Animals, zoo stories and things to share

[Lulu2]

Several people have asked me to share some zoo stories, and I'm thinking it'd be fun to talk about animals in general.

So, jump on in....

I have many wonderful experiences which came from working at a large zoo.

Theia asked me to share this one:

Chimpanzees are wonderful people. And they exhibit what we call "empathy"...the capability to understand another individual's emotions.

At the zoo where I work, a terrible accident occurred when one of the young chimps somehow caught his head in a cargo net, where they'd been playing. The other chimps tried to help extricate him and, instead, made it worse.

By the time the vets got the others into the night quarters and could get to Jamal, it was too late. They took him to the health center and tried everything...but he was dead.

They brought him back to the exhibit and let the other chimps see his body, so they'd know what had happened.

Many of them went to his mother and put their arms around her, rocked her and comforted her.

Sophisticated concept? Analogies? Or one being understanding another's pain? Apes can recognize themselves in a mirror. (I've seen our Yoshiko examine her teeth at great length.) If one can see oneself as a separate identity, one can begin to feel for another, in my opinion.

[CARLA]

Ok Lulu2 what can you tell me about the "SLOW MOVING LORUS" I have always been facainated by this creature..

[Lulu2]

The "slow loris" is an interesting little critter. I met one in Borneo....they'd raised an orphan in the lodge where I stayed. It was so cute! I picked it up and held it in my hand.....it latched on....and then, I couldn't get it OFF! I SERIOUSLY pried its little fingers off my wrist...only to find that, once pried off, they clamped right back down!

It makes sense...the loris has a grip which holds it onto branches as it sleeps through the day. A nocturnal animal, it only wakes after sunset.

Here's something which is only now being understood by science....the loris has a kind of venom which it secretes from glands in its armpits. It spreads the secretion of these glands over its body in order to give a warning to possible predators!

Clever adaptation in a primate!

We have two of these in our zoo and I've only seen them on a few occasions. Their keepers say they feel like "SCENERY" for the loris...not important!

[Lulu2]

Here's another story, well documented, which shows us that all apes feel empathy.

Kidogo, a twenty-one year old bonobo [Pan paniscus] at the Milwaukee County Zoo suffers from a serious heart condition. He is feeble, lacking the normal stamina and self-confidence of a grown male. When first moved to Milwaukee Zoo, the keepers' shifting commands in the unfamiliar building thoroughly confused him.

He failed to understand where to go when people urged him to move from one place to another. Other apes in the group would step in, however. They would approach Kidogo, take him by the hand, and lead him in the right direction. Care-taker and animal trainer Barbara Bell observed many instances of spontaneous assistance, and learned to call upon other bonobos to move Kidogo.

If lost, Kidogo would utter distress calls, whereupon others would calm him down, or act as his guide. One of his main helpers was the highest-ranking male, Lody. These observations of bonobo males walking hand-in-hand dispel the notion that they are unsupportive of each other.

Only one bonobo tried to take advantage of Kidogo's condition. Murph, a five-year-old male, often teased Kidogo, who lacked the assertiveness to stop the youngster. Lody, however, sometimes interfered by grabbing the juvenile by an ankle when he was about to start his annoying games, or by going over to Kidogo to put a protective arm around him.

[CARLA]

The Bonobo are they also know as the Pygmy Chimpanzee ??

Great Stories Lulu2 I enjoyed the information on the Slow Moving Loris unusual creature. I say PBS special on them a while back and they discuss the smell they have as protection from preditors since it is very stinky..:p

[Lulu2]

Bonobos ARE sometimes (mistakenly) called "pygmy chimps," Carla. And they are fascinating animals!

Every social interaction is preceded by sex! Same sex/hetero sex/juvenile-adult sex/you-name-it sex.

Is anyone interested in learning more about this?

[CARLA]

Wooo @!! I'm interested in this social interaction.

[QUOTE]Every social interaction is preceded by sex! Same sex/hetero sex/juvenile-adult sex/you-name-it sex.[/QUOTE]

[theia]

The sloth has interested me ever since my son and his girlfriend gave me a wonderful description of one they had seen in Mexico. The way J described its behaviour reminded me almost of a Zen way of being...slow, measured, deliberate movements, no sweat, no hurry. Both "kids" were enchanted by it.

Is that how sloths really are, Lulu?

[Lulu2]

Okey dokey, Carla...you asked!

