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

A Look at Memphis Tigers Preseason

PHOTO GALLERY OF MEMPHIS TIGERS OCT. 24, 2019

The Memphis Tigers defeated Christian Brothers in an exhibition game on Thursday night in the Fed Ex Forum.

While number one recruit James Wiseman sat out with an injury, fans got a glimpse of the chemistry between the rest of the players, on and off the court.

This season is highly anticipated with hometown hero and former NBA star Penny Hardaway coaching the Memphis Tigers. He has drawn in top talent. The Tigers have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country and also the No. 1 recruit, James Wiseman along with many other top recruits.

To see photos from Memphis Madness see link below-

http://www.karenpulferfocht.com/blog/2019/10/4/memphis-madness

James Wiseman celebrated by East High School link below-

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

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.

Alabama Ukulele Festival

VIDEO ABOVE-Scenes from the Alabama Ukulele Festival

Members of the Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob attended the yearly ukulele festival held in September at the Riverview Campground, on beautiful Lake Guntersville, Alabama.