Archive for the ‘Behind the Scenes’ Category

Apr
26

How Do You Convince a Pygmy Marmoset to Have Babies?

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Mammals: Our Furry (and Hairy!) Friends,Primates

Pygmy marmosets. Those cute little monkeys found in South American rainforests. The tiniest on the planet. Wouldn’t it be just adorable if they had babies? Why yes, it would…but it’s a tricky business.

Pygmy marmosets: yep, they’re adorable.

As you may have read in recent blogs, pygmy marmosets have some unique characteristics, including what they eat and the way they parent. You may have also learned that pygmy marmosets, as well as 300 other species of animals, have a special plan for breeding in zoos to make sure they don’t breed with others in their family tree and that there is enough space for them.

Now let’s take that a step further: what is the Houston Zoo doing to breed them responsibly so we make sure that we’ve got enough marmosets in zoos, especially if the wild population takes a turn for the worse? Our pygmy marmosets happen to be some of the most successful at having babies of any zoo, so let’s take a look at what we think we’re doing right.

It all goes back to April 2006. Pygmy marmoset pair Per and Mia were both 4 years old and new to the Zoo, so before putting them out to roam with other animals in our Natural Encounters rainforest exhibit, we figured they needed some quiet time to get to know each other. And get to know each other they did…in a few short months, sure enough, twins arrived. We suspected that it was because they were kept in a quiet, smaller area, but at this point we weren’t quite sure.

Then came Bobby and Tilly. This pair was introduced when they were both 4 years old, which seems to be prime time for marmosets to get a mate. They turned out to be the most successful family the Zoo has ever had! They had a total of 8 offspring that made it to maturity.

Bobby, Tilly, and one of their offspring

The secret? We think it’s the same thing, which we called the “closet method” – let them get to know each other in a small, quiet space with no interruptions, and then they have babies. Once they have a couple births, we can introduce them to other animals and let them all frolic together in our rainforest exhibit.  This makes sense, because pygmy marmoset families don’t move around much in the wild – they have a small range where they live and they don’t venture out much beyond it.

To test the “closet method” theory, we’re working with the SSP coordinator to reach out to other accredited zoos and seeing how successful they have been in breeding marmosets, and also finding out basic information about how their marmosets live, what they do for enrichment and training, and even what they eat. If we understand how people are housing and managing them, and also what success in breeding they’ve had, we hope to establish a pattern and then help zoos around the country become successful with their marmosets.

So where are our marmosets? Right now, they’re all behind the scenes so they can relax and get to know each other. You never know when they’ll be ready to be in the rainforest, though, so keep an eye out when you visit.

Thanks to Abby Varela, Senior Keeper at the Houston Zoo, for the fantastic information and photos!

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Apr
25

Species Survival Plans: Helping Protect Animals in Zoos and in the Wild

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Conservation,Primates

In zoos, we have many animals that are endangered or threatened in the wild, and part of our job is to make sure we help protect them. One way we do this is through Species Survival Plans (SSPs). These plans are specially created for over 300 species of animals to make sure we take care of the population we have in zoos responsibly and work to protect their counterparts in the wild.

These plans are managed by an organization called the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. In order to be a member of this organization, a zoo or aquarium has to go through a rigorous accreditation process to be sure they are providing a safe, healthy environment for animals, as well as caring for them properly, among many other standards. The Houston Zoo is proudly accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

One way we do this is to be sure we have a large enough number of animals in zoos that are as genetically diverse as possible (for example, making sure animals that breed are not related). This is especially important, because if an animal is on the brink of extinction in the wild, zoos will have animals with diverse enough genes to breed with the wild animals and help bring the wild population back. An example of a success story was the reintroduction of the Arabian Oryx, which was declared as extinct in the wild in 1972. Because of the Species Survival Plan, there are now more than 1,450 Arabian Oryx worldwide.

Arabian Oryx

Let’s take the adorable pygmy marmoset, which we learned about in a recent blog, as an example of what an SSP does. First, experts from the zoo world figure out how many marmosets are living in zoos that can be a part of the Species Survival Plan. Then, they figure out if they want that population size to stay steady or to grow. In the case of pygmy marmosets, we want their population to grow. Then, we figure out the marmoset family tree…who’s related to who, and how. Then, we make a plan to keep introducing animals with different sets of genes so they will not breed with marmosets in their same family.

