Live animals... reference galore

My wife and I had to travel to Omaha (Nebraska) for business this week.  We thought bringing the kids along and making a trip out of it would be worthwhile.  We'd heard that the zoo there was one of the top in the nation.  And boy was it.    Many of the animals are close enough to touch, even the lions, but of course we didn't.  A women had her husband move some tall grass that blocked her view of the lions in an effort to get a better picture.  The lioness, which was less than 6 feet away in their cage, showed her teeth and her unhappiness at the man.  Those of us seeing this happen quickly remembered that these animals, although nice to look at, are wild. It was a great opportunity to see many animals up close.  My wife heard me say several times "I want to sculpt that now".  Duplicating a scene, capturing a moment of such animals in bronze was on my mind too often that day.  Sculpting some of these treasures of nature haunted me and will for some time.  We all appreciated the chance to have seen these beautiful creatures in person.