ZooAmerica’s Quiet Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day, the zoo is closed.  Most businesses shut down, and employees go spend time with their families.  For zookeepers, the zoo animal family comes first on the holidays!  At least 2-3 workers come in for a few hours to make sure all the animals get fed.

Today, we cooked up double the food for the animals and stored the extra in the fridge- all labeled to ensure each animal gets the right diet.  Most of the zookeepers agree that the holidays are some of the best days to take care of the animals.  There’s very little traffic on the way to work, a peaceful calm to the zoo, and one day that you’re not scooping poop!  I imagine the animals enjoy getting us out of their fur, scales, or feathers for most of the day, too.

In keeping with the holiday spirit, many of the animals get special treats with their diets.  It’s a day of feasting for us; the animals should join in the fun too!  Besides special treats, they’ll all get a bit of pumpkin pie spice.  Many animals enjoy different scents in their homes- something to spice up their life!  Since pumpkin pie is not veterinarian recommended, we’ll try the next best thing.

If you’re on Facebook, be sure to look up ZooAmerica.  Our marketing friends made a special video just for Thanksgiving that will be posted Thursday morning.  Included in the video is a clip of a rattlesnake eating a rat.  In order to get the footage, the camera had to tape overnight since our Western Diamondback is a very shy eater. 

Have a wonderful holiday!

30th Anniversary of the Rediscovery of Black-Footed Ferrets

September 26, 2011 is a very significant day for animal conservation.  This coming Monday marks the 30th Anniversary of Black-footed Ferrets being rediscovered in the wild.  This Sunday, at ZooAmerica, we will be having our own celebration to mark the occasion!

In 1979, biologists considered the black-footed ferret to be extinct.  Then, in 1981, a ranch dog in Wyoming brought a dead ferret home to his owners.  The ranchers took the carcass to a taxidermist who identified it as a black-footed ferret.  The taxidermist contacted wildlife authorities who then surveyed the area to discover the last remaining population of ferrets.  The remaining ferrets were brought into captivity to attempt to breed them for future release.  Over 7,000 kits have been born at breeding facilities since the rediscovery and 1,000 black-footed ferrets are estimated to now live in the wild. 

A black-footed ferret being released into the wild. Photo Credit: K. Tamkun/USFWS

ZooAmerica houses 2 male black-footed ferrets that were given to us from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, VA.  Both of the ferrets are retired breeders.  The ferrets are rotated on exhibit because black-footed ferrets are solitary animals.  Be sure to look for one of our ferrets (either Godzilla or Yum!) when you visit the Great Southwest building in the zoo.

When you come to the zoo on Sunday, there will be many opportunities to learn more about the black-footed ferrets.  We will have enrichment activities for both of our ferrets at 10:30am and 2:30pm.  This is a great opportunity for guests to see natural behaviors of these animals, provoked by items we introduce (different scents, animal fur or snakeskins, insects, etc).  There will also be 2 presentations in our education room about the efforts put forth by many scientists to successfully breed this animal.  There will be craft areas and an informational table where you can see and touch artifacts from the ferrets, along with getting a close-up look at a domestic ferret- a cousin of the black-footed ferret.  Besides learning about these fascinating weasels, guests will have the opportunity to help the effort by donating money to the Black-footed Ferret Species Survival Plan which helps to fund captive breeding and field research. 

A sleepy captive bred ferret kit. Photo credit: K. Tamkun/USFWS

The staff at ZooAmerica is excited for this special event- we hope you can join us on Sunday to support black-footed ferret conservation!  Remember to bring your best friend with you for a special admission coupon: http://www.zooamerica.com/pdf/black_footed_ferret_day_coupon.pdf

The characteristic ferret dance- we often see this on exhibit when they get excited! Photo Credit: M. Lockhart/USFWS

For more information about black-footed ferrets, check out http://www.blackfootedferret.org/.

After the Flood

ZooAmerica would like to thank the public for such an incredible response of support and concern during this difficult time.  Each day since the flood, staff from the Zoo, Hershey Nursery, and HersheyPark have been rigorously working to clean up and repair damage.  While much has been accomplished, there is still much to do.  We will let you know as soon as we are ready to open our doors again.  Since you are unable to stop in to see how our animals are doing, we snapped a few pictures this afternoon.  The sun is shining, and many of the animals are out lounging and enjoying nicer weather.

Unaffected by the noise of construction, Roy takes a nap on his favorite high branch.

 

Sally the bear resting in her den on exhibit

 

Our three deer laying in the grassy shade.

Patrick holding Louie, our green iguana. She typically resides in the Zoo Outpost shop in the Park, but lives at the Zoo when the Park is closed.

