Murphy and Tallulah

On June 6, 2010 we had two tiger cubs born! The managers had to make the decision for them to be hand raised, and I became one of their caretakers. Life has not been the same since. Sleepless nights, formula stained shirts, a constant sea of laundry, it's just like having twins. And I should know!

I have been comparing the tiger cubs to my twins, and there are so many similarities. The little things like bottle feeding two at once. Every twin parent knows how to handle this, but I had to show the other keepers. It's weird for me to have just one bottle, it's unnatural like something is missing.  Fighting for attention, fighting over toys, brings back memories. :)

I have been with them since day 3, and I have loved every minute of it. Even the 4am feedings. It has been the most amazing experience of my career. (Off topic - my 11 year anniversary was July 30) I have raised a lot of animals (like deer, gazelles, monkeys, wolves, kangaroos, squirrels, you name it), but Murphy and Tallulah have been my highlight. I miss them during my weekend and can't wait to get back to work to see them.

They weighed just over 1.5 kg at birth. Now at 10 weeks old, they weigh between 10-11 kg. Their paws are already the size of my palm. They are growing so fast and it is beyond awesome to be a part of their lives.

More updates to come later!

Murphy 3 days old

Tallulah 3 days old

Murphy 4.5 weeks old

Tallulah 4.5 weeks old

Murphy 10 weeks old

Tallulah 10 weeks old

Patience

Really, really, really, really hoping I can post some BIG news today.

I have waited patiently for over 6 weeks!

Venomous vs Poisonous Animals

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people ask if a snake is poisonous. The answer will always be "No" because snakes are venomous not poisonous.

Toxin is any substance that can cause harm. Venom is a toxin that causes its effect through administration via a specialized delivery system. Poison is a toxin that causes its effect through ingestion or absorption.

Venomous animals store toxins internally and release them through biting or stinging in order to disable their victims. Venomous animals use toxins to help them capture prey. Poisonous animals will secrete toxins through their skin so that whatever creature bites or touches them is poisoned. Poisonous animals use toxins to defend themselves.

Understand? Or confused?

Venom is injected, Poison is ingested. If a snake bites you and you get sick, it is venomous. If you bite a frog and you get sick, it is poisonous.

So please, please, please stop calling snakes poisonous.

Terrible Dart Frog - most toxic vertebrate in the world

Poison dart frogs are not poisonous in captivity. They do not produce their own poisons, but get the chemicals from what they eat in the wild. Because of this, captive animals do not contain significant levels of toxins.

Zoo Weekend 2010

It's over. Months of work and preparation came down to these two days.

Saturday
With the incoming threat of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, the Zoo closed at 1:00 pm. A few hundred visitors came in that morning but didn't stay long. Oh well. You can't control the weather so there is no need to get upset. We are just lucky the storms didn't do any damage. The keepers left around 3:30 after all our work was finished and animals were brought back inside their barns.

Sunday
Gorgeous! High in the low 80's with a light breeze. It was a perfect day. My kids, husband and I had a blast at the Zoo. The Zoo had thousands of visitors. We climbed the rock wall first, then made our way to the grill. "The grill" is for employees and friends only. Beside the hamburgers and hotdogs were bbq, ribs, chicken, fish, sausage, and wild game. Along the way we ran into Cinderella, Ariel, Red Power Ranger and Darth Vader. My son said, "Mr Vader, I have all your movies." After eating we walked around looking at the animals and playing games. We stopped by the playground, rode ponies and camels, and finished with a train ride. It was a very long, very fun, very exhausting day.

Well worth all the hard work!

The Grill

African Elephant

Common Sense Zoo Rules

After almost 11 years as a zookeeper I have learned that I prefer animals over people. I knew that before I started, but everyday at least a dozen or so visitors validate my thoughts on this matter. The general public has no common sense. I do not expect the average Joe to know the average life span of a Squirrel Monkey (20 years), the dietary needs of Toucans (low iron), or the incubation period for Pancake Tortoises (4-6 months). But I do expect the average Joe to be capable of following simple rules. So to help educate the general public (and try and keep what is left of my sanity) I am going to list some general zoo rules. These rules are not just for my zoo, but all zoos, aquariums, etc.

1. Respect All Forms of Wildlife

Do not yell, call, shout, or scream at the animals. It is very, very annoying. Not just to the keepers, but the animals as well. Rule of thumb, the louder you get, the more they will ignore you anyways.

Do not tap, hit, bang, or knock on the glass windows. The glass at some viewing stations is really thick and the only thing you will accomplish is hurting your knuckles. In other areas the glass is thin, like in the reptile house, and the sound is magnified on the inside. Congratulations, you made the snake move and he is scared and panicked. Now I have to work with this animal and try and not get hurt. Thank you.

