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About Author: Todd Speis

Posts by Todd Speis

3

Snow Leopards: Love At Second Sight?

By
Todd Speis
– April 24, 2012Posted in: Animals and Plants, Cats, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Uncategorized

Beau needed some romantic persuasion from Anna.

Early this year we received a new snow leopard male, Beauregard, with the hopes of introducing him to our female, Anna (see post A New Snow Leopard Beau). The couple and updates on the pair’s status have been the hot topic on Big Cat Trail at the San Diego Zoo. Initially, we tried an introduction just prior to breeding season. Neither cat took much of a liking to the other, which was not surprising. In the wild, these cats live highly solitary lives and only come together for short periods during breeding season.

Shortly thereafter, Anna started showing signs of entering estrous. This time her mood made an expected 180-degree turn as she immediately approached Beau with friendly chuffing and flirtatious behavior. Strangely, Beau was not receptive, and he either ignored her advances or aggressively repelled them. Anna became increasingly frustrated with Beau’s behavior. Eventually, as Anna’s cycle passed, she became less interested in Beau, and we halted introductions.

Fortunately, snow leopards have more than one chance to breed per season, and three weeks later Anna started showing interest in Beau again. We re-introduced the pair, and Anna tried to solicit attention from Beau again, and again Beau was either indifferent or aggressive toward her. We started to lose hope that this couple just might not be compatible. Yet Anna was not as easily dissuaded. On this go around, she got more and more insistent with her advances toward Beau. Finally something clicked, and we observed several days of successful breeding. Anna’s persistence had paid off! Even after the end of their breeding cycle, we were able to keep the pair together. A bond seemed to have formed, and they would even greet each other with mutual grooming first thing in the morning.

Breeding season is now waning, and the pair is separated again. Now all we can do is keep our fingers crossed and monitor Anna’s behavior for possible indications of pregnancy. Researchers at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research are also monitoring her hormones for pregnancy by analyzing her feces (imagine buying that at-home test at your local drug store!). Since neither cat has reproduced before, the possibility of them passing on their genes to ensure a more diverse and healthy future population of these rare, elusive, and endangered animals is very exciting.

Todd Speis is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read his previous post, Habitat for Hyenas.

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6

Habitat for Hyenas

By
Todd Speis
– January 13, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Uncategorized

Our spotted hyena brothers

At the San Diego Zoo, we are constantly trying to improve our animal’s homes; whether it is a minor renovation or a brand-new exhibit, we’re always trying to provide the best for our animals. The most recent recipients of an upgrade were our two spotted hyena brothers, Turbo and Zephyr.

Turbo and Zephyr recently moved into the exhibit formerly inhabited by our African wild dogs; you can see them best by riding the speed ramp from Asian Passage up to Elephant Odyssey. A domino effect of improvements and moves led to the hyena’s relocation. Jama, the North Chinese leopard, moved into his brand-new exhibit at the kopje in Africa Rocks. Wanda, our lone African wild dog, was then moved into Jama’s former home where it’s easier for us to give her extra TLC in her advanced age. This left the wild dog enclosure available for the hyenas to upgrade into. They now have much more room to roam, natural substrate and grasses to rest on, live trees for shade, and even a den inside a faux termite mound to beat the heat of our hottest summer days. The boys adjusted quickly to their new surroundings. Turbo can at times be seen sprinting around enjoying his increased space, and both have been busy digging around in the dirt.

Visit our boys and gain an appreciation for an animal that has somewhat of an undeserved reputation. Years of human legend and Hollywood movie portrayals have painted the hyena as a mangy scavenger. Although scavengers are a very important part of an ecosystem, in reality hyenas are actually one of the most formidable predators of the African plains. Sure, a pack of hyenas “appropriate” a meal when given the chance, but many studies have shown that hyenas are actually very efficient hunters and that the “king of the jungle,” the African lion, actually scavenges more frequently than hyenas do. Hyenas are also very unusual in that they look much like a dog but are not closely related to canines at all. The hyena’s closest relatives are the viverrids (binturongs and civets) and they actually are much more closely related to cats than to dogs!

On your next visit to the Zoo, please come by to visit Turbo and Zephyr enjoying their new home and gain an appreciation for these unique African predators. Try to stop by early in the day when they are most active, and you may even catch them vocalizing, too! Hear one of them below…

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Todd Speis is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read his previous post, A New Snow Leopard Beau. 

