The Name Game

Often, the naming of a zoo animal - whether it's a new arrival from another zoo or a newborn - is left to the keepers and other staff.  Sometimes, however - especially in the case of very high profile animals (of which a baby Asian elephant would qualify) - it gets taken out of their hands... and into those of the public.  Naming contests are considered a great way (at least by marketing folks) to get the public interested and involved.  Usually they include a selection of pre-chosen names, the zoo's safeguard against spending the next fifty years or so with an animal called "Elephant McElephantface."

When these naming polls come out, it's not uncommon for the keepers to reach out to the broader keeper community and ask us to vote for a favored name, perhaps one that they suggested or that has some special meaning to them.  I always try to oblige, even if it's not my favorite choice.

In this case, some folks at Syracuse's Rosamond Gifford Zoo have suggested "Ajay" for the newborn baby elephant.  If you have feelings one way or another, feel free to check out the poll.


The zoo’s elephant keepers selected names that reflect the heritage of Asian elephants, which are native to Southeast Asia (Courtesy of Rosamond Gifford Zoo)

Enter your vote here!

How To Feed a Zoo

From the News: Bill Protecting Big Cats Reintroduced to House of Representatives

Bill Protecting Big Cats Reintroduced to House of Representatives

You Don't Mess Around With Steve...

This past week was the birthday of the late, great Steve Irwin, the Australian zookeeper and conservationist better known as The Crocodile Hunter.  He would have been 57 had he still been with us.  Google unveiled a Doodle tribute to the beloved Wildlife Warrior, which was appreciated by all of his many fans... and not by PETA



I would have weighed in earlier... but no need, really.  The rest of the internet has responded pretty vociferously in defense of their hero.  It irks me to no end to see PETA's armchair activists trash talk a man who literally put his life on the line several times to save animals, including some of the most maligned species on the planet.  It makes me happier, however, to see how quickly people came to his defense.  It was a great reminder of how much Steve Irwin meant to so many of us.

And, let's be honest, it was fun watching the vitriol rain down on PETA, from angry tweets to TV show call-outs to the (alas, temporary) "updating" of their Wikipedia page.

Hopefully this is the last time we have to teach you guys this lesson - you don't mess with Steve.

Presentations of Pets

When I was younger, one of my favorite treats, offered about once a year, was a trip to the National Zoo in Washington, DC.  I loved all of the exhibits, but my favorite was probably the reptile house... or at least, most of it.  You see, on my way to the displays of the Komodo dragons (a great rarity in those days), gharials (still a rarity), giant Aldabra tortoises, and massive green anacondas, I had to walk through what I called "the pet store." 

It seemed like half of the exhibits were made up of species that I saw every time I went to the pet store to buy crickets for my lizards at home.  Bearded dragons.  Leopard geckos.  Corn snakes.  Blue-tongued skinks.  For a kid who came excited to see rare and exciting animals, it annoyed me.  It would have been like going through the Small Mammal House, just two doors down, and seeing guinea pigs and rabbits.

Since then, the collection of the National Zoo's Reptile Discovery Center has upgraded considerably, with many endangered, unique species where once leopard geckos idled.  Looking back on it, though, I wondered if maybe there was a lesson which could have been learned using those "boring" exhibit animals.

A lot of zoos talk about the dangers and difficulties of exotic pets - usually geared towards monkeys and macaws.  A lot less attention is given to the not-so-exotic exotic pets - the reptiles, birds, amphibians, and small mammals that you see in every pet store, or every expo.  For every one person who has a hyacinth macaw, there are dozens, maybe hundreds, with an African grey parrot.  Every reticulated python keeper is greatly outnumbered by those who keep ball pythons.  Surrounding these more-conventional exotic pets is a lot of misinformation (what Clifford Warwick referred to as "folklore husbandry" in an article I shared earlier this month).  Ball pythons do best in small, dark, sterile enclosures.  Keeping leopard geckos or bearded dragons on natural substrate is a surefire way to kill them via impaction.  Parrots don't really need to fly.  And so on...

To be sure, many zoos that keep these species use them as educational ambassador animals... which means that they are kept usually off-exhibit in pretty plain conditions, similar to what a typical pet owner might use.

