Mind Your PPQs

Despite the skeptics, the Cincinnati Zoo’s World of the Insect proved to be an enormous hit with zoo visitors, providing an entirely new look at the creatures that make up the smaller majority of animal life on earth.  To this day, however, insectariums aren’t a regular fixture at many zoos.  Where they are present, they tend to feature a very limited cast of characters, with the same few species being seen in almost every collection.  So what gives?

A major obstacle that any zoo that wishes to display insects must overcome is the permitting.  Housing almost any species of plant-eating invertebrate – insects, millipedes, snails and slugs among them – requires a Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Permit 526.  This permit, issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, is required for the importation or interstate movement of any species which has the potential to become an agricultural pest should it escape from human care.  That consists of… well, almost everything with six legs.  It also refers to viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasitic plants, but in the confines of the zoo, it usually is associated with invertebrates.

To secure this permit, a zoo must demonstrate, through elaborate paperwork, how they intend to house and care for their invertebrates in a manner that insures that they will not get loose and wreck ecological or agricultural havoc.  Visit a zoo insectarium and you’re likely to notice double doors, meant to reduce the likelihood of a wayward pest getting out.  Deceased animals, bedding from the enclosures, and old furniture must often be incinerated, flash frozen, or otherwise sterilized to make sure no unnoticed eggs hatch out in the dumpster behind the building.  Site inspections will be carried out after the pest species has arrived to make sure that the SOPs detailed in your application are being followed.  Careful inventories must be maintained to make sure that all pests are properly accounted for.

The species that are not regulated by PPQ permits are animals that don’t eat plants.  That includes spiders, scorpions, and centipedes (though some species, such as certain mantises, are restricted as potential threats to pollinating insects).  I suspect that this is a big part of the reason why many zoo “insect” collections feature such a diverse array of tarantulas and other invertebrates that can be transported freely without the need for these permits.  

 A handful of other species do not require these permits, perhaps because they are already abundant in the US and the risk they pose to agriculture is low.  An example of this is the Madagascar hissing cockroach, probably the most commonly kept insect animal ambassador for zoo education programs.  Insects like the MHC are the exception, rather than the rule, though.  With so many invertebrate species and so little known about the potential impacts that most would have of the environment or on agriculture, the USDA seems to feel that blanket positions are safer.

This is all on the federal level, of course.  As with all things animal related in America, there is a whole separate level of state regulations to navigate as well (here, for example, are guidelines from Florida).  Some states have draconian restrictions that ban keeping almost anything.  Others are the Wild West, where everything goes.

I will admit that this is pretty strict enforcement… on paper.  In my less careful days, I happily bought insects and other invertebrates for the small, private zoo I worked for, with neither the owner nor I being the least bit aware that we needed permits for some of the species I bought.  Our regular USDA inspector never even went into the building that they were housed in during her inspections, nor did we think it necessary or even relevant to mention them.  I only heard about these permits when I requested a few Australian walking sticks from an AZA zoo years later and they inquired as to the status of the PPQ 526 permit.

A year or two ago, I remember visiting the Albuquerque BioPark Aquarium and Botanic Garden, and being delighted by the excellent insectarium in the later.  It was filled with an exciting collection of arthropods from around the world, including many species I had never seen before.  This was after my escapades with the walking sticks, and I knew then how regulated the transport of many of these species was.  As I exited the building, I remember thinking that this might have been the first animal exhibit I had ever seen where all of the associated paperwork and permits would have weighed more than any of the animals themselves.

Zoo History: The Big Bug House

“The thing that bugs me.  I’ve been stepping on bugs all my life and now they give them a great place to live in.  I’m a second-class citizen.”

- John Davenport

Zoological parks are facilities devoted to the study and conservation of animals.  Almost without exception, however, they present a highly skewed look at animal life on earth, focusing on the biggest creatures.  By some estimates, approximately 80% of Earth’s species are insects.

Insects had historically made the odd cameo in zoo and aquarium collections, usually in association with the reptile house (under that official taxonomy of “things visitors find creepy”).  The London Zoo, already a pioneer with its first reptile house and first public aquarium, followed up with its first insect building, which opened in 1881.  (Further ground was broken in that building in 1916 with the appointment of Evelyn Cheesman as Assistant Curator, a first for a woman in what was then a very male-dominated field).  Still, insects always had a very difficult time competing with big cats, bears, pachyderms, and primates, and with funds always limited, many zoos decided to ignore them.

With the exception of a few display tanks here and there, most focusing on the biggest, most spectacular-looking, and (above all) easiest-to-care for specimens, insects and their relatives hardly had a presence across the pond in American zoos.  Ed Maruska of the Cincinnati Zoo resolved to change that.

