This morning, Etosha and M’bari were back together for the first time since her caesarean operation and subsequent hospital stay. The mesh barrier between their rooms was removed and they immediately began grooming each other and playfully tumbling about. It was as if they had never been apart! Tomorrow they will go out on exhibit, Etosha having been given a clean bill of health by our veterinary staff.
|inline

The San Diego Zoo’s Girls In Science just returned from a weekend camping trip up to San Onofre State Beach!

We arrived at our campsite on Saturday morning, set up camp, ate an early lunch, then hiked out to the world-famous surfing break known as Trestles. We sat down in the shade right underneath the main railroad trestle and spent some time talking about art. Andy Goldsworthy is a sculptor who uses natural items to build beautiful works of art, which he then lets nature slowly tear apart. |inline

The keepers in Tiger River recently spent quite a bit of time weaving some new enrichment devices for the tigers: a hammock made out of old fire hose and a cube of woven fire hose pieces. A few months ago we received 20 rolls of used fire hose from San Diego Fire Station #20 in Point Loma. The fire hose was old enough that the fire station couldn’t use it anymore, but it was perfect for the tigers!
|inline

Just a quick update from the Wild Animal Park & Lion Camp! Etosha’s stitches from her caesarean section were removed a few days ago, and she is now home at Lion Camp. She has been kept adjacent to M’bari, her mate, but separated by a mesh divider until everyone is sure she is completely healed. Tomorrow the barrier will be removed and the two lions will be back together. M’bari & Etosha were very glad to see each other when she returned from her hospital stay – there has been lots of grooming and affectionate rubbing through the wire.
|inline

It has been one year now since we launched the new and improved Adopt-An-Animal program at the San Diego Zoo and what a success it has been! We have had over 575 adoptions since we launched on December 1, 2004. We started our program with just the cheetah, panda, orangutan, and koala available for adoption and we have since added the flamingo, gorilla, stork, tiger, polar bear, lion, mandrill, crocodile, hippo, rhinoceros, giraffe, and elephant. Our Web Team has designed unique themed adoption certificates for each species available for adoption. If the animal that you want to adopt is not an option, we also have a multi-animal themed adoption certificate that has several animals on it and you get to fill in the animal of your choice.
(more…)

Here’s a photo of Hodari, the newest addition to the San Diego Zoo’s giraffe herd. He currently weights 185 pounds (83 kilograms) and stands 6.8 feet (2 meters) tall. His keeper, Dustin Black, says that tomorrow (November 29) the protective barriers separating the little guy and his mother, Bahati, from the other giraffes will be taken down and Hodari will be free to roam with the herd! To make sure the youngster doesn’t accidentally fall into the shallow moat surrounding the giraffe enclosure, a thick line of white chalk will mark the edges of the giraffe’s territory.
|inline

One of the great pleasures of working on the giant panda project is getting to know the various volunteers that offer their help in our office or by doing behavioral observations. Over the past 3 years I have had the pleasure of getting to know Shirley Busch. Shirley is 88 years old and has been volunteering for the Zoological Society of San Diego for the past 23 years. In the days surrounding the naming of Su Lin, Shirley told me of her personal experiences viewing pandas in the USA, including having seen the first Su Lin at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago over 68 years ago! I asked her to share her thoughts and memories of the first Su Lin because I felt her experience was a special one.
(more…)

Being a VAO (Visitor Assistance Officer) allows me to move about the San Diego Zoo. And being out and about this time of year I see some of the most beautiful sights imaginable.

A beautiful path is the arbor walk up to the Hunte Amphitheater. There is a fruitless mulberry tree there with leaves so yellow I can almost taste the color. Standing there in the fallen leaves looking into that tree gives me goosebumps. The light from the sun is low and comes across the top of that tree. The light is brilliant and makes the whole tree glow yellow.
|inline

I know many of you have been waiting for news of Etosha’s pregnancy. Finally, here are the details! On the morning of November 10, Etosha began showing signs of labor – restlessness, pacing, and some vaginal discharge. At this point we began a 24-hour watch on her. Her labor appeared to be progressing normally, and her mate M’bari was right next door. He was separated from her by a mesh divider and Etosha did not seem bothered by his proximity – she occasionally stopped by the partition for a brief visit. M’bari himself was very calm, not upset or confused at all by what was happening.
|inline

The newest member of the gerenuk herd has taken his place, along with his mother, in the grassy exhibit across from the okapi in the Wild Animal Park’s Heart of Africa habitat. The male calf has been off exhibit until now to allow him to mature a little and be able to navigate the exhibit safely. The gerenuk herd is brought into a barn every night, as these antelope are delicate and are easily frightened in the dark. Calves have to be able to move with the herd before going into the big exhibit.
|inline