The San Diego Zoo: Where the Wild Things are

Maya O’Connor, an educator at the San Diego Zoo, and Rogelio, a thick-billed parrot, show off their skills and the relationship needed to be successful conservation ambassadors. Ms. O’Connor spends time with Rogelio practicing skills such as bowing and going into a crate for safe traveling in preparation for one of the many education programs.

Did you know that an adult sugar glider can glide up to 200 feet? That’s a pretty far distance for a marsupial. We also learned that if our eyes were as big as theirs, then our eyes would be about the size of grapefruits. Can you imagine?

Even though sugar gliders are incredibly cute, Ms. O’Connor tells us that these are “not the best pets in the entire world.” Sugar gliders sleep all day, eat a very special diet, and live in harems with at least ten other sugar gliders, a big responsibility for those wishing to house this cute animal.

The three-banded armadillo, native to South America, eats ants and other grubs in the wild. At the Zoo, they are fed a protein mixture about the consistency of Cream of Wheat, which they lick with their five-inch-long tongues. These animals have the ability to roll up into a ball to protect themselves. When they aren’t all rolled up, they tip-toe around on their long nails.

The interns and I were surprised that Ms. O’Connor could identify the Zoo’s giraffes by the thickness and shape of their spots. Like human fingerprints, all giraffe patterns are unique to each individual animal.

Elephant Odyssey, regarded as a living museum, does not house prehistoric mammoths or saber-tooth cats, but hopes to further their understanding of by housing their modern-day counterpart. At the Elephant Care Center, elephants regularly receive foor treatments, a true necessity for a seven ton creature who stands most of the time.

This male elephant entertains himself with his multi-purpose tree designed by the keepers themselves. The utilitree is equipped with heating for the winter, misters for the summer, shade, toys, back scratching, and food.

As we drive by this animal on our cart, I asked Ms. O’Connor if it was a llama or an alpaca. (It was a llama.) You might be surprised to learn that there are four animals that can be confused as a “llama.” First there’s a true, domesticated llama. Second is the domesticated alpaca. Third is the wild llama, called a guanaco, and the last is the wild alpaca called a vicuña. It’s amazing that animals that look similar sometimes are completely different species!

Ms. O’Connor took us behind the scenes to meet the Bactrian camels and to feed them celery. Using its prehensile lips, the camel was able to grab the celery off of intern Chris’ hand without using her teeth.