In the late 1970’s, Maruska began to plan for what would become the first insect house in the United States.   To put it politely, his colleagues – all of the other directors of major American zoos – were not supportive.  Some of them had tried similar feats on a smaller scale and had to watch their visions rebuffed by the disinterest of the public.  “Many of my colleagues thought I was bugs myself.  [They told me] better men than you have tried it.”

To stock the 6400 square foot building, the newly minted zoo entomologist Milan Busching was sent on collecting expeditions around the world, bringing back bugs for Maruska.  When it opened in 1978, it was a revolutionary facility that challenged visitors on how they thought about insects.    The museum-like building combined graphics, interactive devices (such as a scale to tell you how much you weighed… in insects), and, of course, live animals to tell the story of insects.  Galleries were arranged around themes, such as Insect Lifestyles and How Insects Feed.

As with any enterprise in working with a group of animals that have barely been kept in captivity, there was trial and error… lots and lots of error.  “We’d build up a collection, they’d die off,” Marsuka recalled years later in a interview with Cincinnati magazine as he prepared to retire.  “Nobody knew how to keep them.  I developed a bleeding ulcer.”

Trial and error eventually led to success.  The very year that the building open, Cincinnati received the coveted Edward H. Bean Award for its work with royal goliath beetles.    It was the first of several such awards for the zoo.   In 2015, the zoo received for its conservation work with giant jumping stick insects, being the first North American zoo to display and breed this species.   In 1979, it received the Exhibit of the Year Award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.    In 2003, the zoo celebrated the 25^th anniversary of the World of the Insect by receiving a Significant Achievement Award from the AZA, highlighting Cincinnati’s work with leaf-cutter ants. 

Insectariums aren’t as common as aquariums or reptile houses in American zoos, but they are certainly more present than they were before Ed Maruska’s vision came to life in 1978.  Many of the features that World of the Insect included when it opened – leaf-cutter ant tunnels, walk-thru butterfly exhibits, the inclusion of naked mole rats – have been duplicated at other zoos around the country.  They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  For Ed Maruska, however, the best compliment might have been watching one of his former naysayers walk around his brand new building, slack-jawed with amazement.  According to Maruska, if you got close enough, you could hear him mutter “The crazy son of a bitch actually did it…”

Satire: It Happened One Night...

Celebrate a Party for the Planet!

Separate from its #protectthepride campaign, the Disney Conservation Fund is joining with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to support conservation projects at zoos and aquariums across the country - and you can help them pick which ones!

Party for the Planet Contest

Follow the link to vote for one of ten facilities, based on the videos that they've produced.  The first and second place winners will receive $25,000 and $10,000 respectively to support their field conservation programs.  Most of these highlighted programs place emphasis on ecosystems right in the backyards of these facilities and are great ways to engage local communities in conservation.

Voting closes on Wednesday, so act now!

Species Fact Profile: Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster planci)

Crown-of-Thorns Starfish

Acanthaster planci (Linnaeus, 1758)

Range: Indian and Pacific Oceans
Habitat: Coral Reefs
Diet: Coral, Other Invertebrates, Carrion, Algae
Social Grouping: Asocial, Non-Territorial
Reproduction: Spawns during the summer months (dependent on hemisphere).  Female releases millions of eggs in water, fertilized by sperm from the males.  Not all individuals in population spawn at the same time.  Fertilized eggs are planktonic larva, eventually settling on a hard surface, where it will form into a recognizable starfish
Lifespan: 15-20 Years
Conservation Status: Not Evaluated

• Measures 25-35 centimeters (in some cases up to 70 centimeters) across.  Consists of up to 21 arms radiating around a central disc.  Typically have 5 arms when first forming, growing more with age.  The mouth is on the underside of this disc.  Light-sensitive "eye-spots" are present on the arm tips
• Coloration varies from pale green to reddish-orange to purple, believed to be influenced by the diet.  In some parts of their range they are very brightly colored, possibly a warning to predators
• After settling on the reef, newly-formed adults may migrate for considerable distances, traveling up to 35 centimeters per minute by pulling themselves along.  Juveniles are more exposed to predators because of their migration, and tend to forage at night
• Feeds by inverting its stomach through its mouth and onto its prey, digesting the tissues and absorbing them through the stomach wall before re-inverting
• Some corals house symbiotic crabs, which may drive off the starfish as it attempts to feed
• Predators include giant triton shells, pufferfish, and trigger fish.  Primary defense from predators are the long, stiff venomous spines, for which the animal is named
• If removed from the water, will rapidly deflate, body fluid leaking out.  If placed back in the water before it dies, the starfish will reinflate and recover
• Preferentially feed on young coral, which means that these starfish can pose a challenge in efforts to reestablish coral reefs.  A large starfish may consume over 450 square centimeters (about 70 square inches) of coral a day, feeding more in summer than winter

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

This week, the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium unveiled some exciting new ambassador animals - rats.  Big ones.  No, no one went down the back alleys of Tacoma with a net and a burlap bag to catch these guys.  These are giant pouched rats, hailing from West Africa.  They are being hailed by the media under a different name these days - hero rats.

