Leech infested forests? Monsoons? Leg swallowing mud and Sea Gull poo?

You will find it all here as well as special events and stories from across the globe as we follow the Houston Zoo’s Naturally Wild Conservation Program in the office and in the field right here on the conservation blog.

_

May
16

If you had the privilege of growing up in the days of Saved by the Bell and other memorable TV shows of the 1990′s then you know exactly what I mean by a “Zack Morris Phone”. And whether you can believe it or not, some people still have these phones tucked away in their closets, shoe boxes, [...]

May
15

Today some of our Attwater’s chicks had their first vet exam! Afterwards, they received upgraded bands because they are growing so fast. When born, the chicks only weigh about 17 grams (on average). Once they graduate to 50 grams, they receive their veterinarian exam in preparation for release to a larger outdoor area. Below, you [...]

May
15

The Houston Zoo has released over 20,000 Houston toads into the wild since we began our reintroduction program in 2007.   We are determined to protect the Houston Toad from extinction! Four Houston toad egg strands (~12,000+ eggs) that were produced here at the Houston Zoo were released by Texas State this week.   Three of the [...]

May
08

The incubators at the Houston Zoo are full of Attwater’s prairie chicken eggs collected and carefully transported from our facility at the Johnson Space Center.  The chick nursery is full of peeping Attwater’s chicks!  The first group of the oldest chicks are already old enough to move to their outside accommodations.  They are growing up before [...]

May
08

We have great news to share with you from the Houston toad program! Last month we successfully transferred 634 adult toads to our collaborators at Texas State University. Texas State kept the toads in a large, outdoor holding area for a few days to re-acclimate to natural conditions, then over the course of a week, they were released [...]

May
07
Action for Apes Challenge!

This April, the Houston Zoo launched the first ever cell phone donation campaign with local schools. The program is called the “Action for Apes Challenge” and helps to save apes like gorillas and chimpanzees in Africa (among other wildlife) by recycling cell phones. Recycling your cell phones can be an important conservation action to take-it [...]

May
02

Tuesday morning 1 Green and 4 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were brought into the Houston Zoo’s vet clinic this week.  The 4 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were found stranded on the Texas coast and brought in to have physical examinations by our clinic staff.  This was the second visit for the one Green sea turtle.  He was found in a fresh water pond last [...]

Apr
30

The Houston Zoo just returned from another Monday assisting federal sea turtle biologists from NOAA Galveston with their weekly beach patrols. Unfortunately, this has been a tough time for local sea turtle conservationists. Numerous deceased turtles have been washing ashore for the past several weeks, and more keep coming in. The numbers of turtles washing [...]

Apr
30

The Houston Zoo cares deeply for Texas wildlife.   We are committed to ensuring the recovery and protection of local species and habitats.  We take great pride in our efforts to rehabilitate/assist wild animals and reintroduce zoo-born animals to the wild.   This blog series will keep you up-to-date on our 3 local recovery projects: The Attwater’s prairie chicken is the rarest native Texas bird. [...]

Apr
26

If you’ve ever had any doubts about the old saying that a penny saved is a penny earned, spend just a few minutes with Lamar Consolidated ISD kindergarten teacher Sharon Baldwin.  The Velasquez Elementary school teacher and her kindergarten class know all about the power of spare change. On Wednesday, April 17 Ms. Baldwin and [...]

Older Posts »