I think we can do better.  In fact, I know we can.  On a recent visit to Columbus Zoo, one of my favorite experiences was watching their African grey parrot flock flit noisily around in a large enclosure that you would have probably expected to see a more "exciting" bird species in.  Watching them,  I realized that I had never seen - ever - more than two African grey parrots together in my life... and here was a flock.

I like to think that devoting a little exhibit space to a few common pet species - not just reptiles and birds, but also maybe ferrets, sugar gliders, hedgehogs, or chinchillas - in high quality exhibits - treating them like zoo animals, not pets - might help highlight proper husbandry of these species.  Proper signage pointing out these features could help quite a bit as well.

Someone who sees a ball python in a large zoo enclosure, where it has natural substrate, a water feature large enough to soak in, branches to climb, and a cave to hide in, might be more inclined to offer their own pet snake a better, more enriching environment at home rather than a sock drawer with a little plastic hide-hut and a tiny water bowl.  Similarly, someone who see a flock of sun conures soaring across an aviary might think better than getting a single bird to keep in a cage in their living room.  It might also help us re-evaluate the care of every animal in our collections, including those education ambassador snakes and turtles and parrots.  Are we treating them with the same consideration and care as we are the exhibit animals?

If animals are to live in human care - and I believe that zoos and aquariums are an essential component of conservation - they deserve the best of care.   If we can help provide better care - through encouragement and example - to private caretakers and pet owners, so much the better.

Species Fact Profile: Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata)

Radiated Tortoise

Astrochelys radiata (Shaw, 1802)

Range: Southwestern Madagascar
Habitat: Dry Woodlands
Diet: Grasses, Fruits, Succulents, Carrion
Social Grouping: Solitary/Loose Groups.  Males may become territorial during breeding season
Reproduction: Sexually mature at about 20 years old.  Mate after the rains, nest September through March.  May breed more than once per year.  Clutches of 8-22 eggs laid in a hole 15-20 centimeters deep, then left alone.  The young hatch after an incubation period of 5-8 months
Lifespan:  40-50 Years, Records of 100 Years +
Conservation Status: IUCN Critically Endangered, CITES Appendix I

• Shell length up to 40 centimeters, weight up to 16 kilograms.  Typical tortoise build - high, domed shell, small head, elephantine legs.  Males have longer tails and a more pronounced notch around the tail on the plastron (bottom shell)
• Skin is yellow, except for a blackish patch on the top of the head.  The shell is black, with each scute (shell scale) having a starburst of yellow lines radiating out from the center.  In some specimens the shell may appear to be predominately yellow, in others, it may be blacker
• Typically feed during the mornings, then retreat under bushes during the hottest part of the day, where the patterning of their shells provide camouflage 
• Traditionally, the were considered fady (taboo) by the local people and were left in peace.  In recent years, southwestern Madagascar has seen an influx of migrants from other regions of the country, which do not share these cultural prohibitions against poaching this species
• Decline is partially caused by habitat loss, but most important threat is collection, both for local consumption and for sale on the international market.  Legally protected in Madagascar, but poaching is still a major problem
• Local people sometimes collect tortoises to house with their chickens and ducks, citing a traditional belief that the tortoises can fend off poultry diseases
• Rehabilitation centers exist to return confiscated tortoises back into the wild; the zoo-based population is thriving, with potential animals for reintroduction should that option prove necessary in the future

Zookeeper's Journal: Along with its distant Asian cousins, the star tortoises, the radiated tortoise is often considered the world's most beautiful tortoise.  This has led to a considerable amount of wildlife trafficking, which has also helped make it one of the world's most endangered tortoises.  At one private zoo where I worked, the owner was fanatical about us locking up his radiated tortoises, which spent the day grazing in a paddock, every night in a secure building, counting and double-counting them before we turned off the lights.  (Side note: one of my favorite jobs there was rubbing the shells of the tortoises with mineral oil once a month - it was good for the shell's health, but mostly I just loved how the patterns shined and glowed so brilliantly after I was done).  His fears of theft were that severe.  I can't say they were exaggerated (though I would have loved to see someone try to sneak out of the gate with a bowling-ball sized reptile hidden under their shirt).  Recently, we heard the tragic tale of 10,000 tortoises that were confiscated in one sting - the number that wildlife authorities miss must be equally staggering.  Zoos are active in the conservation of this species, not only through captive-breeding, but through the support of rescue and rehab centers within Madagascar.  Hopefully the situation will improve in the future and this species can be restored to the Malagasy dry forests where they belong.

