Book Review: Don't Let Them Disappear

The conservation of endangered species can be a gloomy topic - it's hard to have a conversation about "endangered" without the concept of "extinct," and it's almost impossible to discuss "extinction" without "death."  Not surprisingly, this can be a tough subject to discuss with young children.  This is unfortunate, because young children are exactly the audience that we need to get messages to about animals and how wonderful they are, and what a tragedy it would be to lose them.  It's an awkward balancing act sometimes.

Strolling onto the tightrope to give her shot at the subject is none other than former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton.  Clinton's children's book is called Don't Let Them Disappear, and it takes children on a trip around the world to visit 12 endangered animals.  It focuses on iconic species which children probably have already heard of, such as tigers, giant pandas, and polar bears (though whale sharks sneak in as the token non-mammal).  Each animal is the subject of a two-page spread, illustrated with beautiful drawings by Gianna Marino.  The spread is also accompanied by a block of text about the animal, along with a few fast facts, such as where the animal is from and why it is endangered.

If Ms. Clinton's book could be subject to one critique, it's that perhaps it has a little too much text and dives into a little too much detail for the intended audience, children 4-8.  Then again, maybe it doesn't.  I can't imagine reading it to a toddler, but kids are all over the spectrum when it comes to animals and their interest in them.  I was absolutely single-minded about them when I was a kid (still am, as it so happens), and six-year-old me would have not been deterred by this at all, and possibly would have been irate that she limited herself to only 12 animals, and ones I'd already heard of at that.  For a more... normal audience, however, the book may be a tad wordy.  Most of the text is taken up with fun facts about the animals, only gently bringing up the reasons for their decline.

I heard Ms. Clinton read from her book and describe the story behind it last year, during her roll-out tour.  Fittingly, she was touring zoos and aquariums across the country to promote the book.  Part of that tour involved her addressing the AZA Mid-Year Meeting in Phoenix, which is where I heard her speak.   Being the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton, and this being the age of Trump, you might have expected her speech to wade into other political matters - it never did.  She spoke instead of how she had always loved animals, a passion fostered by her visits to the zoo as a child, and how having young children of her own reminded her of that passion as she got to learn about animals again through her children's eyes.

I'm sure that there are plenty of people who would turn their nose up at a book by anyone with the last name of Clinton, viewing it as yet another aspect of our never-ending culture wars.  Hearing her speak, however, I remind myself that somethings shouldn't be political - that just because a prominent Democrat feels one way about an issue that is important doesn't preclude Republicans from caring about it the same way.  Perhaps that's why this works especially well as a children's book.  Kids aren't Democrats or Republicans.  They're kids.  They care about what they care about, and generally want to help.  It's an example that wouldn't be the worst if we all followed.

Don't Let Them Disappear at Amazon.com

The Summer That Never Was

Tomorrow marks the end of August, and though we still have a little ways to go until Labor Day and the "official" start of autumn, summer is pretty much over.  The question, however, is whether it actually ever began?

Sure, the ungodly heat, the summer storms, the explosions of algae in every pool, the swarms of flies and mosquitoes - all of those parts of summer were here.  It's still not hard to shake the feeling that we've been living in ghost towns for most of the year.  Zoos and aquariums have started opening back up, but crowds have been sparse due to social distancing guidelines.  Most of the visitors we've had have been locals - tourism from out of towners has greatly diminished.  For some facilities, that's not a huge challenge.  For others, especially those which are major tourist destinations, such as San Diego Zoo, that can be quite problematic.  

For as long as I've been doing this, autumn has been my favorite season at the zoo, followed by spring.  For the later, I enjoy the change in the weather, especially on those days when it's in the mid-30's but feels downright tropical after months of cold, when you peel of your sweatshirt in the sun and catch yourself listening to the sound of melting snow drizzling down from the roofs.  I love the plantings and the spreading of mulch, and the semi-controlled chaos of moving animals from their winter quarters back to their main enclosures.

In the fall, I enjoy the calming down and slowing up pace from the busy highs of the summer.  I enjoy the relative peace and quiet of the weekdays, especially in the afternoons, when school groups have headed home for the day.  Each day in September and October is a treat to be outside, made all the sweeter because of the knowledge that there won't be that many more of them before winter comes around.

Summer, to me, has always been about screaming, swarming crowds, exhausted animals irritated by heat and bugs and noise, and too much to do with too little time.  I never thought I would miss it.  I hope we never have another summer like this last one.

