March 26, 2017

On The Road: Galveston, Texas

White-Faced Saki
Who could resist this little guy -- a white-faced saki monkey?!  When the SDP Junior Editor and I visited the Moody Gardens rain forest in Galveston, Texas, recently, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that some of the inhabitants roam freely around the spacious rain forest area.  Apparently, white-faced sakis tend to be shy and prefer to spend their time in the trees, so I was a bit surprised to encounter this guy just hanging out on a rock, as if he were waiting for his close up.  As surprised as I was, I think a young employee there was even more so --- and strongly encouraged us to stay back back and give him his space.  Done! We also spotted two sloths high up in the trees....and I'm now thinking sloths may have a bad reputation because one was on the move!

Zebra Longwing
Making our way through the rain forest, we also encountered a colorful compact garden with oodles of vibrant butterflies flitting about, including this zebra longwing -- another great surprise, since I love these kinds of photo opps.  Great visit!

10 comments:

Michelle said...

A great photo of the monkey, though it would have given me pause. Love the butterfly shot. Sounds like a great day!

Lorraine said...

Wonderful photos as always, but I have to say, I adore your new header shot!

Lowell said...

Having lived for years in Texas, and many of them in Houston, we spent lots of time in Galveston. I don't remember this "rain forest," though. So maybe it's relatively new or we spent most of our time fishing! Love that monkey, perhaps as others have said, because I so resemble them...and your butterfly photo is beautiful!

William Kendall said...

Quite a photogenic monkey!

Kate said...

Your encounter with the Saki was fortuitous, giving you a chance for a good photo! These preserves are so delightful and hope that all of our cities can afford to continue offering these places for citizen enjoyment.

Kate said...

PS. Have I told you how much I enjoy your profile photo? You look so happy that it always makes me smile.

Kay said...

You had a great visit and scored some truly memorable photos. I've never seen anything like a saki monkey and the butterfly is gorgeous.

Bill said...

The saki monkey is adorable and the butterfly stunning. Nice shots SRQ!

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Yup i would have given the monkey a wide berth for sure 😀 the butterfly image is too gorgeous SRQ, nice work!

Brian King said...

Those are beautiful! I've never heard of that species of monkey until now.