Fozblog

Tuesday Trivia Answer - Think Green

If you answered, C) Emerald tree boa, you are correct.The green tree python and emerald tree boa are a great example of parallel evolution. The green tree python looks and acts much like its South American relative, the emerald tree boa. However, the resemblance in appearance and behavior are nearly all the two have in common. Boas bear live young, while python species are oviparous. This means that they lay eggs that hatch outside of the body.

Green tree pythons spend much of their time coiled around branches, situated so that their head lies right in the middle of their coils, similar to a saddle laying over a branch. The vivid emerald green coloration and disruptive pattern of spots and stripes provides camouflage for these highly arboreal snakes as they rest or move through the dense vegetation in the trees.

When resting, they are virtually invisible – a useful adaptation for these patient predators. Green tree pythons hunt for small mammals, reptiles and birds.

 

Congratulations to Nikki B., in Buffalo, whose name was selected from the correct answers.

Tuesday Trivia - Think Green

Green Tree Python

Green tree pythons live in Papua, New Guinea, northern Australia and Indonesia. They live in tropical rainforests, monsoon forests, dense thickets of bamboo or vines and forest margins that contain bushes and shrubs. Newborn green tree pythons are bright yellow, orange or brick red and do not develop green coloring for 6-8 months. Adults are bright green with white or yellow underbellies. They have a white or light blue vertical stripe along the body, and white or yellow lips, chin and throat.

What other snake looks and behaves like a green tree python?

A) Rough green snake
B) Green mamba
C) Emerald tree boa

Email your answer to trivia@dickersonparkzoo.org by Wednesday at noon for your chance to win a pair of one day passes to Dickerson Park Zoo! Remember to include your mailing address in the email for your chance to win.

Visit FOZblog on Wednesday for the correct answer and more information about our green friend.

One submission per mailing address. And, we ask that each family submit only one answer, even if you are submitting answers with different email and mailing addresses.

Tuesday Trivia Answer - Spring Forward!

For last week's Tuesday Trivia question, if you answered B) By waving their hands and feet, you are correct. Like many humans who lack the ability to hear, golden frogs use a form of sign language, called semaphore, to signal to one another. They "wave" their hands or raise and move their feet to defend territory, try to attract a mate, or even to greet one another. While they do some vocalizing, they actually have no external ears with which to hear! Researchers continue to study and learn more about this unique method of frog communication.

The Panamanian golden frog averages about 2 inches in size, but their brightly colored skin warns predators that they are toxic and would be dangerous to eat. They are native to the wet rain forests and dry cloud forests in the Cordilleran Mountains of Panama. Sadly, they are listed as critically endangered, and may actually be extinct now in the wild.

There is still hope for the Panamanian golden frog with continued efforts to protect and preserve golden frog habitat through breeding programs in zoos and aquariums.

Congratulations to Cassi J., in Lamar, whose name was selected from the correct answers. Visit FOZBlog next week to play along with Tuesday Trivia!

Tuesday (Wednesday) Trivia - Spring Forward!

Panamanian Golden Frog

March 10 marked the start of daylight saving time, causing us all to “spring forward.” Who else likes to spring forward? Frogs!

Dickerson Park Zoo is home to two Panamanian golden frogs. These frogs are known for their light yellowish green to bright golden skin and usually have one to several black markings on their backs and legs.

How do Panamanian Golden Frogs communicate with each other?

A) By making a whistling sound
B) By waving their hands and feet
C) By making a deep croaking sound

Email your answer to trivia@dickersonparkzoo.org by Thursday at noon for your chance to win a pair of one day passes to Dickerson Park Zoo! Remember to include your mailing address in the email for your chance to win.

Visit FOZblog on Wednesday for the correct answer and more information about our amphibian friend.

One submission per mailing address. And, we ask that each family submit only one answer and not submit answers with different email and mailing addresses.

Tuesday Trivia Answer - An EGGS-citing Question

If you answered D. Alligators have wide, rounded snouts while crocodiles have longer, more pointed snouts to this week's trivia question, you are correct! The American alligator has nostrils on top of its snout to allow for easy breathing when hunting their prey underwater.

The American alligator's mouth is also useful when caring for their young, an unusual trait among reptiles. After mating, the female alligator will build a nest up to seven feet in diameter for her eggs. Alligators, as with most crocodilians, have no sex chromosomes. Instead, the sex of the babies are determined by the temperature of the nest. Hatchlings in a nest below 86 degrees Fahrenheit will produce all females while a nest above 93 degrees Fahrenheit will produce all males. If the nest is between 86 and 93 degrees, the nest will produce both males and females.

After the 10-week incubation period, the American alligator will carry her young to the water using her mouth. In some species of crocodilian, the mother will even tell her young to swim into her mouth for protection if a predator lurks too close. The mother alligator will stay with her young through the first year or longer until they are able to protect themselves in the wild.

Congratulations to April Foshe from Springfield, Mo., whose name was randomly drawn from those submitting the correct answer this week!

Play along again next week for your chance to win a pair of one-day passes to Dickerson Park Zoo!

Bonus: Click the bar below to hear Dickerson Park Zoo's American alligators hissing!

American Alligator

 

 

Tuesday Trivia - An EGGS-citing Question

In honor of Saturday's exciting Enrichment EGGstravaganza, this week's Tuesday Trivia will feature an egg-laying zoo animal - the American alligator.

The American alligator can look pretty scary with its rough, scaled body and sharp, toothy grin. But, how can you be sure you are looking at an alligator? Alligators and crocodiles can easily be mistaken due to their similar appearance. However, there are a few key characteristics to look for in determining between an alligator and a crocodile.

Which of the following is a difference between the American alligator and the crocodile?
A. An alligator has 2,000-3,000 teeth during its lifetime. A crocodile has between 3,000-4,000 teeth in its lifetime.
B. Alligators lay between three and five eggs per nesting while crocodiles lay between eight and 10.
C. Alligators are herbivores. Crocodiles are carnivores.
D. Alligators have wide, rounded snouts while crocodiles have longer, more pointed snouts.

Email your answer to trivia@dickersonparkzoo.org by Wednesday at noon for your chance to win a pair of one-day admission passes to Dickerson Park Zoo. Remember to include your mailing address for your chance to win.

Check our FOZblog on Wednesday for the correct answer and to learn more about the American alligator.

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 - 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.

Where is it in the zoo?

This lizard is located somewhere in the zoo and can be easily overlooked. Where is it in the zoo? 

Tuesday Trivia Answer - D

A group of timber rattlesnakes is called a D. rhumba.

Congratulations to this week’s winner – Amy Szura

Timber Rattlesnake Facts

Scientific Name: Crotalus horridus horridus

Range & Habitat: Parts of central, northern, and northeastern United States; rocky wooded hillsides above stream valleys

Size: Average length 36-54 inches

Life Span: Estimated 25 years in the wild

Gestation: 150-170 days; bears 10-20 live young

Wild Diet: Rodents and birds

Zoo Diet: Rats

Habits: Timber rattlesnakes are venomous and have long hollow venom-injecting fangs. They bear live venomous young. During the winter they congregate in dens to hibernate with copperheads and other snakes.

They are also called "banded" or "velvet-tail." They are pit vipers. Their rattles break off frequently and cannot be used to determine the age of the snake.

Rattlesnakes hunt at night, seeking their prey with the aid of heat-sensitive pits located in front of their eyes. These specialized organs are sensitive enough to detect temperature changes as small as 1/1000F.

They are no longer common over much of the Ozarks; it is the only rattlesnake in most of the northeast.