Allen's Swamp Monkey

We have been stuck in a week of stormy weather, here in Southern California. We are in an El Nino year and the strong El Nino type storms have been hitting us every day since Monday. Friday was more scattered showers and I decided that it might be a great time to visit the San Diego Zoo.

I have a year membership to the zoo. I definitely get my money's worth, since it is only 5-10 minutes away from where I live. I figured that the cool, wet, weather would drive the visitors away and also make the animals more active. Well, it did keep the visitors away, but the animals weren't all that active, to my surprise.

One of the few animals out and active were the Allen's Swamp Monkeys. The little ones especially are very active and are very fast, especially when playing. This appears to be a juvenile Allen's Swamp Monkey. I did take some action type of shots, but I really liked this shot for a few reasons.

In this shot, the greenery and yellow bamboo in the background was very nice and creamy. There were no bright spots to take away your attention from the monkey. I also like how the monkey seems to be contemplating his/her next move. The overcast conditions really made the colors stands out, as well. I always like their orange-reddish eyes. It's cool they are in the same exhibit as the otters and I love when they interact with each other.