan. This tiger is doing what cats do the best, and that is sleep. A tiger may sleep 18 hours a day. Since a tiger has no natural predators, it doesn't have to worry about being attacked when sleeping.

This is a Siberian tiger taking a quick dip in the pool at the zoo in Houston, Texas. The Houston Zoo dates back from the early 1900s, but the bulk of its exhibits were built shortly after WWII. Animal exhibits from that era were mostly cages with bars and concrete. A large effort was made by the zoo in the 1980s to update these old exhibits into habitats that are much more animal friendly. In this photo, this tiger is out for a morning swim on a very hot and muggy day. This photo is an example that shoots down the old theory that tigers do not like the water.

Another photo from the Houston Zoo from autumn of 1991 shows a lion with her cubs. These cubs are both females. There is a 3rd cub, a male, who is hiding behind a rock just behind his mother's tail. The cubs were about 6 weeks old at this time, and this was the very first day that they were on display. The lions were only on display for about 2 hours at a time. The crowd was a little too close for the lion mom's comfort. You can see that in her intense stare towards the crowd looking for anything that might be a threat.

This photo is also from the Houston Zoo. These are two young male leopards. Leopards carry spots, but the spots are a complex pattern called a rosette rather than simple solid spots. The spots are in the hair only, and not in the leopard's skin. This is unlike the tiger and jaguar, where the spots go all the way to the skin. Leopards like to sleep much of the day. They search out spots where there are high outcroppings of rocks to give them good visibility and a place that they can defend and will not be bothered. As a result, leopard habitats are normally built with a similar rock outcropping. Leopards are considered to be one of the four "big cats" along with tigers, lions, and jaguars.

This is a jaguar at the Brookfield Zoo in the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The Brookfield Zoo dates from the depression era, and it consisted of the worst of the cage and bar type exhibits. New ideas came to the zoo in the 1980s, and at one point, the zoo was all but shut down for much of a 3 year period as the bulk of the cage and bar exhibits were removed and modern habitats were built. The situation with the cages was so bad that the zoo managers saw no alternative than this wholesale upgrade to the zoo. The result is very modern zoo that is also very easy for the visitors to see everything. The zoo also featured one of the first indoor tropical exhibits, which was worth the trip by itself. In this photo we see a melanistic jaguar, which is a genetic variation that leaves the cat with a black coat. This cat spent a lot of time in this tree. At times, it would face away from the crowd so it could watch the keepers and see when lunch was being served. At other times, it would face towards the crowd to watch the visitors.

Three young lions are on display in the Lion's Pride exhibit at the World Famous Topeka Zoo in Topeka, Kansas. This zoo is known for its innovative exhibits, unusual for such a small zoo. As an example, the Topeka Zoo had one of the first indoor tropical rainforest exhibits. The Lion's Pride was built in 1989. This photo was taken shortly after it opened. The zoo alternated putting the male and female lions outside on alternate days. The Topeka Zoo ran into a period of mismanagement and neglect in the late 1990s, and it lost accreditation in 2001. The city was forced to replace the management and revamp the facility in order to regain its accreditation. The end result is a much more modern and animal-friendly facility.