Posts Tagged ‘Behind the Scenes’

May
09

Carnivores Hunting

Posted by in Carnivores: Spots, Stripes and Sharp Teeth!,Enrichment: Keeping it Interesting

I have been told that I can be a little competitive.  I would like to think it is just that I am driven and do not like to fail.  Regardless, the end result is that if something is a little difficult for me I will often keep trying until I can get it right.  I often see that same manic glint in the eyes of our zoo residents as they try to figure out an enrichment item.  Enrichment is something that keepers offer to the animals at the Zoo every day.  It can be something as simple as a new food item, or as complex as a giant barrel made to look like a bird and filled with meat.  Whatever it may be, it is something different in an animal’s environment that encourages natural behaviors.

For me, nothing is more powerful than watching our carnivores “hunt”.  The absolute stillness which overtakes their bodies as they stalk their “prey” makes me not want to blink for fear of missing that crucial lunge.  Of course the pounce is so big that there was never a chance of missing it in the first place!  The Carnivore Keepers at the Houston Zoo help to encourage those natural hunting behaviors through the enrichment items they provide.

One of the lions proves that this species can indeed climb trees. She was able to knock the large femur bone from its perch.

The African Painted Dog pack works together to tear down a hanging piece of meat from a zip-line.

The carnivores at the zoo are fed a special meat diet formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of both felids and canids (cats and dogs).  They also receive special treats ranging from fish, to chicken, to even meal worms and crickets!  Presenting their regular diet as well as special treats in a variety of ways helps to engage that hunting behavior and offers the carnivores as well as our guests something special.

This can be especially important for social carnivores such as Lions and African Painted Dogs.  Offering them special food items as a group or an opportunity to hunt as a pack reestablishes crucial social ties.  Lions, for example, eat in order of a specific hierarchy.  The male eats first followed by females in order of dominance.  While keepers feed the majority of their diet separately to discourage aggression and make sure each lion receives their fair share, it is important to occasionally encourage the social interaction that occurs around a carcass.

The 15th of every month allows keepers to do just that.  The carnivores are offered a treat called bone-in-meat.  This is a large hunk of meat with the bone still inside.  The larger cats receive pieces ranging anywhere from 15-30lbs!  Presentations of this treat vary from sending it down a zip-line to staking in on exhibit, but the ripping and tearing involved in the consumption of this treat is enriching for animals and guests alike.

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Apr
10

Houston Toads: What Are Those Bumps?!

Posted by in Amphibians,Conservation,Endangered Species

One of our Leon county toads, Red, paused chasing crickets for moment for a quick photo op. She is quite the photogenic toad!

Have you noticed in our Houston toad photos the large, lump-like structure behind the eyes? This structure is not a lump or a wart; it is in fact a specialized gland called the parotid gland. This gland is responsible for producing toxins that protect the toad against predators. Different toads produce different toxins of various “strengths.” In general, these toxins are not dangerous to humans; however, the cane toad (Bufo marinus) produces a toxin that can cause some skin irritation. Has your dog ever picked up a toad, then started foaming at the mouth? It is a reaction to these chemicals that the toad hopes will distract the unlucky pup so it will have a chance to get away!

The size and location of the parotoid gland can also be used to tell the difference between different species of toad. A good resource can be found here: Know Your Toads.

Did you know several compounds made by the skin of amphibians, specifically frogs, are currently the focus of a great deal of biomedical research? Several studies have found that many of these compounds have anti-microbial properties which have led some researchers to believe that they might be used to make the next generation of antibiotics. Additionally, a compound produced by the skin of the green-eyed tree frog (Litoria genimaculata) may be able to stop infection by the HIV virus, the virus that causes AIDS.

It is estimated that ~32% of all amphibian species are threatened with extinction.  Who knows what amazing medical breakthrough is waiting to be discovered on the back of a frog or toad? Now more than ever it is critical that we join together to help save these amazing creatures!

 

For more reading:

http://jvi.asm.org/content/79/18/11598.full.pdf+html

http://www.natureserve.org/library/amphibian_fact_sheet.pdf

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Dec
06

Gift of Grub Series: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner – All Year Long!

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Supporting Your Zoo

With only six Animal Nutrition staff members and more than 6,000 mouths to feed every day, how do they do it?!