OneHealth - Coronavirus Susceptibility Among Zoo Animals

Just because most of the country is focused on the presidential race, the protests in Kenosha, the fires in California, and the hurricanes down south (man, this year does stink...), don't think for a moment that our old buddy Coronavirus has moved on.   In the zoo community, most of the focus on COVID-19 has been from the economic perspective, as shut-down precautions have hurt our bottom lines.  

Let's not forget, though, what the virus is in and of itself.  It's a disease that sickens people, sometimes killing them.  And it's impact on non-human animals is still being understood.

Genomic Analysis Reveals Many Animal Species May be Vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 Infection

UC Davis has released a study that suggests that many mammals - including endangered species in zoos - may be vulnerable to the disease to varying degrees.  (Birds and reptiles so far appear to be of minimal concern in terms of transmission).  It's hard to say what we should be more worried about - animals in zoos or in the wild.  Yes, animals in zoos come into closer contact with humans more regularly, but each zoo only has a few of each species, making the disease unlikely to spread from, say, the gorillas at Zoo "A" to those in Zoo "B."  On the other hand, animals in the wild may be much less likely to get infected initially - but if they do, the risk of spread within the species may be far greater.

It's interesting to me how far down on the chart cats are, seeing as most of the cases we've heard the most about in zoos have been large felids.  Perhaps it's because great ape keepers were already using lots of PPE and safety protocols to keep themselves from passing their germs to primates, so COVID wasn't able to transmit as easily as it was to gorillas and orangutans.  For some reason I also expected elephants to be more susceptible to it... not that I'm complaining that they aren't, of course...

Whatever the case may be, I suspect that we will continue to learn more about how this novel Coronavirus impacts humans and animals alike as it continues its relentless spread.  I just worry about what form this learning experience might take...

Bella the Beluga's Baby at Shedd Aquarium

 To brighten up these dreary days, enjoy this footage of the birth of a new baby beluga at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium!

The Spectacular Sea Cow

When I was an elementary school student, I saw my first manatee in a schoolbook.  Flipping through the pages idly, while the teacher droned on about some nonsense that had nothing to do with animals, and was therefore irrelevant, I came across a black-and-white picture that immediately caught my attention.  A woman in a wetsuit was standing in a shallow pool, though it looked a bit deeper because she was in a half-crouch.  Nestled up against her, its back snuggled against her chest, its pudgy form wrapped in her arms, was the most adorable animal I'd ever seen.  

It was about the size of a golden retriever, but that's about where the resemblance ended.  It's soft, gray body was only partially visible - the part that was above the water - but I saw a round, sweet-looking face craning up towards its handlers, while paddle-like flippers drooped down into the water.  The woman was feeding the baby manatee a bottle.  Both the keeper and the manatee had expressions of pure bliss on their very-different faces.

Not the picture that I originally saw - this manatee calf is even smaller and younger - but it gives you an idea of what kind of an impression it made on me (Attractions Magazine)

Since then, I've seen manatees in the wild twice and in a half-dozen zoos and aquariums.  Every time I see one, my mind immediately clicks back to that photo.  I always smile remembering it.

Manatees almost strike me as an animal too sweet, lovable, and innocent for this world.  That very well may be true.  They've certainly been hammered hard by our species, especially those members who are partial to motorboats.  The big, placid mammals are too slow to easily maneuver out of the way, and many manatees bear the scars or are missing chunks of their body as a result.  Those are the ones that survive, of course.

Not many zoos and aquariums in the United States have manatees.  Those that do receive animals that were injured or orphaned in the wild.  Some of them may be raised back to a state where they can be released back into the wild.  Others are going to be permanent residents.  In addition to the exhibit animals, these facilities, such as ZooTampa at Lowry Park and Jacksonville Zoo, maintain hospital facilities for manatees in need.

Most of the facilities that house manatees, not surprisingly, are in their native Florida.  The state has dubbed the species its official State Marine Mammal and afforded it protection on top of what it already receives on the Federal level - though there has always been push-back on protecting endangered animals, especially ones that interfere (if only by existing) in the lives of the extremely entitled.

Manatees are indeed adorable animals, which has led many people who aren't harming them through negligent boating to seek them out for company.  However, such interactions are illegal - it is prohibited to feed, pet, pursue, or approach these animals too closely.

