Fozblog

A tale of a lemur tail

A friendly face has returned to the lemur island at Dickerson Park Zoo -- "Charlie," a black and white ruffed lemur. Lemurs like Charlie use their long tails to help them move about the trees they naturally dwell in.

How long are black and white ruffed lemurs’ tails?
a) 12’’-16’’
b) 18’’-22’’
c) 23’’-26’’
d) 36’’-40’’

E-mail your answer by Wednesday at noon 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 Wednesday for the correct answer and for more information about lemurs.

Tuesday Trivia Answer - Cheetah!

If you guessed that cheetahs are the fastest land mammal, you are correct! (Or, maybe you already knew this!) Cheetahs can reach speeds up to 70 miles per hour over short distances and can reach 45 miles per hour in two seconds.

They have non-retractable claws on all four feet (more dog-like than cat-like). Only one claw on each foot - the dew claw - is sharp. The dew claw never touches the ground and is used to knock down prey.

Cheetahs have few means of defense, and unfortunately, this often means their hard work chasing and capturing prey results in a "steal" by a more aggressive carnivore (lion, hyena or leopard) or vultures - who watch the action from high in the sky and swoop down in an attempt to scare off the cheetah.

Congratulations to Nicole Backerman from Carthage whose name was drawn for those submitting the correct answer this week!

We had a huge response this week to our Tuesday Trivia question. Play along again next week for your chance to win a pair of one-day admission passes!

Tuesday Trivia Answer - C

The Hearld & Marge Ambler Diversity of Life exhibit building is celebrating an anniversary this month. This popular exhibit building, home to Dickerson Park Zoo's reptiles and amphibians, opened in April of what year?

C. 2001

The Hearld & Marge Ambler Diversity of Life exhibit opened April 2001. It is home to biodiversity from three areas of the world: Deserts & Dry Places, Under the Canopy -- Rainforest Life and The Ozarks. Among the exhibits are multiple species of reptiles, amphibians and insects, both venomous and nonvenomous.

When the Ambler Diversity of Life building opened, it became a new home for the reptiles and amphibians previously  seen in Swinea Hall (which was closed in June 1998 becasue of safety concerns). Swinea Hall, we believe, was built in 1875 by Joseph Gott as part of the estate that became Dickerson Park Zoo in 1922.

Tuesday Trivia Answer - True

True or False: Black and white ruffed lemurs are native to the rainforests of eastern Madagascar.

True

Congratulations to this week's winner - Randall Wheeler!

Black and White Ruffed Lemurs Facts

Scientific Name: Lemur variegatus

Range & Habitat: Rainforests of eastern Madagascar.

Size: Approximately 23 inches in length; weighs 8 ½-11 lbs.

Life Span: About 14 years

Gestation: Almost 100 days; 2-3 young (about 30% twins, 30% triplets)

Wild Diet: Fruits, leaves, bark, nectar and seeds

Zoo Diet: Leaf eater biscuits, assorted fruit and vegetables

Habits: They live in families of 2-5 animals.

Black and white ruffed lemurs like to sunbathe in the early morning and rest during the hottest part of the day. They are most active at dusk and dawn.

Lemurs are agile leapers and climbers with prehensile hands. They are rarely found on the ground. 

Female lemurs make nests in holes in trees or in the forks of branches and line them with their own fur, which they pull from their flanks or thighs. Their fur is thick and woolly to provide protection from heavy rain.

Tuesday Trivia

E-mail your answer by tomorrow, Wednesday, at noon 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.

True or False: Black and white ruffed lemurs are native to the rainforests of eastern Madagascar.

Check out FOZblog on Wednesday for the correct answer and for more information about black and white ruffed lemurs.

Tuesday Trivia Answer - C

A Malayan tiger remains with its mother for _____ months after birth?

C. 18

Congratulations to this week's winner - Angela Grogan!

Malayan Tiger Facts

Scientific Name: Panthera tigris jacksoni

Range & Habitat: Forests of Southeast Asia

Size: Females average about 250 pounds and males about 350-400 pounds. Total length including tail ranges from 7½ to almost 9½ feet.

Life Span: About 15 years; up to 20 in captivity

Gestation: 103 days, 3-4 cubs

Wild Diet:Primarily deer, antelope and wild pig but also larger animals like buffalo and smaller prey such as monkeys

Zoo Diet: Carnivore diet and bones

Habits: Tigers move well on land, but are also good swimmers and may bathe or sit in the water to cool off. The stripes are effective camouflage in a grassland or brush forest environment, and also break the outline of the body on simpler backgrounds.

In the wild, tigers are generally solitary animals. Cubs remain completely dependant on their mothers for at least 18 months. Females will allow cubs to precede them at a kill.

Status:The Malayan tiger is one of five surviving tiger subspecies. There are approximately 1,000-1,800 in the wild today. There are around 60 living in zoos throughout Asia and the United States.

Where is it in the zoo?

This week's "Where is it in the zoo?" is slightly more difficult than previous weeks because our readers are so good at recognizing items in the zoo.

Where is this frog?

Poison Dart Frogs

Approximately 175 species of poison dart frogs exist, and each species ranges in color and size. Poison dart frogs secrete a skin toxin as a defense against predators. The degree of toxicity varies from one posion frog species to another.

 
 

Fun Facts - Malayan Tiger

Malayan Tiger

• A tiger may travel up to 20 miles a night in search of prey.
• One out of every 10,000 tigers will lack the orange coloring. These white tigers are not albinos; they simply express a recessive gene.
• Each tiger has its very own stripe pattern. Researches who observe tigers can identify individuals by their unique stripes.
• Along with lions, tigers are the largest cats in the world. But, unlike lions, tigers are typically solitary, unless it is a female with her cubs.
• The white sports on the back of tigers ears may be used to visually cue ambush members or a means of tracking cubs.
• Some cats do like water -- and tigers are among them! On a hot, steamy day in the Asian forest (and here at Dickerson Park Zoo!), tigers will take to the river to cool off. In colder climates, they enjoy snow.

Tuesday Trivia Answer - C

Cotton-top Tamarin

Scientific Name: Saguinus oedipus

Range & Habitat: Lowland evergreen forests of Colombia and Panama in northwest South  America

Size: 8 –9½ inches long with a 13-16” tail and a weight of nearly 1 pound.

Life Span: Up to 13½ years

Gestation: 140 days

Wild Diet: Fruit, seeds, greens, insects, small vertebrates and bird eggs

Zoo Diet: New World Primate Diet, assorted fruits, crickets, canned marmoset diet and vegetables

Habits: At home in the rainforest trees, cotton-top tamarins are active during daylight hours. They live in groups called troops, averaging 10-12 individuals.

Only one male-female pair breeds in each troop, and four out of five births are twins. The female carries her infants for 1-2 weeks before letting the male take over the task. From this point, the “helper” system kicks in and the males and siblings carry the very young.

Living totally in the treetops, they use their claws for climbing and are excellent jumpers.

Status: Due to its high popularity, the cotton-top has been very threatened by the pet trade.  It has also been threatened by use in biomedical laboratory research facilities.