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Azul in the Pool

August 28, 2018

Azul in the Pool

- as seen by -

Taryn Teegan Taryn Teegan

Meet Azul. Perhaps some of you have already been introduced. Azul and her sister, Nadia, were featured not long ago in Animal Planet’s hit show, The Zoo. I have the privilege of caring for the silly, bold, adventurous, and thoroughly wet Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) you see splashing around in the picture above.

It is often said that cats don’t like getting wet. Tell that to Azul! Tigers are one of the few large cats that actually enjoy the water. If you swing by the Bronx Zoo’s Tiger Mountain on a summer day, you might get lucky and catch Azul swimming or one of our Amur tigers lounging in the shallows.

This particular photo was a lot of fun. It was a hot and humid morning so I knew I had a good chance of getting Azul to jump in the water to play.

It didn’t take long to get her attention, and soon after, Azul was in the water a-splishin’ and a-splashin. She’d stalk me, pounce in the water, and chase me back and forth in the pool while I encouraged her playfulness and cheered her on from the other side of the glass.

This amazing photo was captured while Azul had been romping around in the water for over 20 minutes. I was exhausted from all the play well before Azul, but also extremely satisfied knowing I had provided some exciting enrichment to an animal in my care.

Until next time Azul…

Nikon D5


Bronx, USA Map It

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7 comments

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Scott
August 28, 2018 at 11:01 am

Great story Taryn! What a powerful, playful creature! 🙂

Laurie Peccini
August 28, 2018 at 4:02 pm

Hi Taryn,
My husband and I are your biggest fans…we just can’t get enough of the wonderful programming on The Zoo…can you tell me if another season is in the works? I can’t find any information on that at all…we have already seen all of Season 2. Thank you, and thank you and the Boogie Down Bronx for the spectacular job you are doing for our animals and our planet! L.

    Wild View Editor
    September 2, 2018 at 9:20 am

    Hi Laurie

    Thanks for your comments. Good news! The third season of Animal Planet’s THE ZOO will premiere in 2019. Stay tuned for more details.

John stahl
August 29, 2018 at 7:22 am

Taryn….super image of the aquatic Azul. I know that Jaguars also enjoy the water.

Ken Conley
August 30, 2018 at 5:34 pm

Another amazing shot! Once I got over how stunning Azul looks, my eyes focused on the light streaming through the pool and onto her hind legs. I love it!

Kelly
September 18, 2018 at 10:24 pm

Wow! Awesome pic! I took some shots last week. Yours is inspirering, nice job!

Leslie Guardanapo
June 29, 2020 at 12:23 am

You are our favorite at the Bronx Zoo! We especially enjoyed watching you handle K-2’s snow leopard cub. Thank you for the work you do. You give us great hope for your generation. Thank you, Leslie Guardanapo