Earlier this year, around May/June we noticed that Mimi (one of our Black Bears) was displaying aggressive behavior towards the keepers. When we would open up the bear house at closing she would charge at us, sometimes huff or spit or pace the fence line. While this behavior isn’t completely atypical for Mimi it seemed to come out of no where and with an increase in frequency. We already knew it didn’t matter which keeper was opening the house as sheRead more
Lemur and Tortoise Introductions!
Earlier this year, we introduced our new Radiated Tortoises to our lemur yard and therefore to our lemurs. Whenever you are introducing new animals to each other, careful planning must take place. We thought the tortoises would not have much of a reaction to the lemurs. We ended up being correct. We were pretty confident that the lemurs would react to the tortoises though. After all, large moving boulders in your yard would probably concern you too. We had aRead more
Radiated Tortoises now in the Lemur Yard!
Our five Radiated Tortoises can now be found in the lemur yard with the Ring-Tailed Lemurs! The tortoises don’t have access to the whole yard so look for them in the area sectioned off with logs. You’ll most likely see the tortoises munching on grass and other vegetation. They will be out in the exhibit yard until temperatures drop too low in the fall. They like it HOT so even on days the lemurs might need a break from theRead more
What is Browse?
In animal keeper language, browse means plants and vegetation that we offer to our animals. Several times a week we harvest freshly cut browse that has been approved by our veterinarians. Our veterinary specialist, Katy, put together a browse book that includes pictures of the plant/tree, who it is approved for and where on grounds it grows. This is a great asset for new keepers just learning to identify different vegetation and for seasoned keepers to make sure their knowledge is up to date.Read more
Keepers building enrichment!
When we aren’t busy shoveling stalls, scooping poop or making diets we occasionally get time to work on a special project or make new enrichment items. Last month, Janine, Katie and I got to build a hammock bed for our bears. It involved some wood as the frame, fire hose and lots of washers and screws. At Janine’s past job she made plenty of these types of beds so she was showing Katie and I the ropes. Not only isRead more
Saying Goodbye.
As many of you may know we lost our Red Ruffed matriarch, Cynthia, last spring. It was unexpected and a very hard loss for us keepers. However, she was 35 years old and had lived a great life. She had 17 offspring in her lifetime and was in the first generation of captive born Red Ruffed Lemurs. Iris, one of her two daughters that lived with her at the Museum, had been diagnosed with renal disease about 2 1/2 years ago.Read more