When It Rains, It Bores

The commissary of our zoo never looks better than it does when it rains.  The same could be said about the lobby of our reptile house, our enrichment workshop, or even our break room.  All of this despite the muddy boot prints that we track inside the moment we come in from the storm.  The reason is simple - we just don't want to be outside, and any excuse to find inside work is worth some cleaning.

I've never been very good at sitting still.  I've also never been good at finding a raincoat that actually repels rain.  During bad weather, these two forces tragically collide.  Sure, you still have to go out and feed the animals and do some cleaning.  After that, though, there's not much to do.  Well, that's not true, there's always plenty to do.  It's just that it's a lot easier - and safer - to do it when there's not a torrential downpour.

In some ways, those rainy days are very productive.  I can get caught up on my record keeping.  I can work on some proposals for new enrichment or training programs.  I can catch up on correspondence, or do research on our animals.

Or I could go down the rabbit hole of wasting time on the computer, gossiping with coworkers, or sitting around the computer, wasting time and gossiping with coworkers.   It could really go either way.

And sometimes "productive inside work" turns into flat out "busy work," especially when the deluge goes on for several days.  I have done some disturbingly OCD things on day six of the flood, trying to idle away an afternoon.  This winter has shaped up to be especially rainy.  Much more rainfall and I'll be re-inventorying the zoo's library - this time I might reorder by height instead of author...

When You Lie on Your Resume...

... but still get the job.

Sporcle at the Zoo - Saltwater Crocodile

This month, we continue our Sporcle at the Zoo series with a look at the world's largest living reptile, the saltwater crocodile!

Sporcle at the Zoo - Saltwater Crocodile

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  

Your local zoo or aquarium may have something special going on to celebrate - maybe a "Sex at the Zoo" tour, which can teach you about the wilder side of zoo animals and how they relate to breeding programs.  Or social media posts celebrating some of the animal couples.  Or perhaps some Valentine's Day themed enrichment, like a paper mache Valentine... or feeding your big cats raw beef hearts.

Here are a few cute Valentine's Day messages from the Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin, Texas.

The Victims of Folklore Husbandry, by Clifford Warwick

"'Folklore husbandry' is an emerging term describing the phenomenon of unevidenced, pseudoscientific, convenience-led habit and opinion handed down from one ill-informed animal keeper to the next.

Kevin Arbuckle, coiner of the term, outlined folklore husbandry as: "... methods or supposed 'best practices' which become established without proper evaluation, often justified simply because 'it has always been done that way' or for otherwise unknown or poorly substantiated reasons.'"

Read the full article here.

I'm glad someone found the words to describe something that has always been driving me crazy in this field.  There has always been a percentage of folks in the animal care field - in every aspect, from zookeepers to vets to rehabbers to hobbyists - who develop these ideas without much basis in reality, then convince themselves that they are fact.  Mostly, they take bad husbandry practices (usually as labor-free or inexpensive as possible), then convince themselves that those are actually the best practices, and that if you attempt to improve upon them, you're actually hurting the animal.

Two examples that I've dealt with lately.  One is the belief that being brought inside is a fate worse than death for any animal, and that it is preferable for a tropical mammal to spend its entire winter huddled under a heat lamp or crammed into a nest box than it is to be kept inside, even if it is only for the worst of the winter.  Granted, outdoor enclosures are usually bigger and more enriched, but that doesn't do the animal any good if it can't leave its tiny shelter, otherwise face the risk of frostbite.  I once worked at a roadside zoo where the owner prided himself on his monkeys being outside year round while the (AZA-accredited) "big city zoo" a few miles away kept them "suffering" in an indoor rainforest building.  Never mind that for five months of the year, our tamarins didn't leave their shoebox-sized nest box.  Mostly, he just didn't want to pay for a holding building.

