Fozblog

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.

 

The Tuesday Trivia Season Finale

This will be the final "Tuesday Trivia" of the year. "Tuesday Trivia" will make its comeback in Spring 2010.

E-mail your answer and mailing address to trivia@dickersonparkzoo.org by midnight tonight for a chance to receive two free admission passes to Dickerson Park Zoo!

Check out FOZblog.org tomorrow for the correct answer and more information on this week's animal.

This brightly-colored bird was once thought to be two separate species, due to extreme color differences between the males and females.

a. scarlet macaw
b. toucan
c. eclectus parrot
d. emu

Tuesday Trivia Answer - True

FACT SHEET
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.

Tuesday Trivia

Today's "Tuesday Trivia" animal is the largest cat native to the United States, and can be found in the "Missouri Habitats" exhibits.

E-mail your answer and mailing address to trivia@dickersonparkzoo.org by midnight tonight for a chance to receive two free admission passes to Dickerson Park Zoo.

Check out FOZblog.org tomorrow for the correct answer and more information on this week's animal.

True or False: Mountain lions cannot roar.

Tuesday Trivia--False

Zookeeper Patti Rader feeds Dickerson Park Zoo's kangaroos their zoo diet.

FACT SHEET
RED KANGAROO

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

Tuesday Trivia

This week, "Tuesday Trivia" comes from "the land down under."

E-mail your answer and mailing address to trivia@dickersonparkzoo.org by midnight tonight for a chance to receive two free admission passes to Dickerson Park Zoo!

Check out FOZblog.org tomorrow for the correct answer and more information on this week's animal.

True or False: Following birth, red kangaroo young, or joeys, spend their first nine months in the pouch before emerging. 

Tuesday Trivia Answer - C. Green Anaconda

FACTS ABOUT
GREEN ANACONDAS

Scientific Name: Eunectes murinus

Range & Habitat: Tropical streams and rivers in South America. Range from east of the Andes and south to Bolivia

Size: 18-20 feet long

Life Span: Up to 28 years in captivity

Gestation: 182-288 days; up to 20-40, or sometimes up to 100 live young

Wild Diet: Fish, birds, mammals and other reptiles, including small caimans and crocodiles.

Zoo Diet: Chicken and rats

Habits: Green Anacondas are often regarded as the largest snake.  While the Asian Reticulated Python may reach similar lengths, anacondas will weigh significantly more.

Anacondas are excellent swimmers and often use shallow waters to escape predators and to stalk prey along the water’s edge.  They are sometimes known as the water boa, because they are seldom found far from the streams or swamps.

They vary in color from olive to grey-green or brown-green, with oval-shaped black spots.

Tuesday Trivia

This week for "Tuesday Trivia", we are heading to the Ambler Diversity of Life building. 

E-mail your answer and mailing address to trivia@dickersonparkzoo.org by midnight tonight for a chance to win two free admission passes to Dickerson Park Zoo.

Check out FOZblog.org tomorrow for the correct answer and more information on this week’s animal.

The _______ is regarded as the heaviest snake in the world.
a. bullsnake
b. black mamba
c. green anaconda
d. Burmese python

Tuesday Trivia Answer - True!

FACT SHEET
NORTH AMERICAN BLACK BEAR

Scientific Name: Ursus americanus

Range & Habitat: Alaska, Canada, United States, and northern Mexico, mainly in forests, wooded areas and swamps

Size: 4 1/2-5 feet in length, 2-3 feet tall at shoulder; males weigh 255-600 pounds, females weigh 200-310 pounds

Life Span: Approximately 26 years in captivity

Gestation: Approximately 200 days; 2-3 young born during the winter

Wild Diet: 75% (95%) vegetable matter; also insects, fish, rodents, carrion and will occasionally kill animals

Zoo Diet: Carnivore diet, Natural Balance and omnivore diet, carrots, apple, sweet potatoes, greens, grapes, hard-boiled eggs, smelt, herring and mackerel

Habits: Females bear young every other year. Cubs weigh approximately one-half pound at birth.

Black bears vary in their coloration from black to dark blue-gray to brown. They can run, climb, and swim well.

Bears enter dens in the fall for winter sleep but do not hibernate; their pulse and body temperature remain constant. They may awaken and come out for short periods during warm winter days.

Primarily solitary and nocturnal but may be seen at any time of day.

Their claws are nonretractable, and a single hit from a bear’s paw can kill another animal.

Click here to view a video about the black bear from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

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.