Bonobos share over 98% of our DNA. (Keep this in mind.) Their society is female-led and it's peaceable and quite stable for many years, unless something happens to the alpha female.

Whatever social interaction individuals in the troop have is precluded and "greased" by a sexual contact. Same-sex, hetero-sex, adult-juvenile sex.......it's all used as a "handshake" to make social interactions acceptable and comfortable.

Homosexual/heterosexual/bisexual behaviors are normal, natural and understood as common. I'm repeating that, because I want to make the point.

THESE APES ARE SO CLOSE TO US, GENETICALLY, THAT, IF NECESSARY, YOU COULD TAKE A BLOOD DONATION FROM ONE OF THEM!

So, for example, Carla, if you (as a bonobo girl) have a juicy fruit that I want (as a bonobo girl,) I'll initiate sex with you....and then ask for part of that fruit. It's the way we've been raised....it's our culture.



Now...."regular" chimps are MALE-led. Their society is always in flux, because males are always testing/challenging for dominance. The "boys" are sometimes dominant for a year or so....or perhaps only for a few weeks.

Chimpanzee girls will make breeding decisions....and they'll sometimes go on "honeymoons" with males which attract them. Chimpanzee testicles are the size of their brains (yes!) and their penises are quite large....this helps them be successful in sperm competition, since the girls are breeding frequently with several males.

The size of the applicator (so to speak) results in successful sperm effectiveness!

Groups of males will routinely patrol the perimeter of the territory, and if they encounter an individual from another group, they'll attack and kill him.

THEY WILL CASTRATE HIM! (Testosterone is a dangerous hormone, folks.)



Interesting, isn't it, to think that our nearest relatives are bonobos....(female led, peacible, sexy) and chimps....(male led and fierce.)

It might seem that our entire nature is a struggle between the chimp in us and the bonobo in us.

[Lulu2]

THEIA, sloths are so slow that MOTHS WILL NEST IN THEIR FUR and ALGAE GROWS THERE, TOO!

The sloth is a lovely creature which has evolved with a problem (it's slow) and a solution to that problem (predators can't "see" it because it's so slow.)

You'll find them hanging off trees and telephone poles....their fur is greenish, due to the algae in it....and they might move a foot or two in a day....maybe.....

You've GOT to love them!

They have very complicated stomachs which allow them to digest leaves. It's not easy to digest leaves, but if your stomach has special digestive chambers, you can manage it.

Sloths mate, eat, move, and defecate/urinate during the night....so when WE see them, they're at their slowest point.

Not that it ever gets much faster....

They're just clever and well-adapted to what they do and where. (I was so excited when I saw my first sloth in Costa Rica that I spent Idon'tknowhowmanyminutes of video film on this totally MOTIONLESS animal, hanging in a tree!)

Naturally, my friends were just electrified, seeing the video! :wah:

[Casey Morgan]

Lulu, I've read this qauote that goes something like this. If you give a screwdriver to a gorilla it will be frightened of it, then try to eat it, then ignore it. If you give a screwdriver to a chimpanzee it will use it for everything but its intended purpose. If you give a screwdriver to an orangutan it will hide it and when the coast is clear it will use it to dismantle the cage.

Is there any truth to that or is it just one of those things that has gotten around?

[cherandbuster]

Lulu2 :-4

I am *so* loving this thread! I'm really pleased that you've taken the time to educate us.

Nature is fascinating :-6

[Lulu2]

Casey, orangutans are known for their imitative and logical abilities. A broom was left out in out orangutan night quarters and the next day, they'd used it to break all the light bulbs they could reach! WHEEEEE. I have a great series of photos of our group being given t-shirts and putting them on, taking them off, turning them around, etc. I've watched Rosie, one of "ours," patiently assemble a tall tower of legos.

"Orangutan" means "person of the forest."



A famous orangutan in a Sumatran refuge has learned to plop her baby into a canoe and then paddle it across the river to get fruit. Another, by watching staff at the refuge, has learned to do laundry in the river and will follow along to join in.

People in Sumatra/Borneo have a folk legend which says that orangutans can actually speak, but they don't let us know, because we'd give them jobs!

Orangutans are NOT social apes. They're the one exception to that rule. And because of this, they've not needed to evolve expressive facial muscles. Think about it--I ccould LOOK at you while you're reading this and be able to estimate some of your emotiuons just by looking at your faces.

