Fozblog

Tuesday Trivia - Hungry Hippos

If you’ve visited Dickerson Park Zoo any time in the past 30 years you’ve likely seen one of the zoo’s most famous residents, Henry the hippo. This week Dickerson Park Zoo is celebrating Henry’s 30th birthday during the annual Pancakes in the Park event. Since Henry can’t eat birthday cake, you may wonder what he would normally eat in the wild.

Which food(s) do hippopotamuses eat in the wild?
A. Grass
B. Small fish
C. Aquatic plants
D. B and C only
E. A and C only

Email your answer by Thursday 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 Thursday for the correct answer and for more information about hippopotamuses.

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 - The Ambler Diversity of Life Building

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?
A. 1991
B. 1996
C. 2001
D. 2006

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.

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

Tuesday Trivia

After a bit of vacation, Tuesday Trivia returns this week.

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 elephants.

True or False: Elephants flap their ears to help cool their bodies.

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--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