The Houston Zoo receives fresh produce deliveries three times a week, using seasonal produce whenever possible to reduce costs. Rodents are delivered on Tuesdays, crickets and worms on Tuesdays and Thursdays and feed and grain come once every two weeks. We also receive large deliveries of fish, meat and hay several times throughout the year. And, of course, there are always weekly grocery store runs to purchase items with a shorter shelf life – like bread, dairy products and even baby food.

To help with daily meal preparation, the Animal Nutrition team has “diet sheets” for every animal that outline the type and amount of food needed every day of the week. Diets are portioned out accordingly and delivered to each animal department every morning. Below is an example of a produce diet sheet for one of our orangutans, Kelly. In addition to her daily produce, Kelly also receives dense, nutrient rich biscuits that are made especially for primates. Throughout the week, she will also receive special treats for enrichment and training like ice pops, mixed nuts or currants.

 

The Animal Nutrition department also has special recipes for enrichment items like blood popsicles for the carnivores and recipes for bulk items like fruit salad for the bird department. Did you know that the birds at the Houston Zoo devour over 40 pounds of fruit salad every day? The recipe, listed below, contains yams, apples, grapes and papayas that are cut into small pieces by a commercial-grade food processor and mixed together.

 

 

 

 

 

You can help provide this tasty fruit salad and other nutritious meals by giving the Gift of Grub to the animals at the Houston Zoo. From now until December 31, your donation will go twice as far thanks to a generous matching gift from TXU Energy, up to $50,000 total. Our wild gang thanks you in advance for your support!

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Sep
21

Critically Endangered Turtles Hatched at the Houston Zoo!

Posted by in Animal News & Updates,Births and Arrivals - New Animals!,Endangered Species,Reptiles

Adult Basking on a Rock

Herpetology keeper, Chris Bednarski, holding the first hatchlings

Madagascar Big-headed Turtles (Erymnochelys madagascariensis) are facing extinction due to drastic deforestation and illegal hunting. They are ranked at number 16 in the world’s most endangered turtles and tortoises list .  We are proud to announce that we have had five hatch at the Houston Zoo, in our Madagascar lemur exhibit!. The hatchlings are very small, averaging 6.8g each. They are just a little larger than a US quarter, averaging only 28.7mm wide and 32.3mm long. This is the first hatching at a zoo in the United States, and we are one of the only zoos in the world that is currently breeding them.
This unique species can only be found in seven protected areas in western Madagascar: Ankarafantsika, Baly Bay, and Bemaraha National Parks, and the new protected reserves of Manambolamaty, Ambondrobe, Menabe-Antimena, and Mahavavy-Kinkony. They can lay up to 2 clutches of 10-20 eggs a year. The larger the turtle, the more eggs it can lay. The eggs will usually incubate at 86-87.8 degrees Fahrenheit (30-31 degrees Celsius) for around 60-90 days.

Little size, big deal

Often, the females will lay their eggs in the dry season, and the hatchlings will emerge in the rainy season. Ours were seen this past May engaging in preliminary nesting behavior, so we prepared the soil by adding sand to make it more “nest friendly” for the digging females.
Madagascar Big-headed turtles are fairly omnivorous, feeding on the fruits, flowers, leaves and consuming small vertebrates and fish. Here at the Houston Zoo, the turtles eat the vegetation in the exhibit along with a rotating diet consisting of specialized turtle pellets, shrimp, and smelt. Since they can be very aggressive towards each other, especially during breeding season, we took special care to add underwater hiding areas. You can see our seven adults in the water moat of our lemur exhibit, often enjoying the sun on the rocks and along the bank. The hatchlings have been removed from the moat to a safe location behind the scenes at the Reptile House. There they will be sheltered from predators and monitored closely to ensure a healthy life until they are bigger.

Here’s looking at you

There have been successful conservation programs in Madagascar working with the local communities to help reestablish and protect populations in the wild. Organizations such as The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust take local cultures and traditions into account in their conservation efforts. This is a critical step in making programs such as this a success.

For more information about the world’s most endangered turtles and tortoises, click here.

Look out world!