But, orangutans can't and don't. So, when people look at them, we tend to ANTHROPOMORPHIZE and say things like, "Oh, that animal looks bored, dumb, mad, etc while the truth is that, on the best day of its life and the worst day of its life, its facial expression will be exactly the same. They can't smile/frown/grimace, etc.

Like all apes, they're endangered, due to habitat loss and the pet trade. Orangutans stay with mom for as long as eight or nine years, because it takes a long time to learn how to find food in the forest. It's a powerful attachment, and if you see an orangutan which is performing in a film or in an ad or is someone's "pet," you know that the mother was killed to take that baby.

It's a terrible thing. And as long as IDIOTS like Michael Jackson have "pet" apes, it sends the message that it's ok to enslave our cousins and use them for amusement.

[Lulu2]

Did you know that cats are "induced ovulators?" The male has a barb on his penis which causes the female pain during mating.

That pain serves two functions...the first is that it causes her to ovulate, so she will always get pregnant. The second function is to make her run away, so she will breed with another male who will father another kitten.

A domestic cat can give birth to a litter of kittens, each with a different dad.

Genetic diversity!

If a male lion is challenged and overcome by another male, any pregnant females in the pride will spontaneously abort. If those cubs were to be born, the new leader of the pride would kill them immediately. Nature seems to "know" this, so pregnant females are spared giving birth, having their cubs killed and being impregnated again by the new alpha male.

Somehow, he "knows" not to kill his own cubs.

[CARLA]

LuLu2 I'm just glued to your posts in this forum. I love to watch animals in the wild and at the ZOO or our Wild Animal Park. I often just sit at the Gorilla enclosure at the Wild Animal park all day just watching them interact with each other.:-4

The Slow moving Loris is my favorite creature, they just facinate me to no end.

The Orangutans are also another creature I can watch for hours. I love the San Diego Zoo it has such beautiful enclosures for all the animals now I just go to watch certain animals for a day.

I was so very angry that our Zoo had our Polar Bears on the hot side of the Zoo in a terrible enclosure, I just couldn't go watch them anymore. Now they have to best enclosure going, ice, water, pools I watch them play for hours.

OK tell me about Meer Cats (sp) the are so darn cute..

It's is the strangest thing I can go to the ZOO, Wild Animal Park every week. I can't go to Sea World something about it just bothers me. The killer whales in small pools I just can't watch them..

[theia]

Lulu2 wrote: THEIA, sloths are so slow that MOTHS WILL NEST IN THEIR FUR and ALGAE GROWS THERE, TOO!

The sloth is a lovely creature which has evolved with a problem (it's slow) and a solution to that problem (predators can't "see" it because it's so slow.)

You'll find them hanging off trees and telephone poles....their fur is greenish, due to the algae in it....and they might move a foot or two in a day....maybe.....

You've GOT to love them!

They have very complicated stomachs which allow them to digest leaves. It's not easy to digest leaves, but if your stomach has special digestive chambers, you can manage it.

Sloths mate, eat, move, and defecate/urinate during the night....so when WE see them, they're at their slowest point.

Not that it ever gets much faster....

They're just clever and well-adapted to what they do and where. (I was so excited when I saw my first sloth in Costa Rica that I spent Idon'tknowhowmanyminutes of video film on this totally MOTIONLESS animal, hanging in a tree!)

Naturally, my friends were just electrified, seeing the video! :wah:


I love them even more now, Lulu...imagine just spending your day, hanging around...literally. What with that, and the moths and algae, they sound like characters from Carroll's Alice.

Keep the stories coming...they're fascinating :-6

[Carl44]

lulu i have been mesmerised by your knowledge of zoo animals the sloth tale was of particular interst of to me



i would like to share my tale of when i went to the zoo and a caged lion escaped



i shouted to every one to run and as i was running for my life a guy says to me do you know which way it went ?



i replied you really dont think i'm chasing it do you







that by the way is a joke





ha ha

[cherandbuster]

Lulu2 :-6

Your stories are just fascinating :guitarist

[Lulu2]

You've all heard someone termed as a "bird brain," but I'll bet you don't know that SHOULD be a compliment!

When you and I are born, we "know" how to do two things--we can suck and we can hang on to something. Birds are born already knowing everything they'll ever need to know how to do-- how to find food, find a mate, raise young...it's all programmed into their brains. The part of the brain which holds learned memory is very small in birds (EXCEPT FOR PARROTS,) while the part which holds innate memory is large. Our brains are just the opposite.