So how do we do all this, especially if many of the pygmy marmosets at the Houston Zoo are related (mom, dad, brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles)? We move animals from one zoo to another. So if a male marmoset at another zoo isn’t related to our female, and the SSP thinks they would be a good breeding pair, we move one or the other so they can be together, breed, and (hopefully) have adorable, tiny, pygmy marmoset babies.

Pygmy Marmoset

But while we’re learning more about breeding, it’s not always an exact science…especially with animals like pygmy marmosets. Stay tuned for another blog about them, where you’ll learn why we’re one of the most successful zoos at breeding these animals, and what we think helps them have success.

Thanks to Abby Varela, Senior Keeper at the Houston Zoo, for the great information and photos!

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Apr
24

So You Want to Work at a Zoo…..

Posted by in Behind the Scenes

We are often asked (very often) how to get a job as an animal keeper working at the Houston Zoo. Questions come in ranging from “How do I start working with animals?” to “Can I come pet the monkeys?”  The reality about working at a zoo is that it requires a mindset not found in other careers. We’ve assembled a few pointers for those looking, but not sure how to break into this amazing and rewarding field.

The employees of our Zoo are devoted professionals, regularly spending more time with the animals than their own families.

Let’s do some math here: We’ll posit that a “normal” business can expect their operating hours to be Monday through Friday, 9am – 5pm, requiring approximately 40 hours/week (don’t forget the 1hr lunch break).  The Houston Zoo is open 7 days a week, 9am – 7pm, 364 days a year. Oh yeah, be sure to factor in our night events, special parties, and occasional offsite visits.  So we open at 9am. Not too shabby right? Think our keepers get here the same time as our guests? Ha! Depending on the animal section, our keepers arrive anywhere from 5:00am – 7:00am to begin their day.

Ok, even though we haven’t directly said it, tip #1 for working at a zoo is to be prepared to work long hours. We pride ourselves on outstanding animal care, and that takes time…… a lot of time.

Tip #2 for landing a job as an animal keeper may be obvious: Get an education. Beth Schaefer, Curator of Primates and Carnivores at the Houston Zoo notes , “A college degree is becoming more and more important in the zoo field.  Our primate staff has lots of different degrees such as  biology, zoology, conservation biology, wildlife management, anthropology, and even psychology .” If you don’t have a dedicated animal degree, that’s ok. Beth also recommends volunteering to supplement your education. “Start volunteering at a local zoo as soon as you are able and look for internship opportunities. This way, you can prove that you show up when you are scheduled and willing to take on any task, regardless of how physically tiring it may be or what the weather is.”

Tip #3 is crappy: Embrace the poop. Animals poop, get over it. It’s time to get comfortable shoveling, scooping, grabbing, scrubbing, picking, and washing away poop. This will be part of YOUR job if you work as any animal keeper regardless of your education, experience, or age.

Tip #4 involves being flexible. Just because you’ve wanted to work with primates your entire life, doesn’t make you any more qualified to care for them. Beth offers more wisdom here, “Being willing to move around the country makes you a better candidate. Also, don’t expect to start working with your “dream animal”.  Take whatever job is open, work hard, be open-minded and learn lots.  A good reputation is everything in this small, close-knit field. “

With that said, we whole-heartedly wish you the best of luck in your search!

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Apr
24

Pygmy Marmosets: Small but Mighty Monkeys!

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Mammals: Our Furry (and Hairy!) Friends,Primates

If you’ve never seen a pygmy marmoset, just try to imagine the tiniest, most adorable, most delicate monkey you can think of – and you’re just about there. These tiny animals are literally the smallest monkeys in the world (about as heavy as a small pear), and they live in rainforests in parts of northern South America like Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia, Columbia, and Peru.

In the wild, pygmy marmosets dwell in trees and scurry up and down tree trunks and across branches and vines. They have nails resembling claws that help them hang onto trees while they use their teeth to munch through branches to access their favorite meal, which is tree sap (they also eat insects). When they have babies, they usually give birth to non-identical twins. They live in groups, usually ranging from 2-9 marmosets each: this includes a monogamous pair with offspring from the last 4 litters.