The one exception to all of the above is Crystal River on Florida's Gulf Coast, not too far north of Tampa.  It's the one spot in the state where it is permissible to get in the water and interact with the animals.  The experience is regulated by rangers to make sure that both humans and manatees are being kept safe at all times, which is how it should be when people are given the chance to get up close and personal with wildlife.

I've never swum with a manatee, let alone gotten to bottle-feed one as it lounges in my arms like a giant, content baby.  I don't suspect I ever will.  I have gotten to see them in the wild on a few occasions.  You don't see much, usually - just a gathering bulk beneath the water, with the surface periodically broken by a temptingly-boopable snout coming up for fresh air before sinking back down to its underwater salad bar.  It's not the most intimate of encounters - but it's nice to see them, doing their own thing, safe in the wild where they belong.

Species Fact Profile: West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus)

 West Indian Manatee

Trichechus manatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Range: Coastal Waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Central and northern South America
Habitat: Shallow Coastal Waters, Rivers, Estuaries; Move back and forth between saltwater, brackish, and freshwater habitats
Diet: Sea Grasses and other Aquatic Plants
Social Grouping: Primarily solitary, but will form breeding herds or aggregate around resources such as food or warm-water sources in the winter
Reproduction: Breed in mating herds, in which several males may congregate around females and compete for access.  Single calf (rarely twins) born after gestation period of 12-14 months.  Male provides no parental care.  Calf remains with female until weaned at 2 years.  Males sexually mature at 3-4 years, females at 3-5 years old
Lifespan: 50-60 Years (record approaching 70)
Conservation Status: IUCN Endangered, US Endangered Species List - Threatened

• Body length 2.7-3.5 meters (up to 4.6 meters), weigh 200-600 kilograms, with females usually larger than males.  Fully aquatic, with flipper-like forelimbs and no hindlimbs, instead having a large, spatula-shaped tail
• Gray skin is nearly hairless (with whisker-like vibrissae being especially prominent on the face), sometimes covered with algae or barnacles.
• Like elephants (some of their closest relatives), manatees have prehensile lips/snouts (though not trunks), as well as rows of molars which are constantly worn-down and replaced as manatees feed on plant matter.  They will sometimes pull themselves partially out of the water to feed on plants growing near the shore
• Manatees are the only mammals to have fewer than 7 neck vertebrae, having 6 instead
• Unlike many other aquatic mammals (and despite their rotund appearance), they have very little body fat, meaning that they cannot warm themselves in cold water.  This largely limits them to subtropical water.  This is the northernmost of the living manatee/sea cow species.  In the northern parts of the range, they frequently seek out artificial warm-water sources, such as power plants, to take advantage of the heat
• Occasionally wander far from their range.  Manatees have been spotted as far north as Massachusetts and as far up river systems as Memphis, Tennessee
• Two subspecies - the Florida manatee (T. m. latirostris) and the Antillean, or Caribbean, manatee (T. m. manatus)
• One of the primary threats (especially in US coastal waters) is collision with motorboats, estimated to be responsible for a third of all manatee deaths.  Many living manatees can be identified by researched by the scars and other injuries that they carry from boat collisions 
• Also susceptible to poisoning from consumption of toxic algae from red tide blooms
• No natural predators, but historically this species was hunted for meat, resulting in its absence from some parts of its range, especially in the Lesser Antilles
• Manatees were considered a possible origin for the myths of mermaids, especially when females nurse their young from their human-like breasts at the surface of the water.  Manatees were observed in such poses by Christopher Columbus during his expeditions to the Caribbean.  The order to which they belong, Sirenia, is named after the sea nymphs of Greek mythology

How Much Is Enough?

Between the safety concerns raised by Coronavirus, as well as the inevitable financial problems that have followed in its wake, one of the most pressing issues zoos face right now is staffing.  Social distancing efforts have meant that zoos and aquariums were trying to keep their staff numbers low during the early days of the pandemic, especially when they were closed to the public.  Staff that could work from home did work from home.  Keepers and others who were needed on grounds were often split into teams that were kept quarantined from each other.  

Most days, zoos were running lean and hungry.  When I'd walk around grounds, part of me would always wonder, "Where is everybody?"

The resultant financial hardships have also resulted in layoffs.  About 60% of a facility's expenses are usually represented by staff salaries and associated benefits, such as health insurance.  As a result, many zoos try to have the necessary level of staff.  In theory the more staff you have, the better things will run - but it can seriously cripple your budget.

What is the appropriate level of staff?