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13

A New Snow Leopard Beau

By
Todd Speis
– January 5, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Cats, Uncategorized

Welcome to San Diego, Beau!

In search of: White male with black spots. Likes long walks at high altitudes and dining on blue sheep. Must want children. No commitment required.

How do the animals at the San Diego Zoo find their mates? Not through personal ads but a system called Species Survival Plans, or SSPs. They are a lot like online dating for zoo animals, except instead of matching likes, dislikes, or interests, they match animals based on genetics. This matching insures that zoo populations of the most endangered species will keep healthy and viable well into the future. On the Zoo’s Big Cat Trail, one of our active SSP members is the snow leopard.

In 2006, we received a pair of snow leopards, Anna and Everett, who were determined by the SSP to be a desirable pair. Fortunately they also found each other desirable and became the “it” couple of Big Cat Trail. Anna and Everett were unusually compatible, considering that snow leopards, like most cats, are highly solitary. Usually cats only come together during breeding season and separate soon thereafter; the male has no part in raising their kittens. Our pair, in contrast, spent all their time together, grooming each other and even playing together. I could even feed both cats right next to each other with no fighting or spitting! When breeding season came around, usually starting around New Year’s Eve, mating would occur but, unfortunately, never resulted in any births. After several years, the vet staff examined both leopards very closely and came to the conclusion that Everett was infertile.

Giving Anna the chance to contribute to the next generation of snow leopards is still important, so the SSP found a new suitor who resided in nearby Santa Barbara, California: Beauregard. After some training using his favorite treat, beef heart, Everett acclimated to being in a crate and would enter voluntarily. My last vivid Anna/Everett memory will be just after a training session as Everett was rolling in fresh hay in the crate as Anna, just outside the crate, was leaping up and playfully batting him in the face. When the time came, my supervisor and I loaded Everett up, drove him to his new home in Santa Barbara, and brought Beau back with us to San Diego.

Now we face the challenge of introducing two cats to each other. Although it will be hard to match Everett and Anna’s compatibility, we are hoping Anna and Beau get along well, as neither has parented any kittens before. Stay tuned or stop by the snow leopard exhibit to see how Beau and Anna are getting along. Breeding season is just about to start, so keep you fingers crossed!

Todd Speis is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read his previous post, Feline Fun.

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3

Feline Fun

By
Todd Speis
– May 13, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Cats

A northern Chinese leopard enjoys bone day.

Providing enrichment is one of the most enjoyable, and important, parts of caring for the cats that live on Big Cat Trail at the San Diego Zoo. Enrichment is an item that stimulates the physical and mental health of an animal by encouraging the animal to exhibit natural behaviors just like their wild counterparts do. In a modern zoo, this is considered just as important as providing food, water, and shelter to an animal. As a keeper, it is very rewarding to watch an animal become engrossed with a novel item I’ve given to them.

Scent is an important part of a cat’s life and something I try to offer often as enrichment. All cat species (except lions) are solitary by nature but still communicate with other cats through scents. We use fresh herbs, spices, perfume, and even elephant dung to enrich our cat’s noses! Orson, the melanistic jaguar, favors cinnamon. His entire head turns red after he spends time rubbing it on a sprinkling of cinnamon. Our snow leopards and Siberian lynx are not as picky and enjoy nearly any unique scent that I offer them. My theory is that these two types of cats that naturally live in very sparse habitats, and therefore have large home ranges, find scent even more important, as the chance that they will happen upon another cat is unlikely.

We also like to give items that the cats can bat around and chase, simulating the act of hunting. Lately we’ve received a lot of dried gourds that some of the cats really enjoy play hunting with. The irregular shape of the gourds makes them roll unpredictably, and the dried seeds inside rattle, which also entices the cats. Our two cougars particularly enjoy a new batch of gourds, batting them around and even carrying them in their mouths. Our snow leopards generally are not as enticed by play toys, and although I’ve never observed them play with the gourds, there is evidence that they also enjoy them. When I return to work the next morning, the gourds have always been moved and are sometimes even smashed into bits!

