I was in Atlanta last weekend and visited Zoo Atlanta on a rainy day. I was thrilled to have cool weather and less people. (click here to see a map of the zoo). When I visit zoos I don’t typically get my thrills from seeing the animals. I like to look at the exhibits and layouts and get enrichment ideas and see what I can bring back to use at the Museum. I spent extended time at the lemur exhibit,Read more
Posts tagged: #animals
Spotlight: Kristie Mozzachio, DVM
To the right is our pig, Squealer, and Dr. Kristie Mozzachio. She is a pot bellied pig specialist, operating a mobile veterinary service that caters exclusively to pot-bellied pigs. This is a part-time gig for her. Currently, she works as a toxicologic pathologist. This means she spends most of her time looking through a microscope. She looks at slides of tissues from animals, trying to identify any abnormalities. Pigs are her passion though. She is the veterinary advisor for NAPPARead more
Big word of the month: Neoteny
The big word of the month is neoteny. Neoteny is a term from developmental biology that refers to the retention of juvenile traits into adulthood. Humans display neoteny compared to our living primate relatives like chimpanzees. Our heads remain relatively large throughout our lives, for instance. I was inspired to write about this issue by the response to our new baby opossums living in Carolina Wildlife. I think everyone that sees them usually utters the word “cute” within 30 seconds.Read more
Surprise!
Every keeper has experienced the unpredictable at some point or another. It just comes with the job when you work with animals. No matter how well we think we know our animals, they still randomly do things that will shock or amaze us. Whether it be getting themselves stuck in places that we never imagined they could fit into (such as our tiger salamander with his water bowl), or finding out that one of our sweetest animals is a pettyRead more
Baby Opossums Here
Two baby opossums arrived today at the Museum. Each is about 8 inches long. The male weighs 70 grams and the female 62 grams. We normally quarantine new animals behind the scenes but this time we decided to let these two start on exhibit so that you can see them while they are still young. They’ll grow quickly, and soon they will have to be separated. One will eventually be used for our education programs while the other remains onRead more
Another produce shopping trip
I only had to do a mini run to the grocery store this week for produce. We just needed greens, beets, and some other random fruits and vegetables that aren’t available at the buy-in-bulk store where I sometimes stock up on apples, oranges, grapes, etc.It’s taken me a good while to get into the habit, but it is finally second nature to grab my cloth bags with me before I head out. For many years, I agonized over which wasRead more