Aaron gave me some interesting looking popsicle sticks for lemur enrichment which I immediately had another idea for. Keeper Sarah had some down time as well and decided to take part in my project. So we made a little village for the degus. Read more
Posts tagged: #kimberly
Lemur Communication
In my last lemur post we learned what makes a lemur a lemur. One of the biggest lemur traits has to do with scent- they have pointy moist noses, similar to your dogs at home, and they rely largely on smell for communication. Which differs from apes and monkeys but that is because lemurs communicate via scent. Lemurs can have scent glands on one or more of the following: head, feet, chest, wrists, hands, shoulders, and/or genitals which they useRead more
“Target” click
One of my favorite duties as an Animal Keeper is training with the Ring Tailed Lemurs. We train many of the animals at the museum using operant conditioning. When I first started here, I was familiar with training, I used positive reinforcement for several animals at my previous job- a Serval, African Crested Porcupine, Binturong, several birds including large Macaws, a Raven, Crow, Hawks and Owls. African Crested Porcupine Even Rats- But it wasn’t until working here at the Museum that I really got intoRead more
Aposematic coloration
As opposed to camoflauge and blending in some animals, typically insects, but also others like amphibians and reptiles do the opposite. They are brightly colored often with elaborate designs- this is their way of warding off potential predators. Basically their colors say to other animals, “if you eat me I will be nasty” this is called aposematic coloration. One amphibian famous for this is the poison dart frog. There are about 175 species of these colorful creatures living in the rainforests ofRead more
What makes a lemur a lemur?
In my last lemur post you learned the differences between them and other primates. But what makes a lemur a lemur and what exactly is a tooth comb? Or a grooming claw? Or a reflecting tapetum? Even though lemurs are endemic to Madagascar and the Comoros Islands they can be quite different amongst themselves. Lemurs come in all sizes from the 1 oz pygmy mouse lemur to the 15 lbs Indri and Diademed Sifaka lemurs. Depending on the speciesRead more