Keeper Notes
Thursday, February 2
Sometimes the best news comes from outside of Zoo Atlanta itself! The past week has been truly groundbreaking in terms of reptile conservation in Georgia. First, there was the surprise announcement from Claxton, Ga., that they have transformed their annual Rattlesnake Roundup into a Rattlesnake Festival. Roundups, which are illegal in all but three states including Georgia, are centered around the senseless public slaughter of thousands of wild-caught rattlesnakes. Our friends in Claxton have seen beyond that model and are transforming their event into a festival where people can be amazed and awed by these same snakes, without killing them and without taking them from the wild. Zoo Atlanta is working on plans to help support their new model and, in any event, we hope their new festival is a great success.
But wait, there’s more! We all know the devastation that the demand for turtle meat has wrought on wild turtles across Southeast Asia. Well, that problem came to our backyard recently. Wildlife agents across the southeastern states started discovering people with hundreds, or thousands, of native turtles they had caught and were selling to middlemen for shipping to overseas food markets. As Southeast Asia was now drained of turtles, the market turned its eyes to the southeastern U.S., which is well known for its abundance of turtles. And this was entirely legal! The Georgia Department of Natural Resources realized they had a huge problem looming and took admirably progressive action to create new legislation to protect native turtles that currently are abundant statewide. Such proactive legislation is very difficult to create (most conservation legislation is reactive, i.e., after a problem already exists). Zoo Atlanta’s research staff worked very closely with Georgia DNR and stakeholders from across the state to draft legislation that would continue to allow commercial turtle farmers in the state to maintain their small businesses, but would also ensure that the overseas demand for turtle meat did not decimate our natural heritage. I am impossibly proud to announce that the proactive legislation we all worked so hard to draft for two years was passed into law this week.
Indeed, there is much to celebrate this week in terms of Georgia’s reptiles and, as ever, Zoo Atlanta has shown its commitment to regional and local conservation efforts. Come visit us and regard a native rattlesnake or turtle in our exhibits in a new way! We do hope to see you soon.
Joe Mendelson, PhD
Curator of Herpetology
Tuesday, January 31
I was recently speaking to a Zoo Member about enrichment, and like most of you, he was very familiar with the types of enrichment that we provide the carnivores. As we talked, he asked some interesting questions about how we decide what enrichment to provide the carnivores and how we can possibly know if they “like” a particular item. Good questions! At Zoo Atlanta, we strive for a comprehensive enrichment program that includes not only planning our enrichment, but documenting and evaluating it as well. Each carnivore area has a calendar that we use to guide what we provide for the animals. Throughout the week, we offer different categories of enrichment on different days. For example, we may need to choose an item that the lions can manipulate on Monday, but something that changes their environment on Tuesday. Once we have the category, it’s up to us to choose something novel for the lions. Because we document what we provide for them each day, it’s easy to look back at the calendar to ensure that we’re not offering the same thing too often. The calendar also contains a section where we can leave notes about the enrichment; sometimes the lions will interact with an item for an extended period of time, and sometimes the item will be ignored. This information is valuable when we’re selecting what to provide from that category the next time. One category on the calendar is “keeper’s choice,” which means that the keeper working in that area that day can choose anything he/she wants to give the animal. This is often one of the more challenging categories, because the possibilities are nearly endless, but it also results in some very creative ideas.
Megan Wilson, PhD
Assistant Curator of Mammals
Thursday, January 26
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Possibly true if you are pinkish-grey, have wrinkled skin, squinty eyes, no ear lobes, long buck teeth, and resemble an over-cooked hotdog. Think what you want, but Zoo visitors absolutely love our naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber). As unattractive as they may be, they are that much more fascinating. They have broken many rules that we associate with other mammals and have developed an insect-like social system. Much like ants, termites, and some bees and wasps, naked mole rats are considered “eusocial,” or truly social. They live in large colonies, presided over by a queen, in which only the queen and a few select males breed while the rest of the colony—all members of the same family—work together to raise young and maintain the colony. Beneath the high-status breeders are soldiers—both male and female—who defend the colony against predators and foreign mole rats. In their dark and dank world, odors distinguish friends from foes. To achieve a recognizable odor, naked mole rats often roll about in the burrow’s toilet chamber, coating their body with the familiar scent of the colony’s feces and urine.
The queen is able to devote much of her time and energy to producing and caring for pups while the rest of her closely related relatives attend to colony business. When a female becomes queen, she actually grows in length by increasing the space between the vertebrae of her backbone. The queen’s elongated body allows her to carry large litters during her pregnancy while still fitting through the narrow tunnels of the burrow. Naked mole rats are unique among mammals for their prolific reproduction and long lifespan. The typical litter consists of 12 pups, but can be as large as 27. Gestation takes just ten to 11 weeks, and queens may have four or five litters each year. Wild colonies range in size from 20 to 300 individuals, with an average colony consisting of 75 individuals. Naked mole rats can live 30 years. The Zoo Atlanta colony is 35 mole rats strong.
