I’ve spent this little hiatus thinking about where to go next with this blog – now, don’t get me wrong, I love writing about cheetahs and dogs but there is a lot more that goes on at the zoo. We’re thinking about expanding this blog to cover more animal-related topics – what do you think?
For example, the behind the scenes series was popular (hopefully not just because we gave away some free tickets) so we could do more of those in other areas. I’m also hoping to get some of my colleagues to pitch in with stories from other sections. I’m going to try out a few things the next few weeks and I’d love to hear from all of you on what you like and what you’d like to see.
African wild dog, one of the Africa's most endangered carnivores - want to see more about them here?
Did I mention last week we had lots of cool stuff for sale? All the money (over $800) will go to Cheetah Conservation Botswana’s Livestock Guarding Dog Program:
“CCB has initiated its first mobile veterinary clinic, providing free care for Livestock Guarding Dogs in identified farming communities. The initiative started in Ghanzi and was extremely well received by the community. The clinic provides free vaccinations and sterilization for livestock guarding dogs. Free resources are distributed during the clinics on how to minimize conflict with predators. In 2008 CCB began constructing an LSGD network of farmers through our LSGD Newsletter and we now have 3 times the number of contacts we had in 2007.
The project also aimed at improving the general health of domestic dogs in the surrounding areas which expose the guard dogs and the local predators to disease. CCB teamed up with the Maun Animal Welfare Society (MAWS) whose mandate is to control population numbers and health of domestic dogs through sterilization clinics. Together we sterilised 24 dogs and vaccinated and dewormed close to 200 animals, whilst informing these key communities about the benefits of using guard dogs.
The annual competition for the Best Livestock Guarding Dog in Botswana, helped significantly in promoting the programme. We are gathering much data on their use and we continue to encourage farmers in the programme.”
Name: Tusker (Tusker is the name of a Kenyan beer with a cute elephant on the label. I always thought it would make a great name for a zoo animal, plus it reminds me of my amazing zoo trip to Kenya).
Vital Stats: Tusker is a 2 year old Anatolian Shepherd dog, born in Missouri and came to the zoo at about 12 weeks old. He has several brothers and sisters, including Taji.
Interests: Napping, barking, playing with Taji, visiting his friends around the zoo
Tusker is stubborn and protective, which are true Anatolian traits. He prefers stage presentations to meet and greet encounters so we schedule his appearances accordingly.
Just missing the cut… Taco Bell Chihuahua, Charlie B. Barkin
10. Lassie
Trouble at the Old Mill?
You’ve gotta love Lassie. Have any other dogs ever won an Emmy Award?
9. Black-tailed Prairie Dogs
Kids get an up-close look.
Ok, so they’re actually rodents and not canines, but it says dog in their name, so it counts. You can find these little guys (2-4 pounds) in our Children Zoo area.
Prairie dogs live in huge colonial burrows called towns. Each member has its own den and drives any intruders away. Towns can extend for hundreds of miles and often contain thousands of individuals. Be sure to check them out this summer, because they hibernate during the winter.
8. Santa’s Little Helper
The Simpsons Pet
Most underrated Simpsons character besides Maggie. He can fly a plane, save Homer from being trapped in a cornfield maze, and had over 25 puppies. Enough said.
7. Underdog
Have No Fear Underdog Is Here
Underdog speaks only in rhymes. Now he’s on my dog blog.
6. African Wild Dogs
Takin' a Swim
First of all, our African wild dogs have awesome names: Aries, Blaze, and Mikita. In the wild, they live mainly in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland.
Pack sizes in the wild can be anywhere from 5-30 individuals. These guys are fast, running at 35 mph for over three straight miles.
You might’ve noticed their unique coats – and like a fingerprint, no two dogs have the same coat pattern.
5. Brian Griffin
Million-Dollar Smile
Bipedal, high IQ, sarcastic, eloquent, voice of reason. Also – afraid of vacuums.
4. Snoopy
Pioneer of the Thought Bubble
No one can forget the impact that Charlie Brown’s pet beagle had on us as children. Plus, someone had to cheer up Charlie Brown after Peppermint Patty bullied him around.
3. Anatolian Shepherds
Living in Harmony
Taji and Tusker make up one of the most amazing stories at the Houston Zoo. Not only are they a beautiful breed that’s been around for over 6,000 years – they live with our cheetahs, Kiburi and Kito.
Dogs and cats living together. Hard to imagine? Not for us.
He could eat 20 pizzas at once. Or a hamburger with 10 patties. All while solving mysteries and saving kids from haunted amusement parks. Scooby rode around in the Mystery Machine, which automatically makes him the coolest fictional dog of all time in my book.
1. Max the Elephant Dog
That's right. I live with elephants.
A recent addition to the Houston Zoo family and a big hit around here is Max the Elephant Dog. Recently rescued from the side of the road, Max now lives it up at the McNair Asian Elephant Barn.
His full name is Maximus. He was named after the scientific name for elephants (Elephas maximus). Max serves a very important role in training and enrichment of our elephants.
All of you know now that the cheetah is the world’s fastest land mammal, able to run up over 65 mph. Cheetahs accomplished this by becoming specialists, and their specialty is speed. This makes them unique among other cats and some people even think they are even a little bit dog-like, but more on that later.
In order to be so fast, cheetahs have to be taller and leaner than most cats. This means they can’t catch the large prey (like adult zebra and buffalo) that other cats eat. It also means they can’t stand up to lions and hyenas who try to steal their food or even attack them. This makes their personality a little different too. Cheetahs are much more timid than other cats, usually opting flight over fight when faced with a confrontation.
But now on to today’s cool cheetah adaptation. Other cats have retractable claws, meaning they can extend the claws when they need them and retract them out of the way when they don’t. If you’ve ever played with a house cat, you’ve likely seen both options (hopefully without requiring first aid).
Cheetahs claws don’t retract all the way and are somewhat blunted and their pads are rough, similar to a dog’s feet. Actually their not exactly like a dog’s feet because they are partially retractable (see photo). The claws serve as cleats that dig into the ground and the pads provide more traction (think tire treads).
Some of you may have seen the cheetahs and dogs out in the zoo, but we also wanted to provide some great guest experiences at their exhibit as well.
We are working on developing a show, for lack of a better word. Now don’t get too excited, there won’t be any dance numbers or costumes – our show will focus on the animals’ amazing adaptations and behaviors.
cheetahs schmeetahs, I need a nap!
So what’s so cool about cheetahs and dogs?
Well, everybody knows cheetahs are fast – in fact, they are the world’s fastest land mammal. So we’ll show off their speed for sure but a few other things as well.
The dogs like to show off that they can do anything cheetahs can do and maybe a few other tricks as well. More on that later…