Whole food items are something that every one of our cats enjoys. Most days the cats receive a nutritionally complete mix of beef, vitamins, and supplements. We regularly add items such as bones and rabbit carcasses to give them food items that more closely resemble how they would naturally feed themselves. Whether a cow femur or a rack of ribs, all of our cats will spend hours chewing on bones to remove every bit of meat and maybe even some marrow from inside the bone. This is not only fun for the cat but great for their dental health, as it acts like a good brushing of their teeth, just like when you give your dog a milk bone.

Although it may seem a little gruesome to some, when rabbit carcasses are offered, it is very enriching to the cats as they get to “harvest” a whole animal just as they would if they made a kill in the wild. Jama, our North Chinese leopard, is unique in that he prefers to remove all the hair from his rabbit before he eats it. Skyy, the female Siberian lynx, tosses her rabbit around in the air just like your house cat may do with a favorite toy!

The next time you visit Big Cat Trail, try to find the enrichment items that each cat has that day; it could be a toy, treat, or just a log with really good bark to scratch on.

Todd Speis is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read his previous post, Mountain Lion Home Makeover.

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13

Mountain Lion Home Makeover

By
Todd Speis
– November 15, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Cats

Kima explores his remodeled digs.

The next time you travel down Big Cat Trail at the San Diego Zoo, be sure to check out our upgraded mountain lion, or cougar, habitat. Thanks to a generous donation, we were able to add features to the exhibit that should stimulate the lives of our cougars while improving the experience of our guests.

Our cougar exhibit is home to two animals: a male, Yakima or “Kima,” and a female, Koyama, or “Koya.” They both came to the Zoo after they were found orphaned in the wild at an age where they were much too young to care for themselves. Now they give our visitors a chance to experience cougars, which frequently roam the hills just east and north of San Diego.

Exhibiting cats can be very challenging. By nature, cats must be elusive in order to be a successful predator, and once they eat they rest for long periods to conserve energy for the next hunt. Although our cats get their meals hand delivered regularly, they still abide by these natural instincts. Therefore, when designing an exhibit we work to have the cats comfortable and acting natural while still being interesting and educating to our guests.

After the renovations, our cougars now have a rock arch to sun themselves and survey their surroundings, and an elevated ledge filled with substrate. Kima is especially fond of perching himself on top of the arch early in the day. Anchors to secure items such as femur bones or other toys were also installed. Plants were added to provide some privacy and also enhance the appearance of the exhibit. It seems someone forgot to tell the cougars this, as Koya has enjoyed using the plantings as toys! Fortunately, we predicted this behavior and have some extra plantings on standby in case the cougar’s rough play causes the demise of any of the new plants.

Be sure to come by the cougar exhibit on your next visit to get a new view of our cougars. I hope you will get an appreciation of this magnificent cat that lives in San Diego’s own backyard.

Todd Speis is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read his previous post, A Jaguar Milestone.

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19

A Jaguar Milestone

By
Todd Speis
– November 3, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Cats, More

Orson, our black jaguar, recently hit a milestone as he turned 18 years old at his longtime home on the Big Cat Trail at the San Diego Zoo. For Orson it was just another day, except for receiving a special frozen treat, a half of a cow femur bone, and handful of fish frozen into a “blood-sicle” (a mix of water and liquid from thawed meat products).

Within accredited zoos across North America, less than 10 jaguars are older than Orson, which puts him in an exclusive club. Much like housecats, any jaguar in his late teens is considered to be quite old. In rare instances jaguars have lived into their late 20s. In the wild, most jaguars live less than 10 years, as they must work hard for their meals and don’t have a staff of keepers and veterinarians looking after their well-being.

Orson’s longevity is a tribute to all of the keepers, vets, and nutritionists who have looked after him. Care of older animals like Orson can be very challenging. Animals have the innate instinct to mask any illness or injury they may be suffering from, because in the wild the slightest show of weakness may cause a predator or competitor to single them out. This is made even more difficult with a dangerous animal that you can not readily get your hands on to examine. We have trained Orson on several behaviors so we can more easily examine him. He stations on a scale for his weight to be taken, and he holds his mouth open on command for dental inspections. Fortunately, Orson has been amazingly healthy for his age, with just a small flare-up of arthritis in his knee.