Do not throw or drop objects at the animals. Items can cause harm or even death to an animal if consumed. It does not get their attention anyways. Except the chimps, and they will throw, um... special stuff back. If you insist on throwing money, make it worth my while and throw quarters. Gold doubloons would be awesome.

Do not pick the flowers or in any other way destroy the foliage. Please stay on the pathways. We spend a lot of time and effort keeping the zoo lush. There is nothing more sorrowful than beheaded daisies.

2. Do Not Feed the Animals
Every animal has a specially prepared diet. We monitor everything they consume. If you feed them junk food, it can make them very sick. Believe it or not, primates really don't need potato chips or candy. And are you 100% sure the plant you are giving the deer is not toxic? We know the answer is "no" so leave the feedings to the professionals.

3. Do Not Touch the Animals
Unless you are in a petting zoo, do not attempt to touch any of the animals. They are wild animals not pets. Even if they were born in a zoo, even if they were hand-raised, they are not domesticated pets. If the animal has teeth, it will bite. If the animal has claws, it will swipe. Do not even think about putting your hand into a cage. Do not let your children sit on the railings or worse, hold them over the railings.

4. Watch Your Children
We want our zoo to be entertaining and fun, but do not let your children run wild. Not only can they hurt themselves, but they can also hurt others. Do not let them cross under or over barriers and fences. Children are messy by nature. Clean up after them.

5. Read the Signs
Most people know what a tiger looks like, but did you know there are 6 different subspecies? Our zoo has Bengals, but a nearby zoo has Sumatrans. Very similar, but different. Zoos are covered with signs full of information. Names, pictures, facts. Zoos are here to be educational, so educate yourself! You are your own tour guide. If your child ask "what's that?" find the sign and read it to them. Do not just guess, you will be wrong. We will then tell our coworkers at lunch that you called a cavy a jackalope and laugh at you. By the way, jackalopes are not real.

6. Check the Weather
Before going on any outing check the weather before you leave the house and dress appropriately. Wear comfortable shoes. Zoos can be any where from 5 to 500 acres and you will be walking. Bring a jacket, sunscreen or umbrellas. We recently had a school group of 100 first graders and not 1 child had a raincoat/poncho/umbrella and it rained. It was not a surprise shower. The news warned of the storm days in advance. Weather.com is a good thing.

Some awesome signs from the Wellington Zoo in New Zealand -

So many events

Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd is Earth Day Safari.

Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th is Zoo Weekend.

I can't wait for Monday! I need to get a my massage scheduled.

I cleaned out my last big display this past Friday. I hauled out 6 1/2 barrels of old pinebark and soil. Each barrel is 55 gallons. You do the math. Added new substrate and rearranged the branches. The Yellow Monitors and the Blood Python are happy. I guess. I mean they don't really smile or talk or anything.

All the moats and pools have been cleaned, all the displays have new substrate, everything has been repainted/repaired, and now all we have to do this week is keep everything fresh looking. Grass cut, leaves raked, etc.

Earth Day Safari is hosted by our Education department. It is a two day event designed with school groups in mind, but it's great for families as well. It is a fun and educational field trip. There is an Endangered Species Scavenger Hunt, Earth Day Trivia Game, and live animal presentations.

This weekend is the 34th Annual Zoo Weekend. This is our BIG fundraising event. Past Zoo Weekends have paid for new or renovated animal exhibits. There will be live music, tons of games, local food vendors, petting zoo, pony rides, rock wall, and a lot more.

As much as preparing for Zoo Weekend drives me (and my chiropractor) crazy, it is well worth it! It's great for the Zoo, great for the community, and I know at least my family loves it.

White Bengal Tiger

American Alligator

Bald Eagle

Spring is offically here!

The geckos and anoles have come out of hiding.

Bees and wasps are out in full force.

And everything is covered with yellow-green pollen.

Yep. Spring is offically here.

The Zoo is extremely busy with ZooWeekend coming up April 24-25. All the pools have to be dropped and hosed, fresh pinebark, sand and/or dirt added to displays, fresh coats of paint, new perches in exhibits, basically everything has to be spit-shined. It's exhausting work, but everything looks so good when it is all done. The profits from ZooWeekend go to help remodel or build new exhibits, so the hard work is well worth it. But I'm tired. I did get to meet our new keeper who will start in May. First impression was a good one. Construction for the paddle boats is coming along. The idea still creeps me out. Our lake has massive fish and snapping turtles in it.

The two penguin chicks and the two baby cavies are growing strong, and we have a new bison calf. One day, I'll remember my camera and take some pictures of the little cuties.


On another note - Easter weekend was wonderful! Perfect weather for the egg hunt on Saturday and Easter festivities on Sunday.