To me - and this is just looking at the keeper side of things, not at marketing or education or administration - it means you take the number of keepers needed to care for the animals on a daily basis.  Not just throwing water and food and grabbing the more obvious poop piles, but the proper daily care, including the daily care routine, enrichment, at least some training, and a few associated odd jobs, such as restocking supplies and minor maintenance.  Then, multiply by, say 1.5 - if you *need four keepers to do the most basic of jobs, plan on six.  Take that number and multiply by seven, then divide by five.  Round up.  So again, if you *need* four to do the most basic job, plan on having nine.

This will provide you with enough staff to do a thorough job of cleaning, feeding, training, enrichment, and other aspects of husbandry, to say nothing of monitoring animals and interacting with guests.  It gives you a cushion in case of emergencies.  It also actually allows your keepers to take their sick days, personal time, and vacation without feeling guilty, like they are betraying their co-workers and their animals.  

I've worked at many zoos that were short-staffed (and only one that I ever felt was over-staffed, and that was mostly on the managerial side).  Many zoos and aquariums are nonprofits, and especially during times as hard as these, it feels like they need to pare down and stay lean to survive.  Cutting too many staff - especially those most integral to the institution's mission - can be a false savings that only hurts the zoo (and its animals) in the end.

Upside-Down, Rightside-Up

 

Bats are famous for their seemingly-strange habit of resting while hanging upside-down.  Of course, if we think that looks strange, we should check it out and see what it would look like if they were rightside-up

From the News: 'Tiger King' Zoo to Close Permanently

 Zoo featured on 'Tiger King' closes permanently after USDA suspends license

You know how they say that there's no such thing as bad publicity?  Tell that to Jeff Lowe.  

It's likely that without all of the public attention being showered on Wynnewood's Exotic Animal Park, brought to public awareness by the hit Netflix documentary "Tiger King," most people would never have heard of Lowe or his zoo.  Unfortunately for him, they have.  And while show star Joe Exotic doesn't have too much to worry about, already being in prison and all, Lowe has to deal with the greatly increased scrutiny on the roadside zoo.  It looks like it finally came to a head.

Just before Lowe was about to surrender his exhibitor's license to USDA, the government agency beat him to it and pulled it themselves.  What happens next for the park and its animals remains to be seen - Lowe has floated the possibility of making it a filming studio for "Tiger King" related content.  Still, combined with the recent shuttering of another infamous roadside zoo, Wildlife in Need, it's a shot across the bow of many animal exhibitors.  It's no coincidence that these are two of the most high-profile roadside zoos in the country, the clearest targets for critics and activists.

(Note: As I've stated elsewhere in this blog, I do not equate "zoo not accredited by the AZA" with "roadside zoo".  To me, the later phrase denotes a facility that is exceptionally shoddy, purely profit driven, and provides inadequate animal care.  There are several excellent non-AZA facilities in this country).

Earlier this year, Wynnewood saw an explosion of attendance due to the fame brought by the documentary series.  It looks like fame can be a blessing and a curse.  Of course, for the animals housed at the Exotic Animal Park, closure - and the possibility of being rehomed - isn't exactly a curse.

Feeding the Bats

The major appeal of fruit bats over other bats in zoos is how much easier they are to feed.  It's not just that the insect-eating bats eat... well... insects.  A lot of animals in zoos eat insects, and we do a perfectly good job of keeping them.  The problem with bats is that they eat insects on the wing, swooping after mosquitoes and moths, catching them in flight using echolocation.  That's a much harder job that feeding an anteater, in which the natural feeding behavior - stick your tongue here and start lapping - is just redirected from a termite mound to a bowl.

Fruit bats are obviously easier.  Just skewer some banana and apple on a kebab or leave a slice of melon hanging from the ceiling.  The bats will feed in a very similar manner to how they would in the wild.

Okay, but what about vampire bats then?  Do the keepers take turns lying down for naps in that exhibit, leaving their toes tantalizingly exposed?  Unlikely.

Instead, the bats are given animal blood, such as beef, collected from slaughterhouses and presented in petri dishes.  Contrary to what their name might suggest, vampire bats don't suck blood - they lap it up, keeping it from coagulating with chemicals in their saliva and the rapid movements of their tongues.   Blood, in case you were wondering, can be stored for about 6 months before it goes bad - not that vampire bats give it a chance to.  They are enthusiastic eaters, both in the wild and in the zoo, scarfing down so much of the red stuff that sometimes, they get too full to even fly away.

