Asian black bears actually DID range into Europe (though no remains are known from the UK) during the Pleistocene, but a) the filmmakers almost certainly didn’t know this and b) they would’ve been long extinct by the time Brave takes place. Only brown bears lived in Scotland within historical times.
As a kid, I always thought it was strange that all the bears shown in Pixar’s Brave seemed to be American black bears, despite this species never having lived in Scotland or Europe in general. However, it can actually be justified by all the bears in the film having originally been humans.
Cedar waxwing!
Canada goose, redheads, ring-necked ducks, and ring-billed and an American herring gull on the Huron River!
Hooded mergansers and an American wigeon I saw on the Elizabeth River in Norfolk last weekend!
A black vulture I saw on the grounds of the Virginia Zoo. While they are a common sight throughout much of the US Southeast, it was my first time seeing one in the wild!
Forget to share this photo that captures this predator-prey arrangement well!
Photo taken at Virginia Zoo
Shots I got of one of the Malayan tigers. Hardly stellar, but still probably the best photos I’ve taken of this subspecies, which I’ve seen at much fewer zoos compared to Amur and Sumatran.
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
Green oropendolas and a Victoria crowned pigeon in the conservatory of World of Reptiles & Friends and an Indian peafowl in the attached outdoor aviary! Their presence is more fitting than it might initially seem when you remember that birds are reptiles too!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
Green oropendolas and a Victoria crowned pigeon in the conservatory of World of Reptiles & Friends and an Indian peafowl in the attached outdoor aviary! Their presence is more fitting than it might initially seem when you remember that birds are reptiles too!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
Finally getting into the “friends” of World of Reptiles & Friends! Here are some amphibians: Iranian newt, golden mantella, and dyeing poison dart frog
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
Miscellaneous reptiles in World of Reptiles & Friends! Siamese crocodile, a juvenile Chinese crocodile lizard, Baron’s green racer, and McCord’s box turtle!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
Some other lizards in World of Reptiles & Friends! Fiji banded iguana, New Caledonia giant gecko, Jamaican iguana, and giant horned lizard!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
This crocodile monitor too!
World of Reptiles & Friends had one of the most extensive monitor lizard collections I’ve ever seen! Pictured here are a blue-spotted, black, AND a yellow tree monitor, plus my first perentie!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
Nonvenomous snakes in World of Reptiles & Friends! Jamaican boa and reticulated, Angolan, and Timor pythons!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
MORE venomous snakes in World of Reptiles & Friends! Malagasy giant hognose snake, eyelash viper, rhinoceros viper, and banded rock rattlesnake!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
Venomous snakes in World of Reptiles & Friends! King cobra, Aruba Island rattlesnake, mangrove snake, and speckled rattlesnake!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
African Safari Trail Part 2! Meerkat, eastern bongo, blue crane, and South African cheetah!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
African Safari Trail Part 1! Masai giraffe, southern white rhinoceros, red river hog, and African lion!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
Some birds on Trail of the Tiger — white-naped and sarus crane, rhinoceros hornbill, and tawny frogmouth!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
Bornean orangutans and Malayan tapirs!
Photos taken at Virginia Zoo
Went back yesterday and was able to get even better photos!
Visited the Virginia Zoo for the first time today and got these pictures of Chai, the Asian black bear! I have now officially seen all 8 extant bear species in the flesh!
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However, one biogeographical error does seem to be the inclusion of chipmunks. There are Siberian chipmunks in several European countries today, but they were only introduced in the 1900s (being only to North Asia). The tortoise here also doesn’t closely resemble any European species. (3/3)
Notably, despite raccoons (which were present in the 1937 animated movie) and a blue jay being featured in the poster for the film, neither species thankfully appeared in the movie proper. (2/3)
One thing I liked about Snow White (2025) was that the majority of the woodland creatures the titular heroine befriends are indeed wildlife that would’ve been present in Medieval Europe. (1/3)
I love the expression in this photo I took last year of an Alaotra reed lemur at London Zoo!
I feel like throughout my educational career, it hasn’t been super rare for me to just be sitting there in class, not understanding the assignment… surrounded by peers who DO understand the assignment and are also talking very loudly amongst each other, making it even harder for me to get work done.