 

Prairie dog up and at attention

 

  

 The wolf exhibit was badly damaged by the flood.  All four wolves were safe and secure in their holding areas during the flood.  The wolves will remain off exhibit until the exhibit fence is repaired.  For now, all of the wolves have access to kennels and exercise yards.  Here are a few pictures of them out in their yards since the flood.

 

Custer, our 4 year old male wolf

 

Kara, one of our female wolves

 

Sioux (4 year old female) is towards the back, while Dakota (alpha male) is up front checking out the camera.

 

A closer look at Sioux

 

 

An Update From ZooAmerica

We very much appreciate many of your wishes, thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. We realize that just like our staff, many people are emotionally connected to every member of our Zoo family. Because of that connection, we fully understand why some have questions regarding what happened to our bison.

For those who didn’t have a chance to view it, last evening we did post on this page describing what happened.**

We’d like to try and answer questions that some have raised and give as much correct information as possible. While we don’t think this will lessen the feeling of loss that we’re all experiencing, we do hope it will create a common understanding around what happened.

Question: Has a bison at ZooAmerica ever drowned or been euthanized in the past?
Answer: We’ve never lost or euthanized a bison, or any large animal, due to flooding at any time – even including the flooding that occurred during hurricanes that have struck Hershey. Suggestions that bison were lost during Hurricane Ivan are incorrect.

Q: Are there any other animals that have perished from the flooding?
A: There have been no other losses reported at this time. Reports that our wolves passes away are incorrect. All of the wolves were relocated to the highest portion of their enclosure during the storm. All four wolves are fine and the flood waters have currently receded from their enclosure.

Q: Did you have a plan in place and did you feel that it was effective?
A: We do have a flood response plan, which we began implementing on Monday. Based on our past experience and during other milestone storms, our plan to first remove animals to higher ground and then, if necessary, relocate the animals has always been effective in securing their safety.
This, however, was truly unprecedented flooding. Such unforeseen acts of nature are difficult to plan for – as all public and private entities within Derry Township discovered.

Q: Why didn’t you tranquilize and move the larger animals earlier in the week?
A: Tranquilizing and moving large animals is stressful on them – and we only do it when absolutely necessary, not in the instance of every flood warning. Based on more than three decades of experience, the practice of moving the animals to higher ground would have given us enough time to tranquilize the bison and relocate them, should flooding become severe. But, again, the speed and ferocity of this storm was unlike any we’ve ever encountered. When the bison enclosure flooded so quickly, tranquilizing them become impossible, for once they were tranquilized they would have immediately been submerged in the flood water and drown.

Q: Were the bison moved to higher ground?
A: Yes. They were moved to the highest ground within their enclosure earlier in the week.

Q: Why did you wait to close until noon on Wednesday?
A: The fact that we were open to the public did not alter or impede our animals’ safety. Animal relocation did not begin once we were closed; it had been ongoing throughout the week. The safety of our animals, employees and guests is our top priority. It always has been and always will be. We were working to ensure that our animals are in a safe conditions, according to the plan we have in place, throughout the week.

As we said last evening, this has been a very emotional and trying time for those at the Zoo – both our animals and employees. While we are all saddened by the loss of the bison, we must acknowledge the heroic efforts of the Zoo staff – some of whom have been working without sleep on behalf of the animals. Many willingly put themselves in harm’s way in order to protect and rescue the animals in their care (even rescuing wild animals that were in distress at the same time). We are extremely proud of the efforts of the Zoo staff, and share this loss with them.

** Hersheypark’s correction to last evening’s post: A single bison was euthanized after unsuccessful attempts to rescue the first bison resulted in that bison drowning.

Loss of Bison At ZooAmerica

As many of you know, today has been a very difficult day at ZooAmerica. First and foremost, the Zoo staff cares deeply about the safety and well-being of the animals in their care, and truly considers them members of their extended families.

Today the Zoo experienced unprecedented flooding, more than we experienced with Hurricane Ivan or any other severe weather event in the company’s memory.

The Zoo team began flood preparation two days ago by moving all animals to higher ground.  Recognizing the likelihood of serious flooding, the team activated our animal evacuation plan at noon today to ensure that the animals were out of harm’s way.  This plan has been in place and effective in all other weather-related emergencies that the Zoo has experienced.

Unfortunately, no one could anticipate a weather event that went from inches of rain to feet of flooding in a matter of a few short minutes. While we were able to ensure the safety of the vast majority of the animals in the Zoo, flood waters rose too quickly in the area occupied by two of the Zoo’s bison and we were not able to rescue them.

Faced with the prospect of watching the extended suffering of the bison and their eventual death due to drowning, the Zoo staff chose the most humane path possible and euthanized the bison. 

