Frequent visitors to Dickerson Park Zoo probably know that
we have giraffe babies about every other year. Some lucky guests have probably
even witnessed a birth, but have you ever wondered what we have to do when the
babies are born in the winter? Two of our females are going to have babies this
winter, and our staff is getting ready!
Our giraffes stay in the barn when it is below 32 degrees
outside at night. We don’t want babies to be welcomed into the world on hard
concrete, so we haul in about one cubic yard of dirt into a stall (one
wheelbarrow load at a time!). The dirt is spread evenly throughout the stall.
The expectant mother stays in that stall each night until
the baby is born. Depending on what the weather is like during the day, the
mother and calf might have to stay inside for a few days. If it is warm enough,
we will let them go outside. It usually takes the calf a little while to figure
out how to get outside. Mom makes frequent trips back in the building to check
on her calf and to try to get it to follow her.
Winter babies are definitely more work for the zookeepers, but it is always exciting to walk in the building first thing in the morning and see a new face staring at you!
Written by Andrea Kendrick, Zookeeper
Of course, we’re used to this type of weather, living in southwest Missouri. However, some animals living at the Dickerson Park Zoo can’t tolerate these frigid temperatures like native Missouri animals. In these frosty conditions, the zoo’s animals spend their time inside to ride out the winter in warmth and comfort.
In these long winter months it is important that the keepers at Dickerson Park Zoo provide enrichment for each animal they take care off. Enrichment is basically an attempt to improve the quality of an animal’s life. This is accomplished by offering stimulants to the animal which draw out species-appropriate behaviors. Enrichment items are usually geared towards the five senses: hearing, taste, touch, sight and smell and vary from species to species.
In the South America portion of Dickerson Park Zoo, the capuchin monkeys are given enrichment items multiple times per day. These items provoke such behaviors as foraging for food, manipulating objects and moving throughout the environment.
On one particularly snowy day, the capuchins were given “snowmen” decorated with food items from their diet with additional food items hidden inside. They really enjoyed this enrichment because it provided them with many sense-altering stimulants. The cold, wet snow provided the capuchins with an interesting medium in which to forage. Three snowmen were built to discourage food aggression among the capuchins. The capuchins promptly smashed and destroyed the snowmen in the exciting hunt for food.
Many of the exotic parrots and macaws at the zoo also spend some of the winter indoors. In the wild, parrots and macaws spend much of their time preening their feathers and chewing objects to condition their beaks. To simulate these natural behaviors, the parrots and macaws at Dickerson Park Zoo are given bird toys that encourage such behaviors. The toys in the pictures were constructed out of rope, colored wooded blocks, recycled paper cups and pages torn from an old phone book. The birds took great interest in these toys, shredding the paper into little bits (simulating preening) and chewing the wood to condition their beaks.
Snowmen and bird toys are just a few examples of enrichment items given to zoo animals. Keep updated with FOZBlog to hear more about other enrichment provided to other animals at the zoo!
written by Jamie Schmitt, Zookeeper
ECLECTUS PARROT
Scientific Name: Eclectus roratus
Range & Habitat: Found in semi-tropical and tropical rainforests of Southern Moluccas, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and parts of Australia
Size: 14 inches
Life Span: 30-35 years
Incubation: 30 days; 2 eggs
Wild Diet: Fruit, nuts, seeds, berries, leaf buds, blossoms and nectar
Zoo Diet: Mazuri parrot grain, assorted fruits and vegetables
Habits: These birds are strong flyers. The males typically fly in front of the females. On long flights they go rather slowly with full, deliberate wing beats, interspersed with brief periods of gliding.
Nests are attended by groups of seven or eight birds of both sexes. The nest is high up in a hole in the trunk of a tall tree which is located near the edge of the forest. The nesting female is fed frequently by the male.
The females are brightly colored red and deep purple; males are bright emerald green.
They have an excellent ability to mimic human speech and are highly vocal.
MOUNTAIN LION
Scientific Name: Felis concolor
Range & Habitat: Forests, mountains, swamps and dry scrubs of Canada, Western United States, Central and South America
Size: Weigh 80-200 pounds with a total length of 6- 8 ½ feet
Life Span: 12-18 years; over 20 in captivity
Gestation: 90-96 days; 3-4 young
Wild Diet: Small rodents, rabbits, deer, elk and other large animals
Zoo Diet: Carnivore diet, rats, mice, hard boiled eggs, bones
Habits: The mountain lion is also known as the cougar or puma.
Mountain lions are large, powerful cats with muscular limbs and large feet. Their tails are long, cylindrical, and about one-third of the animal’s total length. They can leap up to 20 feet in a single jump.
They are typically a solitary animal, with the exception of mothers and their young. Abundant prey allows cats to survive in smaller areas. Where ranges overlap, mountain lions rarely use the same localities at the same time. They advertise land occupancy largely by the depositing of urine, feces, and making scrapes on the ground.
Make many sounds, including a humanlike scream when courting, but cannot roar. Males and females pair only during breeding seasons. Litters range from 1-6 spotted cubs.
Status: Absent from Missouri for decades, sightings in the Ozarks have been increasing in recent years where deer, their primary prey, are abundant.
Missouri Department of Conservation's Mountain Lions in Missouri Web site.
Zookeeper Patti Rader feeds Dickerson Park Zoo's kangaroos their zoo diet.
Scientific Name: Megaleia rufa
Range & Habitat: Australia; plains and open forest country
Size: 6-8 feet; may weigh up to 200 lbs.
Life Span: 15-20 years
Gestation: 35 days
Wild Diet: Grasses and succulent plants
Zoo Diet: Mazuri kangaroo diet, apples, carrots, lettuce, alfalfa hay and sweet potatoes
Habits: The giant red kangaroo is the largest member of a group of pouched mammals in the order Marsupialia. They live in groups called mobs, traveling great distances with no fixed homes. The males, called boomers, are larger and redder in color than the females, called flyers.
At birth, the young joeys are less than an inch long, naked and blind, and weigh about an ounce. Immediately after birth the joey finds its way to the pouch where it lives for the next four to six months.
The kangaroo's normal rate of travel is 5-10 mph, but can reach speeds of up to 30 mph. The broad, heavy tail is used as a prop when sitting or moving slowly to give impetus to hops, and it gives balance and control to the body during flight. Kangaroos enjoy "boxing" matches with each other and will balance on the tail while boxing and kicking. If cornered or frightened, the kangaroo will balance on the tail and kick with both feet in an effort to kill or injure the attacker.
Status: Threatened
