To coincide with a recent video interview for the San Diego Zoo’s Web site, I was asked to write an update on what’s been going on with my “string” (what we call the area/animals in our charge).
Red River Hogs:
Everyone is doing well (see One Pig, Happy Family). Jabari is now nearly nine months old and continues to flourish. He hardly resembles the tiny, striped little creature that could barely crawl into my lap. Our construction team is currently working tirelessly on building a permanent pool for the hogs to enjoy wallowing in during the hot summer months.
Okapis:
Baby Sekele, now seven months old, is doing very well, weighing in at a respectable 350 pounds or 159 kilograms (see New Okapi: Shh…It’s a Secret). His training is coming along slowly but surely. Sekele is already way ahead of the bar set by his older sister, Sukari. She has a big trip coming up; she will be moving to San Antonio in early February. The okapis’ exhibit-mates, duikers Luke and Mae, are doing very well.
River Hippos:
Funani and Otis continue to get along famously (see Hippos: Big Love). Ever since their reintroduction, they have been inseparable. We have witnessed them breeding many times, but so far they have not been successful in conceiving. We will continue to monitor Funani’s fecal hormone levels so that we can be certain if and when Funani does get pregnant.
Red Panda:
Julong is easy to miss—he lives right across the road from his more popular cousins, the giant pandas (see Little Red Panda). He spends most of the day sleeping, and is often hard to spot. If you happen to catch him during a moment of activity, it is well worth it. He is absolutely adorable, and if you see his face, it’s easy to tell that he is actually more closely related to the raccoon than to the giant panda. Julong is getting on in years. The average lifespan for red pandas in zoos is roughly 14 years (8 to 10 years in the wild), and Julong is about 11 years old. He has had some health problems, but we continue to watch him closely and adapt his enclosure to his changing needs. Most recently, in response to Julong’s poor eyesight and difficulty balancing, we put up some flat wooden planks (as opposed to rounded tree branches) to help him get from platform to platform.
Malayan Tapir:
The most recent addition to the area I work in is Chantek, a 26-year-old Malayan tapir (see Tapir Tales). She wasn’t getting along with her cohabitants in Tiger River, so she is currently residing in the hippo barn until a more suitable enclosure can be constructed for her. Chantek is doing very well and pays little heed to her large, boisterous neighbors. Otis, however, is rather intrigued by his new neighbor.
Well, that’s all the news for now. As you can tell, things at the San Diego Zoo are always changing, and the life of a keeper is never dull!
Nate Schierman is a keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
Watch Nate’s video…
Thank you for all the updates Nate. Sounds like there is never a dull day at SDZ!
Thanks for the update. I enjoyed the video too. Crossing my fingers for a baby hippo.
Loved reading all the details in this update. Will the zoo be getting any more red pandas?
Moderator’s note: We do have some red pandas in our Children’s Zoo.
I attended a sunrise surprise stroll this morning and I got to see Julong’s little face. He is adorable. I will definitely look for him on my next visit.
Thanks Nate. Sounds like these animals keep you “hopping.”
Thanks for the tales of the animals you keep up with Nate!
Thanks Nate! And I loved your video about the hippos and okapis, which are one of my favorite animals. I had no idea they have a greasy coat since they live in the rainforest, and it made me giggle when she obviously loved you cleaning out her ear. Thanks for sharing with us!
Moderator’s note: Wasn’t that fun to watch? I loved it, too!
Thank you Nate for these stories. Very interesting!!!! Hoping for a baby hippo soon.
I’ll miss Sukari-Adaka. She was in all of my okapi dreams.
Just in case you guys were missing Jabba, here he is getting some (keeper) lovin’. I think he has gone Hollywood the way he is mugging for the camera. We miss you Otis!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et22cpQYigM
Moderator’s note: Thanks for sharing, deb!
Thank you SO much for this Deb. I miss Jabba very much, but it’s good to see how happy he is.
Thanks for the blog, Nate! My girlfriend and I had the pleasure of meeting you when visiting the zoo back in the January and got to see the behind-the-scenes hippo enclosure. Keep up the great work with the hippos! Funani and Otis are the main reason we come to the zoo
How many red pandas have been born at the San Diego Zoo? When was the last red panda born at our zoo? Have you ever considered building a red panda enclosure at the Wild Animal Park? Perhaps more room would encourage an improved red panda birth rate.
Animal Care Staff responds: Thank you for your interest. We have only had one surviving youngster, Farley, within the last 10 years. He was featured in a National Geographic program. We are getting a young breeding pair for the Zoo’s Children’s Zoo. The last few pairs we have had were over 10 years old, and red pandas do not usually breed past 10 years of age. We did have red pandas at the Safari Park (formerly known as the Wild Animal Park), but the temperatures get too warm for them. The Children’s Zoo will be hosting an International Red Panda Day on September 25. We give money each year to saving red panda habitat in the wild through the Red Panda Network.
So is Funani pregnant???
Moderator’s note: Nate promises to update us all in a few weeks.