The second is the belief that anything apart from cleaning and feeding is "stressful" to the animal and must be avoided at all costs.  Enrichment?  Stressful.  Training?  Stressful?  Taking weights and giving physical exams?  Way too stressful.  I've known some folks who would almost rather let their animals die than "stress" them.  You know what?  Life is stressful.

The main group that this criticism seems aimed at, at least in Warwick's article, are reptile folks, especially hobbyist breeders.  It's customary to house snakes in racks and racks of what are essentially plastic sweater boxes, each with newspaper bedding, a water bowl, and a little hide box.  The belief among some hobbyists is that snakes are agoraphobic and feel happier and more secure in tiny enclosures where they can't see anything that might stress them.

Granted, snakes are not mammals.  They are not as active, not as intelligent, and don't need as much space as a mammal of the same size.  That's not to say that they don't benefit from variation in their habitat, room to explore, and the chance to satisfy curiosity.   A larger, diverse enclosure can provide for more outlets for natural behaviors - swimming, climbing, basking, shedding, tunneling, hiding.  Some species can be integrated into large, complex, mixed-species exhibits.

Reptiles are stoic, and they look a lot tougher than they are.  Many species are quite forgiving of inadequate husbandry and will survive just fine in relatively stark, mediocre enclosures.  That's not the point, though.  Whether a facility is a zoo, a rescue center, a breeder, a vet clinic, a research lab, or whether it's not a facility at all, just a private pet owner, the goal should be to strive for something more.  As my favorite Star Trek quote reminds us, "Survival in Insufficient" - our animals deserve to thrive.

The Greast EscAPE

Whoopsie!  A few quick-witted chimps at Northern Ireland's Belfast Zoo used a broken tree branch as a ladder to escape from their enclosure recently.  Thankfully everyone was safely herded back home without incident, so we;ll just go ahead and call this a learning experience for the keepers and some awesome enrichment for the apes.

Zoo Review: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Part II

Yesterday, I began my review of Colorado Spring's Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, a very unique zoo built on the slopes of a mountain, with some rare species and unique exhibits.  Today, we'll continue the tour based on where we left off.

After exiting the Scutes Gallery, the visitor will find themselves trekking through the Asian Highlands, home to the wild cats of East Asia.  Snow leopards and Amur leopards rotate through one exhibit; it was the Amurs out on the day that I visited.  The spotted cats can be seen either at ground level through windows, or from below behind mesh as they scale their cliff-strewn habitat.  Down the path is a vast wooded yard for Amur tigers, the world's biggest cats.  Sandwiched between the two is a much smaller habitat for a much smaller cat.  Pallas' cats might not be the high profile species that tigers and leopards are, but I find them to fascinating little sourpusses, and the Cheyenne Mountain exhibit offered me the best view of the cats that I've ever had.  Perhaps they simply felt at home in it - it was a beautiful exhibit with lots of rockwork and perching, so while the cat could have hidden quite easily (and few animals hide better than a Pallas' cat), perhaps it just felt so comfortable that it saw no need to.

Giraffes may be the species that CMZ is best known for, and mountain tapirs might be the most uncommon species exhibited here, but if I were to pick what I will best remember this zoo for, without hesitation I would say Rocky Mountain Wild.  Along this trail, devoted to native species, visitors can watch river otters swim underwater or crawl through a mountain lion's den, the big tawny cats literally sleeping overhead.  You can also meet North American porcupines, bald eagles, Canada lynx, and wild turkeys.  A separate side trail - which you reach either by climbing a tower of stair or taking an elevator - leads to a habitat of grizzly bears.  The bears can be observed from several vantage points, including a log cabin-themed education center which provides a spectacular view into the glass-fronted, trout-stocked pool that the bears frequently wade in.  You'll never really understand how big a grizzly bear is until it is nose-to-nose with you through the glass (I mean, you would also understand if you were nose-to-nose with one without the glass, but the lesson would be short-lived).  One thing I really loved about CMZ was the signage - there was lots of it and it was very interesting and informative.  At a time when many zoos keep dumbing down or eliminating signage for fear of coming across as boring, Cheyenne Mountain shares some great stories.