Naked mole rats live almost their entire life underground digging tunnels in the arid soil of sub-Saharan Africa in search of large roots and tubers to feed their colonies. Despite this mole-like tendency and rat-like appearance, they are neither mole nor rat. In fact, they are more closely related to porcupines, chinchillas and guinea pigs. They have large, sharp incisors made for digging and eating tough tubers and roots. The four front teeth—two on the top and two on the bottom—are actually located outside the mouth. To keep from swallowing unwanted dirt, hairy lips close behind the teeth, as do skin folds at the sides of the mouth. All four teeth can move independently.
Unlike other mammals, naked mole rats aren’t capable of physiologically regulating their body temperature. They lack sweat glands and have no insulating layer of fat beneath their thin skin. More like reptiles, their body temperature fluctuates with the temperature of their environment.
As a mammal with the social life of a termite and the temperature regulation of a frog, the naked mole rat remains an enigma to scientists—and an exquisite example of how species can develop physiological and behavioral adaptations that allow them to live in the strangest of places. These cool creatures are also of great interest to the medical community as they seem to lack pain receptors and seem to be immune to many cancers.
All hail the Queen, AND, her really cool colony. Please stop by the naked mole rat exhibit next time you visit us and pay homage to our Zoo royalty.
Adam Stone
Assistant Curator of Behavioral Management
Tuesday, January 23
So far we have had a pretty mild winter compared to last year, which is good news for program animals … Mild weather means more visitors, and more visitors means that program animals gets to spend more time outside with you guys! If you are at the Zoo on Saturdays or Sundays, you might see one of our awesome Docents out doing animal encounters around the park. These encounters are great opportunities for visitors to get an up-close look at some of the animals in the Zoo, learn a lot about them by asking questions, and if you are lucky, there might even be a chance to touch one of our program animals. Wildlife Theater construction is almost done, so most weekends we are hosting our free-flight bird show at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. There are still a few final touches that need to be made, but we are almost there. Amy’s Tree Theater has some new faces as well, with Petie the black-tailed prairie dog almost ready to make an appearance in the theater after a few months off for re-training. Jenny, one of the bird keepers here at the Zoo, will also be helping out in program animals through next fall, so Members, be sure to say hi if you see a new keeper out there doing shows or animal encounters. Jenny is doing a great job getting used to handling animals and talking to guests at the same time, which can be a daunting task (like walking and chewing gum). Hope to see you soon, and hope the weather stays snow-free for the rest of winter!
Becky Bearman
Lead Keeper, Program Animals
Thursday, January 19
I am often asked by visitors who are observing the monkeys in the two Monkeys of Makokou exhibits, "Do all those monkeys really get along?" Well, the answer is yes. Visitors to Zoo Atlanta are very fortunate to have the opportunity to observe several mixed-species exhibits. These exhibits contain several different species living together that would be found living near each other in the same area in the wild. The two monkey habitats are great examples of such exhibits. In one exhibit we have drill monkeys living with Wolf's guenons. In the other, we have drill monkeys, colobus monkeys and Schmidt's guenons living together.
One of the greatest benefits for the monkeys is that they get to interact with more individuals, and their lives are enriched because of it. The best example of this is in our second monkey exhibit. Ziggy, our youngest Schmidt's guenon, regularly interacts with all the other individuals in her exhibit. Specifically, she will ride on Bioko's (female drill monkey) back and then the two will groom each other and share food. Ziggy will also wrestle playfully with George (male colobus monkey). She does this in addition to grooming and playing with her Schmidt’s guenon family. So, the next time you are at the Zoo, make sure to stop by the Monkeys of Makokou exhibits and see what great interactions you can spot.
Lynn Yakubinis
Keeper III, Primates
Tuesday, January 17
Look, no toucans! Where did the toucans go? The birds did really well in their exhibit in the summer, and this was going to be the first winter that they stayed in that exhibit. The idea was that they were supposed to use their building at night, and Andy trained them to come into their heated building on command for a grape reward. It went well but we just had a feeling that building was not working out for the birds, especially for the female. Well, in the bird world you take no chances with your toucans’ health, so we moved them to our off-exhibit building and the female is just perfect again. They are even showing signs that they might want to breed in there.
So now we temporarily have new cool birds in our toucan exhibit: a brand new pair of greater roadrunners. Only don’t look for the bird you remember from the cartoons; the reality is a little different. The real birds are much smaller, the color is a streaked brown, the crest on the head doesn’t resemble an ostrich feather, and they don’t eat bird seed. Roadrunners are a type of cuckoo. They are territorial, nosy and inquisitive. But the cartoon is accurate in one respect – roadrunners run really, really fast! They are carnivorous; they adore their bugs and rodents and lizards and other such delicacies. But bird seed? Yuk! And they love to sunbathe; they like the sun, and you can see this on a chilly morning when they leave their cosy warm building. When the sun first appears, they turn with their backs to it, spread their wings and fluff up all their fluffy back and rump feathers. It’s an adaptation to cold desert nights, a way to warm up fast even when the air is still chilly. They are real characters, and we’re really looking forward to getting to know this pair of birds better!