Birds evolved due to two brilliant strategies. The first is an egg which can be laid anywhere and which has a hard shell to protect it. This lets them explore all the possible niches in their environment and select areas where they'll be safe and successful.

Secondly, they developed feathers. Feathers do four things for birds--they keep them warm (that's the first and foremost. Think about it--even birds which don't fly have feathers.) Flight is the second benefit; camouflage is the third.

Finally, feathers help birds recognize one another, because of feather patterns or even special feathers which are grown only at breeding time, to get their partner "in the mood."

A good example is migratory birds. In order to lighten the body for the long flight, their reproductive organs atrophy (WOW! How cool is THAT?) Once they reach a safe spot, males might grow special plumage which causes her ovaries to become activated and breeding will go on schedule. ("Ooooh, baby! I just LOVE those new tail feathers!")

Here's a clip from a documentary which shows the absolute brilliance of birds' innate knowledge. Nobody taught this bird how to build a bower....he was born with that skill.



This is a fun story....I was chatting with an Hispanic family one day at the zoo, talking about birds and innate knowledge. The son was probably 13 or so, and he was clearly an animal fan. He was translating for the parents. At one point, "the light went on" in his eyes and I could see that he'd "gotten it."

"They're born with a pre-programmed chip!"

I was so delighted, I asked him to tell his parents that I was going to use his quote whenever I talk about birds. The "light went on" for them, too!

Oh...remember the old "which came first?" business? Reptiles actually developed the amniote egg, which let them get out of water and onto the land. So...the answer to the "which came first" question is that THE EGG CAME FIRST....and it was laid by a reptile.

[cherandbuster]

:yh_clap Thank you Lulu2 :yh_clap

[Accountable]

So cool to be paid for hanging around such fascination.



When I was in England, I saw tiny animals that reminded me of the movie Gremlins. I think they were a type of lemur?

[Lulu2]

CARLA---I'll tell you a story about our polar bears which might give you a better feeling for your zoo. Our bears were brought to the zoo as orphaned cubs. They certainly didn't "remember" life before coming to So. California! One summer, as a promotion, a large business decided to bring the bears some ice and snow and there was a huge press event, etc.

The bears came out of their exhibit, took one look at the "snow" and ran right back inside!

Animals are very adaptable and the fact that they're "polar" might make them more needy of water, etc, in zoos, but don't forget that the North pole is subjected to nearly 20 hours of sunlight half of the year. Their skin is actually dark and the shafts of their hair are hollow. The air trapped against the skin helps them regulate their temperatures in cold/warm weather.

Our male bear lived to be 22, which is just about normal, and when he died, everyone expected Sweetheart (his sister) to pass away soon, too.

But Sweetheart had a keeper who is passionate about "enrichment" for the animals in her care. She was given herbs to roll in, blankets to shred, "fishsicles" on hot days, baskets to move around, water toys....etc, etc. (None of us ever threw away old sheets/blankets/towels. We took them to Sweetheart, who spent hours carefully turning them into threads.) This kept her brain engaged and her bones moving.

When Sweetheart finally died, she was 32 years old! That's undoubtedly the world's oldest polar bear. Certainly, she'd never have lived that long in the wild.

I still have trouble passing the old exhibit and I think most of us do. That space will be part of the new reptile building--and I can't think of a better use for it.

[Lulu2]

Accountable--you saw these gremlin-like, "possible lemurs" in England? Are you certain you weren't in Ireland, after a rain? :wah:

Carla--meerkats are cute, aren't they? And they're REALLY difficult to manage in zoos because, even though they're highly social and "tight" in their own groups, it's almost impossible to introduce new ones to that group. Believe it or not, they're savage little killers!

That's their survival strategy, really. When you're a small critter, living in one of the bleakest parts of the world (the Kalahari Desert,) it's good to have a special skill which lets you survive. Meerkats manage by having dozens of eyes and ears to be on the alert for predators.

Because they live in burrows, they can protect their young ones from heat/cold and being eaten and they have a great, selfless cooperation, lots of grooming and bonding and play. (Just don't try to add to that pack!)

Here's a funny story. One of the things which goes on in zoos is behavioral research and our Director of Research gives a class for those who're interested in helping with this effort. You're given theory, technique and then you're given a small group project which goes on for about six weeks. At the end of your study, you present your learnings to the larger class.

One group of five people was assigned to study dominance hierarchy in the meerkat group. At the final presentations, only one woman stood up. She explained that her group had been reduced to just herself, but she'd thought she'd be able to complete the study alone.

