Fozblog

Tuesday Trivia Answer - Feathery Father Figures

If you answered "E" to this week's Tuesday Trivia you were correct. Within the animal kingdom, male rheas stand out as exceptional fathers because after mating with up to 12 females they scrape out a nest in which all the females lay eggs (up to 60 total!). Then, the males take responsibility for incubating the eggs and protecting the chicks once they hatch. Rheas are undeniably quite dedicated fathers.

While Rheas are native to the grassy plains of South America, you don't have to fly south of the equator to get a glipse of these praise-worthy birds. On your next trip to Dickerson Park Zoo, simply stop by the rhea exhibit in the South American region to see one of these fathers face-to-face.

In the picture, our male stands behind the female. His feathers are a little fluffier, his colors are a little bolder, and he's bigger.

Congratulations to Crystal Trahan from Buffalo whose name was drawn from those submitting the correct answer this week!

Play along again next week for your chance to win a pair of one-day admission passes! The Tuesday Trivia results were delayed this week because of all the excitement of the giraffe calf that was born here Tuesday afternoon. We were busy taking pictures! Hope you understand!

Crystal Trahan

Find This in the Zoo

Pictured is a painting of a white-throated toucan, which is located somewhere in the zoo. Here's your challenge: Find the painting in the zoo, replicate the picture and post it to our Facebook page by March 1. We'll draw the winner from the submissions for a $5 ZooBucks certificate.

Tuesday Trivia Answer - B

Which species of crane is the only crane to occasionally nest in trees?

b.East African crowned crane

Congratulations to this week’s winner – Luke Montgomery

East African Crowned Crane Facts

Scientific Name: Balearica regulorum gibbericeps

Range & Habitat: Open plains, marshlands and waterways of East and southern Africa

Size: About 3 feet tall

Life Span: Up to 28 years

Incubation: 28-31 days

Wild Diet: Seeds, grains, insects, mice, frogs, worms, snakes, fish and eggs of water animals

Zoo Diet: Mazuri crane diet

Habits: East African crowned cranes nest in the thick cover of marshes. It is the only crane to occasionally nest in trees.

Crowned cranes are known for their impressive mating dances that involve wing fluttering, head bobbing, leaps and bows, and they throw twigs and leaves into the air. Their scarlet chin wattle is used to make loud mating calls and can be heard miles away. Mate for life.

Feeding in open dry fields allows crowned cranes to stamp their feet and catch the insects that fly up. Generally, they travel with large mammals to feed on the insects stirred by their movement.

Tuesday Trivia

Which species of crane is the only crane to occasionally nest in trees?

a. Whooping crane

b. East African crowned crane

c. Blue crane

d. Demoiselle crane

E-mail your answer by Wednesday at midnight to trivia@dickersonparkzoo.org for a chance to win two admission passes to Dickerson Park Zoo. Remember to include your mailing address for your chance to win.

Check out FOZblog on Thursday for the correct answer and for more information about cranes.

Mute Swan Cygnets Update

Four mute swans hatched May 25 with three surviving. The cygnets live with their parents on Hamlin Lake in the South American region of Dickerson Park Zoo.

The cygnets will be fully mature by the end of October.

Come out to Dickerson Park Zoo soon to see these magnificent birds along with the rest of the animals.

Keeper Notes: Brr! It’s cold outside!

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

Tuesday Trivia Answer - C.

FACT SHEET
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.

 

Tuesday Trivia Answer - C. South America

FACTS ABOUT BLUE & YELLOW MACAWS

Scientific Name: Ara ararauna

Range & Habitat: Swampy areas and forests near rivers from most of northern and central South America to Argentina

Size: 34 inches

Life Span: Up to 60 years

Incubation: 24-26 days

Wild Diet: Seeds, fruit, nuts, berries and vegetation

Zoo Diet: Mazuri parrot grain, assorted fruits and vegetables

Habits: Nests are found high above the ground in hollow trees of dense forests. Their strong beaks are able to crush hard seeds and nuts. Young are fed by parents’ regurgitation of partially digested vegetable crop contents. Young macaws leave the nest 13 weeks after hatching. Macaws are generally seen in pairs or small flocks of up to 30 birds. Screaming is used to mark territories, locate other macaws and play.

Outdoor "decorations" for wildlife

Contributed by Pam Herd, Director of Conservation Education

As we begin decorating for the holidays, here are some suggestions for you to consider.

Synopsis
"Night Tree" tells the story of an unusual family tradition. As the brilliant moonlight illuminates the path through the forest, this family makes their seasonal journey to decorate their favorite evergreen with popcorn and cranberry ropes, slices of fruit and sunflower-seed ornaments as a present for the living creatures of the woods.

Use wildlife crafts as a way to create your own family traditions, keep young holiday guests busy and provide food for our wild friends.

Wild Bird Fruit Kabobs
You will need various fruits or fall vegetables (apples, oranges, pears, grapes, berries, squash or pumpkin) and string, twine an old wire hanger or other flexible wire. Slice larger fruits into manageable sizes and poke a hole in the center of each piece.

If you're using string or twine, tie a knot in one end of a 3- to 4-foot long piece. Thread the fruit and vegetables onto the string and hang it from a tree branch.

If you're using a wire hanger or other type of wire, simply thread the wire through the food. Bend the open end around to secure the food and hang. (The hook of the hanger makes an easy way to hang the kabob on a limb.)

Popcorn and Cranberry Rope
You will need popcorn, cranberries, thread and a blunt-tip needle. Cut a piece of thread to your desired length. Using the needle, string the popcorn and cranberries onto the thread. Knot the ends and drape the rope on a tree.

You'll find ideas for other wildlife crafts such as pine cone bird feeders, natural bird seed wreaths and gelatin bird seed wreaths.

Golden eagle takes flight after rehab at DPZ

With anxious onlookers representing Dickerson Park Zoo, the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, Missouri Department of Conservation and the general public watching, a golden eagle took flight back into the wild after a month and a half rehab stop-over at the zoo's raptor rehabilitation center.

Zoo staff veterinarian Erica Wilson, DVM, opened the kennel, and the eagle - a rare site in Missouri - took off and never looked back.

The bird was injured and brought to Dickerson Park Zoo by residents of Dallas County. Fortunately, the injury - a broken wing tip - did not require surgery.

Golden eagles are rarely seen in Missouri. Their typical range is the western United States. More commonly during winter months, reisdents will see bald eagles roosting near waterways.

For more about golden eagles in Missouri, visit Missouri Department of Conservation's Web site.

Zoo staff selected Lake Springfield as the release site for the eagle because MDC and Parks staff regularly monitor eagles roosting here.

  In this image, note the characteristic golden feathers on the back of the head. As the bird looked around this morning, the golden coloring caught the sunlight.