"Hero Rats" arrive at Tacoma Zoo.  Their relatives are still saving lives.

What's so heroic about them?  You'd have to ask the untold hundreds of people around Africa and Southeast Asia that these rats have saved from one of the deadliest scourges of modern warfare - landmines.  The rats are trained to patrol potential minefields, sniffing out the buried booby-traps.  The rats themselves are too light to set the mines off, so there's no risk of them being blown up.  Instead, they can alert their human handlers to the danger, which allows their partners to dig up and deactivate the mines.  The program is led by the nongovernmental organization APOPO.





If that wasn't impressive enough, the rats are also demonstrating their ability to save lives in other ways.  They can sniff out Tuberculosis, one of the deadliest diseases around the world, identifying symptoms in local clinics, which can help reduce the risk of it spreading.  it costs less to train a rat than a dog, and the rats are actually more accurate, with fewer false-positives detected.


The rats taking up residence in PDZA flunked out of their training academy, but that doesn't mean that they aren't still making a difference.  Instead of working in the field, they are helping to educate visitors about the important work that APOPO does around the world to save people from landmines and Tuberculosis.  They even do a few demonstrations, in which the stakes are thankfully lower than they are in the field.  Perhaps some of those people who they help educate may reach out to APOPO to adopt a rat, paying for its training and care.


It's a great story of resilience, the power of training, an the importance of conserving every species, even those that we may not think of us as highly glamorous or majestic.  Every species has a part to play, and even a rat may change the world for the better.

Zoo Joke: Vet Rounds

A senior veterinarian is teaching a class of first year vet students, and decides to take them on a field trip to the animal hospital at the local zoo.  They are gathered in the laboratory, where a tech brings them that day's fecal samples - a series of steaming, foul-smelling lumps of poop from the zoo's monkey habitat.

"To be a skillful veterinarian, there are two traits that you must cultivate within yourselves," the vet explains to his eager pupils.  "First, you must remain composed in even the most disgusting of situations."  To the shock of the students, he empties one of the vials of feces onto the table, then scoops up a blob of the brown stuff on his finger.  Walking down the row, he brandishes it cheerfully.  "NOTHING should disgust you.  A vet must be BEYOND disgust.  Like this" he exclaims, stuffing a finger into his mouth and slurping.  Suddenly, all of the students look very green around the gills.

"Don't just stand there," the vet says.  "I've had the keepers bring enough samples for all of you.  I want to see all of you prove to me that you have that first trait, that nothing disgusts you.  Go!"

With a fair amount of hesitation, each of the students takes a sample of monkey poop.  Each pokes a finger into the mess.  Each plops it into their mouths.  For the next several minutes, the lab echoes with their retches and groans.

"Doctor?" one student asks, lifting her head up from the trashcan.  "You said that there were two traits that we would need to cultivate.   What was the second?"

"The second trait?  Ah, yes, that's the more important one, by far," the vet says with a broad grin.  "That's the power of observation.  Now, show of hands - how many of you noticed that, while I put my index finger into the fecal sample, it was my middle finger that I put in my mouth?"

Protect the Pride

This weekend saw the release of Disney's "Live Action" (by which I mean all-CGI) version of The Lion King.  The original The Lion King came out in theaters 25 years ago, in 1994.  I remember seeing it with my family, but only begrudgingly.  Even at that age spotted hyenas were one of my favorite animals, and I didn't like how they were portrayed in the movie.  It seemed like lions always had everything going their way.

Well, maybe not so much, it seems.



Since that 1994 debut, the world has lost one-half of its lions.  Africa's biggest wild cats only occupy 8% of their once-vast range.  Lions have played such an enormous role in the culture, history, and mythology of our species.  It's hard to imagine a world without them, but that might be what we are looking at if this decline continues.

Disney has profited handsomely from lions over the last few decades.  Now, the Mouse is returning the favor with their "Protect the Pride" campaign.  Over $1.5 million dollars has already been contributed to the Lion Recovery Fund, with the goal of doubling that.  Proceeds from the Animal Kingdom park and the sale of lion plush are going to lion conservation.   Disney is also partnering with the AZA to raise more funds for lion conservation - zoos are hosting special screenings of the movie, with proceeds going to support lion conservation in Africa

Now, for a film that's expected to rack in as many hundreds of millions of dollars as this one is, this may seem like chump-change from Disney.  It is a start, however, and if more companies that made money off of the likenesses of animal characters contributed in such a manner, wildlife conservation would be in a much better funded-place.

Learn more about Disney/AZA's partnership by following #protectthepride on social media.  Enjoy the movie -even if it's still unfair to hyenas.

Sacramento Zoo - NIMBY/YIMBY?