A unique feature of pygmy marmosets is called “alloparenting.” Alloparenting is when individuals that are not the parent help care for offspring (for example, siblings). Mom typically carries the babies for the first couple of days of their lives, then hands them off to dad most of the time, and often you will see brothers and sisters carrying the little guys around and caring for them. While alloparenting is pretty common among primates, marmosets and tamarins are unusual in that the males are involved in the care of infants – this isn’t the case among other primates. Pygmy marmosets are sometimes compared to gorillas in how they parent, keeping an incredibly watchful eye and letting the family eat before dad gets to eat. Sound familiar?

At the Houston Zoo, you can sometimes find pygmy marmosets in our Natural Encounters building. They live in the rainforest area with a host of other incredible animals, including golden lion tamarins, and even a sloth. Sometimes, though, you can’t see them, and for good reason – they need peace and quiet to breed and have babies, so we have a comfy off-exhibit area for them to stay while that process is happening.

How do we and other accredited zoos decide what animals should breed? It’s a highly calculated choice that is made to ensure both the survival of a species and that there’s enough room in zoos to house pygmy marmosets and many other kinds of animals. It’s called a Species Survival Plan (SSP). More on that coming soon in a future blog! In the past couple of years, the Houston Zoo has been one of the most successful zoo at breeding pygmy marmosets – it’s a tough thing to do. We’ll also tell you what we learned about breeding marmosets at our zoo and what we’re learning as we go.

Thanks to Abby Varela, Senior Keeper at the Houston Zoo, and the National Primate Research Center for the fantastic pygmy marmoset information!

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Apr
22

Free at Last!

Posted by in Amphibians,Behind the Scenes,Endangered Species

We have fantastic news from the Houston toad program! On the morning of Friday, April 12th, we got the call from the US Fish and Wildlife Service that we had been crossing our fingers for – the “go for release” of our Leon county toads! Finally, three years after being collected from the wild as eggs, Red and her friends were finally going home.

This event is the first ever release of adult Houston toads from the Houston Zoo. Animals head-started in the facility are generally only kept a few weeks after metamorphosis and are thereby released as juveniles.  In the case of the Leon county toads, several unfortunate events prevented this particular group from being released after they were reared here at the facility.

The initial phone call from USFWS set off a flurry of events in the toad facility. It is no easy matter to pack up and ship out 600+ adult Houston toads!! With a rain event predicted mid-week, we were scrambling to get the toads out in enough time to give them a chance to acclimate to their new environment. In the world of the toad, rain means breeding, and getting more Houston toads to breed in the wild is one of our leading priorities!

With the help of our Houston toad interns and volunteers, we were able to pack up all of the Leon county toads Saturday afternoon. Dr. Lauren Howard of the Zoo’s veterinary team visually inspected every single toad being shipped out. Wow! I bet the doctors as the medical center can’t say that they’ve seen that many clients in a day!

After their health check-up, the toads were carefully loaded and transported to an outdoor facility outside of Bastrop State Park that is managed by our collaborators at Texas State University. We met up with graduate student Melissa Jones, to move the toads into several large, outdoor tubs where the toads would be allowed to acclimate to outdoor conditions for several days before being released. Melissa will be monitoring the released toads as part of her PhD dissertation work.

Loaded up and ready to go!

As soon as we placed the Leon county toads into these large holding tubs, which were deigned to be half water and half sandy shore (aka perfect toad habitat!) the male toads immediately started to call.  The sound was deafening in the quiet of the evening and honestly brought tears to my eyes. Though I know they were just “doing what toads do,” I would kind of like to think that they were saying “thank you…”

Goodbye and good luck!

 

Moving the Leon county toads to the Texas State facility was just the first stage of the release. To find out about the next step in their journey home, please check out the blog next week!

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Mar
18

Houston Toads: Caring for 2,000+ Houston Toads

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Conservation

Interested in finding out what it is like taking care of 2,000+ Houston toads? In this week’s blog post we are going to take you through a typical day here in the Houston toad facility.

