This experience consisted of many different things. These things included making meals for animals, doing laundry, putting things into their enclosures so that they feel comfortable, making enrichment for the animals, crating animals, and most importantly a hands on experience with many animals.
One of the most important things was making enrichment for the animals. This consisted of making things with boxes, newspaper or like materials, sticks, balls, or blankets/sheets. below are some pictures of what I made. These items are very important to keep the animals active and happy during their stay. The photos shown are newspaper and boxes they can tear up and play with. Doing laundry was a big part of this since many blankets were put into their enclosures to either play with or curl up during naps. In order to do this we would need to take the animals out of the enclosures which involved either holding them or putting them into a crate. In order to take the animals out one would have to get treats or so form of the animals diet we had to make in the morning to bribe them onto out shoulder, hand, or in the crate. This process was so tedious and would either work out perfectly or result in an animal on top of its enclosure in the trailer for an hour as three employees try to bribe it down.
Making diets was another big thing like listed above. There was a huge dry erase board listing all diets and how to make them. It was anything from putting fruits and veggies in a dish to grabbing a handful of maggots and putting them in a dish. All carnivore dishes were labeled so that they could not be mixed with any of the herbivores dishes. This is due to the fact that many of the birds there could become very sick if they ate any of the carnivores food.
One of the most important things was making enrichment for the animals. This consisted of making things with boxes, newspaper or like materials, sticks, balls, or blankets/sheets. below are some pictures of what I made. These items are very important to keep the animals active and happy during their stay. The photos shown are newspaper and boxes they can tear up and play with. Doing laundry was a big part of this since many blankets were put into their enclosures to either play with or curl up during naps. In order to do this we would need to take the animals out of the enclosures which involved either holding them or putting them into a crate. In order to take the animals out one would have to get treats or so form of the animals diet we had to make in the morning to bribe them onto out shoulder, hand, or in the crate. This process was so tedious and would either work out perfectly or result in an animal on top of its enclosure in the trailer for an hour as three employees try to bribe it down.
Making diets was another big thing like listed above. There was a huge dry erase board listing all diets and how to make them. It was anything from putting fruits and veggies in a dish to grabbing a handful of maggots and putting them in a dish. All carnivore dishes were labeled so that they could not be mixed with any of the herbivores dishes. This is due to the fact that many of the birds there could become very sick if they ate any of the carnivores food.
The thing I loved to do the most this summer was to interact with the animals. Before I could handle them I had to learn how to pick them up and put them away properly. After that I had to do a oral "test" over what I had learned about the animals and what I would say to the public. The following is what I would say when I came out with animals. These were subject to change depending on my audience. Children did not like to talk about death of other animals and the complete opposite for teens.
Pictures 1-2: This is Ralph, he is a Kenyan Sand Boa. They are typically between 50-90cm in length. They live in the desert in northern and southern Africa. They are usually nocturnal and will dig themselves under the sand however, they will hunt during the day as well. Their meals usually consist of small mammals, birds, and lizards. They will ambush their prey and constrict them or will take advantage of the sand and pull them under the surface and suffocate them. In captivity they tend to live around ten years.
Pictures 3-4: These are some three banded armadillos. We had seven armadillos we would work with throughout the summer. Their names were Tango, Arthur, Dozer, Eva, Joan, Kesha, and Ozzy. Three banded armadillos are capable of completely rolling themselves into a ball in order to defend themselves. As a trick instead of completely curling into a ball the armadillo will leave a small gap open so that if the predator puts anything in the gap the armadillo can quickly pinch together causing pain or even injury to the predator. Another defense is their ability to run super fast when they are threatened. They will eat large amounts of invertebrates, particularly beetle larvae. When searching for ants and termites the armadillo will probe the ground with their snouts or pry off tree back with their nails. These armadillos are mostly found in arid areas of Gran Chaco. Some interesting things about these armadillos are that their head plates are all different and unique to every armadillo just like out fingerprints. The shell is made out of keratin the same as our fingernails and hair. Their shell can break a dogs jaw when bitten. Also as seen in the pictures an armadillo has hairs on their underside that they use like cats use their whiskers. When they are curled up in their ball these hairs will stick out so the armadillos can feel their surroundings and tell when it is safe to come out. Armadillos are related to Sloths.
Picture 5: These are pictures of Quigley and Mel our Blue Tongue Skinks. These reptiles are about 1-2 feet in length and can live 8-10 years in the wild and up to 20 in captivity. Their blue tongue is a warning for their potential enemies to stay away and also to protect against UV light. Their diets are about 60% plant and 40% animal. They live in parts of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. One support important feature of these animals is their ability to cast off their tail in defense and can grow another one later. The cast off takes much time and gives the lizard time to escape.