Earlier this year, the Sacramento Zoo, faced with the familiar challenges of an older, crumbling campus, announced its desire to pull up its stakes and relocate.  Over the years, the zoo has had to phase out many of its iconic animals - gorillas, hippos, tigers - due to space constraints.  Exhibits that once seemed state of the art now seem inadequate.  It's the story of every zoo - we do the best that we can, and once we know better, we do better.  Sometimes, it's easier to start over on a blank canvas.


Melissa McCartney, an ungulate zookeeper at the Sacramento Zoo, shows Goody her new boot.COURTESY OF THE SACRAMENTO ZOO


With that in mind, the Sacramento Zoo is looking for its new home.  The question is where?

Sacramento Zoo is looking for its new home. These three neighbors lead the pack

Having a zoo as your neighbor can be a major change.  A lot of folks are wondering what the impact of this move might be - on traffic, on property values, or safety.  For some folks, it's a big "Not In My Back Yard."  For others, the thought is a very attractive one.  As a result, we're seeing dueling visions, some folks smelling opportunity and adventure and trying to lure the new Sacramento Zoo to their location... and others just smelling lots of manure.  There's even a quixotic push to have a new "West Coast Smithsonian Institute" based out of Sacramento - maybe the new zoo could be part of it?

Hopefully, a site will be selected soon and we'll find that rarest of species - the decision that pleases everyone.  The zoo will get a new home, the city will get a great new facility, and the various members of the public will have it as close or as far away as they desire.



From the News: Arborist Killed During Workplace Safety Drill at NC Zoo

Arborist killed during workplace safety drill at NC Zoo

When we think of safety in zoos, our minds naturally gravitate towards their defining characteristic - the animals.  We think of animal escapes, or visitors getting in with animals, or keepers getting hurt behind-the-scenes.  The truth is, there's an element of danger all over the zoo.  You're often working with water, or electricity, or power tools, or heavy machinery.  You can get up very high, or in tight spaces.  You're often working in extreme weather.  It can be a wonderful place to work... but it can also be a dangerous one.





My condolences to the North Carolina Zoo family, which is mourning the loss of one of their workers, who died after falling from a tree.  Deepest sympathies as well as the friends and family.  I hope that you are all getting the support, including grief counseling, you need during this extremely difficult time.

Saving the Smaller Majority

When we think about zoos and conservation, we usually think of large, charismatic mammals, big colorful birds, and visually impressive reptiles.  Fair enough... that's where most of the attention has been for 99% of the history of zoos.  And most of that attention is still there.  Recently, we've been witnessing a slight shift, as big vertebrates have been making a little bit of room at the table for invertebrates.  Not a lot of room, mind you, but that's okay because they are small.

Compared to the American Big Three - California condor, red wolf, and black-footed ferret - it's easy to overlook another North American reintroduction program - the American burying beetle.  These fascinating little beetles, named for their habit of burying dead animals much larger than themselves, have disappeared throughout much of their range.  They were one of the first Species Survival Plans for an invertebrate launched by the AZA, and that program has already born fruit - of a squirmy, maggoty sort.  Beetles are now being reintroduced across their former range to try and reestablish the species.  This update comes from the Cincinnati Zoo:

In Florida, we're seeing the opposite trend.  Just as zoos had to scoop up the last condors, red wolves, and Arabian oryxes to save those species, so are zoos and aquariums rescuing colonies of stony corals.  The corals - which many people might not even realize are animals - are disappearing due to disease, and with them go the chances of survival for many marine species.  No one is giving up the fight to save them in their wild reefs, but zoos and aquariums - such as Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo - are at work establishing captive colonies, so that reintroduction efforts can take place in the future once the crisis abates.

There will always be places in zoos for big, imposing, beautiful/scary animals.  An Ark isn't complete with just it's most famous passengers, however.  Smaller, lesser-known species of insects, corals, and other invertebrates can be even more important to the well being of their ecosystems.  If we want to save wildlife and wild places, that means remembering the spineless little wonders, too.

Presenting, Zoo Tours

Shortly after I started this Blog, I found out that there are a lot of folks - both zoo staff, former staff, and just devoted fans - who are out there writing about zoos and aquariums.  It's been neat to explore their work, and sometimes share what I find here.  Lately, I came across this YouTube channel - Zoo Tours.  Many websites (such as mine) do zoo reviews.  What makes this channel special is that it provides video tours of various awesome zoo exhibits, such as Asia Trail at the National Zoo and Arctic Ring of Life at Detroit Zoo.  A video tour lets you really experience the animals and the scenery in a way words and even pictures can't.  Check out the channel and enjoy exploring some great zoo exhibits from around the country!