Like most of the animal departments here at the zoo, our day starts at 7AM sharp. The first order of business is to clean all 144 tanks in the quarantine building – that’s a lot of tanks! Each tank is divided into two sections: a dry portion that has a deep layer of moss for burrowing, and pool area, where toads can soak and drink. After the water from the previous day is drained from each tank, the tank is sprayed down and any leftover food or fecal matter is removed. After cleaning, the tank is filled up again with clean, reverse osmosis water (just like the fancy bottled water you pay big bucks for!)

Remember that in the last post we mentioned that toads prefer living in sandy soil. There are several reasons that we don’t keep our toads in sand in captivity. The first reason is that the sand is very difficult to clean; therefore waste products quickly build up in the tank which could potentially make the toads sick. Also, have you ever tried to move a wheelbarrow of wet sand? It’s heavy! A tank full of sand is very difficult to move, which would overly complicate our daily cleaning regime.  Sand is also somewhat pricy, so for as often as we disinfect each tank, it would get very expensive to continue to buy new sand.

Instead of sand we use a moss from New Zealand that is collected from an area where no amphibians are found. This is important because it reduces the possibility that this moss could have an amphibian disease that could be transmitted to our toads. This moss is also slightly alkaline (basic) which reduces bacterial growth.  The moss is light weight very easy to use. We make sure each tank has a deep layer of moss so that the toads can burrow down into it just like they would in sand in the wild.

In conjunction with cleaning and refilling each tank, we also collect fecal specimens to be submitted to the veterinary clinic.  This routine health screening ensures that our captive colony toads are free of parasites.  After the morning husbandry is done, we then spend time feeding the toads.  Feeding occurs on a regulated schedule, because like most captive animals, we don’t want to feed them too much to maintain their health! We mainly feed the adult toads large crickets, but we also supplement this cricket diet with waxworms and mealworms. The younger toads eat smaller crickets, fruit flies, and bean beetles.

After the toads are fed, the remainder of the day is spent taking care of the bugs that we use for food (we grow the small crickets, flies, and beetles ourselves), building new or fixing old tanks, performing medical treatments, or working on our own research projects or the helping out with the projects of our collaborators. Occasionally we get out for a Houston toad keeper chat, so check the zoo website in the next few weeks if you are visiting the zoo and want to catch us!

Like all conservation programs, teamwork is absolutely required for its success. Not only do we rely on our external partners including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and Texas State University, we also get tremendous support internally from the zoo. The aquarium provides us with most of our water, the vet staff gives us an incredible amount of medical support (it’s a lot of work to keep 2,000 toads healthy!), and keepers from Herpetology and the Children’s Zoo regularly lend us a helping hand with the day-to-day husbandry. We have also had a fantastic group of interns and volunteers whose enthusiasm and hard work continues to inspire us to make our program better. Thanks to everyone who has lent us a helping hand, we couldn’t do it without you! Stay tuned next week for a “guest blog” from one of our current interns, Jacquelyne Brauneis!

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Mar
17

Orangutan Introductions: A Semi-Solitary Primate Gets Social!

Posted by in Animal News & Updates,Behind the Scenes,Primates

Orangutans have been described as “semi-solitary” animals for a long time now, ever since scientists started following them around in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra some 40 years ago. It was evident then and now that most wild orangutans choose to be alone for much of their time, with the exception of mothers and infants, who have the lengthiest bond in the primate world. However, the longer we study the red apes, we discover that they have the potential and the ability to be very social – when and where they want to, strictly on their own terms. The biggest reason for sociality is food. If a fruiting tree is discovered, it will be set upon by more than one orangutan, and possibly up to six or seven at a time. They will eat peacefully together – until the fruit runs out. And, we have also seen youngsters playing in the forest, when old enough to get off mom and do so. The mothers will pass each other like ships in the night, but the kids will get off and play with each other.  And, in zoos and in nature, babies will stay with their mothers for up to 7- 9 years before venturing off on their own.