Picture 6: This is a picture of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches (MHC). These cockroaches usually live about two years in the wild and about five in captivity. These insects are nocturnal and wingless and live in tropical forests of Madagascar. They can climb through the forest s using sticky pads and hooks they have on their limbs. As they grow they will molt and will usually eat their old exoskeleton to absorb the nutrients. MHC can not bite or string however, just like in their name, they can hiss by pushing air through spiracles (holes) in their abdomen making a sound that imitates that of a snake or large cat. MHC are scavengers. They are the "garbagemen" of the rainforest since they will eat dead or decaying material from the forest ground to allow plants to grow. They are very important in the production of chocolate and coffee.
Pictures 7-8: These pictures show Ruby our European legless lizard. They are about 2-3 feet in length and in captivity can live more than 25 years. They live in dry habitats such as brush steppes and open temperate forests of Southeastern Europe. AT our zoo the legless lizard eats mice, cooked chicken, and greens. While this reptile looks a lot like a snake their are many reasons are to why she is not. Some reasons is that they have moveable eyelids, snakes only have a scale covering their eye. Legless lizards have an external ear opening while snakes have a bone of the internal ear. Also they gave sharp cone like teeth unlike snakes shape backward pointing teeth. Unlike a snake their tails are very long and makes up 2/3 of its length while snakes have a short stubby tail. Also in the pictures are can see Ruby's lateral groove that lizards have. Where the lateral grove ends is where her hips are and where her legs would be if she had them. Another name for the European legless lizard is the glass lizard. Legend states that if one was to shakes a glass lizard it would break into many pieces, just like glass. While the legend is not completely true, when alarmed this lizard will shed its tail which can break onto many pieces. This is a way to confuse predator and give the lizard a chance to get away.
Pictures 9-13: These are picture of our Ball Pythons. Their were two that we would work with either Lucy or Monte. Lucy, being the female, was larger than Monte seeing as how females tend to be an average of 122-137 cm while males are only around 90-107 cm. They usually live around 20-25 years. Ball Pythons are found in grasslands and open forests of West and Central Africa and tend to be most active at dawn or dusk spending most other time in burrows. These reptiles use chemical and visual cues to hunt for their prey and will sit and wait to ambush their prey. They are Infrequent eaters and have adapted to this by having the capacity to regulate gastrointestinal functioning with feeding and fasting. They are crucial in controlling pests such as African giant rats, black rats, rufous-nosed rats, shaggy rats, and grass mice by making them their main preys. Ball pythons are best known for "balling" where they form a tight ball with their head in the center of their ball. Their name "royal python" thought to be derived from their past of being used as live jewelry for many African rulers. Pythons also show some parental care seeing as how they are one of the only reptiles that actually incubate their eggs by using muscle twitches that generate heat.
Pictures 14-15: These are some bearded dragons. Once again we had two, Plop and Toothless. Toothless was my favorite seeing as how his name was toothless. They usually are about 24 inches in length and in the wild live 7-8 years. However, in captivity, they can live up to 20 years. They live in dry and sparsely vegetated areas so food may be difficult to find. Their diets are typically 80% plant and 20% animals like crickets, roaches, locusts, silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, phoenix worms, and some small rodents. Animals such as fireflies that emit bioluminescence are toxic to bearded dragons.
Pictures 16-17: Chilean Flamingos typically live up to 50 years in the wild. They range between 4-6 lbs. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas. Flamingos eat algae, larval and adult forms all small insects, crustaceans, and small fish. The pink pigment of a flamingo comes from their diet that is high in alpha and beta carotenoid pigments. All flamingos feed with their bills upside-down. They tip their head into the water and filter feed by using their special hair like adaptations in the top half of their bill to gather the microorganisms that are in their diet. The word flamingo is derived from the Portuguese language meaning "red goose" which is in reference to their flying style formation and the noises they make. Flamingos also have their ankles where we would believe their knees would be.
Picture 18-19: This is a picture of our two-toed sloth. Basically two-toed sloths are slow-moving, solitary, forest-dwelling, nocturnal herbivores. Sloths are the worlds slowest moving mammals however this isn't due to laziness. since they are herbivores they don't have the energy required to move as much as other mammals. In fact these animals sleep about 15 hours a day and will only come down from the tree once a week in order to go to the restroom. Sloths have grooved hair that allows algae to grow there and they can then eat and also is helpful to camouflage them up in the trees. They have a very small muscle mass of only 25% and ways much less than animals its size. If the sloth is ever on the ground with a predator they will have to use their sharp claws and teeth as a defense. They are related to anteaters and armadillos.