My husband broke his leg playing in the backyard with the kids.

The Sunday before, we took the kids to their first air show at Maxwell AFB. It was awesome!

I promise to do a better job keeping this updated and sharing more pictures!

In the media

Obviously I haven't posted anything in a little while. Two big things happened to me at work last week.

1. Wednesday - The other reptile keepers and I were on the local news. WAKA has a segment where they focus on unique jobs, and this time they picked zookeepers. More importantly they picked reptile keepers. I love all the areas in the zoo, but reptiles are my favorite. Downside, I hate speaking on camera. Upside, I didn't have to this time!

Video Clip I'm the one feeding the chameleon and misting the emerald tree boa.

2. Friday - My jaguar article and snow pictures were published! They are in the upcoming issue of the zoo's magazine Jungle Drums. The article is based around our new female Caipora.

Snow!

First snow of 2010 (probably the only snow of 2010). Started around 7am and lasted until 4pm. I went in to work from 8-1. The zoo was closed, so we left as soon as the essentials were done. Some animals were kept inside, others went out only long enough for us to clean buildings. The North American animals were out the whole time, they are made for this! It was a beautiful winter wonderland. I wish I could have stayed until the snow had time to really accumulate, but I got some pictures from when it first started to stick.

Flight Cage

Bald Eagles

Bison

Elk

Elk (female)

Reticulated Giraffe

Cheetah

African Lion

New herps on display

I know its Tuesday, but for me its Monday. Cold with a constant drizzle (big surprise!), but not too umcomfortable. Opened two new herp displays - African "Pyxie" Bullfrog and Red-eyed Tree Frogs. They replaced the Viper Boa and Asian Vine Snake. No other excitement which made for a nice easy beginning to the week.

I don't have any pictures to post on these new frogs, which means I better go take some!

Enrichment Day

Well the high for today was 45 and that was first thing this morning. It only got colder as the day progressed. We did have a decent number of visitors show up for Enrichment Day. I was busy all day and missed most of the animals, but I did get a few pictures. The Sloth bear was given a paper mache ant hill with insects inside, Spider monkeys had several hanging puzzle feeders, and the Maned wolves had a paper mache ant hill with mice inside. Animals in the other sections were also enriched, but I didn't have any time to go see them.
We did a lot of enrichment in the reptile house. The Skink got a piece of wood sprayed with perfume, the insectavores were fed a variety of insects and mealworms. The Chameleon was handfed wax worms. The Yellow monitors had phonebooks with insects hidden inside. New substrate and habitat furnishings for the Grey banded kingsnakes.

It was cold and cloudy and we were shorthanded, but it ended up being a great day!

Sally checking out her paper mache.

Yellow Monitors tearing into a phone book.

Grey banded testing her new leaves.

Skink on top of his new piece of wood...

...and in it.

Vincent van Gecko

"I need a gecko painting." This is what my manager told me yesterday. Um, ok.

Let me backup. Our zoo sells animal paintings. Not paintings of animals, but paintings by animals. Elephants will hold brushes in their trunks and other animals will use their feet, bodies, faces, tongues, whatever to make original masterpieces.

So back to my current dillema. A reptile? Ok, no problem, I can do this! All our paint is non-toxic and washable, it is the same kind toddlers use to finger paint. I still have to dilute it, because geckos have very delicate footpads (that is what allows them to walk up walls). Luckily for me, Crested Geckos are pretty calm and this one was willing to work with me.

I sat on the floor with the canvas in front of me and followed three simple steps :

Step 1 - Put paint on toes
Step 2 - Let gecko walk on canvas
Step 3 - Repeat

I sat him down on the canvas and he would walk right back to me. Afterwards he got a bath to wash off any excess paint. I now have a new found respect for Crested Geckos. Next time, I am going to try a snake.

Cold and Rainy

So tired of this weather. I can't get any work done. Part of my daily routine is raking, and that is really hard when the ground is nothing but nasty mud. The animals are as thrilled as I am, which is why I gave them access to their nice warm dry buildings.

Today was another short-handed day. Keepers out sick and what not. We also have some unfilled spots because we are not hiring right now. Stupid recession.

Saturday is Enrichment Day. Enrichment is anything new or different, like new toys, hanging feeders, perfume sprayed around exhibits, anything that will get a reaction. I have way too much to try and get done tomorrow. One cool thing I need to do is a gecko painting. I am going to try and put dilute non-toxic paint on its feet and have it walk all over a canvas. And maybe a snake.

Enrichment Day Feb '08 "Sugar" a black bear checking out her new treat barrel.

First Post

Well, nothing to really post tonight but "Hey". 

Pancake Tortoise - I really want one of these little guys. Legend says an elephant stepped on them and that is why they are flat.