Here in the zoo, we honor our orangutans semi-solitary nature by not forcing them into big groups. Rather, we manage them by using flexible social housing: that is, by keeping them in more natural social pairings of mother and infant, while allowing them some choice in whom they can visit. We can periodically test the social waters by putting up an introduction door between two rooms – a door with 2”x 2” mesh whereby two animals on either side of the door can see, smell and even touch one another. If they show no interest in visiting, we simply close the solid door between them. If they act aggressive, we close it more quickly! But, if they play or groom or share food, it tells us that a full introduction might be a good thing to attempt.

We have done introductions of various configurations throughout the years, but the ones that can be the most interesting and engaging are those between young orangutans. We are working on introducing two young females currently: Indah and Aurora. Indah is a 9 year old Sumatran orangutan who was surrogate-reared by Cheyenne, our 40 year old hybrid female. When Aurora was born and then sadly rejected by Kelly, we immediately began introducing Aurora to Cheyenne so that she would have the maternal guidance that she needed. During that time, Indah was also involved in the process and was very interested in Aurora. We hoped that they would become a happy trio, at least for a while, but once Aurora was actually given to Cheyenne, it wasn’t long before she decided that Indah needed to leave. This happens with regularity in the wild: mothers will push their older kids out once they give birth to their newest baby. At the age of 7, 8 or 9, it is time to leave the nest, both figuratively and literally. So, we were not too surprised when Indah found herself pushed out.

 

In an effort to allow Indah the experience with infants that she needs to become a good mother herself, we have begun re-introductions between her and Aurora, without Cheyenne fully in the mix. This is easily accomplished by using what we call a “creep” door. That is a door that we open only widely enough for the infant to pass through it. Cheyenne’s face will barely fit through, so she can watch what goes on, and she can also stick her arms through the open space, but she cannot pass all the way through. This has been highly enriching for both kids but a bit of a conundrum for Cheyenne, who is naturally protective of her newest charge. She frequently decides that Aurora should not pass all the way through the creep door, and holds her firmly but gently by an ankle so that Aurora is tethered to her as she plays with Indah. Enjoy the video clip here to see a bout of play in which Cheyenne controls the situation!

 


Come to the zoo to see Cheyenne and Aurora together, or see Indah and Solaris together outside some days. You also might see Solaris and his mother Kelly outdoors together, and on these days, we are introducing Indah to Aurora inside the nighthouse.  Got all that?

 

Orangutans are complex creatures and so are their social interactions, as you can see!

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Jan
30

Mole Rats Coming Soon! New Home Under Construction

Posted by in Animal News & Updates,Behind the Scenes,Natural Encounters

The maze of small tunnels and chambers built into the wall near the rear of the Natural Encounters building has been home to two species, Damara and naked mole-rats. Lately these burrows have been empty, as the mole-rats tunnel behind the scenes while their exhibit is being renovated. If you’ve missed seeing them, you don’t have to wait until they’re back; they come out regularly for Meet the Keeper Talks. Check our Daily Schedule on the morning of your visit to see if they might be featured that day.

 

 

Kamryn Suttinger, the keeper who has worked with the mole-rats the longest, treated me with a few cool facts about them while she introduced me to them behind the scenes. Both Damara and naked mole-rats hail from the southern regions of Africa in the wild, though our colonies were born and raised in zoos. Mole-rats are rodents, and those two enormous front teeth grow constantly. Thus the need to constantly be chewing to wear the teeth down, a trait that’s most helpful in the wild. Here at the zoo keepers provide them with plenty of enrichment items to chew on, and sometimes block their tunnels with a sweet potato to give them a sweet reward for their digging efforts.

It is nearly impossible to tell male and female Damara mole-rats apart, says Suttinger, and not long ago we were met with a big surprise as a result. One of the “males” was quarreling with the queen of the colony, and to keep the peace keepers separated “him” out with a few other males into a bachelor colony. To their surprise this colony produced a litter of pups!

After renovations are complete, the naked mole-rats will have an exhibit area near the bat cave in Natural Encounters, and the Damara mole-rats will return to a new and improved exhibit in their current area. One problem with the old exhibit was that only the chambers were visible; the tunnels were behind the scenes where much of the great digging, tunneling and social interactions were happening. The new exhibits will have the tunnels and chambers visible to the public.

We will make an announcement when the renovations are complete and the mole-rats are back out on exhibit. Subscribe to our e-newsletter and get the news in your inbox!

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