The Phoenix Zoo is finishing up construction on our new exhibit, Orang-Hutan: “People of the Forest.” If you have visited the Zoo lately, you might have noticed our family of Bornean orangutans is off exhibit. Duchess, Bess, Michael and Kasih are getting used to their new home while the exhibit is being finished.
When our family of orangutans moved to their new home, they started by getting used to their new bedrooms while the outdoor yards were being finished. Their new bedrooms provide them with fifteen times more space indoors than their previous home. With the completion of the Arboreal Yard, Duchess and her family was finally able to explore one of their new outdoor yards.
Bess swings on the sway poles and ropes
The Arboreal Yard provides the orangutans with many ways to stay off the ground as they do in their natural habitat. Climbing structures, an enrichment tree and sway poles give them the opportunity to be up in the air. Duchess, Bess, Michael and Kasih are right at home in their new environment. Michael has even taken advantage of the large mesh net that encloses the Arboreal Yard, using it to stand at the top of one of the tallest climbing structures and even hanging upside down from it!
Bess and Kasih encountered grass for the first time in their new exhibit. Kasih was especially curious of this new surface; she spent some time touching, smelling and even tasting it. After a thorough inspection, she decided it was okay. In fact, she decided it was more than okay. Kasih loves rolling in the grass!
Orang-Hutan: “People of the Forest” will be available for viewing to the public when the new exhibit opens in April 2011. Until then, check the Phoenix Zoo’s blog, Facebook and Twitter for updates on how Duchess, Bess, Michael and Kasih are doing in their brand new home.
In this video, Jeremy Barlow of the Phoenix Zoo talks about one of the yards in the new orangutan exhibit, Orang-Hutan: “People of the Forest.” Get an exclusive look at the Arboreal Yard and learn a little more about the orangutans’ new home.
The Phoenix Zoo is currently building a new home for our family of Bornean orangutans. While their new home is being finished, the orangutans will be off exhibit. Check out a sneak peek of the new exhibit, set to open April 2011.
The Phoenix Zoo is currently building a new home for our family of Bornean orangutans. While their new home is being finished, the orangutans will be off exhibit. Check out a sneak peek of the new exhibit, set to open April 2011.
You don’t have to go all the way to Australia to see a koala. Two koalas, Sooky and Kobi, have been at the Phoenix Zoo since October, and will be here through March 31, 2011. Two-year-old Sooky and her four-year-old brother Kobi are on loan from the San Diego Zoo and can be found on the Nina Mason Pulliam Children’s Trail. This means you only have two and a half months to come see these cuddly animals!
Photo by Steve Roberson
Contrary to popular belief, koalas are not bears. People often refer to them as bears because of their stout body, round tufted ears and dark nose, however they are actually part of the marsupial family, which includes the kangaroo, wallaby and opossum. Marsupials are distinguished from other mammals by a pouch that aids in the rearing of their offspring.
If you are wondering why it seems like Sooky and Kobi sleep so much, that’s because koala’s sleep 18-22 hours per day. These long hours are spent on hard tree limbs. They are able to do this because their bums are equipped with a small nub of thick, fur-covered gristle called a vestigial tail, like a built-in seat cushion.
The best time to see our furry friends active in their home is in the morning when they are eating their breakfast, or in the afternoon when the keepers weigh them in front of the windows of their exhibit.
Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves, and only eucalyptus leaves. Even though there a hundreds of varieties of eucalyptus, koalas choose to eat only a few species. Koalas do not normally drink water directly; instead, they get their water from eating eucalyptus.
So if you haven’t seen Sooky and Kobi at the Phoenix Zoo, make sure to come visit our friends from down under before they leave on March 31, 2011!
Every month the Phoenix Zoo receives dozens of submissions for the Wild Child section of the Wild Times magazine. Unfortunately, there is not enough space in Wild Times to include all the great artwork sent to us. Here are some of the great submissions that did not make it into the magazine.
Hadiah, one of the Sumatran tigers at the Phoenix Zoo, correctly predicted the winner of the 2010 Insight Bowl. On Dec. 27, Hadiah predicted that the Iowa Hawkeyes would defeat the Missouri Tigers and the next day, the Hawkeyes defeated the Tigers 27 to 24 in Tempe, at Sun Devil Staduim.
This Friday, Jan. 7, at 1:30 p.m., Hadiah will attempt to correctly predict the outcome of the BCS National Championship game between the Auburn Tigers and the Oregon Ducks.
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