Picture 20: This is a Geoffroy's Cat. In this picture she was only a couple weeks old. These cats are native to the southern and central regions of South America. They are smaller cats being close to the size of a domestic cat. Their fur helps them blend into their surroundings and seeing as how they are nocturnal animals this helps them survive in the wild. They eat mostly small mammals.
Pictures 21-25: These are pictures of our African Black-footed Penguin, Tuna. African Black-footed Penguins are warm weathered penguins and are found in southern Africa. These penguins are such great swimmers they can reach up to 15 mph. However on land they are very slow since their feet are set so far back on their body that they can only move about 2 mph. They will swim between 20-40 miles each hunting trip and will prey on a variety of fish and even squid. They have over 70 feathers per one square inch of their body that waterproof the penguin. Since penguins bones are not hollow they can not fly like other birds.
Picture 26: These are Eastern Box Turtles. Their names are Myrtle (the light one), Andrea (the dark one), and Patrice (the white one). They can live up to 50-80 years however in the present they don't typically surpass 25-35 years. They are found in pastures, marshy meadows, and flood lands throughout Eastern United States Mexico and Canada. They can eat insects, crayfish , slugs, snails, worms, amphibians, fish, lizards, carrion, berries, fruits, grasses, and leaves. Box Turtles are most famous for their hinged shell, which allows them to retract almost completely into their bony armor to hide from danger.
Pictures 1-2: This is Ralph, he is a Kenyan Sand Boa. They are typically between 50-90cm in length. They live in the desert in northern and southern Africa. They are usually nocturnal and will dig themselves under the sand however, they will hunt during the day as well. Their meals usually consist of small mammals, birds, and lizards. They will ambush their prey and constrict them or will take advantage of the sand and pull them under the surface and suffocate them. In captivity they tend to live around ten years.
Pictures 3-4: These are some three banded armadillos. We had seven armadillos we would work with throughout the summer. Their names were Tango, Arthur, Dozer, Eva, Joan, Kesha, and Ozzy. Three banded armadillos are capable of completely rolling themselves into a ball in order to defend themselves. As a trick instead of completely curling into a ball the armadillo will leave a small gap open so that if the predator puts anything in the gap the armadillo can quickly pinch together causing pain or even injury to the predator. Another defense is their ability to run super fast when they are threatened. They will eat large amounts of invertebrates, particularly beetle larvae. When searching for ants and termites the armadillo will probe the ground with their snouts or pry off tree back with their nails. These armadillos are mostly found in arid areas of Gran Chaco. Some interesting things about these armadillos are that their head plates are all different and unique to every armadillo just like out fingerprints. The shell is made out of keratin the same as our fingernails and hair. Their shell can break a dogs jaw when bitten. Also as seen in the pictures an armadillo has hairs on their underside that they use like cats use their whiskers. When they are curled up in their ball these hairs will stick out so the armadillos can feel their surroundings and tell when it is safe to come out. Armadillos are related to Sloths.
Picture 5: These are pictures of Quigley and Mel our Blue Tongue Skinks. These reptiles are about 1-2 feet in length and can live 8-10 years in the wild and up to 20 in captivity. Their blue tongue is a warning for their potential enemies to stay away and also to protect against UV light. Their diets are about 60% plant and 40% animal. They live in parts of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. One support important feature of these animals is their ability to cast off their tail in defense and can grow another one later. The cast off takes much time and gives the lizard time to escape.
Picture 6: This is a picture of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches (MHC). These cockroaches usually live about two years in the wild and about five in captivity. These insects are nocturnal and wingless and live in tropical forests of Madagascar. They can climb through the forest s using sticky pads and hooks they have on their limbs. As they grow they will molt and will usually eat their old exoskeleton to absorb the nutrients. MHC can not bite or string however, just like in their name, they can hiss by pushing air through spiracles (holes) in their abdomen making a sound that imitates that of a snake or large cat. MHC are scavengers. They are the "garbagemen" of the rainforest since they will eat dead or decaying material from the forest ground to allow plants to grow. They are very important in the production of chocolate and coffee.
Pictures 7-8: These pictures show Ruby our European legless lizard. They are about 2-3 feet in length and in captivity can live more than 25 years. They live in dry habitats such as brush steppes and open temperate forests of Southeastern Europe. AT our zoo the legless lizard eats mice, cooked chicken, and greens. While this reptile looks a lot like a snake their are many reasons are to why she is not. Some reasons is that they have moveable eyelids, snakes only have a scale covering their eye. Legless lizards have an external ear opening while snakes have a bone of the internal ear. Also they gave sharp cone like teeth unlike snakes shape backward pointing teeth. Unlike a snake their tails are very long and makes up 2/3 of its length while snakes have a short stubby tail. Also in the pictures are can see Ruby's lateral groove that lizards have. Where the lateral grove ends is where her hips are and where her legs would be if she had them. Another name for the European legless lizard is the glass lizard. Legend states that if one was to shakes a glass lizard it would break into many pieces, just like glass. While the legend is not completely true, when alarmed this lizard will shed its tail which can break onto many pieces. This is a way to confuse predator and give the lizard a chance to get away.