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Jul
21

Meet the Zoo Keeper: Josh Young

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Carnivores: Spots, Stripes and Sharp Teeth!,Meet the Staff

Today is the last day of Zoo Keeper Appreciation Week—Have you hugged a zoo keeper today? Today’s superstar zoo keeper is Josh Young. Josh works with our carnivores—the meat-eaters—which include all of our cats (tiger, lion, cheetah, leopard, and many others), bears (grizzly and Andean), and canids (maned wolf, African wild dog, and even a domestic dog: Anatolian shepherd dog).  Zoo volunteer Dale Martin talks with Josh about his experience as a zoo keeper at the Houston Zoo.

Carnivore Zoo keeper Josh Young talks to Camp Zoofari kids about Malayan Tigers at the Tiger Training Window. As a youngster, Josh attended Camp Zoofari where he became interested in becoming a zookeeper.

How long have you been here at the Houston Zoo and how did you become a zookeeper?

I’ve been here over eleven years now.  When I was younger, I attended a very primitive form of our current Camp Zoofari – at the time, it was a 1-day workshop focusing on a specific topic. I saw teens working alongside the teachers and later found that they were members of Zoo Crew. They got to volunteer at the Zoo!! I applied the next summer and was accepted as a volunteer into the Large Mammal Department. I volunteered there for 4 years. During that time, I had the opportunity to work with some awesome animals…and people. It was a profession that I knew I would love, so I applied for a job opening and was hired on in the Hoofed Stock Department.

What course of study did you pursue to prepare you to become a zookeeper?

I received my Bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas in Philosophy & Art History. One thing that I learned is that no particular course of study, animal related or not, could have prepared me for everything in zoo keeping. Of course, it helps to have basic knowledge of animals & common sense—but we are all jacks-of-all-trades, and the majority of what we do is something that we just learn as we go along. One can read everything written about a particular species, but each individual animal is different in personality – predictable situations can easily change when working any living creature. I’ve seen many of our animals act contrary to what the textbooks say.

What is your favorite part of being a zoo keeper?

It’s not an office job! I get to work outdoors with incredible animals and a great bunch people. It’s such a unique profession.

What is your biggest challenge being a zoo keeper at Houston Zoo?

Houston summers!!! I have lived here my entire life but the heat drains the energy right out of me. The animals dread the summer, too. The job becomes twice as challenging when the animals are not motivated to do anything.

What is your daily routine like?

The Carnivore Team meets at 7:00am every day in a morning meeting where we discuss important issues and the day’s upcoming events. After the meeting, we report to our assigned area/animals. We check on and do head-counts of all of our animals. Then, it’s feeding animals, cleaning exhibits, training husbandry behaviors, administering any medications to animals undergoing veterinary treatment, enriching animals, and working on special department projects. Sometimes, it can be downright hectic!

What is your most rewarding aspect of the job?

Knowing that I help take care of animals that people love to come and see and learn about. We spend so much time with our animals that they are our extended family. These animals depend on us.

What animals have you worked with in the past and are working with currently?

I began working at the zoo in the Large Mammals (hoofed stock) Department which, at the time, had white rhinos, giraffe, pygmy hippos, tapirs, and numerous antelope species. After about 2 years, I transferred to the Carnivore Department. We have tigers, lions, bears, maned wolves, cheetahs, a number of other cat species, African wild dogs, and one domestic dog—an Anatolian shepherd dog.

Do you have any favorite animals that you either worked with or just in general?

My favorite is Celesto, our 22-year-old female African lion. She was the most ornery animal I had ever met when I first started. For several years, I took time every day to spend time with her and earning her trust – now we work great together. She has an extremely bold personality that I love.

What is your funniest/most outrageous experience/story as a zookeeper?

A few years ago, Carnivore Supervisor Kevin Hodge and I were assigned the task of driving to Baton Rouge (LA) Zoo to pick up and transport our new maned wolf to her new home here at Houston Zoo. We left Houston about 4:00am in a small van and picked Lucy up in Baton Rouge later that day. On our return to Houston—with Lucy in a kennel in the back seat, Kevin & I realized that neither of us had eaten all day. We stopped for a quick meal break at a Taco Bell just outside of Baton Rouge. With a maned wolf in the back seat, we knew that one of us would have to wait in the car with Lucy while the other went in to get food. On entering the restaurant, everyone stared at me with a slight look of disgust. I then realized that I smelled heavily of maned wolf—maned wolves exude an odor that smells like skunk. Nobody inside Taco Bell would stand anywhere near me!! I quickly got our food and returned to the van. The final scene still makes me laugh: Kevin & I, smelling like skunk, eating fast food in a van in the middle of the Atchafalaya Basin, with a maned wolf in the back seat….that had to be a first!!