Her results? Well, she explained, it took five weeks to learn how to tell one meerkat from another! (Think about how quick they are and how similar. :wah: ) So, her assigned project was a failure, but she DID leave us with a very comprehensive system for identifying our meerkats!

She got huge applause, of course!

[Accountable]

Lulu2 wrote: Accountable--you saw these gremlin-like, "possible lemurs" in England? Are you certain you weren't in Ireland, after a rain? :wah::wah: I'm serious! I think they were from the Brazilian Rain Forest, about 4-6 inches. Definitely primate.



Hmph! I guess I'll have to semi-prove semi-sanity. BRB.

[Lulu2]

OKEY DOKEY.....Lemurs live only on the island of Madagascar. If they were "new world" they were more likely tamarins or marmosets. Does that name ring a bell?

http://www.zooschool.ecsd.net/cotton%20 ... amarin.htm

[Accountable]

AHA!!

They're Tamarins!
















Okay the last two aren't tamarins, but ain't they cute?? :p

[Lulu2]

Good for you! (Notice I read your mind?)

We have the first three species in our zoo. The mustached ones (Emperor tamarins) are the BALLS-iest little things you'll ever meet!

Tamarins and marmosets are the smallest monkeys. They live in interesting social systems, called cooperative polyandry. Females almost always give birth to twins and, in order to eat enough to provide milk for them, she gives them to older siblings/the father to carry during the time she's foraging.

Now--it USED to be thought that she was monogamous, but lately, it's been observed that she just MIGHT be having relations with another male and that those twins just MIGHT be fraternal with different fathers!

I was lucky enough to spend almost 9 years preparing food/feeding in our marmoset colony. I've been peed on/shat on and pinched by more than a few of them and they're really a delight.

Unfortunately, because of the old duo (habitat loss/pet trade) these little primates are in big trouble.

[Accountable]

Lulu2 wrote: Good for you! (Notice I read your mind?)Yes. Well done. Now please stop patting me on the head. :yh_frustr





:p

[Lulu2]

(Running off to research the rare and eversohighly endangered Irish LEPRECHAUN LEMUR. I hear it ony shows up on a rainy night, as people're stumbling home from pubs.)

[Lulu2]

Someone sent me a private message today to say she felt uncomfortable with zoos because she fears the animals aren't happy there.

This is a very valid concern and we should talk about it.

First, it's almost unheard of for a zoo to take a "wild caught" animal. Our zoo has well over a thousand individuals, and of those, I know of two who were "wild caught." This is important when you consider that animals are very adaptible and will be happy in most circumstances, when their needs are met.

Secondly, we need to think about why animals move around in the wild--what are their needs?

They move to find mates, to find food and to escape predation. In small areas, they move to mark their territory and to defend it from others of their species.

Basically, that's it.

Now...if zoos can provide everything animals need.....they will happily spend their lives in whichever area is presented to them. They DON'T need to move around for exercise or for stimulation or for any other emotion humans tend to impose on them.

In fact, when you move a zoo animal from one exhibit to another, they'll often show signs of stress....it's new and they don't like it.

Something many people are unaware of is a new focus in zoos....called "enrichment." Accredited zoos in North America have groups whose entire function is to find creative ways to "enrich" the lives of their animals.

For example...those perfume ads in magazines are collected so that keepers can rub them on the surfaces of carnivore exhibits. When the carnivores come into the exhibit, they sniff and search and mark over the smell in territorial behaviors which are natural and interesting to the animal.

Another example of enrichment: people stuff little paper bags with seeds or nuts or dried fruits and seal those bags into bigger bags and put those into bags of shredded paper and then seal THOSE bags into pillowcases or cardboard boxes and put them into the primate exhibits.....

Sometimes, the bags have "goodies" and other times....they don't. The whole idea is to challenge the animal and make life interesting.

It could be "enrichment" if someone other than the keeper leaves a scent trail in an exhibit.

Enrichment volunteers will occasionally make HUGE "zebra" covered boxes to hold raw meat. The "zebras" are then painted with stripes and placed in our lion exhibit. When big donors/members are watching, Cookie and Lionel are let out. It's always interesting to see Cookie (the COUCH POTATO of lionesses) turn into a PRIME KILLER as she tears the throat out of the "zebra," and eats its gut!