Back on the main trail, a second log cabin offers a quiet place to watch a wooded hillside, where a little patience might reward you with a glimpse of the zoo's pack of Mexican grey wolves. The true star of the trail, however is the absolutely stunning bull moose.  You see signs of him long before you see him in the flesh - the outside wall of his holding barn is adorned with several shed sets of his massive antlers, each set grander than the last.  When you do see him, you may be lucky enough to catch him as he wades into his pool.  Very few zoos exhibit moose - this is only the third one I've been to that had them, and only the first time I've ever seen a male.  Like the grizzlies, this exhibit lets you get close enough to appreciate just how massive this animal is.  At the end of the trail is a small education building that also houses beavers, ravens, local herps, and two of the region's most endangered species, the black-footed ferret and the Wyoming toad.  A barn of domestic animals - including one of the coolest goat climbing structures I've ever seen - is nearby.

An additional rocky mountain exhibit featuring a rarely exhibited species is down the trail.  Rocky mountain goats can be seen from the base of their towering mountain, as well as from a walkway at the top, where a grassy meadow provides them a chance to take a break from their day-job of being daredevils on the cliffs.  Normally I wouldn't put concessions at a zoo on the "must see" list, but several of the cafes at Cheyenne Mountain feature patio seating that - like everything else at the zoo - provides breathtaking views of the countryside below.

The final animal area is Primate World, home to the zoo's great apes.  Gorillas and both Sumatran and Bornean orangutans have indoor and outdoor exhibit, while inside can also be found golden lion tamarins and naked mole rats.  The building also houses an interactive display on palm oil, the cultivation of which is the leading cause of habitat loss for orangutans and many other rainforest species.  The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has been a leader in the fight to educate the public about the palm oil crisis, as well as the push to identify sustainable palm oil (it does exist!).  It also features an art gallery of paintings by the zoo's orangutans.  Outside, a construction project is underway for new habitats for two of the zoo's most popular residents - Nile hippos and African penguins, which have been sent away during renovations.

Finally, one of the most popular features of the zoo doesn't even involve animals... except for the odd mule deer that walks in front of your car.  You see, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is unique in that you can drive your car through it - not to any of the exhibits, but to reach what is on the other side of the zoo, atop the mountain.  Here, at the end of winding, frankly terrifying road is the Will Rogers Shrine to the Sun, a tower and chapel which also serves as a tomb for Spencer Penrose, the founder of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  Set among picturesque gardens, the tower itself is beautiful, but nothing compared to the view from the top, where it seems like all of Colorado is opened up before you.  Just don't look down.

Compared to Denver Zoo (about an hour away), Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is rather small, especially in terms of bird and reptile collections.  Still, with the exception of one or two older, outdated exhibits (notably the Monkey Pavilion), its exhibits are stunning and it features several very unique species seen only at a few other zoos.  It has a demonstrated commitment to conservation, from its leadership on the palm oil crises to its breeding efforts with endangered native wildlife.  I really enjoyed the signage and learned a lot from reading, especially on the Rocky Mountain Wild trail (favorite stories include how moose became so common in Colorado and the fate of Colorado's last grizzly bears).  A few spectacular views, including the Shrine to the Sun (included in admission) didn't hurt the experience either.  It was a lovely zoo, with so many of its best exhibits being relatively recent additions.  I can't wait to come back to see the new hippo and penguin exhibits when they open, along with whatever the zoo has next in store.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Zoo Review: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Many zoos spend fortunes to try to turn what was once a run-of-the-mill city park into a landscape of extraordinary beauty... and many fall short.  It doesn't help that few zoos start of with the sheer majestic grandeur that the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo enjoys.  Billing itself as "America's Only Mountaintop Zoo", the Colorado Springs facility was opened in 1926 as a complement to a luxury hotel located at the base of the mountain.  At the entrance, the elevation is at 7,000 feet, and it only goes up from there.  From several points across the zoo, it is possible to take in grand, panoramic views of all of Colorado Springs and the surrounding countryside.