 

 

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Sep
21

Animal Enrichment: A Komodo and his Egg

Posted by in Enrichment: Keeping it Interesting,Events,Reptiles

Animal keepers at the Houston Zoo are constantly thinking of new ways to enrich the lives of the animals in their care.  Reptiles and birds often lay infertile eggs whether they have mated or not.  The Zoo’s two female ostriches frequently lay infertile eggs, we don’t have any male ostriches…….so, in the spirit of “reduce, reuse, recycle”, we find an interesting use for these eggs.  No, we don’t make giant omelettes!!  Sometimes we give one to our awesome Komodo dragon “Smaug”.  Dragons are meat eaters but they like eggs also.  As you can see below the egg is too big for him to swallow whole and this presents a challenge. 

The egg rolls away from him and he has to pin it against something and bite it to crack it.  Of course all the yolk runs out and he tries to suck it up and usually eats some or all of the shell.  Smaug doesn’t wind up getting to eat much of it but it gets him excited and keeps him busy for a while! Take a look.


We strive to continually come up with things to keep our animals busy and to elicit natural behaviors.  This is just one of the many fun aspects of taking care of the animals we love.

Written by Judith Bryja.

Enrichment Day at the Houston Zoo is Saturday, September 24th.  This is a great opportunity to come and join in the fun.  Come out and see all of the animals enjoying special enrichment, hear keeper chats and loads of  fun games for kids of all ages!  Enrichment Day celebrates the meaning and joy of enriching our animals and visitors!

Find your favorite animals and see what they’re wishing for at Amazon.com. Then just sit back, shop, click and send your animal of choice a wonderful gift to enrich their life!  They really do appreciate it and so does the Houston Zoo!

 

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Sep
14

Chimp Enrichment: Blankets,Termite Mounds and Painting! Oh My!!!

Posted by in Chimpanzees,Enrichment: Keeping it Interesting,Events

If you have visited the chimps in the African Forest at the Houston Zoo, chances are you’ve seen them toting around blankets or resting with them in the hammocks.  “Why in the world would a chimpanzee have a blanket?” you may be wondering.  Well, because they like them, that’s why!  Our chimps grew up having blankets to sleep with and to play with, and this affinity has carried over into adulthood.  Blankets are comfy, they smell nice (the keepers launder them regularly), they keep you warm in winter and sometimes, they have treats hidden inside them.  Who doesn’t enjoy a blankie?

Annie (on the ground) and Sally (in the hammock) enjoy their blankets

Sometimes, just to make it interesting, the keepers hide food in a folded blanket, or spread food out on it for a picnic.  A dash of perfume or essential oils makes it even more intriguing.

Blankets are just one of the many types of enrichment we use to keep the chimps engaged and to encourage the expression of  natual behaviors.  “What kind of ‘natural’ behavior can a blanket encourage?”, you are asking yourself.  Chimpanzees, as well as other apes, are nest-builders.  Meaning that whenever and wherever they rest, they will build a “nest” for themselves out of whatever materials are at hand.  In the wild this may be leaves, branches, grasses or even entire small tree limbs.  Often these nests are high in trees to avoid predators.  They rarely use the same nest twice and, except for infants, each chimp makes his or her own nest.  Can you think of a better material for making a nest than a blanket?  Me neither.

 “So what other types of enrichment do the chimps get?”, you are now asking.  You certainly are full of questions today!  Well, since this is one of my favorite subjects, I’ll tell you.

One of the most remarkable discoveries in the field of animal behavior was the observation in 1960 that wild chimpanzees make and use tools.  Previously, it was thought that only human beings were capable of this.  There are many ways in which chimps use tools, but one of the most well-known is using grass stems or sticks to “fish” for termites.  (Click this link for more info on termite fishing.)  Our chimps are not used to eating termites, but they do love a sweet snack, so we load our termite mound replica with semi-liquid food that might be sweet one day, or savory the next.  We try to keep it interesting and different each day.  The only way the chimps can reach their treat is to fish for it using whatever they can find, usually bamboo sticks.  This built-in innovative enrichment device never fails to captivate chimpanzees and guests alike.