James Ballance
Curator of Birds and Program Animals
Thursday, January 12
Well, as university students across the country prepare to start the new semester, so are we here at Zoo Atlanta! Many people may not know this, but there is an academic core built into our research programs here at the Zoo. All of our research-active staff hold faculty positions at local universities (Georgia State, Emory University, or Georgia Tech), and these include teaching responsibilities. This semester I will be teaching an undergraduate research course at Georgia Tech, and the students will be using our living collections in Department of Herpetology as their laboratory for a variety of non-invasive behavioral trials and the like. So, if during your visits over the next few months you notice eager students zipping about in the World of Reptiles bearing clipboards, binoculars, and stopwatches, do not be alarmed. It’s just science in action! And don’t forget that it’s always warm and comfy in our building! We hope to see you soon.
Joe Mendelson, PhD
Curator of Herpetology
Tuesday, January 10
Have you seen Narita the raccoon dog (tanuki) lately? Even though the temperatures have been warm, she's been preparing for the cold weather of winter. She's gained some weight and also a thick, luxurious coat! Narita will not need to hibernate in the relatively warm Georgia winters. Still, the temperature changes are enough for her to get winter-ready.
Narita is one of our older animals in the carnivore area, and to assist her, we've made some changes to her exhibit and holding area. For example, we've added some small steps for her so that she can more easily navigate her shift door and make it easier for her to access her off-exhibit den box. You'll often find Narita resting in her log on exhibit. We bed this area heavily so that she has a nice soft spot on which to lie. Narita is somewhat tough to enrich, because she generally doesn't interact with many of the items that we provide for her. There are a couple of exceptions, though. For example, Narita loves a little peanut butter. A small bit of peanut butter smeared onto a toy will occupy her for quite some time. She also likes small soft toys. In the past, she's collected her toy from the exhibit and brought it to the safety of her holding area. In there, she'll protect it with everything she's got! In that case, we let her keep the toy until she decides she's through with it and then safely remove it at another time. What a tough little girl!
Megan Wilson, PhD
Assistant Curator of Mammals
Tuesday, January 3
Brrr … it’s cold today! The animals are nice and cozy in their enclosures, but we are freezing! Despite the cold weather, we are thinking about hot summer days! The Wildlife Theater is getting a little facelift for the 2012 show season. You may notice that large green sails have been hung over the theater, and that means shade for our guests! It’s been a long time since there was shade covering the seats, and if you’ve been to a bird show in August, you know we needed it!
We thought we would need to spend a few weeks letting the birds get used to their new surroundings, but they flew under the cover without pause. They are professionals! Tahoe the Harris hawk spent his first time out flying since construction began in October, soaring around the support beams, flying figure eights around the theater, and checking out the new surroundings. If a hawk could smile, I think his would have been pretty big.
Mandela the milky eagle owl had a similar experience his first time out in the new theater. He was so excited to be flying again that he took off before he realized the perching was in different places. He turned in mid-air and tried to fly to the top of a support beam, but didn’t quite make it that far up. So he looped back and landed on Mathew’s glove. If an owl could look surprised, that was him! After his first confused flight he found his way around his new surroundings without any problems.
Quincy the Eurasian eagle owl was back in shows after a three-year hiatus last summer. He is learning a new behavior this winter, so we hope to see him in shows in 2012! Until the theater is in a more final state, keepers will continue to present birds just outside the theater at various times throughout the week and at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Stop by and check it out!
We are still accepting applications for spring internships. Applications will be accepted up until January 15, so if you were thinking about applying, we look forward to hearing from you!
Becky Bearman
Lead Keeper, Program Animals
Thursday, December 29
The gorillas finished off 2011 with a holiday celebration fit for … well, a gorilla! We’re not the only ones that like to open presents! Ivan and the bachelor gorillas especially enjoyed their visit from Santa, and opened up their presents in front of our guests. Gifts are just another way to enrich our animals during the holidays.
2011 will be hard to top, but 2012 will mark some significant birthdays. Our oldest gorilla, Shamba, turns 53; Ozzie turns 51 and is the oldest captive male gorilla; Choomba and Ivan will be 50 this year; and our youngest gorilla, Merry Leigh, turns 1!
Check the temperature as you’re headed out to the Zoo this winter. Our bachelor gorillas in Habitat 1 are usually out if it’s at least 40 degrees. Ivan and the senior gorillas, as well as Taz’s group (yards 2, 3 and 4) will need temperatures to warm up to 50 degrees before venturing outside on a chilly day.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Jodi Carrigan
Keeper III, Primates
Tuesday, December 27
It has been a busy and exciting holiday season here in the Bird Department. As we approach the start of a new year, winter weather has taken hold here in Atlanta! When it gets chilly outside, many of our birds spend their evenings indoors. To prevent boredom and monotony, we offer the birds plenty of fun enrichment! Birds naturally search for their food in trees and on the ground, so often we will perch their food items, like grapes and papaya, throughout their enclosures.