On your next visit to the Zoo, make sure to stop by and appreciate Orson, the senior member of our Zoo’s cat collection. If you look closely, you may see a few gray hairs on his underside betraying his age.

Todd Speis is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read his previous post, Jaguar Rotation Continues.

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7

Jaguar Rotation Continues

By
Todd Speis
– May 27, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Cats

Nindiri goes for a swim.

As many of you big cat fans may already know, our jaguars were again rotated at the San Diego Zoo (see previous post, Jaguar Rotation). After a stay of over three months, Orson returned to his traditional home on Big Cat Trail while Nindiri traveled back to the cat exhibit in Elephant Odyssey.

Upon Orson’s return, he spent quite a while investigating all the smells Nindiri had left in the exhibit; this is exactly what a wild jaguar spends a large portion of its time doing.

Males travel their territory monitoring the status of any nearby cats, with special attention to females that may be receptive to breeding. On top of getting the opportunity to check out Nindiri’s smell, Orson spent time in some areas of the exhibit he rarely used, as the two of them utilize the same space differently.

Shortly after Nindiri’s release, she was already playing in her pool, which was stocked full of fish that Orson hadn’t bothered to fish out. Unlike your typical house cat, most jaguars enjoy time in the water. Jaguars are excellent swimmers, and wild jaguars even hunt prey, such as caiman, in the water.

The timing seemed right for the move in regard to the change of seasons, too. On its exposed location on the mesa top, the Elephant Odyssey cat exhibit stays several degrees warmer than that of the Big Cat Trail exhibit, which is much more shaded on the side of the canyon. For the summer months, the water-loving Nindiri can take a refreshing dip in the expansive pool while Orson, who usually prefers to stay dry, will stay cool in his shady home.

Keep an eye out for our next shift as we utilize both exhibits to maximize the quality of life of both of our marvelous cats.

Todd Speis is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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15

Jaguar Rotation

By
Todd Speis
– February 23, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories

Nindiri

The rotation of our two jaguars has been the cause for adjustment for both human and cat along Big Cat Trail at the San Diego Zoo. During the very first days that some of our regular visitors ambled down the path to find Nindiri on exhibit where they were accustomed to seeing Orson for over the past 10 years, some came to me concerned that something bad had happened to the elderly Orson. Although I was able to reassure them that Orson was fine enjoying the modern digs up at Elephant Odyssey (see post Zoo Legend Finds New Home), I too noticed one thing missing: Orson’s frequent roar, which could be heard up and down the canyon as he declared Big Cat Trail his domain.

Nindiri seemed to take the change much more in stride. Before the Elephant Odyssey project was completed, Nindiri spent several months “sharing” the exhibit on Big Cat Trail with Orson on a rotating basis. She seemed very confident entering the exhibit; apparently she remembered her time here. The first thing she did was go examine all of the areas Orson regularly scent marked, one enriching experience we expected with this change.

At over 17 years old, Orson was the elder statesman of Big Cat Trail. In contrast, at a spry 2½ years old, Nindiri arrives as the youngest cat in the area. Her youthfulness shows with her exhibiting more activity and spunk throughout the day. Despite being half Orson’s weight, she broke a perch in her habitat the very first day exploring. More recently I observed her trying to get at one of the sprinkler heads that hang from the roof. She will also take time to play with her rabbit carcass in the pools, while Orson would take the more “mature” path and get down to eating his rabbit immediately. These kinds of reactions are the type of enriching behavior we hope that the exhibit rotation will bring for both of our jaguars.

Many people assume that we must tranquilize or sedate our large carnivores to transfer them, but this is not necessarily true. Both of the jaguars were trained to enter their transport crates on their own accord through positive reinforcement, meaning that they received a treat for entering their crate and being calm. In fact, I only had to do three such “sessions” with Orson before he was ready for his move to Elephant Odyssey. On the day of the move I asked him into his crate, gave him a treat, and closed and secured the door behind him as he calmly waited for more food. Although any move of a potentially dangerous animal is a serious matter, the ease with which we were able to move our jaguars allows us the possibility of making changes like this that should enhance both of their lives.

On your next visit to the Zoo, make sure to visit both of our jaguar habitats. You may be surprised by who is where and what they will be doing with the increased enrichment in their lives.

Todd Speis is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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