Zoo Tours, on YouTube

Species Fact Profile: American Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula)

American Paddlefish

Polyodon spathula (Walbaum, 1792)

Range: Mississippi River Basin (Central United States)
Habitat: Deep, Slow-Moving Rivers, Lakes, Occasionally in Brackish Water
Diet: Zooplankton
Social Grouping: Aggregations for Mating
Reproduction: Spawn every 2-3 years, based on environmental stimuli (photoperiod, water levels, temperature).  Gather in breeding schools.  Multiple males swim around eggs and release milt.  Eggs are deposited on sandbars.  Larval hatchlings are carried downstream by river currents.  Once gill rakers form, they can begin filter feeding.  Mature at t-14 years old
Lifespan: 20-30 Years, up to 55 years
Conservation Status: IUCN Vulnerable, CITES Appendix II

• Body length up to 2.5 meters, but usually 1.5 meters.  Weight 18-70 kilograms, males generally larger than females.  
• Very smooth, almost scaleless skin is gray or black on the back and sides with some mottling, paling to white on the underbelly
• Distinguishable for all other North American fish by its paddle-like extended snout.  This paddle is a highly-sensitive attenuate covered with electro-receptors, used to find prey and help navigate during migration
• Feed by swimming with their large mouths wide open.  Strains its prey out of the water using large, fine gill-rakers, feeding while ventilating their gills at the same time
• Generally stay within home range, but may travel during breeding season, have been known to travel up to 2000 miles through the river system
• Dam construction has isolated or extirpated many populations, preventing dispersal.  Believed to be extirpated from the Great Lakes
• Once one of the most commercially harvested fish in the Mississippi River system for their meat and their eggs, causing population to decline.  Exploitation increased after the crash of sturgeon populations in Europe led to increased (often illegal) harvesting of paddlefish for their eggs as a substitute caviar 
• Raised on fish farms, both in the US and in Europe.   Introduced to the Flint River system in Georgia after about 1200 individuals escaped from an aquaculture facility.  Have also been introduced to the Balkans as a sports fish
• Despite their very simple immune system, they seemingly never get cancer due to their cartilaginous skeletons, making them important research models

Mall Rats, and Other Animals

SEA LIFE aquariums, like those I visited in Michigan and Arizona, tend to be found in shopping malls.  It's a decent symbiotic relationship - historically the aquariums were able to take advantage of the visitors that were already coming to the malls, getting them to stop in and take a look around.  Today, with retail stores floundering in the wake of Amazon and other online giants, the stores at the mall are hoping that people come to see the aquarium, and then do a little shopping when they are done.


While I've never seen one besides SEA LIFE, I have read about a few other mall-based zoological attractions.  Most now seem to be closed, perhaps also falling victim to the disappearance of the American shopping mall.  There was Serpent Safari, for instance - a reptile zoo in the Chicago suburbs, where you could ogle the crocodiles, anacondas, monitor lizards, and alligator snapping turtles, pet smaller herps, and enjoy a photo op... before exiting through the gift shop, or course. 


Then, there was American Wilderness Experience, located in a mall outside Los Angeles.  Wandering among plaster caves and papier-mache trees, who might spot a variety of North American animals, including bobcats, porcupines, bats, and even harbor seals... as well as an interactive theater ride filled with kind of cheesy narration (from what I've read from visitors who have been).  A chain was originally planned for across the country.  Now, there are none.


I wonder if I'm being a little hypocritical, wincing as these mall-based zoos.   Zoos and aquariums have worked hard to try and de-commercialize themselves, to fight back against the viewpoint that animals are being exploited for money.  That being said, we do need money, both to maintain our facilities and to support conservation programs in the wild.  Everyone has a gift shop, everyone has concessions.  How do you draw the line between raising funds as a necessary chore and going completely commercial?


Part of the issue I have with mall-based animal exhibits is the setting itself not being conducive to optimal animal care.  Is having animals in a park-like setting that is completely designed to facilitate their husbandry really comparable to having them in what used to be a Burlington Coat Factory?  Aquariums and reptile houses are typically indoors anyway, but even here there are issues that can impact welfare that, because of the setting, may be out of the caretakers control.  Imagine trying to take care of fish in tanks that are starting to literally vibrate from the noise from the video arcade one wall away.  Maybe the atmosphere is all wrong too - it can be hard to get visitors to take you seriously as a legitatmat conservation and education organization when you are in a shopping mall.  From there, you look like just another attraction.


I won't speak ill of Serpent Safari or AWE, since both are gone and I can't visit either to see for myself.  To me, the most important factor is, what comes first?  Animal welfare, or the financial bottom line?  If you can make it work as a mall, providing the best care for the animals, then I suppose there's nothing wrong with it.  If you find that you keep having to make sacrifices and take short cuts based on your situation, then maybe it's your situation that needs to change.

Zoo Review: SEA LIFE Arizona

I came to the Arizona Mills shopping mall in Tempe, Arizona (just outside of Phoenix) to answer one question - would SEA LIFE Arizona differ in any meaningful way from SEA LIFE Michigan?  I was intrigued by the notion of the aquarium chain and wanted to learn what differences, if any, there were.  Should I make an effort to visit a SEA LIFE wherever I find one, or are the all the same?

