Back to the series! Only a few posts left to go. Today is part 5, starting off my next exploration in Chicago; this time, in the Lincoln Park Zoo. If you haven't been following along, make sure to check out the rest of the series first!

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four

On my last full day in Chicago, I had to decide on something to do. Museums, parks, landmarks -- all good options. Then, I found out that the Lincoln Park Zoo is completely free. This surprised me a little: not much in the states is free ('murica loves their capitalism). Yet, as a no cost option, I figured I'd at least check it out first... and then I ended up spending my whole day there!

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The Park

Not the most pretty day, but I figured I'd start with a picture that's continuing my "Skylines" theme (although this is the end of me posting skyscrapers... promise). This little park was right out front of the entrance I went through to get to the zoo.

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Loving Monkeys

Okay, full disclosure: not sure if these are monkeys. Upvotes to anyone who can actually identify these two types of primates! These cute little guys in the first picture were wrapped around each other in what's almost the shape of a heart, which I thought was adorable. And in the second picture here, another set of primates were (what I imagine to be) kissing each other. (Or just licking each other's face... I mean... It's cute okay?)

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Kings of the Zoo

Want to know which animal is the king in the area? Simply Look for the laziest, calmest creature. They know they're king. Oh, and being in a serious cage also is a good indicator.

See? Lazy. This lion doesn't even want to pose for me. Lazy bum.

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Poke your head out

This Giraffe did not want to come out of the cage area into the actual observation zone. Poor guy was a little shy. But I caught him poking his head out for a peek.

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Shy Fox

Some more shyness in the zoo: this cute little fox was a bit skittish, and never once looked up at the humans peering down at him. While many animals are happy enough living in a glorified cage, I don't think this poor fox was too thrilled about it.

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Now what?

This guy climbed up on a rock, and then posed like this for a moment, as if taking in the view. After a few seconds, he looked down, in an almost quizzical way, and pondered his life choices.

"Why did I get on this rock? What was it meant to accomplish?"

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I lied, more skylines

One last picture to show off today, as I wandered through the sections of the zoo. It's a unique experience seeing skyscrapers in the background while in a zoo, to be honest: I had only ever seen zoos in more secluded or natural areas, and the accompaniment of human engineering to the animals we capture and show off made it a somewhat distinct and profound experience of what's actually happening.

That about sums up this part! In the next post, I will continue in the zoo into a few other sections. Almost through the photo series in Chicago -- let me know how you're liking it so far in the comments!

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For those of you interested: Camera is Sony NEX-7, with my usual Zeiss 16-70mm lens.

Click an image to enlarge! They are, of course, down-sampled from my original copies; we can chat if you're interested in any full quality versions. As always, these are my original photos, and I maintain the copyright.

Don't forget to if you like my blog, I like to post picture stories!