For a zoo that literally has almost no level ground on the entire campus, it seems ironic that the primary habitat displayed here is the African plains.  Sure enough, though, that's the case, with much of the first section of the zoo being devoted to the signature species of Cheyenne Mountain - the giraffe.  Over 200 giraffe calves have been born here, and the herd at any given point consists of several animals.  The world's tallest land mammals can be viewed inside, outside, at eye level, or as part of a panoramic yard.  And what giraffe exhibit would be complete without a chance to buy an approved treat and offer it up from a feeding platform?  To tell you the truth, I actually found CMZ's giraffe exhibit a little underwhelming  - knowing how famous the zoo is for its giraffes, I was expecting something truly awe-inspiring and unique.  I guess that's the thing about giraffes, though - they really aren't that complicated of an animal to keep in zoos, and they will thrive in some pretty basic condition - a paddock, a barn, a hanging feeder.  No sense going super high-tech and fancy if the basics will do just as well.

The giraffes are but one species featured in the African Rift Valley, which also includes paddocks for zebras, red river hogs, and the closest relative of the giraffe, the okapi.  Smaller exhibits scattered around the perimeter include griffon vultures, meerkats, spur-thighed tortoises, and crowned cranes.  The quintessential African star attractions, lions, are found in a very unique exhibit.  When someone told the architects that the exhibit was to be themed after the Great Rift Valley, they really took them at their word.  The lion exhibit is a sheer cliff face, with the big cats lounging on one of several rocky ledges that make up the back of the exhibit.  When the lions deign to come down to level ground (of which there is still a decent amount), visitors can view them face-to-face through floor-to-ceiling viewing windows.  Another towering exhibit is next door, this one featuring black-and-white colobus monkeys and rock hyraxes.  Visitors can view the monkeys from differing levels as they ascend a staircase (or elevator) that runs along the exhibit.  This might be the best exhibit of colobus I've ever seen - huge, lots of terrain differences, lots of climbing structures, and grassy lawns.

More African wildlife is find around the bend at Encounter Africa, home to the zoo's African pachyderms.  After crawling through the stimulated wreck of a downed plane (great for a photo op), visitors encounter a beautiful black rhino exhibit - on some days you may be lucky like I was and get to watch a training demonstration, with the rhino coming up to the front of the exhibit for keepers to work with.  Around the corner are the elephants in a huge paddock, complete with feeder trees and water features.  Many zoos, seeking to counter anti-zoo propaganda, are striving to make their elephant programs as transparent to the public as possible, and Cheyenne Mountain provides a great example.  Their enormous elephant barn is open to the public.  From an elevated walkway, visitors can gain a great understanding of how much work and devotion goes into caring for the world's largest land mammals.



(At this point, I'd like to point out one aspect of Cheyenne Mountain which went back and forth between amusing and irritating me.  There are lots of life-sized animal statues half-hidden around the place, some in what seem to be exhibits at first glance.  For example, right outside the elephant barn there is a series of statues of a pack of hyenas.  I kept doing double-takes around the zoo, thinking I saw animals that were actually statues.  Sometimes I thought it was cool.  Other times, it was like, 'Aw man, I wanted it to be a real hyena...")

Across the path from the African area, almost tucked into the hidden center of the zoo, are two old-style rocky grottoes for two very different mountain mammals.  One holds Asian black bears in a serviceable but uninspired rock heap that were very much all in the fashion a few decades ago, when this was presumably built.  The other was the one I was most excited to see - Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is one of only two zoos in the United States to display the mountain tapir, the smallest, woolliest, and, if we're being honest, cutest of the tapirs.  I want to visit every zoo (well, every good zoo, at least) at some point, obviously, but the chance to see a mountain tapir was a major motivation for me planning this trip to Colorado Springs.