There are too many examples to give you, but here's a final one. Our river otters (brilliantly smart little critters) live in an exhibit with tubes and slides and hammocks and floating toys. Their keeper (who took care of our polar bears, if you're paying attention) buys live crawdads for them. It's wonderful fun to see them track/catch/eat the crawdads.....because they never know how many were actually THERE....so they'll hunt for hours, looking, just being river otters!

Very few animals are NOT given enrichment. (Some reptiles just don't give a rats' about it.)

If you're interested in enrichment techniques, let me know & I'll bore you blind with them.

It's an interesting part of zoo life....one which is always staffed by volunteers who have no budget, but a lot of creativity.

(Oh...did I mention that they maintain an organic garden to provide treats and enrichment for herbivores?) (And did I mention that gorillas LOVE to eat roses? Who knew?)

[Rapunzel]

Lulu - You write so well - interestingly and entertainingly - that this has been a fascinating and hilarious thread to read through!

You know you should talk about your zoo on Tv - you'd be a fantastic educator for children and you'd fire them up with enthusiasm for wildlife and environmental protection. :-6

I'd LOVE to hear more about the enrichment techniques or anything you care to add - its ALL fascinating!

Just a a frivolous btw - do you have a kiddy area with bunny enclosure? What can I do with all the bunny poop my buns produce? They seem to deliver their own weight in it daily! I was thinking of melting it down and making "real" easter bunny cookies with it! or chocolate rabbits - whaddaya think? :wah:

Actually - what do you do with all the poop the zoo produces??? :sneaky:

There must be TONS of it! Literally! Yikes! My problem doesn't seem so bad now!

Can you tell us which zoo you work for so we can come at wave at you sometime when you're up to your ears in guano?

[Lulu2]

Thanks for the kind words, Rapunzel. Anyone who's passionate about something usually presents it well. When I was in elementary school, someone came with animals to show us an owl, a snake, etc, and I never forgot it. I try to be that person now, hoping to "hook" a young person.

About poop....A friend who worked in the elephant exhibit once weighed the output at the end of her day....it was over a thousand pounds! (There were six elephants at the time, I think.)

Manure is collected in separate dumpsters and taken somewhere (I don't know, really) where it's processed and used as compost. At the zoo (and in your home) we need to remember that what goes into the sewer can ultimately wind up in rivers or oceans, so we can't even hose manure into drains.

Sometimes I think I could do an entire tour based on poop! Did you ever notice how desert animals' bodies retain almost all the water that normally would go into feces?

And since you mentioned rabbits...how many people know that rabbits produce two types of droppings and eat one of them? It's true! If a rabbit is somehow prevented from eating the "wet" ones, it'll suffer from malnourishment.

(Note to self: do NOT kiss a rabbit on the lips. EVER.) :wah:

[dubs]

Great thread Lulu! Your animal stories remind me of when my son used to work at Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire. www.twycrosszoo.com/home.htm I dunno if you've heard of it! He worked there weekends and holidays, when he was at school, holidays when he was at University, and until work commitments stopped him he carried on helping out whenever he could. He had some great stories!

He works with exotic and dangerous animals now.........He's a High School Teacher!:D

[RedGlitter]

Lulu, some time ago I came upon a company which made cute sculptures out of elephant dung and sold them for fertilization use in gardens. Very resourceful I thought.



Where have you gotten all your animal knowledge? Is it from your travels or all from working in zoos?



I did not know that about rabbits. Ick, but interesting.

[Nomad]

Altered States the film, that was based on a brief period in my life. I didnt want William Hurt to play me but you know how studio execs are :rolleyes: anyway my "zoo" experience is in the film. I jump in and kill a lion with my bare hands then eat him. Im not proud of that but I was in an altered state.

[Accountable]

Nomad wrote: Altered States the film, that was based on a brief period in my life. I didnt want William Hurt to play me but you know how studio execs are :rolleyes: anyway my "zoo" experience is in the film. I jump in and kill a lion with my bare hands then eat him. Im not proud of that but I was in an altered state.California? :-2

[Lulu2]

EXCUSE ME! We're not "altered" here....we're just as we've always been.

GLITTER, the zoo trained me. Naturally, the travel and solo study has helped. There's a huge volume of information out there. The tricky part is keeping up with changes and new discoveries.

I still have a packet of note paper made from recycled elephant dung. I sent a get-well note to Criss on some of it...hoping it'll make her laugh.