Many birds enjoy having toys, so we give them mirrors, cones, balls, and Kong toys to entertain them when they have to spend more time inside. Today, in fact, it has been too cool for our wreathed hornbills, Zelda and Betel. They are having a wonderful afternoon inside with their favorite mirror, traffic cones, and a metal cookie sheet pan! A few of our birds enjoy shredding bamboo as well, so you will often see it in the parakeet and Major Mitchell’s cockatoo exhibits. Some of my favorite birds to watch with their enrichment are the ground hornbills, Zazu and Gumby! They love to use their strong beaks to beat on hard objects, and we frequently rake their leaves into piles and sprinkle bugs in them. They love to dig through the leaves for the special snack! Remember next time you come to visit, keep an eye open to check out all the birds’ favorite toys and activities!
April Snider
Bird Department Intern
Thursday, December 22
Happy holidays, everybody! Wow, do we ever have fun news to share this week from the Department of Herpetology. Everybody’s favorite boa constrictor Luchadora, gave live birth to a whopping 20 healthy and snappy babies last week. Now, Luchadora is a very large snake, but we were all really surprised at the sheer size of her babies—they are each about a foot long! That’s several inches longer than the usual baby boa. They have already adopted quite nasty little attitudes, so we anticipate that they will eat like little piggies and grow quickly. Luchadora is back on exhibit in the large rock-wall exhibit and she is in fine health.
You may recall that Luchadora was part of the collection in Wieland Wildlife Home for several years, and was introduced to thousands of visitors. She finally got just too darned big to be easily handled in public animal encounters programs. We hope her babies soon calm down and adopt her lovely and tranquil disposition! So, please do come visit us in World of Reptiles and give your own personal congratulations to our own “Mom of the Year.” We hope to see you soon.
Joe Mendelson, PhD
Curator of Herpetology
Tuesday, December 20
It’s been really fun to get to know our “new” small carnivores a bit better, and I’ve been especially impressed with our fossa, Logan. One of his favorite enrichment items is a green ball. The ball is medium-sized, but fairly large compared to him. When he’s given the ball, Logan rubs his body on it and also tries to climb on top of it. He places his front paws on either side of the ball and then tries to also get a rear paw on the ball as well. Invariably, the ball scoots out from underneath him and he goes back for more. I’ve also seen Logan lie on his back and balance the ball on all four paws. Once he’s got it positioned, he launches the ball in the air and chases it down. It’s very entertaining! Logan also loves things like paper and feathers. He’ll stalk a short length of paper towel along the mesh of his indoor den, and he sure is quick. Watching Logan interact with the items reminds me very much of how cats play, so I have to remind myself that he’s not a felid, but in fact is more closely related to a mongoose. He’s beautiful and agile and it really pleases me to see him spending time playing with the items that we provide for him. What an engaging little fellow!
Megan Wilson, PhD
Assistant Curator of Mammals
Thursday, December 15
It’s a BOY! As was recently reported on our website, Matilda, our 3-year-old eastern bongo, gave birth to a calf on December 2, 2011. At the time we released the joyous news we were not sure of the baby’s sex. However, the Zoo’s Veterinary Team performed a brief new baby exam the following day and announced we had a bouncing baby boy bongo. He is the first calf for Matilda and 3-year-old male Tambo. I’m happy to report that Matilda is doing a great job as a first time mom. She is very calm, patient and attentive.
Known for their deep reddish coats and magnificent curved horns, bongos are the largest of Africa’s forest antelope species. Largely due to their elusive nature, the animals were the subjects of legends and superstitions prior to their relatively recent discovery by western science in the 20th century. Believed to number fewer than 500 in the wild in their native Kenya, eastern bongos face extinction as a result of habitat destruction, poaching and hunting for the bushmeat trade.
In the wild, bongos hide their calves from predators for the first two to three weeks after birth, and we expect that it will be at least another week before Matilda ends her baby’s hiding phase. Once the calf is following Matilda, we will begin giving them access to the exhibit. Their exhibit access will be temperature and weather dependent, and we will be watching closely to ensure that this baby boy exhibits sufficient coordination to negotiate the exhibit (e.g., uneven terrain, avoid the creek). Ultimately, we will reintroduce Tambo to Matilda and their calf, and we are in contact with bongo experts to determine the best timing for introductions.
Please join the Zoo Atlanta family in congratulating the Hoofstock Team on their third successful birth this year! We look forward to sharing this baby bundle of joy with you in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
Adam Stone
Assistant Curator of Behavioral Management
Tuesday, December 13
Season’s Greetings! I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season. My name is Danielle Hulsey, and I have been with the Program Animals Department at Zoo Atlanta for about a year. After I graduated from Clemson University in December 2010, I decided to cast a wide net into the job market to see what I could find. I just so happened to stumble upon the Program Animals internship opening at Zoo Atlanta. I started interning in January 2011, and during the summer months, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to become a Seasonal Keeper working with the birds at the Wildlife Theater. The opportunities and the experiences that I have had with Program Animals are ones that I will never forget. I remember the first time I ever held Mandela, the milky eagle owl. He was so heavy even though he only weighs in at 4 pounds! I also enjoyed doing animal encounters around the Zoo. Guests were able to see and learn about all the different bird species at the Wildlife Theater. From parrots to birds of prey, there was something for everybody to enjoy seeing up close. I have learned so much over this past year, and while my time at the Zoo has come to an end, I will always remember how this internship set me up for success.