This is a very sad day for us, as we’ve built strong bonds with all the animals in our care.  We can tell you that each of us feels this loss very deeply.

 

2 Endangered Thick-Billed Parrots Hatch at ZooAmerica

 

 

Our two chicks at 4 weeks of age

Did you know that parrots live in North America?  Most people view parrots as exotic birds that like warm weather and only live in the jungles.  Thick-billed parrots and the Carolina parakeet are the two species of parrots native to the United States.  The Carolina parakeet was declared extinct in 1939 and the thick-billed parrots are also in grave danger of becoming extinct in the future.  Zoos are working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen, and our two new chicks are a step in the right direction!

Thick-billed parrots were once found in the pine forests of southern Arizona and New Mexico but are now limited to northwestern Mexico. It is estimated that today only 1,000 to 4,000 thick-billed parrots exist in the wild due to loss of habitat from commercial logging.

Right now, there are about 91 thick-billed parrots in captivity at 19 different zoos.  ZooAmerica is the only zoo inPennsylvania where you can see these beautiful birds.  All of the captive parrots are involved in a breeding program, called a Species Survival Program (SSP).  We have had a thick-billed parrot exhibit at ZooAmerica since 1989.  The first chicks to hatch here came in 2001.  Two were hatched- one stayed at our zoo and the other went to another zoo to breed.  The female that stayed at our zoo is named Paula, and she is the proud mother of our 2 chicks that hatched in June.

Paula and Sunny are the parents of the two chicks.  The eggs were laid in late May, in a nest box in their exhibit.  The two parents guarded their eggs and in about 28 days, the first egg hatched on June 28.  The second egg hatched on June 30.  Paula and Sunny have been excellent parents- guarding their chicks and regurgitating food to them every day.

Today, the chick that hatched on June 28^th, fledged (flew) from the nest box.  The chick had been poking his head out of the nest box for over a week, teasing us.  We kept waiting for his first flight, and tonight he was sitting out on a high perch.  The second chick is still keeping watch from the nest box, but could fledge as early as tomorrow. 

When you visit the zoo, you’ll be able to tell the adults from the chicks for an entire year because of the chicks’ white beak.  After a year, the beak will darken to pure black.  The parents will assist the chicks for at least 7 months, sometimes a year or more.  The chicks will live at our zoo for 4-5 years before it is determined if they should go elsewhere to breed. 

With the addition of the 2 chicks, we now hold 6 thick-billed parrots at ZooAmerica.  These 6 birds are quite noisy- you can even hear some of their calls up to 2 miles away. Be sure to visit soon to catch a glimpse and get an earful of our newly expanded flock!

The chick is 3 weeks old here- are you able to see the large lump below the throat? It is called a crop, which is a muscular pouch where they store food. A large crop like this shows us that the parents are feeding them well.

 

This 4 week old chick is being weighed to be sure the parents are feeding him/her properly.

 

After being weighed, we attached a silver band with a number on a leg so we can keep track of each individual chick.

 

For 3 months, this is mostly what we saw when we went to feed the birds- watchful eyes of the parents!

 

New Tree Carving to be Completed

In 2008, one of the oak trees on the patio at the snack bar had died and needed to be removed.  Instead of removing the tree, one of the naturalists on staff thought the tree could be utilized as a sculpture.  A local chainsaw artist (Phil Yordy) was located, and got to work.  He produced a beautiful work of art and featured many of ZooAmerica’s animals including a lynx, eagle, otter, wolf, bear, and owl. 

Now, in 2011, another tree carving is being completed to be displayed in the Big Sky area of the zoo, between the prairie dogs and mountain lions.  The carving will be of a mountain lion climbing down a rocky ledge to attempt to catch a rabbit below.  Phil Yordy has been busy at work completing his newest work of art.  Zoo visitors can watch the carving in action on their visits beginning again on Monday, June 20 from 10am-2pm.  Phil has been working on this for the last two weeks and it is now in need of finishing touches and then coats of lacquer to keep it from breaking down in the sun.

One of Phil’s bear carvings will guide you to the carving once you’re in the zoo:

The tree being used in this new carving is a spruce that came from Tremont High School.  The tree had died and was being removed anyway.  A front-end loader had to be used to get this 5,000 pound trunk on zoo property.  Once it is completed, it will be moved into the public area where people can stand next to it for a great photo.

This tree carving will be the first in a series.  There will be one carving for each of the geographical areas represented at the zoo.

Sunny Sunday Afternoon at the Zoo

Today was a busy day at the zoo- if you couldn’t visit this weekend, here are a few things you missed!