The answer?  Pretty darn similar.  There were a few differences, but I found them almost negligible. 

Now, one thing I did like about Arizona vs. Michigan was the lack of an annoying film theater intro right when you come in.    Some features were almost identical, from the wrap-around tank of schooling fish to the touch tanks to the stingray tank that kids (or you, if you are not easily embarrassed) can crawl through to pop up in the middle of.   You'll see moon jellies and morays and other smaller aquarium favorites.  The themed octopus gallery, highlighting a variety of species apart from the giant Pacific octopus seen at most aquariums, was one of my favorite features at Michigan, and that was not replicated here.  Instead, there was Critter Canyon, a little educational area with displays of a few small native herps and invertebrates.

There was also the big tank with non-releasable sea turtles and small sharks, which can be viewed through windows or a tunnel, again just like Michigan.  The only difference here is that, instead of the ruins of a submerged Lovecraftian temple (as I choose to think of it), the fish and turtles here are swimming around the fossilized remains of a giant marine reptile.

The place did not make much of an impression on me.  Nothing bad, but I was literally in and out in half an hour, curiosity satisfied.  As I said in my review of Michigan, I'm not the target audience - families with small kids are.

Now, one thing that Arizona has to contend with that Michigan does not is a rival - the brand new, massive OdySea Aquarium has opened recently, and it has individual tanks which could probably fit all of SEA LIFE Arizona (and maybe Michigan too, if you cram them).  Now, to be far, when I was at SEA LIFE being nosy and eavesdropping, I heard two grandmothers telling each other how much they preferred SEA LIFE to OdySea for a variety of reasons - it's closer to them, it's cheaper to get into, and, most importantly for them, OdySea was just too big for them to manage with their grandkids.

I don't expect SEA LIFE Arizona to be muscled out by OdySea - it sounds like it'll keep it's quiet little niche in the mall and have a crowd to please.  I suppose the lesson is that, whatever your interests and tastes, if you come to Phoenix, there's an aquarium for you.

SEA LIFE Arizona

You Are What You Eat...

Yesterday I was in a hurry and didn't have a chance to pack a lunch.

By 12:30, I was so hungry ("How hungry were you!"), that I ate our own concessions!  It was not a fantastic experience.  Not horrific, mind you, but if I found myself at a crossroad with a signpost, saying "Zoo Concessions, 5 Miles West" and "McDonald's, 15 Miles East," then East I would go...

I remember once reading a letter from a European zoo director who had relocated to America.  One of the biggest cultural shocks he had to come to terms with was the difference in zoo cuisine.  In Europe, he had been accustomed to not eating at zoos, but dining - as in strudel and wienerschnitzel and what-not.  In the US, he found nachos and hot dogs... and he was careful not to ask what part of the dog they came from.

I can't say that I'd be a huge fan of a sit-down dinner at the zoo.  When I'm visiting a zoo, especially for the first time, I'm a keeper on a mission, trying to cram in as much as I can.  On the rare occasions that I do eat, I get something fast and it goes down my gullet with a speed and determination that would make a monitor lizard gasp.  Then, I can get back to the work of seeing the zoo.  Of course, not everyone is me, who feels a need to see every exhibit four times before I leave.  Maybe some families would stay longer if they felt that they had the option to sit, rest, and have a wholesome meal before they get back to the zoo.

I'm not saying that we should have a Michelin rated restaurant in every zoo.  Still, we should try to have healthy, filling meals that are in keeping with the zoo's mission.  To whit - it should be sustainable (especially in terms of seafood), there should be an emphasis on composting and a de-emphasis on single-use plastic waste, and having a few vegetarian or vegan options would be nice.  The recent spread of the so-called Impossible Burger, which is a very acceptable vegan substitute for a hamburger, should be a welcome addition to every zoo menu in the future.

Meals at the zoo can also be used to tie-in local flavor (pun intended), or to tie into the exhibit.  One of my favorite zoo dining experiences was at the Audubon Zoo's Louisiana Swamp exhibit.  We dined on catfish and alligator, with pecan pie for desert, while sitting on a balcony overlooking the alligator swamp.  I wondered how often visitors defied zoo rules and tossed tidbits to the gators below... including alligator nuggets.  Cannibals!

A zoo dining experience can further be improved by providing a nice view.  Some zoos incorporate spectacular views from their dining areas.   Sometimes, the view can incorporate zoo animals and exhibits.  At the Downtown Aquarium, diners at the restaurant can eat alongside an enormous tank, watching various fish glide silently alongside them as they eat.  In other cases, it utilizes natural beauty and landscapes.  At the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, you can eat lunch in a mountainside chalet with a sweeping, panoramic view of Colorado Springs below.  A cafe at the National Aquarium in Baltimore offers a pleasant view of the city's Inner Harbor.  In the Toledo Zoo, you can eat your meal inside the zoo's old Carnivora House, repurposed as a food-court.

