We stayed with Billie and Dan for a couple of nights, and they took us to Fossil Rim Wildlife Park near Glen Rose. It was simply amazing! The park is huge and they give you bag of grain so you can feed the animals as you drive through.
I shall start with the blackbuck because this was Phil's favorite animal by far. He took many pictures of them. They are native to India, but are endangered there now. There are more blackbuck in Texas, where they are prized as a trophy hunting animal, than there are in their native habitat. Come to think of it, we saw a lot of animals here that are more common in Texas than in their native habitat. Some, like the magnificent Arabian and scimitar oryx, are extinct in their native lands and are kept alive through captive breeding programs such as the one here. Most of these programs seem to be in Texas on these huge, lush ranches.
This blackbuck was quite full of himself and kept strutting about with his head in the air, his ears down, and his tail curled over his back. The blackbuck were shy. They came near the car, but they rarely ate out of our hands.
A young male blackbuck isn't black. He's more of a buff color, similar to the females, only he has horns.
This is a rare mountain zebra. They are not as rare as the grevy's zebra, but still not common. These zebras were rather shy and wouldn't come over for grain.
This magnificent fellow didn't want any grain either. This is a greater kudu, and I love the fringe under his neck and his proud horns.
Why won't anyone come over and get some grain? The gemsbock was definitely my favorite animal on the ranch. I'd never seen one before. It sure is a flashy-lookin' critter! This one is going to have a baby soon. You can see her belly sagging low. Gemsbok are one of the few creatures where the female horns are often more highly prized than the males'. They are longer and slimmer with a slight curvature to them, whereas the males' are straight.
This is an addax. They are very mournful-looking with a funny little toupe on top. They are one of the few animals that can survive without ever taking a drink of water, obtaining enough moisture from the plants they eat. They are very endangered outside of Texas.
Did you ever see such a serious face?
The addax has magnificent spiraling horns that can get over 3 feet long.
Female sable antelope are more brown than sable.
Aoudads on parade! These guys are native to north Africa and have a lot of chest hair. Phil was jealous.
The aoudads, also called barbary sheep, were very friendly and mobbed our vehicle looking for treats. One bold youngster even jumped on the hood of our car!
A zebra stallion.
He was very friendly.
Perhaps too friendly. Dan looks a little worried.
The giraffes had the trees stripped bare to a height of 20 feet. This guy's rich, dark coloring made him stand out.
Rhinos at rest.
Everyone's napping.
Even the noble blackbuck.
Our parting shot at the wildlife park. I love the spread of this guy's horns.
This is a statue in the center of Glen Rose, Texas. It intrigued me because I had never seen a statue of a lady mounted sidesaddle. It had an interesting story. The man is Charles Barnard, founder of Glen Rose. The woman is Juana Cavasos, captured by Indians. Barnard fell in love with her and ransomed her from the Indians. They married and founded the town of Glen Rose. Juana was known for her beauty, horsemanship, and bravery.
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