Blood for Bats - Feeding the Vampire Bats at the Philadelphia Zoo

Is It Real?

One of the most irritating questions that keepers - especially reptile keepers - frequently get about their animals is, "Is it real?"   As if we regularly stock our exhibits with plastic alligators and rubber snakes because we're too cheap and lazy to have the real things.

Weekend confession time.  From as early as I can remember until I was, I don't know, 10 years old or so, I was convinced that the bats in my local zoo were fake.  They were kept in a dark, cave-like exhibit behind glass that was perpetually foggy and hard to see through, and they were constantly in motion, making everything that much blurrier.  I was so sure that they were all fake rubber bats on strings, maybe with a hidden fan keeping them spinning around.

I can be convinced that a crocodile that doesn't even blink in the several minutes that I watch it is perfectly real... but something about those bats just still, to this day, screams "FAKE!" to me.

Angel Mouse

Disclaimer: Bats are not rodents.  It is therefore inaccurate to think of them as flying mice, even though it's an analogy that a lot of people use in pop culture.  Still, it's a funny enough of a meme that I thought it was worth sharing.

From the News: Saint Louis Zoo to close children's zoo permanently

Earlier on during the pandemic, before most zoos had reopened, I spent an hour or so musing what it might be like if things never quite got back to normal, and if zoos had to permanently adapt to a world of social distancing.  Apparently, the St. Louis Zoo was having similar thoughts.  The difference between me and them, of course, is that they were actually able to put theory into practice.

Saint Louis Zoo to close children's zoo permanently

"It was a heart-wrenching decision to close the Children's Zoo, however, safety is our highest priority.  The Children's Zoo was designed for high-touch and interactive experiences, which is not conducive to a COVID or post-COVID environment."

- Dr. Jeffrey Bonner, President, St. Louis Zoo

The Emerson Children's Zoo will close this fall, to replaced with... who knows quite what yet?  To start with, a temporary dinosaur exhibit will fill the space, buying the zoo some time to reimagine what comes next. I'm sorry to see it go.  I have a lot of fond memories of that Children's Zoo, which was home to all sorts of cool wild animals in addition to the usual domestics.  I'm sure that whatever St. Louis puts its collective mind to will be spectacular. 

It's just sad that the decision had to be made under these circumstances.

 

Species Fact Profile: Rodriguez Fruit Bat (Pteropus rodricensis)

Rodriguez (Rodrigues) Fruit Bat (Flying Fox)

Pteropus rodricensis (Dobson, 1878)

Range: Island of Rodriguez (Mauritius)
Habitat: Dense Primary and Secondary Rainforest
Diet: Fruits, Seed Ponds, Flowers, Nectar, Pollen, Leaves, Bark
Social Grouping: Males form harems of up to 10 females.  Males typically roost alone, females of many harems may congregate into large colonies
Reproduction: Breeding takes place from October through December in the wild.  A female may give birth twice a year.  A single pup is born after a 120-180 day gestation period.   Males do not appear to have a role in caring for the young.   Young are born fully furred and with eyes open, but since the wings are underdeveloped, the pups cling to the mother for the first month.  Weaned at 2-3 months, independent at 6-12 months old, sexually mature at 1-2 years
Lifespan: 30 Years
Conservation Status: IUCN Endangered, CITES Appendix I, US Endangered Species List

• Sexes look alike, and juveniles resemble adults.  Fur is dark chestnut brown except for the head, neck, and shoulders, which are often golden colored.
• Body length is 15-20 centimeters.  Wingspan is 50-90 centimeters.  No tail.  Weight 300-350 grams.  Males are generally larger than females.  The wing has a large thumb, which aids in climbing and crawling
• The eyes are large and forward-facing.  The ears are small and pointed, also forward-facing.  These bats do not echolocate, and find food primarily through sight and smell.
• Important seed disperser for many species, as well as pollinators of flowers.  
• Unlike many flying foxes, they are not especially active at night, primarily leaving their roost sites to forage at dusk
• Primarily threatened because of very small natural habitat (Rodriquez is only 42 square miles in its entirety), which leaves the population vulnerable to cyclones and other natural disasters (loss of much of the natural rainforest habitat has removed buffers which have historically protected this species in the forests)
•  Sometimes persecuted by farmers who view it (largely mistakenly) as an agricultural pest, as well as some hunting for meat
• Captive breeding program for the species was established by Gerald Durrell’s Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust in 1976 with 27 individuals, which has since expanded to include other facilities.  The North American zoo population was established through the import of 76 bats to 6 US zoos in the 1980's and 1990's
• All zoo specimens abroad are owned by the government of Mauritius 

Build a Bat Box

Bats may not be extraordinarily common exhibit animals in zoos - and insectivorous bats like those that are most abundant here in the US, even less so - but you can still find ways to give them a home.  Whether it's in your own backyard or on the grounds of the zoo, the addition of a few bat boxes can make a great habitat enhancement for these small mammals.  