Baby prairie dogs have been popping up from many different holes.  So far, the head count is 12 new babies.  Considering how many holes there are in the exhibit, it’s very difficult to get an accurate count sometimes.  Zookeepers walking by the exhibit try to count each day, and then we compare numbers.  It’s not the most scientific way of keeping track of the animals, but it allows them to interact and live as if they were a wild colony.  It’s a good thing the exhibit is so large since most families spend some extra time watching them play.

Today was a very warm afternoon, and often in the hot weather, animals retreat to shady areas to stay cool.  The zoo tries to provide different viewing areas for many of the exhibits, in hopes that you get a good look at each one.  Today, at one particular exhibit, at first glance, it looked empty.  Can you find the animal laying down in the next picture?

 

If you could not find the animal, look for gray fur and a darker ear, lying down in the grasses.  That’s Sioux, one of our female wolves.  Just a minute later, she perked her head up for the next picture.  That’s why it’s always a good idea to stick around at the exhibits for more than just a minute!

In the Southern Swamps building, people kept trying to figure out if the crocodile was real.  She was sitting right up against the glass, with her mouth gaping open.  Upon closer examination, guests would discover that you could see her breathing if you looked under her throat. 

The eagle was out in the middle of the exhibit, as usual- but who can pass up a picture of our nation’s symbol?

 

Hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend!

Snow day = Zoo day

It just snowed, schools have been closed for the day- now, what should you do with the kids? Well, why not take them to the zoo for a snow day!  The staff at ZooAmerica works hard to get the zoo open each day. We come in early and grab shovels, snow blowers, and ice melt.  Everyone gets to work clearing off all of the paths so you can view the animals.  Our maintenance men, Marino and Rich, do the bulk of the work; without them, we wouldn’t get open.  Sometimes Mother Nature forces us to close for the day or get a later start, but most snow days are great zoo days!  Patrick took lots of pictures out in the zoo, so even if you were cozy in bed, here’s what the animals were up to…

 The otters use their pool no matter what; their thick layers of fur keep them insulated.

A yawn before beginning lots of play in the snow.

Woody, the lynx, is built for this type of weather. Check out his big paws when you come into the zoo- he doesn’t need any snowshoes.

While the snow makes most of the animals easier to see, it does make it a challenge at times to find our residents who normally live in this type of environment.  The snowy owls are built for this time of year and do very well outside.  It can be especially difficult to find our male snowy owl, Hoover, because he is almost pure white, while the female has black spots all over her body. 

 

The zoo is often quiet this time of year and the animals are out and visible.  Be sure to stop by and enjoy the beauty and peaceful atmosphere of ZooAmerica.

Crocodilian Retirement

        Walking through our Southern Swamps building, you may have noticed a few changes.  For starters, some of our largest residents are missing!  Well folks, I can assure you that they are not missing but simply enjoying a relaxing retirement under the Florida sun.  Our two large American Alligators, Astro and Dino; our American Crocodile, Croc; and an education Alligator, Igor, had gotten too large for their exhibits and it was decided that they needed to be moved.  Last October, the crocodilians undertook a journey down south to St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, Florida to go onto exhibit with their alligators and crocodiles.  Both of the Alligators were placed into the large exhibit with several other gators and Croc received a new area to be shared with his new partner.  St. Augustine’s Alligator Farm decided the crocodile would be their new male for breeding since he was such a good looking animal!  All are reported to be doing very well and settling into their new surroundings. 
            ZooAmerica’s two remaining alligators (Victor and Zorro) from our education department were moved to exhibit in the Southern Swamps building.  The education alligators were moved because they were a bit too big for the education area and getting larger and more feisty for us to hold!

           While in Florida, our curator, Dale Snyder, picked up three new baby alligators for our education department. They are only 10 inches long and enjoying their new home.  All three gators are fitting in very nicely and have already been used for a few programs. We have many things planned for these new members of our education team. 

One of our newest baby alligators in their pool

            When alligators are first hatched, they are only 6 inches long and are very vulnerable.  Once emerged from their eggs, they make their way down to the water where their protective mother is waiting to scoop them up into her mouth.  The mother will protect the babies from many predators such as birds, larger fish and even other alligators.  While they grow, their diet consists of several items including small fish, insects, bits of meat and worms.  Despite being small at hatch, these ferocious little hunters grow up very quickly and are soon the kings of the swamp.  A single alligator can reach anywhere from 14 feet to 18 feet long but will never stop growing.  They can bite down with over 2,000 pounds of force! 
            So the next time you are at the zoo, be sure to check out Victor and Zorro on exhibit.  Also be on the look out for our newest alligators during our special events or anytime ZooAmerica is in your area!

(article & photograph submitted by Patrick Miller, one of our educators at ZooAmerica)