Interested in a Zoo Atlanta internship? Get more information here.
Danielle Hulsey
Seasonal Keeper, Program Animals
Thursday, December 8
The Primate Department has been very busy with training our great apes for awake cardiac ultrasounds. Sounds confusing, doesn’t it? The animals are trained to present their chests while a keeper uses an ultrasound probe to get images of their hearts. How cool is that! The gorillas Sukari, Taz and Willie B., Jr. have been successfully presenting for ultrasound. Over in orangutans, the past several weeks the keepers have been busy training Alan, Satu and Chantek for their ultrasounds. All three of them present their chests and hold well while waiting for a reward of a squirt of juice or a piece of food for doing that behavior correctly. A sonographer works with the keeper to direct them where to position the probe while the sonographer views the image on the screen. Training this behavior has been a lot of fun for the animal and keeper! The Primate Department is looking forward to achieving more awake ultrasounds. Stay tuned!
For more information about awake cardiac ultrasounds please visit The Great Ape Heart Project's website.
Patti Frazier
Keeper II, Primates
Thursday, December 1
Just because winter weather has brought some of our animals indoors for the season doesn’t mean we are not always busy! We just got in our second batches of baby indigo snakes and diamondback terrapins to raise up through the winter and spring for wild release next summer. Last year’s pilot programs with these species were a huge success, and we now know that captive head-starting of juveniles appears to give them a big boost for survivorship back in their native habitats. Those programs, of course, have to be off-exhibit so the animals don’t become too familiar with people --- which would not serve them well in the wild!
In November we also hosted a high-level research workshop here at the Zoo. Jointly funded by US National Science Foundation and Sao Paulo Institute of Science, this weekend workshop brought together the top names in broadscale biodiversity research from both countries to brainstorm new truly innovative approaches to understanding the basic forces that shape patterns of biodiversity across continents. We cannot well conserve that which we do not understand!
Finally, you’ll notice a beautiful new addition to the Backyard Habitat area. It now features a wonderful new flowing stream and pond donated to us by the wonderful and very capable people at Pondscapes Atlanta! This whole exhibit area will be transformed, over the winter, into a fun year-round exhibit to feature a variety of US native turtles, including wood turtles and everyone’s favorite box turtles. Watch for this development to accompany the significant improvements being made to the Wildlife Theater. Whew---we’re on the run, as usual! But, amid all the excitement, we remain committed to welcoming our wonderful guests in the World of Reptiles. We do hope to see you soon!
Joe Mendelson, PhD
Curator of Herpetology
Tuesday, November 29
The tiger cubs have gotten a real taste of crazy Atlanta weather over the last few weeks. Just like us, they’ve gone from enjoying balmy temperatures in the 60’s to chilly temperatures, rain and wind. But as Adam Stone told me today, he doesn’t think anyone has told them that they’re Sumatran tigers, not Amur tigers! This morning they were given access to their holding building due to the temperature, but it didn’t take long for them to decide to come outside. The cold weather didn’t seem to bother them at all, and they went about their normal business exploring the exhibit and wrestling with each other. They put on quite a show for a photographer that we had on grounds and likely provided him with some great shots. Once they had tired of playing, they decided to take a mid-morning nap. Despite the fact that they had access to their heated building, they chose to nap in one of their favorite spots in the bushes on exhibit. This is a good example of why we try to give our animals choices. In theory, the cubs shouldn’t really enjoy the cool weather as much as they do, but they proved us wrong this morning.
The cubs were weighed recently, and Sanjiv weighed in at 24 kg and Sohni weighed in at 19 kg. The cubs were weighed previously, on November 9, and were up from 19 kg and 14 kg, respectively.
Megan Wilson, PhD
Assistant Curator of Mammals
Tuesday, November 22
Where are the soaring hawks, the running hornbills, the mimicking parrots, and the recycling crows? If you’ve been wondering why you haven’t been able to see a free-flighted bird show in the past couple of weeks, well here’s the scoop. We are in the process of improving the look and guest experience of the Wildlife Theater. The backdrop of the stage is getting a fine-tuning, the stage itself is getting a new artificial turf covering, and best of all … a shade structure is being installed to protect guests and animals alike from sweltering summer sunshine. (I know that’s hard to think of right now with the freezing temperatures and all.)
With all of the improvements to the Wildlife Theater there is a bit of adjusting that needs to be done. The birds will need to get used to their new surroundings. How would you feel if you came home one day and all your furniture was moved around? You’d probably need to take a few minutes to figure out how to get around without stubbing your toe on anything. We’re certain that once they get used to it they will be back to educating and delighting guests of all ages. So keep your eyes and ears open for the return of the Wildlife Theater and all of its animal superstars!