Check out the link before for instructions from the National Wildlife Foundation for how to build a bat box - you can also find them pre-made and ready for sale online, but this is more fun, and let's be honest, a lot of us have time on our hands these days.

Build a Bat House

Counting the Bats at Cincinnati Zoo

 

Where bats are maintained in zoos, they are usually managed as members of a group, instead of as individuals.  They tend to live in large numbers and it can be very hard to tell one animal from another; in the case of breeding groups, it becomes just as difficult to tell who the parents of newborn bats are.  This is especially true for the smaller species.  

Even so, it is important for keepers to be able to monitor the health and well-being (and numbers) of the group and be prepared to manage individual bats if it proves necessary.  Here's a video clip from the Cincinnati Zoo, showing the staff taking a census of their vampire bat colony.

Bats in the Belfry

"But when he brushes up against a screen,

We are afraid of what our eyes have seen:

For something is amiss or out of place

When mice with wings can wear a human face."

- Theodore Roethke, The Bat

The rodents are the most numerous group of mammals, representing about 40% of all species known.  They certainly don't represent 40% of the mammals seen in zoos, but some species, especially the larger ones - capybara, beaver, the porcupines - are fairly common.  I've worked with all three, at any rate, and seen them in many zoos, along with a handful of the smaller species, such as the naked mole rat.

The second largest order of mammals I pretty rarely see in zoos.  I've never worked with them either.  Those are the Chiroptera - the bats.

Bats are pretty omnipresent in the natural world.  You can find them on every continent except Antarctica, and in a wide variety of environments, from jungle to desert to major metropolitan.  They are also one of the most instantly recognizable of mammals - everyone knows a bat when they see one - and the public are fascinated by them.

They remain pretty uncommon, though.  Why is that?

Part of it is that, despite their public appeal, usually associated with images of horror, such as vampires, bats often don't make the best exhibit animals.  They are nocturnal, which doesn't help, and even in nocturnal houses with reverse-lighting, they can be hard to see.  It doesn't help that they don't do much.  Bats fly, just like birds do, but just like birds, they fly to get somewhere, not just for a lark.  When a bird is at rest, it often sits conspicuously on a perch for all the world to admire.  A bat... usually looks like another lump of rock, tucked among all of the other lumps of rock.

I've spent years amassing photo-records of the animals that I observe in various zoos and aquariums.  Most of my bat photos... well, they kinda look like this:

If the word "bat" wasn't literally in the picture, even I'd have a hard time remembering what this is

Diet is another issue.  Many bats feed on flying insects, which is not a diet easy to replicate in a zoo setting.  I'm unaware if people have any luck feeding an insectivore gruel, similar to what anteaters and aardvarks are fed, but if they do, it must not be that prevalent, based on the lack of insectivorous bats in zoos.  Fruit-eating bats, which include the largest members of the order, the flying foxes (with wingspans of over 5 feet in some species) are much more prevalent.  However, they come with their own cachet - many locals have strict regulations against having fruit bats, out of fear that they could escape and become agricultural nuisances.  

Speaking of the flying foxes, it's also worth mentioning that most bats are quite small, and smaller animals have, taken as a whole, been becoming less common as zoos phase out small mammal houses and other designated facilities.   Many of the bats that remain in zoo collections are the larger ones that are easily incorporated into mixed-species exhibits, especially walk-through aviaries and rainforest buildings.  Flying foxes also have another thing going for them - they are diurnal, not nocturnal.

One special bat species has been able to hold its own in collections, despite being quite small, nocturnal, and most definitely not a fruit eater.  That would be the common vampire bat, one of the few species which actually does feed on blood.  It just goes to show that some animals are too weird to overlook completely, and that space can be found for any animal that has enough of a grip on the public fascination.