Above you can see the chimps using the termite mound replica (clockwise from the top: Mac, Lulu, Willie, Riley and Annie). Guests can see, through the window on their side, what the chimps are fishing for inside the mound.

Being intelligent and curious, chimps love to investigate and manipulate objects.  They especially love cardboard and paper that can be torn up and rearranged to their liking. Cardboard boxes can hide food or treats and then be used for nesting when the food is gone.  Big ones like refrigerator boxes make great forts. (I bet you’ve done this, too, haven’t you?) This type of enrichment is usually reserved for the off-exhibit holding area as it can create quite a mess.

Not all enrichment has to encourage “wild” behaviors; Sometimes it is just something the animal finds interesting and fun. For great apes especially, one such behavior is painting.  Keepers generally hold the canvas with paint on it and hand the animal a paintbrush. Participation in this activity is completely voluntary, but we find the chimps rarely turn down the opportunity to smear the paint around on the canvas… and then eat some of it.  Don’t worry, it’s all non-toxic.  And apparently delicious, though I have not tried it myself.

Charlie working on his masterpiece. And having a paint snack. Bonus!

 For chimps, though, the ultimate enrichment is other chimps.  By nature chimpanzees are gregarious and have incredibly complex social lives.  Daily, they must negotiate their relationships with each other: cementing friendships and alliances, squabbling over food or toys, resolving conflicts and angling for a higher position on the social ladder.  Our group of five males and five females are incredibly interesting to watch and learn about.  They may just be a great source of enrichment for you!

Written by Judy McAuliffe
All photos by Ron Santos

Enrichment Day at the Houston Zoo is Saturday, September 24th.  This is a great opportunity to come and join in the fun.  Come out and see all of the animals enjoying special enrichment, hear keeper chats and loads of  fun games for kids of all ages!  Enrichment Day celebrates the meaning and joy of enriching our animals and visitors!

Find your favorite animals and see what they’re wishing for at Amazon.com. Then just sit back, shop, click and send your animal of choice a wonderful gift to enrich their life!  They really do appreciate it and so does the Houston Zoo!

 

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Mar
18

Witnessing the Birth of a Giraffe at the Houston Zoo

Posted by in African Forest,Behind the Scenes,Births and Arrivals - New Animals!,Featured,Giraffes,Hoofed Stock

I had the honor of capturing baby giraffe Asali’s birth on film last week for the Houston Zoo’s YouTube Channel. On a busy Friday afternoon in the spring sunshine, Tyra the giraffe began giving birth in the middle of the field in full view of an increasingly large crowd of public. Not long after I arrived, out of breath, having racewalked across the zoo with camera in hand, the keeper staff decided Tyra might appreciate a little privacy. They opened up the gate to the back and waved a green plastic buoy atop a tall bamboo pole. The giraffes notice this as a “come over here if you like” signal. Tyra thought this was a great idea and moseyed into the private back yard, followed by moans of many disappointed guests. For those of you who thought you might have missed the birth, here it is in high definition:

Myself and a few other chosen staff were allowed to follow keepers and vets behind the scenes. It’s not safe to stand in the yard with the giraffes – although they’re completely gentle, there’s always a risk of one accidentally crushing your foot with a misplaced hoof – so we watched and I filmed from behind a wall. Tyra slowly paced around the yard, looking around and gazing at us with her big dark eyes as if to reassure us that she had this completely under control. She stopped periodically for contractions, and would often point her back end at us the contractions came – she knew what we were there to monitor.

We watched and I filmed as giraffe Asali was born

As we watched the baby’s nose, tongue, and then the entire head emerged. Unlike a human birth, the head is not the first to come out, but only after the front feet have appeared. After a brief delay the shoulders came after, and then it was just a minute more before the whole baby came sliding out. Since giraffe moms give birth standing up, it’s a rude awakening into life as baby falls to the ground.

The most remarkable thing about the whole process was how silent it was. There were no outcries of pain, beeps of fetal monitors or hurried bustle of nursing staff around a maternity ward.  Zoo veterinarians kept a vigilant eye, ready for any intervention needed, and we all waited holding our breath while Tyra calmly and quietly brought Asali into the world.

 

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