Mathew Hodges
Keeper I, Program Animals
Thursday, November 17
It is hard to believe the Primate Department’s newest redhead will be 1 year old on November 26! We definitely weren’t “expecting” an infant orangutan earlier this year and neither was Madu! With the addition of Remy, Madu has become Zoo Atlanta’s (and quite possibly the world’s) greatest surrogate mom!
When Remy’s birth mother (at another zoo) became ill late last year, he had to begin the hand-rearing process to ensure that his mother could recover and get strong enough to care for him again. Unfortunately, Remy’s mom did not bounce back enough, and it was decided to send him to Zoo Atlanta to be raised by Madu. Madu’s other surrogate sons (Bernas – now 9 and Dumadi- now 5) were thriving under her care … and Chantek’s supervision!
Zoo Atlanta staff had all the confidence in Madu – and sure enough, she scooped up Remy the first time she met him and they have been inseparable ever since! At almost 1 year old, Remy is still relying on Madu for everything, but since she isn’t producing milk, primate keepers feed Remy bottles of formula throughout the day. We also have a tireless group of Zoo Atlanta non-primate staff who have been taking shifts to feed Remy during the overnight hours!
Remy is eating solid food on his own now, and he can be seen crawling farther away from Madu on small excursions in the habitat. But Remy is never too far away from Madu and his “brothers.” Chantek will spend time at Remy’s bottle feedings (there are usually treats for all) and has been seen feeding Remy some of his own food - drops it right in Remy’s mouth like a little bird!
We look forward to watching Remy grow into his long orangutan arms and will watch him swing from the ropes in his habitat, and we will keep Madu supplied with “good girls” and treat rewards to keep her interested enough if number 4 needs a mom!
Laura Mayo
Assistant Curator of Primates
Tuesday, November 15
In the Bird Department, what’s cold and wet, slimy and stinky, and weighs 50 pounds? If you guessed a tub of wet leaves from the bottom of the flamingo pool, you’re right. And we are just coming through leaf season. Most people hate to rake leaves anyway, but it’s even less fun if those leaves have been sitting at the bottom of a pool for a few days. We usually clean the flamingo pool on Tuesdays and Fridays, and it’s quite a popular job – seriously. But not in leaf season. All those trees around the exhibit seem determined that their leaves should get right into the pool. For about three weeks each fall, the cleaning becomes a two-person job as the accumulated pond mess mingles happily with the foliage and feathers.
The texture is best described as gloopy. The cleaners have to rake as much as possible out of the pool and into tubs before they clog the drains. By the time the pool is nearly empty, the best way to pull the leaves off the strainer is with your hands. In my opinion, it’s most efficiently accomplished without gloves! The gloop is lifted into the tubs and then carried away from the pool. As you carry them, the tubs leak copious amounts of mucky water through the drain holes, which you try to avoid have go down inside your rubber boots. You can get about five tubs of leaves at each cleaning, and each one has to be moved about 75 yards for disposal. But if you stop at the grocery store on your way home after pool cleaning, you can about guarantee you’ll have the checkout line to yourself!
James Ballance
Curator of Birds and Program Animals
Thursday, November 10
Hello, everyone – so fall/winter is upon us, and with that, our turtles in outdoor exhibits have been moved indoors for the next few months. Today, Luke Wyrwich went to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and picked up 15 hatchling diamondback terrapins for us to raise for the next 12 months or so. We’re raising these turtles as part of a head-start program that grows the turtles to a size where we can determine their sex, as well as allows them to grow to a size that gives them a better chance for survival once they’re released back on Jekyll Island.
David Brothers and I just returned from a trip to Guatemala to reconnect with our conservation partners at Zootropic and to see the progress of our programs, Project Heloderma and Project Abronia. We had some very productive meetings and came up with some good plans for the next five years. First, an update on Project Heloderma: due in a large part to our conservation program, there are now approximately 3,500 acres of protected habitat for Guatemalan beaded lizards. We have 350 acres, and the rest is a compilation of private and municipality-owned land. This is a fantastic start on saving this species.
As for Project Abronia, a program for arboreal alligator lizards, we now have six species of Abronia at the herpetarium in Guatemala. Two of these have recently been rediscovered after being thought extinct. A large landowner who has ownership of the best habitat for one of the Abronia species has turned his farm into a conservation farm and is letting us preserve the habitat as we work on reforestation of the degraded land.
We also have a new member of our staff – this is sort of a “Back to the Future” situation, as Robert Hill worked at the Zoo a few years back, and has now returned. We welcome him back with open arms.
