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
Posts tagged: #autumn
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
Pupdate #9
I am sure all you want to see are pup pictures so here they are. Hard to be cuter than 4-5 week old pups! Four group shots of the pups below, after which, read on if you want. All pups are in good body condition and have gained a good percentage of weight. This pup check was just about two weeks since our last hands-on check. We only need to handle every 1-2 weeks, depending on the vaccine andRead 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