Phoenix Zoo Blog

Behavioral Enrichment: by Devorah Young

A MasterCard Story - Our Chacoan Peccaries/Tagua are somewhat older and not very active. So we have been working with the Tagua on shift training, manipulation of toys, and overall socialization with people since they are a bit standoffish. What we realized with the temperatures raising is that sometimes the simplest enrichment is the most effective. We started giving the Tagua wallows about 2-3 weeks ago when the temps started climbing past 90 degrees. To our amazement, they all started using the wallows. They even used the wallows while we were around (a rare behavior indeed) and more importantly, their energy levels increased. What seemed a simple idea became one of the best enriching items we’ve given them. Cost of shovel: $20.00; Cost of labor: a lil’ sweat and tears to dig the wallows; watching our aging Tagua act young again: Priceless.

On Saturday May 2nd and Sunday May 3rd we will be celebrating our Andean Bears: Will and Rio during our annual bear awareness event Bear Bonanza!

Andean Bears live in the cloud forests of the Andes Mountains in South America. Although they live at some high elevations they are a tropical bear species and move to lower elevations as it gets cooler so they don’t hibernate.

Formerly called Spectacle Bears, most Andean Bears have cream-colored markings on their face, neck and chest, traditionally it was thought that these markings were primarily around the eyes making it look like the bears were wearing glasses or spectacles. But not all Andean Bears have these “glasses” so their name was changed officially to Andean Bears to reflect their home range in the Andes Mountains.

Here at the Phoenix Zoo, our bears live in an exhibit called the Forest of Uco. This innovative exhibit was completed in 1997 and is still considered one of the best bear exhibits in zoos throughout the world. What makes the Forest of Uco so special is that it was built with the behavioral needs of the bears in mind. The exhibit is almost an acre in size and has lots of places the bears can hide for an afternoon nap. Also running through their exhibit is a waterfall-fed stream that also has two pools that are just right for the bears to use as swimming holes to cool off on a hot day.

Our bears are very smart when it comes to using the weather to their advantage. On cool days they like to nap out in the sun and warm up. On hot days they love to play in the water, play with their ice treats, or rest under the shade of the bushes that grow in their exhibit. Typically on a hot day they are most active either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. I think we could all learn a thing or two from the bears about how to beat Arizona’s heat!

Andean Bears are one of 8 species of bears throughout the world. The others include American Black Bear, Asiatic Black Bear, Brown Bear, Panda, Polar Bear, Sloth Bear, and Sun Bear. Bears around the world are becoming more threatened as humans continue to destroy the bears’ habitat, kill the bears for various body parts, or human conflict with bears.

Although we don’t have Andean Bears living wild in Arizona, we do have their cousin, the American Black Bear. When you venture into the forests or mountains where black bears live remember these tips:

• Always hike in a group.
• Be respectful and give bears their space.
• Clean campsites keep bears and people safe.
• Don’t ever feed a bear.

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It was an exciting day at the Phoenix Zoo as Hadiah, our new female Sumatran tiger, was debuted to the media.  Hadiah is a 2-year-old tiger from Seattle and she enjoys playing in her pond or with Jai’s (our male Sumatran tiger) favorite toy, the beer keg.

She is smaller and calmer than Jai and her markings are very different.

Although she is still getting used to her new home and new sounds, Hadiah was out front all morning for the media.  Guests can see Hadiah this weekend at the tiger exhibit along the Africa trail.

Click Here For Fast Facts on Sumatran Tigers

Do you want to adopt a Sumatran Tiger?
Become a Special Parent of the Zoo (SPOTZ) today! Click here dor details.

Nabongo and Bakari left for California today to join their bachelor herd at the San Diego Zoo. The two male Grevy’s zebras were born at the Phoenix Zoo last June and the public helped pick their names. Because the boys are reaching maturity, it is best to keep them separated from females.

Nabongo and Barkari are half brothers that share the same father, Punda. Punda had never successfully bred before coming to the Phoenix Zoo. Zebras are always bred based on recommendations from the Species Survival Plan.

Recommendations come from a committee of specialists that work to ensure a genetically diverse population of endangered species.

Grevy’s zebras are the largest zebras of zebra species. The wild population lives in Southern Ethiopia and Southeastern Kenya. The population is threatened by hunting and competition with domestic livestock.

Do you have any favorite memories of our zebras? Guests can still visit Punda, Afiya and Masika on the Africa Trail.

What does it take to ship out an animal? A lot of work! I recently helped ship out a male waterbuck, Bartleby, to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. The zoo decided this because our very old female had passed away and we didn’t want Bart to be by himself. The zoo had acquired Gerenuk and to make sure they had space we felt it was best to find Bart another home instead of trying to bring in more waterbuck. When you find out an animal is going to another zoo you figure out when they are going, where they are going, how they will be traveling and what as a keeper you need to do to make the entire process as stress free as possible. We knew waterbuck travel by trailer (usually a modified horse trailer). To get him onto the trailer we would need to build a transfer chute that goes from a barn stall to the trailer. We build them tall, with wood sides so if the animal panics they can’t run into anything or injure themselves. Our shipping chute is divided into 3 sections so after Bartleby walks past one door we can shut the door so he can’t go away from the trailer he has to go toward it. The plan is for the animal to walk calmly and we’ll patiently wait for them to go into the trailer.

