It has been the goal of the Puaiohi Release Program to establish this rare thrush in every corner of the Alakai Wilderness Area on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Over the past 7 years we have released 94 birds in the Halepaakai and the Kawaikoi River drainages. But, we still aspire to establish puaiohi in the most remote corners of the Alakai.
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Wha–?! Let me rephrase: the Girls In Science students were introduced to the Zoo’s Geographic Information System mapping project this week by intern Jeannine Carlin.
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One of the benefits of being an employee of the Zoological Society of San Diego is the ability to apply for ” in-house” loans. The Society’s loan program allows current employees to work in another department for a while and then return to their regular job without loss of status. It’s a great way to gain experience in another area and see what someone else’s job is really like. Last November I applied for and was selected to help out as a gardener on the Browse Team.
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Su Lin is acclimating to her new exhibit space well, and has explored virtually every nook and cranny of the area. Initially, when she rested on exhibit she sought out the security of the lair provided for her for that purpose. As she grows, she has shifted gears, and now prefers to rest high in the trees.
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One of the very cool things about working in the Children’s Zoo (among many cool things) is the privilege to meet so many people, especially during our ” animal encounters.” During these encounters we like to walk Elmo and Sugar Plum out to the main Zoo. It is one of the ways we exercise them and it gives visitors the chance to actually pet them.
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” You have the best job in the world!” This is a comment that we narrators hear daily in our work at the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Research Station. Yes, we do, but as members of the Zoo’s Education Department there’s a bit more to it than sitting and watching pandas all day. There are several of us who do this as our main job function, but some of us are cross-trained as educators. This can involve caring for animals in our office or in the Children’s Zoo that are used for animal presentations, giving tours and animal presentations, teaching workshops and summer camp classes, helping out at Zoo sleepovers, or writing for Zoo publications and various parts of this Web site. |inline

Many of you pandaholics have expressed how much you are missing Su Lin’s weekly exams. We miss doing them also. But today we made special plans to be able to meet with our nutritionist, Dr. Mike Schlegal, to at least get her growth measurements. The planning needed to involve early morning since Su Lin seems to go out onto exhibit first thing and climbs high up into the trees (and out of reach!). But today we fed Bai Yun an exceptionally large breakfast of her favorite bamboo in hopes they would both be content to snuggle down in the bedroom longer. It worked!
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Jabari is a male African serval. His name means “courage” in Swahili. Jabari has a brother named Chuma, which means “wealth” in Swahili. Both cats live up to their names. Jabari shows no signs of fear during animal presentations, even when it is in front of an auditorium of second graders! Jabari doesn’t miss a beat, jumps for his toy once, twice, and even higher the third time, catching the feathered lure and landing on all fours amidst the sounds of applause, laughter, and high pitched squeals of delight.
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The San Diego Zoo’s Girls In Science program started its spring semester with a behind-the-scenes visit to see giraffes!
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As Su Lin adapts to life on the ” outside,” she spends a lot of time exploring and investigating the many interesting things in her environment. It’s only natural that she spend some time playing with bamboo as well. Bamboo is abundant in her environment, as keepers supply Bai Yun with fresh stock several times each day.
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