Across from the tapirs is the Monkey Pavilion, formerly home to the zoo's big cats.  It's not that great of a building - lots of small, barred cages that I'm sure are on CMZ's to-replace list (though they made the right call in switching out big cats for smaller primates, which tend to do better in old-style cages).  Among the species housed here are lar gibbons, black mangabeys, and ring-tailed lemurs.  Coatis are also found here, as are sloths.  As living proof that even some of the oldest, most antiqued exhibits can have some cool, innovative features, I'd point out the neat sloth exhibit.  The sloths have the potential to exit the exhibit, go over the heads of visitors in the hallway, and climb to a perch outside for sun and fresh air.  It's a very impressive feature that lets a sloth exercise a great deal of control and decision-making over how to spend a day.

Up the slope from Africa (and let's face it, all of Cheyenne Mountain is "up the slope" is the next continental area, Australia.  Visitors can walk among red-necked wallabies, watch Matschie's tree kangaroos doze in the crock of a tree, feed budgies in a walk-through aviary, and observe emus and Australian shelducks (the later two being noteworthy as some of the only bird exhibits in the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo).  American alligators - possibly serving as a stand-in for Australia's saltwater crocodiles - can be found in a pool nearby.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's modest reptile collection is found in the Scutes Family Gallery, the former reptile and bird house.  In a weird departure from most zoos, the reptiles (most of which are of the variety seen in pet stores are not displayed in natural habitats, but in kind of kitschy habitats with glass beads and pottery and what not.  There was a sign at the entrance that explained that the point was to make people more comfortable with snakes and lizards by not presenting them as a wild "other."  Can't say I really buy into this one, but thanks for thinking outside the box.  For most visitors, the stars will be the Burmese pythons, displayed in what looks like an indoor meditation garden,

For more on the rest of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, check out Part II of the review, coming tomorrow!

Rhino Snow Day

This winter has been yo-yo-ing back and forth from temperate to arctic.  It's been making it a bit hard on some of our animals, especially those from the tropics.  Thankfully, even a few of the less-cold hardy animals can find some enjoyment from the winter.  Take this white rhinos from The Wilds in Cumberland, Ohio, for example.

Species Fact Profile: West African Slender-Snouted Crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus)

West African Slender-Snouted Crocodile

Mecistops cataphractus (Cuvier, 1825)

Range: Western Africa
Habitat: Tropical Rainforest,Shallow Rivers, Wetlands, Coastal Lagoons
Diet: Fish, Frogs, Snakes, Crustaceans, Waterbirds
Social Grouping: Males Solitary, Females Loosely Social
Reproduction: Female constructs nest by scraping together shallow vegetation in a shady spot near the water.  12-30 large hard-shelled eggs are laid; hatch 90-100 days later.  Sex of offspring is determined by incubation temperature of the eggs.  Mother assists young in breaking out of eggs, carries them to the water to protect them for a period of time.  Sexually mature at 2-2.5 meters in length, or 10-15 years old
Lifespan: 35 Years (Captivity)
Conservation Status: IUCN Critically Endangered, CITES Appendix I

• Maximum recorded length 4 meters, with males larger than females.
• Extremely slender snot lacks any bony ridges, is an adaptation for opening and closing the jaws quickly in the water for catching small fish or for probing into burrows and among submerged roots.  Sometimes called the "African gharial" 
• Adult skin is brown-yellow with large black spots, greener towards the head and paler on the underside. Juveniles are greenish-gray with brown or black blotches
• Adults have no predators except for humans - eggs and hatchlings may be preyed upon by otters, leopards, birds, and larger slender-snouted crocodiles
• Latin name translates as "Longest Looking Armored One"
• Perhaps the least studied crocodile species in the world.  Until recently was classified as "Data Deficient" by the IUCN.  Status in wild is unknown, but believed to be in decline.  Threats include hunting (for hides and for bushmeat) and entanglement and drowning in fishing nets.  Offered legal protection, but it is poorly enforced
• Once described as a single species, ranging from The Gambia east to Tanzania.  Now believed to be at least two species - the Central African (M. leptorhynchus) and West African.  DNA sequencing as revealed that all individuals in US zoos sampled were West African

Cupid and Cockroaches

Late next week is Valentine's Day, which means that mid-next week is time to start panicking about not having bought anything or made any plans for Valentine's Day. 

