Ucumari is the Flickr profile of Valerie, a volunteer at the NC Zoo. She loves to travel to other zoos, bears and taking pictures. Her sets are composed by marvellous pictures of tigers, giraffe,zebras, lion cubs, pandas, frogs, elephants, gorillas, sealions, birds, wolves, arctic fox, bears and other animals. You can stay surfing through her pictures for hours without being tired. It's a pity that she doesn't have any crocodile pictures on her sets.

On her profile, Valerie points to an important discussion about zoos. There are many programs in zoos that are re-introducing species who's population has either become dangerously threatened or extinct in their native land. That's great, and unfortunately that's an exception compared with the zoos all over the world. I'm against the creation of new zoo's, but I'm totally pro those kind of programs and in restructuring of old zoos.

I used to love visiting the zoo and the Zôo Safari (antigo Simba Safari) when I was a child. The last time I visited the São Paulo Zoo, many years ago, I decided don't go back there. The situation of many of those animals broke my heart. In small places, some of them alone (and I'm talking about species that don't live alone) and I wasn't so sure about the treatment they were receiving. It was too sad. I hope they had change the things there.

More pictures of animals:
John Hyde
Airborne Cats
Jellyfish pictures
Awww Too Cute
Shrew pictures
Dora - the raccoon
Red Panda Pictures
Photographing Squirrels
Frogs and the blue poison frog
Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year