Brad Lock, DVM
Assistant Curator of Herpetology
Tuesday, November 8
Since my last update, the tiger cubs sure have changed. Not only are they larger, but they're much more coordinated. Because they've become so agile, we've been able to make some changes to their indoor dens. Just as we did with the exhibit, we baby-proofed the indoor space for the tiger cubs. One thing that we did is place a large amount of hay and straw below the den boxes. The tigers have den boxes in each of their dens that serve as places to sleep in, but also to sleep on. For an adult tiger, it's an easy jump on and off of a den box, but that's not the case for a young cub. Just like with domestic cats, sometimes they get on top of things, but have a bit of trouble getting down. They also may get on the den box and start to play, but accidentally fall of the edge. And when they're very small, their mom might decide to take them up on the den box with her, which may not be where the cubs want to be. The hay and straw served as a nice cushion for the cubs if any of these things happened. But now the cubs are better jumpers and also a bit tougher. A jump, or fall, from the den box isn't a danger for them anymore. In fact, I'm not sure they'd even notice that much if they fell off of a den box during a play bout.
Megan Wilson, PhD
Assistant Curator of Mammals
Tuesday, November 1
Hey all! Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween. Here at the Zoo, the keepers had a great time competing in our annual pumpkin carving contest and chili cook-off. Every year the GA chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) holds this super-fun event as a great fundraiser for their organization. Funds raised are used to help keepers participate in professional development such as classes and conferences. This year AAZK joined forces with our Bird Department, and we also raised money for kori bustard conservation! There was delicious chili cooked by various keepers, and pumpkins were carved by teams of four and judged in two categories; Best Overall and Most Animal Like. Program Animals interns joined together and carved a very creative pumpkin that said “Hire Us” =) If we had room on our team we would definitely hire all of you guys! The Carnivore Keepers carved a gorgeous tiger face, while the Primate Keepers created a gorilla portrait. The Bird Department won Best Overall pumpkin for their painted pumpkins resembling “Angry Birds!” The Program Animals Department took home Most Animal Like with our replica of our very own Cereopsis goose, Sunny Grace, who can be seen hanging out with the Aldabra tortoises. We had a very special pumpkin carving guest join the fun as a great surprise to all of the keepers: Willow the goat, who did a great job eating (I mean carving) a pumpkin of his very own.
Becky Bearman
Lead Keeper, Program Animals
Tuesday, October 25
As a bird keeper, one of my favorite parts of this job is getting to know a new bird as well as a species that I've never worked with. We will soon be welcoming a male kookaburra (to join our female kookaburra, lovingly know as "Frog," at Outback Station) and two road-runners. I'm glad that Frog will soon have a companion, but sometimes it's not love at first sight. They will need to get to know each other a little bit first before they can share an exhibit. Think of it as eHarmony for birds! The new male will be in the exhibit with Frog, but they will be separated with a see-through barrier. This allows us to see how they act towards each other before introducing them. If all goes well, the mesh will be removed and they can continue working on their relationship.
I've never worked with road-runners before, and I can't wait to learn more about them. They are native to the southern central and southwest regions of the United States, and they are fast! They can run up to 26 miles per hour! We plan on letting them share a Children’s Zoo exhibit with our king vulture, Ron. Hopefully Ron will be as excited about his new exhibit-mates as we are.
Katie Bagley
Lead Keeper, Birds
Thursday, October 20
We are busy as always in the Department of Herpetology. We’ve all been busy travelling this month. Keeper Luke Wyrwich just returned from field work with rock iguanas on Guana, in the British Virgin Islands. Keeper Robert Hill is headed to northern Georgia next week to collect salamanders for a new exhibit. I was in Panama last week, collaborating with colleagues at the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center and am headed to University of Texas at Arlington this week to give a research seminar. Dr. Brad Lock and Keeper David Brothers are headed to Guatemala this week to collaborate with our conservation partners at Zootropic. Whew – we’re on the run! But, amid all the excitement, we remain committed to welcoming our wonderful guests in the World of Reptiles. We do hope to see you soon!
Joe Mendelson, PhD
Curator of Herpetology
Tuesday, October 18
Sohni and Sanjiv have recently started showing quite a bit of interest in the meat and bones that Chelsea receives for her diet, so they’re now getting their own portions of these items. It’s great to see the cubs develop this interest, because it means that soon we’ll be able to start them on training. You’ve probably read in previous updates that we were able to perform ultrasounds on Chelsea, which enabled us to monitor the cubs throughout her pregnancy. This was accomplished through training, which has proven to be an extremely valuable tool that enables us to closely monitor the health of the animals. When we renovated the tiger habitat, we included a training panel, with the hopes of providing tiger training demonstrations for our visitors. Sohni and Sanjiv have approached the training panel and are now readily taking meat at this location. The photo above shows the cubs in a very early phase of their training, when we provide them with meat at the training panel. During training, there’s always a mesh barrier between us and tiger. This keeps us safe, while still allowing us the ability to get a close look at the tiger. In addition, we never feed our tigers by hand, but instead provide the meat to them on a stick, which can be inserted into one of the squares of mesh. Again, this allows us to easily feed the tiger, but not place ourselves in any danger. You can see that Sohni and Sanjiv already looks like pros at this, and are readily taking meat from the stick at the training panel. Given their motivation, I suspect it will only be a matter of time before we’re able to take the next step with them and in no time, you’ll see them participating in training demonstrations.
