Posts Tagged ‘education’

Jul
03

Enrichment at the Houston Zoo

Posted by in Enrichment: Keeping it Interesting

Here at the Houston Zoo, our keepers are committed to providing the animals with the best care possible and part of that care involves providing the animals with enrichment!

Now, what is enrichment, you ask?

One of our red pandas searches paper sack remnants to make sure no enrichment item goes undiscovered or unconsumed!

We have an acronym to help you remember!

 

      Encouraging

      Natural

             Responses

              In

      Creative

      Habitats

Although the animals are residing at the Zoo, they are in no way tame!  They are wild animals and have natural instincts that the enrichment activities strive to encourage.

Enrichment incorporates the animal’s five senses: touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing.  There are different items used, each with a different desired result from the animal.  The exciting thing about enrichment though, is that you never know what kind of behavior you will illicit!  The process is educating and fun for the animals and zookeepers alike.  One example of an enrichment activity done with our animals here at the Zoo was the introduction of iPads to our primates, which you can check out in another post!

Training is another form of enrichment.  Not only do keepers train natural behaviors that are highlighted during keeper chats, they also train some behaviors to help with husbandry practices such as visual checks on the animals, weighing sessions, and vet exams.  This training is a way to communicate to the animals what the keepers would like them to do.

It is our goal with this blog to teach the public about enrichment and offer you a glimpse into the efforts made to stimulate the animals mentally and physically by giving them choices in their environments.

So follow me through this series as I document enrichment activities with different species in the collection!

______________________________

 

If you are interested in helping with the enrichment program here at the Houston Zoo, check out what your favorite animals are wishing for at Amazon.com

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Mar
05

Have you ever named a banteng? Ever even heard of one?

Posted by in Conservation,Contest

People in North America are not very familiar with the cattle outside of our general livestock but there are a number of species of wild cattle in Southeast Asia which are all in decline. Many have probably heard of the yak, but who knows what a gaur, kouprey or banteng are? How about anoa or tamaraw? When working with our partners in Borneo on orangutan and elephant conservation efforts, an opportunity arose to support a project which focused on a little known species of wild cattle – the banteng – and we quickly jumped at the chance to study the population dynamics of this great animal.

The Houston Zoo funds lead field researcher, Penny Gardner, who is working on her PhD through Danau Girang Field Centre with an affiliation to Cardiff University on determining the population status and habitat needs of the banteng.

During her time in the field, Penny and her team have identified a group of bantengs, including a female who has yet to be named. Penny was kind enough to allow the Houston Zoo to have the opportunity to name the female banteng. Because this is such a rare opportunity, we are extremely excited to announce that we are going to let you decide what the name will be!

How the naming contest works:

In the comments section below, submit BOTH:

1)      The name you would like for the banteng

2)      A short paragraph (3-5 sentences) describing why the name you chose would be meaningful for this animal.

 

Name the young female in the middle of the picture!

 

Our conservation department will review the names submitted this week and choose their top ten favorites. We will then open the polls on this blog with those ten names and you will get to vote for the winner! Check back soon for more!

 

 

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Nov
02

Feast with the Beasts (En español & In English)

Posted by in En Español,Events,Guest Blogger Series,Supporting Your Zoo

For those of you that are just now joining us, this is the third post of my blog series, written in both English and Spanish about my experience as a Marketing Intern, which I will be doing until mid-December.  CLICK HERE for the link to the entire series. 

First, the Spanish version, followed by English below…

Les estoy escribiendo por tercera vez en mi serie de blogs.  ¡Gracias por regresar! Y a los que están leyendo por primera vez: podrán leer mi serie (en español e ingles) hasta mediados de diciembre mientras hago mis practicas en el Zoológico de Houston. ¡Disfruta! Dejame tus comentarios o preguntas y compártelo a través de Facebook y Twitter.

Primeramente quisiera darle un aplauso a toda la gente que ayudo con el éxito de Zoo Boo.  A todos los empleados que planearon y trabajaron el evento y también a toda la gente que nos visito y participo en los juegos, ¡mil gracias!  Si te gustaría ver las fotos del evento visita el álbum AQUI.

Aunque ya termino Zoo Boo no quiere decir que nos podemos relajar.  En el departamento de mercadotecnia, aquí en el Zoológico de Houston, han estado preparando los detalles para el evento Feast with the Beasts.  Este evento es uno de los mas populares y los boletos se venden rápido.  Pero no te asustes con el nombre, no se tiene que compartir la cena con King Kong o Godzilla.  Es mas lo que mas da miedo es la gente que llega con un gran apetito.

