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!