Sporcle Quiz: Sporcle at the Zoo: Rhinoceroses

Next up in the series Sporcle at the Zoo, we challenge your knowledge of the rhinoceroses!

Sporcle at the Zoo: Rhinoceroses

Dining on Big Bird

"You're awfully cute, but unfortunately for you, you're made of meat."

- Avatar: The Last Airbender

When you take care of hoofstock, especially domestic species, as farmyard keepers do, you end up with lots of unwanted jokes from people about eating your animals.  Many of the pigs that I've worked with have some variation of "bacon" or "ham" or "pork chop" in their name, and in November, there are endless cracks about the turkeys and their imagined upcoming fate.   During my visit to Milwaukee County Zoo a few years back, I saw some fishermen-types in the aquarium building, practically salivating over the Great Lakes display, though this may have had more to do with the trophy aspect than the meat.  

It's a good thing that the animals can't understand what visitors are saying. They'd probably develop some kind of complex.

Over the course of my career, I've only ever actually eaten animals that I've cared for twice.  Once was in college, when I was the teaching assistant for an animal nutrition course, in which the students raised quails and sheep as part of a nutritional study.  At the end of the semester, our professor invited all of the TA's to his house for a thank you dinner.  The appetizer was boiled quail eggs.  The main courses were quail and lamb.

The second was my only zoo-dining experience.  I was working at a safari park, where I made almost exactly no money and lived in a perpetual state of malnourished delirium.  The highlight of my week was every Saturday, when I was able to scavenge leftover pizza from birthday parties... you know, like a particularly undignified vulture.  My parents, who always were supportive of my pursuit of my dream job, offered to chip in a bit to help me with groceries.  That actually just made me even more frugal.  I hate spending my own money... I hated even more the idea of spending someone else's, especially when I was trying to prove that I could make it on my own.

One tragic day, when a female ostrich was struck by a vehicle and killed, I happened to wander onto the scene of the ad hoc necropsy.  Not much of a necropsy - cause of death was quite clear.  So, when I saw my boss getting ready to bury it, I decided on a lark to ask for a drumstick.  To my surprise, I got it.

I had no idea how to cook it.  My first thought was to roast the whole thing in the oven, but that proved impractical, so I cut off smaller chunks to cook.  It was tough and gamey, more like beef or venison than chicken or turkey, possibly as a result of my not knowing what to do with it.  I did get several meals off that leg, honestly tripling my meat consumption for that month.  

Over the course of my life, especially in travels, I've eaten a lot of odd animal products.  I've had alligator and kangaroo and bison, as well as scrambled rhea eggs.  I drank goat blood with the Maasai in East Africa and ate grilled giant grubs in the Amazon.  

This is the only time I ever ate one of my zoo animals, and to be honest, if the opportunity came again with any other, I'd probably pass - or not even think of it as an option.  This was when I was a decade younger and a fair bit wilder and edgier (oh, and hungrier).  These days, I think it would feel too much like eating a coworker.

Socially Distant

Like many people, I may have put on a little weight during the shutdown, which we can attribute to the closure of gyms, the existential dread, and, above all, the eating of feelings (I've developed a lot of feelings).  Fortunately, now that our zoo is open again, I'm getting lots of exercise.  Specifically, I'm getting to take a daily sprint to get in and out of the public areas of the zoo as fast as I can before the public arrives.

I don't know when coronavirus will be "over" - I'm not exactly sure it will ever be "over" at this rate.  But when it does end, I know I'm going to be jumpy around crowds for a while.  This is especially true at work, where visitors often don't seem to recognize us as living, breathing beings - more as automatons which serve to facilitate their zoo-going experience.  When I emerge from a back area, I often am approached way too close by people, many shedding their masks, who just have "a quick question" that apparently can't be asked from further than six feet back.

Since coronavirus began, I've paid a total of one visit to a zoo other than the one I work at - and that was for work, as part of an animal transport (another aspect of the career which we are having to rethink in these weird times).  I'm not sure when I'll be able to go to one for my own enjoyment again - and how much I'd be able to enjoy it.  I feel like I'd be spending more time dodging children running amok than I would be admiring animals.

I am glad that we are open again - we needed the money.  Badly.  So did many other zoos, some of whom were faced with the specter of permanent closure.  Still, I do worry about what happens next and how long this will go on, and how long the mentally recovery will take as well.

Wear a mask.  Stay six feet apart.  If you are sick, or have reasonable cause to think that you might have the virus, please stay home.   We can and will get through this... I think.