Besides restaurants, be sure to include nice picnic areas, either in the zoo or aquarium or right outside the gates.  Visitors may opt to bring their own food instead of buying your concessions - but the pleasant time and memories may translate into more support for the zoo in other ways.

It is said that man (including zoo guests) cannot live on bread alone.  Zoo visitors are people, with all of the needs of people - including hunger, thirst, and a place to rest their feet for a few minutes.  If these needs aren't met, it's doubtful how much of the magic and mystery of the zoo they will absorb, or how receptive they will be to conservation messaging.

If you want to change the way the visitor sees your facility, you need more than a third-rate burger and fries.

The Jewels on the Side

In most zoos, there are a few large habitats for the star-level animals.  These are usually the large mammals (with a few bird and reptile species given honorary status), the high-profile species that the public comes to see.  Often, these are also the animals which welfare concerns are raised the most often, on account of their size, behavior, and environmental needs.  When we talk about animal welfare in zoos, often the conversation is driven by the desire to improve standards for elephants, large carnivores, and large primates.

Tucked around the zoo, however, lurking in the cracks and crevices between the big guys, are smaller habitats of smaller animals.  These exhibits often serve as a complement for a larger exhibit, and seem to be added as an afterthought or ornament.  A zoo may have a big, brand new lion exhibit, for instance, with the lions sprawled across a beautiful rock kopje, from which they can survey their domain.  Tucked around the trail may be smaller habitats for rock hyraxes, meerkats, or other small animals, maybe a reptile tank or two embedded in the rocks or a small, meshed-in aviary.  These exhibits are like the crumbs of an appetizer, whetting the appetite of the visitor as they approach the main experience.

Zoo planners call these small exhibits "jewel cases" - like a display case in a museum, there are meant to provide a close-up highlight of a beautiful little treasure. 

When I visit a new zoo, it's these smaller exhibits that I'm drawn to.  First of all, I don't have to fight the crowds as much.  Secondly, I've always had a soft spot for small, obscure animals.  I frequently find myself wishing that architects wouldn't treat these little habitats as such afterthoughts, however, and would put at least a proportionate amount of time and resources into developing them as they do larger habitats.  The visitor may only spend a fraction of the time there that they do at the bigger exhibits.  The animal is still living there full-time.  This is a reminder of why one of the most important tips for success in building a new exhibit is to solicit the input of animal keepers and curators from the get go.

Because many of these small exhibits are built into buildings or other concrete structures (like our hypothetical lion kopje) they can be very cost-prohibitive to modify after they have been built.  Space is such a limited feature in zoos, especially for many small, less-flashy endangered species, that I feel that sometimes program leaders will try to shoehorn an animal into a less ideal situation just because they don't have other options.  A Species Survival Plan population can't be maintained if there is nowhere for animals to go. The other options are to go with smaller animals that can better utilize that space or, in some cases, abandon the exhibit altogether - block it up, or put a non-animal educational feature there. 

In recent years, I've seen more and more zoos devoting better, quality space to small animals.  Sometimes, several smaller species can be given the run of a larger mixed-species habitat, or can rotate on-and-off a larger exhibit.  Still, it's much easier to plan a new habitat with optimal welfare the first time around.  A jewel can sit on a piece of black velvet directly under a piece of glass for all the world to admire, all day every day.  An animal can't.  We shouldn't think of small exhibits as jewel cases, and we shouldn't think of the animals as jewels.

They're far more precious that that.

 

Species Fact Profile: Couch's Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus couchii)

Couch's Spadefoot Toad

Scaphiopus couchii (Baird, 1854)

Range: Southwestern United States, Northern Mexico
Habitat: Deserts, Arid Grasslands, Montane Woodlands
Diet: Insects (especially winged termites), Spiders.  Tadpoles feed on insects, shrimp, and algae, and may also be cannibalistic
Social Grouping: Solitary, Breeding Aggregations
Reproduction: Breed in temporary rain-filled pools associated with summer storms.  As many as 3000 eggs are deposited on aquatic vegetation.  Hatch within 2 days, tadpoles complete metamorphosis in 7-8 days (response to the rapidly drying pools)
Lifespan: 13 Years
Conservation Status: IUCN Least Concern

The Couch's spadefoot toad is the lighter colored animal in the lower right-hand portion of the photograph - the other amphibians are red-spotted toads.

