Karura

Zoo Miami is famous for its white tigers. This is the rare albino tigers' temple home. The intricate carving on the structure was done a couple of decades ago by my talented artist friend Banjong. You can see a couple of statues (also by Banjong) of Karura (Sanskrit's Garuda,) a mythical bird-man creature of Hindu lore who was later adopted into the Buddhist pantheon as a protector deity. The gold-colored Karura as it is known in Japan has a human body but the wings, face, and beak of an eagle-like bird. The bird-man statues are seen on the left and in the shade near the tree to the right.