I just bought a new macro lens that I’m looking forward to taking into the jungle for some exotic bug and frog close ups. Until then, I figured I’d break it in on the calla lilies I photographed on my recent trip to California.

This photo of a bighorn ram was taken over the Christmas break in Yellowstone National Park. There were two of them together kicking at the snow, hoping to uncover some grass to eat. Apparently this guy wasn’t too happy with what he was finding so he took off through the snow.

When I was in California a couple of weeks ago, I visited Elkhorn Slough, one of my favorite spots between San Francisco and Monterey. This is an almost can’t miss location to observe sea otters — and almost always, they are in the water. It’s rare to catch one on land. I crawled over the sand very slowly and quite a distance to photograph this one. It didn’t seem bothered at all by my presence, and it even crept closer to me a couple of times as the tide rose. As you can see, unlike the river otters that I’ve been posting lately, sea otters generally have a much lighter head and neck than the rest of their body. They also happen to have the densest fur of any animal on earth.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Seal River Lodge in northern Manitoba, Canada has a fenced in backyard where guests can go at anytime while not out hiking. Curious bears will often come right up to the fence, enabling very tight portraits. I tried to take advantage of that with this close up of just the bear’s face.

I don’t usually post shots that were taken in zoos or aquariums, but the jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California are so spectacular that I had to share. Each tank in the jellies exhibit is a work of art in itself and lit to illuminate the translucent beauty of the animal. The jellyfish in this photo are called sea nettles. They live off the California coast and they do sting, but aren’t venomous enough to cause death in a human.