Palus - Oregon Zoo

Palus is the Oregon Zoo's new cougar cub, born in September of 2010. Her mother, Chinook was rescued, and he father Paiute, was introduced to her later on. It didn't take long for the two cats to begin procreating, and the result is this lovely little bundle of fur and playfullness. Palus is the first cub born at an AZA-accredited zoo in over a decade, and will be part of the Cougar Species Survival Plan to help increase the genetic integrity of captive populations.

I'd been waiting to get a shot of Palus since they first allowed her to go out into the exhibit about a month or two ago. But for the most part, I was either stuck in Ashland, or couldn't get a decent shot of her - but on this visit, I was wearing a very fluffy coyote tail keychain, which I waved around in the air to catch her attention. She stalked right over to me and allowed me to take several close-up shots. They were nice, but I knew it wasn't enough. Just as this thought crossed my mind, several crows flew by overhead and Palus looked up to watch them pass.

This is the resulting shot.

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