Grapeland Safari

This week on my day off from caregiving I ventured west about 75 miles to the small town of Grapeland.  I had heard on the news that the Grapeland Safari had once again opened after having been closed for around three years.  I had not had an opportunity to visit and since I love photographing animals I decided I'd better go.  It was easy enough to find on the main north/south highway that runs through this little town of about 1,500 people.  I evidently was the first patron of the day (and it was already after 10 o'clock) because the owner came out of her home to and met me in the driveway.  I paid my $8 admission fee, bought a bucket of feed for $8, signed an acknowledgement that I had read the rules and regulations, and through the gate I went.

I was immediately met by a scraggly group of miniature horses and a donkey. There were some peacocks in a fenced-in area along with some pigs and maybe some small goats.  I was beginning to think I had been duped by a rinky-dink business and was quite skeptical.  I could see no other animals in sight.  The whole place is just a big flat pasture, but I remembered the owner telling me not to drive on the pond dam and I couldn't see a pond so I figured it must be a ways on down.  There were no roads or trails.  You just take off driving and head any direction you want away from the main gate.

After a couple minutes I could see the pond and then soon after I could tell there was some activity around the pond.  There was a huge herd of deer resting by the pond bank.  They were beautiful fallow deer and their racks were amazing.  Then I noticed there were different varieties of African antelope and ...

... a herd of about 30 zebra.  Then I noticed what just made my day!

A baby foal and its mother out for a morning stroll!  When I got too close, Mama Zebra headed out to the pasture and I followed along.  She wasn't too keen on me getting too close.

Wait for me, Mama!  I'm coming!

When I went back through the gate and turned in my feed bucket the owner told me that there are three baby zebras on the property, the two youngest being about two weeks old and then one which was born just that morning!  I said this must be the one that's two weeks old and showed her a couple of pictures I had taken and she informed me that this indeed was the newborn.  When I mentioned that it wasn't the least bit wobbly like a baby horse, she said the zebras basically come out running and don't have that awkward period of finding their land legs.

Here Mama gives Baby a loving nudge.  If these were the only pictures I took that day, the trip would  have been worth it.  But I think I got some pretty great shots of some of the other animals which I hope to share with you in the coming days.

Is this just the cutest, sweetest thing you've ever seen?