• Body length up to 9 centimeters.  Males smaller than females
• Smooth skin.  Green or yellowish green background color, white on the belly.  Females tend to have dark reticulations (net-like markings) while males are lighter with faint dark markings, sometimes lacking markings at all
• Has an elongated, sickle-shaped growth on the underside of the each of the rear feet, which is used for digging.  They bury themselves in loose, sandy soil and can remain buried for 8-10 months of the year, emerging at the onset of the summer rains.  Frequently seen on warm, wet summer nights
• Skin secretions can cause allergic reactions or pain in some people, especially if getting into open cuts or mucous membranes
• These toads can eat enough insects in one or two nights to last them the rest of the year
• Species has benefited from the irrigation of the southwest, along with the construction of dams and cattle tanks that result in more standing water
• Named in honor of Darius Nash Couch, an American naturalist who collected the first specimen while on an expedition for the Smithsonian Institution

Our American Reptile

Happy July 4th, for all of you out there!  It's a great day to celebrate the United States, which of course includes our two iconic national animals.  The bald eagle has been our national bird since the founding of our country.  While it has been an American emblem for almost as long, the American bison didn't have its status made official as our national mammal until quite recently.

Why should we stop there, though?

Why isn't there a national reptile?

No, seriously.  A little over half of the US states have an official state reptile - heck, Florida has three (a state tortoise, a state marine reptile, and the alligator because, well, Florida).  Almost as many states (as well as Puerto Rico) have official state amphibians.  Three states have state crustaceans (all selected for their iconic edibility - Louisiana has the crayfish, Maryland has the blue crab, and Oregon has the Dungeness crab).  Every state has a fish, and almost every state has an insect.  So why not a reptile to represent the US on the national level?

If we were to choose one, the logical first choose would be the timber rattlesnake.  It's perhaps best known for its symbolic role during the American Revolution, warning the British "Don't Tread On Me" and used by Benjamin Franklin as a metaphor for a peaceable county being willing to defend itself.  The timber rattlesnake was found throughout the thirteen original colonies, and while its fortunes have declined in recent years, it's still holding on vigorously.  In that, it has something in common with the eagle and the bison.  The timber rattlesnake is currently the state reptile of West Virginia.

Or, if not the timber rattlesnake, what about the American alligator?  It's an American endemic, found only within the borders of this country.  Like the eagle, its story is one of resilience, bouncing back from the edge of extinction.  It's also a nurturing parent, a keystone species which improves its environment and allows other species to flourish through its landscape engineering, and is still a big, scary predator.

The plucky, pugnacious snapping turtle?  The ubiquitous black rat snake?  The formidable little horned lizard?  We have lots of options!

It may seem like a silly thing, but making an animal a symbol has value.  It brings it to the forefront of our consciousness and helps inspire us to protect them or take pride in them.  Pandas were puttering along to extinction... then the World Wildlife Fund came along and made them literally the face of the movement to save endangered species.  Now, they are on the rebound.

I don't expect anyone in any real decision making capacity to be pushing for a national reptile any time soon... and if they did, people would probably just complain that we have more important things to worry about.  Granted, we do... but since no one seems to be in a rush to do anything about any of those things, we might as well take twenty minutes and pick a lizard or snake.

Meanwhile, in Japan...

Recently, the internet has been taken by storm by a series of videos from Japanese zoos, in which employees acting out the roles of animals have participated in escape drills.  No big deal, I've done this at several zoos.  I've even played the role of the animal twice - once as a bobcat, once as a crane.  Of course, what these guys have that I didn't have was a giant, creepy animal costume.  I must say, it really does add to the fun of the experience, but I think I'd have a little harder of a time taking the exercise seriously if that's what I saw coming down the path towards me...

To Rwanda with Rhinos

Last month, I shared a historical anecdote about wild American animals being sent to an African zoo.   It's a fun story, in that "man bites dog" sort of way.  You know what's more meaningful, though?  African animals being sent from overseas zoos to the repopulate the wild.

Last week, five critically endangered black rhinos were transferred from European zoos to help reestablish the species in Rwanda.  Better known for its mountain gorillas, Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, so finding room for animals there is quite a feat.  It's an especially large commitment for rhinos, perhaps the most high-target species for poachers in the region.  Rwanda lost its rhinos years ago to poachers.  Hopefully, they are here to stay this time.

5 endangered black rhinos relocated from Europe to Rwanda

Zoos often tout the prospect of reintroducing animals into the wild as one of their driving goals... and critics doubt the possibility of such things happening, discounting those situations where it already has happened.  Sometimes, I think even many zookeepers just think of it as more of a talking point rather than an actual goal.  We shouldn't get cynical and we shouldn't get jaded.  This is really happening.

If rhinos can make a comeback in Rwanda, than who is to say what is possible or impossible?


In this photo released by African Parks, a critically endangered eastern black rhino walks around its boma, or enclosure, just after being offloaded from a truck in Akagera national park, Rwanda Monday, June 24, 2019. Two male and three female rhinos, from wildlife parks in three European countries, were transported to the park with the aim of increasing the genetic diversity of the park’s rhino population and aiding efforts to restore the critically endangered subspecies in Rwanda and the region, said park officials. (Scott Ramsay/African Parks via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT (Associated Press)