January 25, 2014

Wildlife Park Rheingoenheim

When the sun came out this morning after a week of grey weather felt the urge to get some fresh air. Even though everything was wet and muddy I thought the Wildlife Park Rheingoenheim would be a good idea. 

By the time I arrived there, the sun was gone. This did not bode well for taking pictures, but I went in nevertheless. 

The park is basically a forest area that is left alone. There are several rivulets, some of them even with wooden bridges, as you can see in the picture below.

Following the path I came to a paddock filled with sheep - only black ones - I wonder if that was meant to be a sign.

Next to the sheep were a couple of donkeys. Those two were really cute and not shy at all. They kept flirting with the camera - and I kept shooting them. 

Close-up of the partly covered eye.

This grey guy was definitely not afraid to make an ass out of himself. 

There was also a blond-maned horse. I was fascinated of its eyes with those long eye-lashes.

A little further into the forest I saw the ugliest pig I have ever seen. It kept sticking its snout through the pickets - so maybe it is used to getting treats from visitors.

This duck was the only splash of color in a sea of mud.

This mud is heaven for the wild boar family that lives there though. They kept digging trenches and then snuggled up to each other after this exhausting work.

On one side of the park is a big meadow exclusively for red deer. An impressive stag lead the herd. 

The female deer were definitely beautiful too. 

It was getting colder and the light started to get really awful, so I started to move towards the exit. 

On the way to there I saw this majestic bison. Very impressive.

The last cage I passed was that of a lynx. He was not exactly happy to have a visitor and hid in his cave. There he started purring, most likely to calm himself. 

After having nearly arrived at the exit I saw the last blur of color in the park - two peacocks sitting on the rail of a paddock.

All in all it was a nice morning - despite the cloudy weather. Of course these weather conditions were less than ideal for shooting pictures, so it was only slim pickings for me this time.