Along with all the planning, I was asked to fill out the animal data transfer form. This form will tell Bart’s new keepers all about his likes and dislikes and favorite enrichment items. It is like an animals biography; the nutritionist filled out his diet information and the veterinarian provided us with Bartleby’s medical history.

We started conditioning “Bart” (as we keepers called him) to eat his food inside a giraffe crate in October. We wanted him used to walking into a box and eating and food is a great motivator and reward. This helped him get used to walking into a smaller area that way when he had to walk through the long chute to get on the trailer in would not be a stressful experience for him. Bart also needed a medical exam for the health certificate so he can travel across state lines. The veterinarians work with us keepers to schedule a time to anesthetize him so they can get blood and give him a full physical exam. We decided when the vets anesthetized Bart it would be a good time to move him the the barns at the bottom of the hill. The savanna barns are on top of the hill and large trailers have hard time backing up the steep hill. Bart was moved and had his check up two weeks before his departure date. Two days before his exam was his last day on the savanna, which was sad for us keepers but good because he was getting close to going to Asheboro and being with other waterbuck again. In the past, we have built a chute every time we ship an animal out. This year we were able to have a permanent shipping chute constructed.

This was very exciting. Keepers still had to construct part of it, we got to put up the wood for the sides and doors. Once the chute was constructed Bart was given sometime to explore the chute, to make the chute a good place keepers fed Bart his diet at different places in the chute. We slowly moved his food to the end of the chute. The day we shipped him out, the trailer came and we let Bart into the chute, Bart very calmly walked out and into the trailer. It took about twenty minutes. Five days later, Bartleby arrived in his new home safe and sound. After he goes through a thirty-day quarantine he will be introduced to his new herd.

The Go-Go’s are coming to the Phoenix Zoo and I am ready to celebrate my love of all things ‘80s. I am ready with my leg warmers, Rubik’s cube and copy of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (on tape). Let us know what you love about the ‘80s in the comments below.

ZooBrew
The Go-Go’s will perform at ZooBrew 2009 on Friday, April 24, 2009 from 7 – 11 p.m. ZooBrew will feature the best ‘80s music from the Go-Go’s, beer and wine tasting and more. Tickets available at phoenixzoo.org.

Laura, the intern

Keeper Bryan MacAulay talks about the rhino hornbills he takes care of at the Phoenix Zoo!

Where to begin? This year has held many challenges, but by far the most exciting was the introduction and subsequent breeding of our rhinoceros hornbills.

For the past few years, we’ve had tremendous success with our pair of adult rhino hornbills. They have raised two healthy chicks (1 male, 1 female) that have since moved on to other institutions. What makes this pair special is that they were/are the only pair of captive born and raised rhino hornbills that have successfully laid, hatched and  raised chicks that we know of.

After the success of the second chick, it was determined that there was another male in the country that would be a better genetic match for our female.  We were reluctant to split up a compatible pair, but agreed to send our male to the El Paso zoo and receive theirs in return.  We knew it would be a setback to our breeding efforts but were pleasantly surprised when the new male proved to be an excellent parent at the tender age of 7 years!  While this male is an excellent parent, we did experience issues with his first breeding season.  The female sealed herself in the nest rather late in the year.  We aren’t entirely clear as to why, but she left the nest about one month before she should have.  When we checked the nest we found the chick to be healthy but still naked (cavity nesting birds feathers develop later than ground nesting birds).  Our concerns were allayed somewhat by the parents continuing to feed the chick as usual.  However, with the chick being too young to be in the nest alone, we found that excess diet items were accumulating in the nest and attracting ants.  Normally, the adult female would be there to keep the nest clean.  The ants presented a serious problem to the safety of the chick so we had to clean the nest ourselves and be very diligent about controlling the ant population around the nest.

When it was finally time for the chick to come out of the nest, we found that she was having a difficult time breaking through the “mud” (mixture of dried food and fecal matter used to seal the nest entrance). We assisted the chick by chiseling out a few chunks of the “mud”, this proved to be the help she needed. After a bit of a struggle to get out of the nest, she finally emerged!  Sadly, when she was coming out, the chick managed to injure the ends of both wings, which has restricted her ability to fly. The vet staff has been doing by-weekly check ups and her injuries are healing nicely. She has also been taking a few tentative flights around her exhibit and growing stronger everyday.

Here at the Phoenix Zoo we strive to provide the best lives possible for our elephants. We believe in providing a relaxed environment where the elephants can spend most of their day just being elephants. Our elephants are not pressured to perform, we only ask them necessary husbandry behaviors such as presenting their feet for daily checks and presenting their ears for blood draws. We aim to give our elephants as many opportunities to exhibit natural behaviors as possible. One main way we do this is by offering all their hay in hanging hay nets to simulate browsing. These hay nets also increase the amount of time it takes the elephants to consume their daily ration of hay. We also either hide their treats or present them in puzzle feeders to help increase their foraging time. Elephants in the wild will forage for 18-20 hours a day so increasing foraging time in captivity is very important. Not only does increasing their foraging time keep our elephants busy for more of the day but it also helps to drastically decrease the stereotypical behaviors often observed in captive elephants.Click here for more info on our elephants.

Ever wanted to know what it’s like to live a day in the life of an elephant keeper at the Phoenix Zoo? Well now you can! Just write a comment and a real life elephant keeper from the Zoo will answer any questions you may have! Happy blogging!