Life with Dylan

Category: Snow leopard

  • Photographing Big Cats: Spotlight Snow Leopards

    A few weeks ago I headed down to the San Diego Zoo with one goal – to get some fantastic pictures of the big cats. I love watching the leopards and jaguars, but have never had much luck getting decent pictures of them.

    Up until recently I had been using a Canon Power Shot SX150 IS, which is a great camera and gave me some amazing photographs, even award-winning photographs. However, I wanted more. I wanted to get those amazing images that my friends were capturing. Last December I bought myself a Canon EOS Rebel T3 and I’ve had a blast experimenting with the settings. This particular day I used my 75-300mm lens and was finally able to capture the cats in a way like never before.

    Meet Beau, the Snow Leopard

    Snow leopards are endangered and need our help. They have thick luxurious fur that is 5 inches thick to help protect them from the extreme cold temperatures of their natural habitat in the mountain ranges of Central Asia.

    Their thick tail is used for balancing while climbing the rocky cliffs of the Himalayas.

    One of the things I love about photographing wildlife is that it gives me another avenue to use when connecting with my readers. Sometimes it is the picture that tells the story and captures the heart more than the words.

    Sadly, these beautiful animals are rarely seen in the wild. Visit SnowLeopardTrust.org and find out how you can help to save these beautiful cats.

  • A Christmas Wish message from Dylan

    Just 3 short weeks ago Dylan shared his Christmas Wish for the Leopards at the San Diego Zoo. His goal was to raise $500 by Christmas and as of today he has raised $475! 


    Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared his wish, and supported his dreams to save endangered animals.




  • Dylan’s Christmas Wish for the Leopards

    This was the first year that Dylan participated in Giving Tuesday and as you can imagine he dove right in. He proudly wore his San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy Giving Tuesday sticker all day and told many of his friends at school what giving back was all about.

    Dylan and I had discussed ahead of time who we would be supporting on Giving Tuesday and even watched a National Geographic Google+ hangout about Causing an UpROAR for Big Cats together that evening. I watched the hangout live, but knew it was something Dylan would really enjoy too.

    After watching the Google+ hangout and listening to Steve Winter talk about saving the tigers and other big cats, Dylan was inspired to continue his journey of helping big cats.

    What started out as a dream to teach other kids about endangered animals and conservation became a reality with Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp last July. Dylan raised $300 from camp registration, which was a great start, but no where near his $1,000 goal. We have a few things in the works to continue the message of Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp and of course we will host another camp next summer, but why wait to reach his goal?

    Why not start now?

    After we gave $5 and $10 donations to various non-profits that we support on Giving Tuesday, Dylan had an idea.

    “If everyone who follows Life with Dylan on Facebook and everyone who reads this post gave just $5 to my fundraiser, then I could reach my goal of $1,000 this year instead of waiting for the next Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp in 2014.”

    He wants to help build this new home for the leopards!

    Building a new home for the endangered Snow Leopard and critically endangered Amur Leopards at the San Diego Zoo is very important to Dylan. (Just as important as helping to build a new home for the tigers at the Safari Park.) Knowing how rare it is for anyone to see these animals in the wild, Dylan believes a new and improved habitat at the San Diego Zoo will help create more awareness and educate more people about these beautiful big cats.

    So Dylan is asking for your help to make his Christmas wish for the Leopards come true by donating $5 or $10 to his fundraiser. 

    If you would like to help Dylan reach his fundraising goal by Christmas Day, please make a donation here

    Thank you for supporting a child’s dream to save endangered animals all around the globe.

    Update as of December 25, 2013 … 
    Dylan has raised $500 for the leopards. Thank you so much for helping to make his Christmas Wish come true! 

  • Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp was awesome!

    So after many months of planning and preparation, we held the first annual Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp this week and it was a hit with all the campers.

    Knowing this was a fundraiser, I wanted it to be better than great – I wanted it to raise lots of money and for Dylan to feel that he had succeeded.

    The day before the camp I was a nervous wreck. Had I taken on more than I could handle? Finalizing the details and helping Dylan make note cards of what he was going to talk about filled my morning.

    Then it was time to fill the cinch bags with all the goodies we had received from sponsors and from individuals who wanted to help.

    I kept telling myself – they are just kids.

    Well, thanks to our wonderful sponsors and great campers who loved learning about endangered animals, we not only had an awesome day, we also raised $300 for the leopards at the San Diego Zoo!

    I was so busy leading the camp with Dylan that I didn’t get a chance to take pictures during the first half of the camp, but thanks to my wonderful friend Tammy Mendoza (from Dez & Tam Photography) I have her pictures to share.

     

    While Tammy was busy taking pictures of the kids making bookmarks, I managed to snap a few pictures of them painting rhinos with my phone.

    We had snacks from our sponsors and learned about what can be recycled through TerraCycle, learned how reading labels and not buying products with palm oil can help the orangutans, ate lunch together under a tree and then finished up the day with Rebecca from Remember Wildlife and all her animal friends.

    Thanks for making Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp such a wonderful experience!
    To see more pictures of the campers and the unique animals that Remember Wildlife brought you can view our Flickr album. 

  • So you want to help build the San Diego Zoo leopards a new home huh?

    Well, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised at Dylan’s response when we received a letter informing us that the San Diego Zoo was building a new home for the critically endangered Amur Leopards and Snow Leopards. Dylan has been bit by the philanthropy bug and there is no cure. He is on a conservation high and I wouldn’t dream of stopping him – but I will do everything in my power to keep supporting him!

    Last year Dylan’s birthday wish was to raise money for the tiger’s new home at the Safari Park. His goal was to raise $1,000 and he surpassed that. His name will now be on a plaque at Tiger Trail and he couldn’t be happier.

    A few months ago he started a new challenge when he was asked to be part of a test group for the new I ___ for Wildlife program. He pledged to read 1500 pages of animal facts in 100 days and got people to sponsor him. He raised $500 for wildlife in 3 months.

    So this time I told him he could take on the challenge to raise $1,000 for the leopards; however, he could not just ask people for money. I told him he had to figure out a way to raise the money by giving his time or selling something that he made. We tossed around a few ideas of things he could make and sell, but nothing really made us say WOW! That is until he came up with the idea of teaching other kids what he has learned.

    And so Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp was born. 

    Dylan will be hosting his very own 2-day camp where he will teach other kids about endangered animals, conservation, and most importantly how easy it is to make a difference. Thanks to some very generous sponsors, we will be able to donate over 90% of the camp proceeds directly to helping build a new home for the Amur Leopards and Snow Leopards.

    Come join the safari with us this summer at Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp. Together we can explore, learn new things, and help the leopards!

    Live out of the area and can’t join us? Don’t worry, we will have something special on the blog after the camp for those unable to attend.