RIP MARILYN, MY FAVORITE GIRAFFE AT THE MEMPHIS ZOO

RIP MARILYN:

On Oct. 30th, 2019 Memphis Zoo officials have announced the sad news that its oldest giraffe has died at the age of 26. Marilyn was a favorite of zoo visitors; she gave birth to six calves.

Zoo officials said in the post that the giraffe's "strong maternal instincts and experience made her a regular 'auntie' and 'midwife'" for other new mothers and young giraffes in the herd.

I’d like to celebrate her life! So, I built a photo gallery here of some of my pictures of Marilyn, her babies and some of the other giraffes. As a photojournalist in Memphis, I photographed Marilyn often and also many of her babies at one time or another over the years. Watching and photographing giraffes is one of my favorite pastimes.

Reticulated giraffes are endangered, but Marilyn did her share to reproduce this beautiful creature. The Memphis Zoo’s breeding program has been very successful. For several years here in Memphis, we’ve enjoyed baby giraffes each spring. The gestational period of a giraffe is over a year and their babies are usually born at about six feet in height.

Reticulated giraffes are native to Somalia but they are also found in Northern Kenya. It is estimated that there are less than 9,000 Reticulated Giraffes left in the wild.

The first video below is of Marilyn and her baby. I made other short videos of the giraffe’s at the Memphis zoo and I will share them here too because giraffes, especially baby giraffes, are such a joy to watch.

VIDEOS BELOW:

Thanks for the memories.

CENTRAL STATION HOTEL OPENS!

Memphis developer Henry Turley and Kemmons Wilson Companies have developed a 105 year old property in the South Main neighborhood of Memphis. Together they renovated and reopened The Central Station, part of Curio Collection by Hilton, this week.

Turley, who is known for developing “livable neighborhoods” said he wanted people who travel into Memphis by train to have a nice place to stay.

The hotel, which will showcase Memphis music, has a Listening Lounge/Bar— Eight and Sand, which contains an expansive collection of curated vinyl records spun by a local DJ.

The location is in the artsy South Main neighborhood of Memphis which hosts a street festival the last Friday of every month called Trolley Night.

The Arcade Restaurant and Earnestine and Hazels, a famous dive bar, and many other bars and eateries are within walking distance of the hotel. Saturday mornings there is a Farmers Market next door spring to fall.

Within a mile guests can visit the National Civil Rights Museum, Beale Street, a movie theater, The Orpheum Theater, Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, The Blues Hall of Fame, Old Dominick Distillery and many other Memphis attractions.

http://www.karenpulferfocht.com/blog/central-station-memphis

Uncommon Friends

A pig, Miss Betty, and a goat have become inseparable friends at a farm in Mississippi. It is unusual as pigs can be aggressive when it comes to their food, they have also been known to eat anything, including goats.

Two Baby Jaguars Born to Memphis Zoo

Two female jaguar cubs behaved perfectly as the Memphis Zoo veterinarian Dr. Felicia Knightly gave them an exam on Thursday October 10th, 2019. The parents are Philomena and Diego who were brought to the zoo with hope that they would breed. The 36-day-old sisters are eating well, shown by their perfectly little chubby bellies. They are about the size of full-grown housecats.

You can see the full story in the Daily Memphian.

https://dailymemphian.com/section/metro/article/8084/memphis-zoo-unveils-cat-countrys-newest-resid

Memphis Madness 2019

A photo gallery from Memphis Madness, a sold out event which took place at the Fed Ex Forum on Oct. 3rd, 2019. This event is used as an opportunity to showcase the new talent in the basketball program at the University of Memphis.

This years theme was All The Smoke. Rappers Future, Lil Baby, MoneyBagg Yo, Young Dolph, Key Glock performed during the rally.

Memphis has the number one recruiting class in the country and the number one recruit, James Wiseman.

Cybill Shepherd Honored in Memphis

Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019- Memphis-born Glamour cover girl Cybill Shepherd was honored in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Still a beauty at age 69, Shepherd, has never forgotten her roots. She said she's always wanted to join Elvis Presley, Danny Thomas and the other influential Memphis figures who are immortalized on the sidewalk outside The Peabody hotel on the Duck Walk Hall of Fame. The event was timed to coincide with The Peabody's celebration of its 150th anniversary. The hotel was recently named Best Historic Hotel.

Shepherd, who was wearing rose colored glasses, now lives in Beverly Hills. She said she’d like to be named the “Queen of Memphis.” She spoke about singing in the choir as a child and reflected her days at East High School, remembering the day MLK was shot at the Lorraine Motel in downtown Memphis. She said her opera lessons here taught her to project her voice. She mused over a several memories from her childhood here and her movie career. She also shared that she’d recently became a grandmother.

She became teary eyed as she accepted her honor and kissed Peabody owner Jack Belz, 91, while thanking him. She mingled in the lobby, graciously posing for pictures, dancing to the music while visiting with friends and fans after the ceremony.

Jack Belz, CEO of Belz Enterprises, talked about the plush life for the ducks in their penthouse at the top of the hotel. Belz has been instrumental the resurgence of downtown Memphis. He is best known for bringing back The Peabody, which served as the impetus for the Downtown renaissance which followed. His wife of 71 years missed the celebration and was home after taking a fall.

Guests were served tasty hors d'oeuvres, champaign and pieces of a 500 lb. cake, designed to looked like the Peabody Hotel. The Memphis Symphony played dance music on the balcony overlooking the lobby. The ducked marched onward to their penthouse suite, as always, as the crowd looked on.

Meet the Memphis Tigers 2019-2020 Team

Memphis Tigers Coach Penny Hardaway puts together the #1 recruiting class in the country. “It’s beautiful!” he says.

We were recently given a glimpse of this years mens basketball team at practice.

2019-20 Men's Basketball Roster

https://gotigersgo.com/roster.aspx?path=mbball

It’s a great time to be a Memphis Tigers Basketball Fan-

http://www.karenpulferfocht.com/blog/james-wiseman-pep-rally