LOL..you'll never think of bunny breath in QUITE the same way, will you? (Me, neither.) Baby koalas eat feces from their moms, in order to gain some of the intestinal bacteria they need to digest eucalyptus leaves.

DUBS...we know of Twycross. They have a large primate collection, don't they? I'd love to visit it one day! LOVED the story about your son! Which is easier for him, I wonder? :rolleyes:

Dr. Jane Goodall was at our zoo today, as part of Ape Awareness Day. She is SUCH a powerful personality in a small, almost frail body. She has malaria and needs to be reminded to eat! (Imagine it? Me, neither.) One of my prize possessions is a photo taken of me with her!

[weber]

Well Lulu

You are a wealth of information. I have read all your stories on zoo life and am waiting for more. It's a treat to hear about animals. They give a lot of pleasure to everybody. I am glad that zoos are doing so much now to keep the animals comfortable and entertained.

Attached files

[CARLA]

Watch it Bucky we love our altered state....

[QUOTE]California?[/QUOTE]

[CARLA]

Ok LULU2 what about the "DUCK BILLED PLATAPUS" (SP) now the is a strange duck..:wah:

[Lulu2]

I've never "met" a platypus, but I do know a little bit about them. They're part of that amazing group of mammals which has characteristics of mammals and reptiles. For example, they lay eggs. They have mammary glands but no nipples and they nurse their young with hairy areas which direct milk into the baby's mouth. They have what's called a "reptilian stance," which means they don't have shoulders which allow them to fold their legs in toward the chest. (Think about the way a lizard moves...legs straight out from the body.)

The platypus has a thick, leathery bill, with receptors which can detect the minute electrical signals which aquatic invertebrates emit! Since the platypus (that's hard to type, by the way) is semi-aquatic, it's a handy skill to have.

Another handy skill is that the males have a spur on their hind legs which actually delivers a kind of VENOM, which is painful but not lethal to humans. (Some day I'll get to Australia and see all this for myself.)

In the same order (Monotremes) with the platypus, is the echidna, which I know more about. Echidnas look like porcupines...they have spines on their bodies and really strong feet for digging burrows, which is how they escape predators.

Remember the electrical receptors in the platypus's bill? The echidna has them too, on its snout. They have a long, sticky tongue which helps them eat ants, termites and worms.

When the female lays her egg, she forms a temporary pouch on her abdomen and that's where she incubates it.



Here's a photo....

http://www.americazoo.com/goto/index/mammals/1.htm

I used to prepare their diet....it was a totally disgusting mixture of raw horsemeat, baby cereal and water, which you put in a blender and then strained. SERIOUSLY DISGUSTING. When it was finished, you tossed in a few handfuls of live meal worms.....sort of a "garni." :wah:

One of the echidnas would waddle over and stick his snout down into my shoe, looking for worms, I suppose. They're very, very cool little guys.

[CARLA]

Woo !! Once again you have left me with a bit more knowledge than I had about the Platypus and the Echidna (kinda a big hedge hog).

Talk about cute the Hedge Hog is so cute..:-4

[Lulu2]

We have African hedgehogs for our educational programs. Three of them are being "socialized" right now. Myrtle, Fern and Willow (;) )

Sadly, these animals are so darned cute that people want to keep them as pets. VERY BAD IDEA! They're nocturnal; they don't particularly like us; you need to handle them with gloves (cuddling is out,) and, if they get stressed, they vomit on themselves....it's called "self annointing."

Clever little things....they'll often make a den inside a termite hill, which is like living in a grocery store for them. They have the cutest little feet you've ever seen, but sharp nails let them rip into insect hills and find food. If a fox or other small predator gets interested, they curl up, using a system of muscles which almost forms a circle around their entire body and protects their soft, spineless bellies. It's very efficient.

Porcupines have QUILLS and hedgehogs have SPINES. The difference is that quills are easily released and usually have a little hook on the tip which gets lodged in the skin of anything which is annoying to the porcupine. Spines are really modified hairs and although they do break off or shed naturally, their purpose is to stay on the animal and deter predators.

[cherandbuster]

I am so loving this thread

Lulu2

You make learning fun :-6

[Rapunzel]

Lulu2 wrote: Thanks for the kind words, Rapunzel. Anyone who's passionate about something usually presents it well. When I was in elementary school, someone came with animals to show us an owl, a snake, etc, and I never forgot it. I try to be that person now, hoping to "hook" a young person.