Desafortunadamente, si aun no has comprado tus boletos para este evento lamento decirte que es muy tarde.  Y si te estas preguntando porque es tan popular este evento te diré que es porque con la compra de un boleto de entrada puedes probar los deliciosos antojitos de 65 restaurantes,  tomar 2 bebidas, ver presentaciones de animales, y ver el concierto de los B-52s!  Y como si eso no fuera suficiente, si compras un boleto te llenaras de gozo al saber que le ayudaste al Zoológico recaudar fondos para sus programas de conservación, educación, y cuidado de los animales.

Estoy contando los días que quedan para Feast with the Beasts y si fuiste una de las personas que alcanzo boleto entonces ¡te veo ahí!

Si quisieras mas información sobre Feast with the Beasts visita http://www.houstonzoo.org/Feast/

Y si no haz leído mi serie desde el principio no te preocupes porque están todos AQUÍ.

For those of you that have been scrolling down to find the English version, you are in the right place!!  You can read the entire series about my experience as a Marketing Intern until mid-December HERE.  Feel free to leave me any comments or questions!  I will gladly reply as soon as possible. Also, don’t forget to share this with your friends via Facebook and Twitter.

First of all I’d like to give a big round of applause to everyone that participated in Zoo Boo’s success! Whether you are someone on the staff that helped organize it or a Zoo visitor that came and enjoyed the festivities, you did a great job. If you’d like to take a look at our pictures from Zoo Boo Click HERE!

Just when we here at the Zoo thought, “Zoo Boo’s over, now we can kick back and relax (insert sigh of relief),” we get reminded that there’s yet another exciting event right around the corner! 

The Marketing Department has been simultaneously organizing Zoo Boo and Feast with the Beasts and though it’s a lot of work, they’re doing a great job!

 Feast with the Beasts is one of our most popular events here at The Houston Zoo.  Though the name is slightly scary and gives me images of Godzilla stomping around the Medical Center as I eat a turkey sandwich, it’s really NOTHING to be afraid of.  In fact, if you love food just as much as I do then the scariest thing about this event would be you and your appetite.

Unfortunately, if you haven’t already bought your ticket then you will have to wait for next year’s tickets to go on sale. I’ve been told that this event gets sold out quickly. Why? Well because with a purchase of a ticket you get to taste delicious snacks from 65 Houston restaurants, 2 drinks, animal presentations, AND a concert featuring the B-52s, that’s why! Plus, each purchase of a ticket will help The Houston Zoo’s conservation, education, and animal care programs!

HOLY CANNOLI! I’m currently counting down the days ‘til Feast with the Beasts and it’s almost here! For those of you that purchased your tickets in time, I will see you there!

Catch your attention? Read more about Feast with the Beasts on our website and join us next year!

Also, if you haven’t already checked out my previous blog posts go ahead and click here!

 

 

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May
15

Otterly Mad Week

Posted by in Adaptations,Children's Zoo,Conservation,Endangered Species,Enrichment: Keeping it Interesting,Featured,Just for Kids,Mammals: Our Furry (and Hairy!) Friends,Natural Encounters,Training

They’re cute, they’re playful, and they’re found all over the world, including right here in Texas. 

So what are they?

They’re otters!

Join the Houston Zoo as we unite with zoos across the country to celebrate Otterly Mad Week, Sunday, May 30 through Saturday, June 5.

Started last year by the International Otter Survival Fund, Otterly Mad Week aims to educate people around the world about otters and their importance in the environment.  There are 13 different species of otters in the world, and two of them – the North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) and the Asian Small-Clawed Otter (Aonyx cinereus) – can be found at the Houston Zoo!

Wednesday our North American River Otter

During Otterly Mad Week, the Houston Zoo is showcasing both of our adorable otter species by offering our guests special opportunities to meet the otter keepers and ask questions and to hear otter-themed stories.  If you’ve ever wondered how fast an otter can swim or what types of toys an otter likes, come watch an otter training or enrichment session and find out!  On Sunday, May 30 and Saturday, June 5, stop by the otter conservation table and put your creativity to work in decorating an otter-themed craft.  By donating to otter conservation, you can also enter to win an original painting done by one of our otters or a behind-the-scenes tour to see where our otters call home.  For anyone who loves otters, Otterly Mad Week is the perfect time to visit the Houston Zoo!

Check out www.otter.org for more otter information!

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