Squirrelly beggar tugs the heart strings

You know those beggars at the traffic light that bring their pets to tug on you emotions.  This little squirrel decided to strike out on his own and came right up to our table as we were eating outside a restaurant in Mandeville a while back. Hard to turn a cutie like this down.
--steve buser

Squirrels, Louisiana, Mandeville

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Nourishing nature's long-necks

Little Sophie gets a close up view when my wife, Linda, shows her how to feed the giraffes at Global Wildlife Center -- a free range preserve in Folsom -- about an hour out of New Orleans. I thought for awhile that the smiles on the kids faces my be permanently pasted on. But, like kids tattoos, they wore off in a few days.
--steve buser

Giraffes, Global Wildlife Center

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Global Wildlife Center --head butting

Two young buckS tangle antlers trying to prove their "staghood."  We were at the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, La -- a pleasant country drive north of New Orleans. 
The animals would come right up to our wagon train for food, but I was surprised to see how many tussles and arguments ensued as they fought their way to the front and then wanted exclusive territory.  The kids loved it all  (as did the adults -- our daughter Vicky and husband Aaron pulled triple-duty  -- feeding the animals, taking pictures and helping our grandkids learn who you could feed by hand and for which animals you had to drop the food on the ground.)

--steve buser

Global Wildlife Center, Louisiana 

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