Pictures 9-13: These are picture of our Ball Pythons. Their were two that we would work with either Lucy or Monte. Lucy, being the female, was larger than Monte seeing as how females tend to be an average of 122-137 cm while males are only around 90-107 cm. They usually live around 20-25 years. Ball Pythons are found in grasslands and open forests of West and Central Africa and tend to be most active at dawn or dusk spending most other time in burrows. These reptiles use chemical and visual cues to hunt for their prey and will sit and wait to ambush their prey. They are Infrequent eaters and have adapted to this by having the capacity to regulate gastrointestinal functioning with feeding and fasting. They are crucial in controlling pests such as African giant rats, black rats, rufous-nosed rats, shaggy rats, and grass mice by making them their main preys. Ball pythons are best known for "balling" where they form a tight ball with their head in the center of their ball. Their name "royal python" thought to be derived from their past of being used as live jewelry for many African rulers. Pythons also show some parental care seeing as how they are one of the only reptiles that actually incubate their eggs by using muscle twitches that generate heat.
Pictures 14-15: These are some bearded dragons. Once again we had two, Plop and Toothless. Toothless was my favorite seeing as how his name was toothless. They usually are about 24 inches in length and in the wild live 7-8 years. However, in captivity, they can live up to 20 years. They live in dry and sparsely vegetated areas so food may be difficult to find. Their diets are typically 80% plant and 20% animals like crickets, roaches, locusts, silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, phoenix worms, and some small rodents. Animals such as fireflies that emit bioluminescence are toxic to bearded dragons.
Pictures 16-17: Chilean Flamingos typically live up to 50 years in the wild. They range between 4-6 lbs. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas. Flamingos eat algae, larval and adult forms all small insects, crustaceans, and small fish. The pink pigment of a flamingo comes from their diet that is high in alpha and beta carotenoid pigments. All flamingos feed with their bills upside-down. They tip their head into the water and filter feed by using their special hair like adaptations in the top half of their bill to gather the microorganisms that are in their diet. The word flamingo is derived from the Portuguese language meaning "red goose" which is in reference to their flying style formation and the noises they make. Flamingos also have their ankles where we would believe their knees would be.
Picture 18-19: This is a picture of our two-toed sloth. Basically two-toed sloths are slow-moving, solitary, forest-dwelling, nocturnal herbivores. Sloths are the worlds slowest moving mammals however this isn't due to laziness. since they are herbivores they don't have the energy required to move as much as other mammals. In fact these animals sleep about 15 hours a day and will only come down from the tree once a week in order to go to the restroom. Sloths have grooved hair that allows algae to grow there and they can then eat and also is helpful to camouflage them up in the trees. They have a very small muscle mass of only 25% and ways much less than animals its size. If the sloth is ever on the ground with a predator they will have to use their sharp claws and teeth as a defense. They are related to anteaters and armadillos.
Picture 20: This is a Geoffroy's Cat. In this picture she was only a couple weeks old. These cats are native to the southern and central regions of South America. They are smaller cats being close to the size of a domestic cat. Their fur helps them blend into their surroundings and seeing as how they are nocturnal animals this helps them survive in the wild. They eat mostly small mammals.
Pictures 21-25: These are pictures of our African Black-footed Penguin, Tuna. African Black-footed Penguins are warm weathered penguins and are found in southern Africa. These penguins are such great swimmers they can reach up to 15 mph. However on land they are very slow since their feet are set so far back on their body that they can only move about 2 mph. They will swim between 20-40 miles each hunting trip and will prey on a variety of fish and even squid. They have over 70 feathers per one square inch of their body that waterproof the penguin. Since penguins bones are not hollow they can not fly like other birds.
Picture 26: These are Eastern Box Turtles. Their names are Myrtle (the light one), Andrea (the dark one), and Patrice (the white one). They can live up to 50-80 years however in the present they don't typically surpass 25-35 years. They are found in pastures, marshy meadows, and flood lands throughout Eastern United States Mexico and Canada. They can eat insects, crayfish , slugs, snails, worms, amphibians, fish, lizards, carrion, berries, fruits, grasses, and leaves. Box Turtles are most famous for their hinged shell, which allows them to retract almost completely into their bony armor to hide from danger.