About poop....A friend who worked in the elephant exhibit once weighed the output at the end of her day....it was over a thousand pounds! (There were six elephants at the time, I think.)

Manure is collected in separate dumpsters and taken somewhere (I don't know, really) where it's processed and used as compost. At the zoo (and in your home) we need to remember that what goes into the sewer can ultimately wind up in rivers or oceans, so we can't even hose manure into drains.

Sometimes I think I could do an entire tour based on poop! Did you ever notice how desert animals' bodies retain almost all the water that normally would go into feces?

And since you mentioned rabbits...how many people know that rabbits produce two types of droppings and eat one of them? It's true! If a rabbit is somehow prevented from eating the "wet" ones, it'll suffer from malnourishment.

(Note to self: do NOT kiss a rabbit on the lips. EVER.)




You're welome Lulu. I think kids learn far more from "hands on" experiences rather than from books! Poop makes very good compost, even bunny poop! It just takes time to aerate and dig over - lots of hassle for a non-gardener!

Yup, Rabbits eat their own poo! But don’t worry about this, it is normal and healthy. Bunnies produce two types of poo. Round and fairly firm ones which you will find in their litter trays, and soft squishy ones called caecotrophs. The bunny will take these poos straight out of its bottom and eat them (yes, I know, its disgusting!) but they do this for good reason. They reingest these caecotrophs as a way of getting “good bacteria needed for the digestion of long fibre back into their systems.

[Lulu2]

(Did you know about the koalas?)

Today, I got to hand-feed a Sumatran rhino! We gave a VIP tour to a potentially BIG donor and because he's interested in rhinos, we introduced him to Andalas, our "baby." Andalas is five years old (more about that later) and he's been the pampered baby in the zoo where he was born and in our zoo, for several years. Because we "own" his mother, Embam, we also "own" him. The potential donor was wearing a suit and dress shirt, so he wasn't really "into" feeding fruit to the rhino, whose chewing can only be described as truly, disgustingly messy!

I, on the other hand, had no qualms whatsoever about holding fruit in my palm and having Andalas take it gently into his mouth. :-4

With only 300 of these animals left, NOBODY ''owns'' them...we merely keep them and try our best to steward them. It's obvious that Sumatran rhinos are doomed in the wild. Zoos must collect those remaining and manage breeding programs for them...or they'll be lost. Lost to the BIG TWO...habitat loss and human interference. Without human assistance...they're gone.

Zoos are "ARKS," and, sadly, Sumatra is home to many endangered species, among them orangutans, tigers and the rhinos. Because the rhinos eat ficus, zoos with amenable climates who can GROW these plants are able to keep the rhinos happy and healthy.

Andalas is now at "that difficult age" when his hormones are beginning to kick in and he'll go in and out of musth, which is a breeding cycle. Male elephant musth is famous (they get NUTSO) but male rhinos have it, too.

So, we know it's time to find Andalas a BABE! Turns out there's one in a refuge in Indonesia, unrelated to him....and, next month, he'll be sent half-way 'round the world to do his best to save his tribe.

HE IS A VERY HANDSOME BOY, and we hope she'll take a shine to him.

http://www.rhinos-irf.org/rhinoinformat ... /index.htm

Sumatran rhinos are the smallest, the hairiest and the most vocal of all rhinos. They make sounds I can only describe as chirps and whistles...and they "talk" to themselves.

One of my most powerful experiences at the zoo happened the day I was able to help give his mother, Embam, a bath! I will never forget this great, hairy BEAST showing me her gentle sense of humor as she grabbed the hose from my hand and turned the water on me!

It nearly KILLED us when Emi was sent to Cincinnati to meet the male they have. Very little is understood about breeding habits of these animals and it took several years and several miscarriages before Andalas was born. Emi has had calves since then and we're all very proud of "our" girl!

(Can you tell?)

[chonsigirl]

Is Nomad at that difficult age too?

I do like your animal stories, I was pre-vet when I first went to college. That would have been so much fun.

[Lulu2]

(I'm glad, Chonsi...I don't want to bore anyone or assume that anyone else is interested in these things.)

[Rapunzel]

Lulu2 wrote: (I'm glad, Chonsi...I don't want to bore anyone or assume that anyone else is interested in these things.)


How can we be bored when we're listening to such fascinating stories and you tell them SO well!?

It's kindof like listening to Hans Christian Anderson when he first told his stories to the local children! They can't have been any more gripped than we are!

:D