Although it's been quite a few years since I have been to any zoo, I finally decided to check out "Wisconsin's Wildest Zoo", Shalom Wildlife Zoo located in West Bend, WI.

Shalom consist of roughly a 4-mile gravel path that loops around the zoo. If your smart, and want to add to the fun, you'll rent a golf cart.

Mouflon sheep with large curved horns at the Shalom Wildlife Zoo.

Many of the animals seem to have lots of area to prance around in. This means they can also be harder to spot. I don't mind, it adds to the fun.

White-tailed deer fawn peeks out from behind a tree.

Some animals; on the other hand, seemed excessively confined. I'm no expert, but Coyote probably need a bit more room than 6x8 foot cage to run around in.

A coyote chillaxing on a couple of barrels at the Shalom Zoo.

Food to feed certain animals is purchasable. Many of the fences were big enough to get hands through to interact with the wildlife. I like to avoid tongues and drool of 500-pound animals myself, but plenty of people were into feeding them.

A nilgai basks in the sun at the Shalom Wildlife Zoo.

The zoo is scattered with 'learning centers', notes on animals, blurbs about the foliage, and more. A week ago, if you would have asked me to identify which of the following birds is a "Mute Swan" or "Trumpeter Swan", I wouldn't have been able to tell you.

A beautiful Mute Swan does a cleanes.
A trumpeter swan shows of his/her beautiful white feathers.

One of my favorite moments at Shalom was seeing the Bison stampede around. I failed to get a decent shot of them doing so, but here is one after they stopped running.

This collection of photographed animals does not do the Shalom Zoo justice - I'm not sure if "wildest zoo" holds up though. Overall, it was a good time, and seems like a great place for kids. I have reaffirmed that zoos are a good place to take photos. Maybe I will check out Milwaukee County Zoo soon!

A peacock makes himself known throughout the Shalom Zoo with his piercing calls.
A cow elk noms on some leaves.
This ostrich is walking around with a bit of an up-do.
A long way from home, an African spurred tortoise struts around the grasses of the Shalom Zoo.

Fence-Be-Gone

Although this photo was taken from feet away. A fence obscured this Grizzly Bear's entire body, and a portion of the tree. You can see this a tiny bit in the Coyote photo above. That said, it's a lot less notable there due to my focal length. So instead of throwing away the photo, I put my rusty Photoshop skills to the test. How does it look?

I Photoshoped the wire fence out of this photograph of a grizzly bear.