Of course, not everyone is going to have a storybook holiday next Thursday, with chocolates and roses and dinner by candlelight.  For some people, Valentine's Day will be spent alone, possibly getting over a recent bad breakup.

If that is your case, then don't you worry - the Hemsley Conservation Centre in England has just the thing to brighten your mood.  You can adopt and name a zoo animal in honor of your special ex-someone.  Sweet, huh?

Did I mention that the animal in question is a Madagascar hissing cockroach?  Follow the link below to get in on this exciting offer to immortalize your ex in all their roachy glory.

Name a Cockroach This Valentine's

EDIT: Well, it looks El Paso Zoo saw these guys their cockroach naming and raised them a crunchy death by mongoose...

El Paso Zoo will name a cockroach after your ex and feed it to their meerkats

Unscience an Animal

Sometimes this job takes a toll, emotionally as well as physically, and it can be hard to remember why you do.  Then one of your animals does something awesome/ridiculous, and all you want to do is bask in their presence, and maybe share it with the world. 

In an effort to do so, many zoos, aquariums, and conservation groups are participating in the new social media trend #unscienceananimal - from the same people (maybe?) that brought you #prattkeeping and #rateaspecies.  It's a fun, simple way to share some of our animals' coolest adaptations and traits in a fun, goofy manner. 

Enjoy this sampling of what the Internet has to offer!

Battersea Park Children's Zoo - Asian Small-Clawed Otter

Toledo Zoo - Gray Wolf

St. Augustine Alligator Farm - Gharial

North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island - Box Turtle

Dallas  Zoo - Giant Anteater

And, of course, everyone's favorite little hippo, Cincinnati Zoo's very own Plump Princess...

A Zookeeper's Highest Duty

Turmoil at the Austin Zoo: Documenting a Zookeepers' Revolt

I can't say that I envy the position that the keepers at the Austin Zoo have found themselves in.  I also can't say that I've never found myself in a similar position.  Zookeepers become zookeepers because they care deeply about animals. This happens in the abstract (all the animals in Africa, and Asia, and South America, and...) and in the specific, as in, the animals that you work with day-to-day.  We want to give them the best possible care, because we know they deserve it.  But what do you do if your management isn't quite on the same page as you are?



A zookeeper's highest duty - above any of the lofty-sounding, highfalutin goals of the organization - is the safety and welfare of their animals.  It comes above loyalty to the institution.  Sadly, in the case of Austin, it sounds like the keepers were forced to decide between the welfare of the animals and their own careers.   It's a tough call - do you stay quiet and try to improve things as much as possible from within, providing your animals with comfort and support?  Or do you rock the boat and risk everything?

Now, I'm going to be honest here for a second - we animal care folks are a rowdy, unruly lot, we don't always take instructions well, we refuse to compromise, and we're always looking for the next hill to die on.  I've worked with plenty of keepers beneath me who have been outraged - outraged - by some animal care decision that I've made and told them to follow.  "You want to give the monkeys outdoor access, in this weather?  You'll kill them!"  "You want to isolate this animal from its siblings for medical reasons - monster!"  "You're giving the tigers hay for bedding?  Don't you know they'll eat it and die!"  Followed by a storming off and/or weeping.

You see... no lack of self-righteous drama at the zoo.

How do you make sense of such madness?  How do you determine what concerns are valid and worth fighting over, and which ones you might *gulp* be wrong about?  The best solution is have decision-making out of the hands of one person, but in the hands of several, with open discussion and debate being encouraged.  Yes, someone will still have to make that call - a curator, a director - but by giving everyone a chance to be heard, to have concerns aired, and to speak freely (without the risk of termination for dissenting), we decrease the likelihood of bad decisions being made which negatively impact the animals.

 I've never been to the Austin Zoo, probably in part because I've never been to Austin.  With so many tremendous zoos, aquariums, and wildlife parks in Texas, it never really occurred to me to stop by.  Maybe some good will come of all of this.  Maybe things will turn around, and Austin will become a truly great zoo.  I'd like to think so.  The world needs more good zoos.  We don't need any bad ones.  The question is how do you get from one to the other?

Now More Than Ever, Our Planet Needs Good Zoos