Good Bye Inukshuk - you will be missed

Inukshuk

 

Inukshuk has been part of the Toronto Zoo polar bear exhibit for years and of course it is the polar bear that I have fallen in love with.

Inukhuk became part of the Toronto Zoo family in 2003 when his mother was killed by a hunter. He hasn’t spend his entire live here as he was in a couple of different zoos but he turned to be the Father of both Hudson, Humphrey and Juno. He has played a key role in making sure that the Toronto Zoo has been able to have the polar bear cubs.

Hudson - one of Inukshuk's sons

It is now time for Inukshuk to move on and I am going to be missing this guy when we go to the Zoo because he is the one that I always look for. He is also the one that I have enjoyed taking a lot of pictures of. Inukshuk has been spending his winters up in Cochrane Ontario at a polar bear habitat and this time when he goes up he wont’ be returning to the zoo like he has in the past. The original move was scheduled for July of this year but because of the weather we had he got to stay at the zoo a bit longer.

I don’t know when a new male polar bear will be added to the Toronto Zoo exhibit but I really hope that he has the same time of personality as Inukshuk had.

Inukshuk is moving up to Cochrane at the end of September 2016, so by the time you read this blog he will be back at his winter home. I am glad that we heard that he was going to be leaving the zoo before we went because I wouldn’t have been happy to go and discover he wasn’t there.

Next time I go out to the Toronto Zoo I know that I will look for Inukshuk but at least I know that he will be enjoying his winter where it is nice and cold. He will probably be given over to another zoo for an exhibit and I hope they enjoy seeing him as much as I did.

Taking lots of pictures of Inukshuk

Inukshuk – I have loved seeing you from when you first arrived at the zoo and upon your return. I have seen you quite a few times and have lots of great pictures of you. I hope you will enjoy your new home and know that you made a lot of people smile because of your crazy little habits.
 

Update – Since I wrote this blog there as been an announcement that the Toronto Zoo will be getting two male polar bears in October of 2016. The bears are Hudson and Humphrey, which will be returning to the Toronto Zoo from the Winnipeg Zoo. Both of the polar bears are returning as they were born at the Toronto Zoo and Inuksuk is their father.

Photography

Me - taking polar bear pictures

I love taking pictures and of course that means that there are times when I will spend hours just enjoying something and that is what makes me happier. With me taking pictures it also means that I am fair game for having my picture taken as well. Sometimes I can get myself into some very odd positions to get just that perfect shot but I enjoy doing that. My husband enjoys trying to capture me in those positions.

I have been able to spend some time taking various types of pictures and looking back at them brings back some wonderful memories. Of course, there are other photos that can say so much just by looking at it. There are some things that I love taking pictures of, and those are polar bears and The Snowbirds. In both cases I can take hundreds of pictures to ensure that I can capture just that right one and that makes me happy.

Hudson as a baby - Toronto Zoo

One place where I have enjoyed taking pictures is at The Toronto Zoo especially where I can sit and watch the feeding of the polar bears. We were lucky at one point when one of the new baby polar bears was on display and I got a chance to sit and watch it for a while. Of course, that meant quite a few photos of the baby.

Inukshuk - Toronto Zoo

Besides The Toronto Zoo another place I enjoy taking pictures is at The Toronto International Air Show. The Snowbirds are normally the last planes in the show and I have enjoyed in the past sitting out near Pearson International Airport and taking pictures of the Snowbirds taking off and landing. This is such a nice experience because you get to see them a lot closer than when you are sitting down near Lake Ontario to watch the show.

Snowbirds - Toronto International Air Show

Taking pictures for me is so much fun as when I look at the pictures later it brings back to many nice memories. Pictures can tell so much of a story when you look at them. A picture can show some of your travels, people you have met or even things that you have seen in our own area. Pictures are a window to a world and they can help you see what sometimes others see that you don't see at a given time.

Photography for me is something that I do for pleasure most of the time. I do use my photography skills for some of the charity events that I am involved in with work and that also helps show some of the activities that the charity does to assist with their fundraising. Photography is so much easier with the digital cameras as you can take so many more photos and not have to worry about running out of film (glad to be free of that old limit of 24 or 36 shots). Now the biggest concern is making sure your memory card is big enough and the batteries for the camera are charged.