Megan Wilson, PhD
Assistant Curator of Mammals
Thursday, October 13
Everyone loves a good riddle, and in the spirit of this Halloween month, do I have a good one for you today. What barks like a dog, has mini saber-toothed-looking canine teeth, eats dead things like a vulture, and resembles Bambi on steroids? A muntjac, of course, and more specifically, I’m referring to a Reeve’s muntjac, also known as a barking deer. Here at Zoo Atlanta, we are lucky to have a member of this shy Asian species. His name is Marvin, Marvin the Mighty Muntjac. Marvin shares an exhibit with Shandy our red panda. Marvin is 12 years old and has been living here at the Zoo since 2005. Unlike his elusive and weary wild counterparts, Marvin is very friendly with the staff that takes care of him and will often eat his favorite treats, green beans and slices of bananas, from their hands. Marvin is a typical size for a muntjac and is about 24 inches tall and weighs 30 pounds. He has short, straight antlers and fang-looking canine teeth. Although the antlers of males may be used in battle, the sharp canines are the more dangerous weapon.
Muntjacs are cool little animals and scientists are amazed by the many different characteristics of this deer from China and Taiwan. As I mentioned above, they have antlers, fangs, and will eat dead stuff, but beyond those immensely cool facts, they bark. When alarmed or in the presence of potential danger, muntjacs make a sharp barking sound, which is surprisingly loud and gives them their alternate name "barking deer.” There are a number of possible explanations for this behavior, although the true reason is not known. This noise may serve as a warning to the predator that it has been spotted, and hence that its chances of a successful hunt have been reduced. They may use this barking to defend their territories. The vocalizations may also serve as communication between individuals. 
Cool, right?
Muntjacs are also really cute animals. They are mini in size, but have large, inquisitive eyes. They have round bodies and slender legs. Their fur is short, soft, and reddish brown in color, with creamy white colored bellies. So the next time you visit the Zoo, please make sure you stop the red panda exhibit and look DOWN. Wait quietly and patiently and you are sure to be greeted by those large watery brown eyes of the Mighty Muntjac himself. It won’t take long to understand why we adore him so much.
Adam Stone
Assistant Curator of Behavioral Management
Thursday, October 6
Next week marks a bittersweet moment for me personally when it comes to gorilla management. One of our gorillas who has been with us since the opening of The Ford African Rain Forest has been recommended by the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP) to be relocated to the Columbus Zoo. Kinyani is now 28 years old and I remember her arrival when she was 6, a skinny, very spoiled hand-reared gorilla. She is moving to Columbus to be a companion female to help with the socialization of a silverback named Oliver. Kinyani is a female gorilla that has always been hospitable when welcoming a new male during her time at Zoo Atlanta. Some of you may remember that she was the first real companion to Willie B. and was also the first to mate with him. It was an historic occasion for us even though they never produced any offspring together. Since the mid-1990s, she has been one of several females that have helped to provide companionship to Ivan the gorilla, who like Willie B. had spent many years alone.
Gorilla keeper Jodi Carrigan and I will be driving Kinyani up to Ohio next week so that she will have some familiar people to help her settle into her new environment. Columbus has a great gorilla husbandry program, and I know she will be in good hands. My one regret is that I can’t stay there longer to see her through meeting Oliver. I know I am going to miss her distinctive rumbling vocal sounds and being greeted by her when I visit the gorilla building. With all that has happened with our gorillas over the last 23 years, it is like a member of the family leaving us.
Charles Horton
Curator of Primates
Tuesday, October 4
The recent dip in temperatures has reminded all the bird keepers that breeding season is coming to a close and winter is on its way! With nights in the low 40s last week, we began to set up heat sources for all of our particularly sensitive animals. Over the next month you will see more and more red heat lamps in our bird exhibits, and you might also start to notice that some animals will be moved completely indoors for the cold season. For those animals that can tolerate cooler temperatures, we also have little sheds attached to each exhibit where the animals can seek shelter if they’d like. We’re in the process of putting up plexiglass over the mesh windows of these sheds. If you’ve been in The Living Treehouse aviary lately, that means you’ve noticed that we had to slide the HUGE nest that the hammerkops have built over a few inches in order to get the plexiglass onto The Living Treehouse winter shed. The hammerkops were NOT very happy about that at the time, but when it’s snowing, I’m sure they’ll be in the toasty warm shed! We add the plexiglass to the mesh windows to make them more wind proof and to keep more of the heat inside from the heaters.
We do other things in preparation for winter, too, like putting down hay beds for the ostrich and kori bustards in their respective barns. The kori bustards get heat pads under their hay beds which are kind of like a heating pad you would use on your own sore shoulder, but they are much larger and made of hard, flat plastic. Underneath the ostrich hay beds we place soft, spongy mats to make the beds THAT much more comfortable … okay, so we may spoil the animals a little. Either way, rest assured that winter preparations are in progress and even though the weather is absolutely lovely right now, we’ll be ready for when it’s not!
Tiffany Shrum
Keeper III, Birds
