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San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park

51

What Name Will You Choose?

By
Yadira Galindo
– August 6, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories, Elephants, Events at the Zoo

Vote for the little guy's name!

We received 1,019 exceptional suggestions from all of you to help us name Umoya’s 3-month-old male calf. The Park’s elephant keepers reviewed each and every one of them and had quite a few chuckles along the way.

Thank you to all of those who suggested that the calf be named after themselves! And thank you to all those who offered a tie to this year’s largest sporting event, the World Cup held in South Africa. Personally, I really liked “vuvuzela,” but it sounded a bit feminine. However, that’s just my opinion, and I didn’t vote. One of the several people who suggested this word offered this reasoning: “apropos, as the instrument is long and trumpets loudly, like an elephant’s trunk.” Cute!

He loves a good squirt of water!

Because the calf seems to love playing in water and having it poured into his mouth, many people suggested names that incorporated water, including “waterspout.” One person offered the name “Loxi” based on the African elephant genus of Loxodonta; someone had their thinking cap on!

But in the end, the keepers meticulously narrowed the choices down to three names that would translate well into SiSwati, the language of the Kingdom of Swaziland, the country the calf’s parents were rescued from in 2003.

The final three names are:
1. Emanti, a word that means “water.”
2. Usutu, which is a large river in Swaziland.
3. Mnakabo, a word that means “their brother.” This word was chosen to represent the herd’s growing population.

Beginning Monday, August 9, and until August 12, you’ll have the chance to vote for your favorite of the three final choices. Voting will be online only, and all you have to do is go here to cast your vote. We’ll reveal the name at 11 a.m. on Thursday, August 26, at the Park’s elephant exhibit. Join us if you can, or watch it on Elephant Cam.

Follow this link to help name the elephant calf: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/africansummerfestival/calf_contest.php

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3

Creating an Enrichment Garden

By
Cassidy Horn
– August 2, 2010Posted in: Events at the Zoo, Plants

Cassidy, at right, helps the crew.

There was no way that we were going to get everything done.

“We aren’t expecting to finish this project today, so just do what you can,” the supervisors said.

We were standing on a small hillside just above the okapi barn at the Wild Animal Park, starring at what seemed like miles of unplanted trees and bushes. In reality it was probably only 200 feet and it wasn’t that wide but who’s keeping track?

The Enrichment Garden: a wonderful plan that has been in the works for three years. This garden would provide the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park with its own enrichment—its own home-grown source—for some of the animals right on grounds. We had the location, we had the space, we even had the plants, but we needed the manpower (or in our case, the man + woman power).

A diverse group of us was standing on the hillside: keepers, interns, horticulture staff, and development officers all showed up to help make this idea a reality. None of us really knew what we were doing (except horticulture staff, hopefully!) but with teamwork we figured it out. We learned how to divide up the work to be most effective, we learned how deep the plants needed to go, how far apart they were to be spaced, and just how much water was needed to dig the holes (a lot).

Our garden hose girl was always at the ready when water was needed to loosen the stiff ground. Our diggers were constantly moving from hole to hole to get deep enough. Our planters were all willing to get down on one knee and get muddy. We had 50 plants, 10 people (coming and going), 7 shovels, 3 hours, and 1 hose.

We had everything worked out, except there was one thing we didn’t count on—the ground was dry and hard as a rock. And only about two inches into digging we found there were large roots from trees that had previously been there.

Uh oh. I began to think we wouldn’t finish it today, tomorrow, or ever. Just too tough…

Well, how did it go? you might ask. Did we finish? Give up? Try again later?

We did it. Bit by bit, shovel-full by shovel-full, the hill transformed from a barren wasteland to a beautiful enrichment garden where the keepers would be able to go and get special treats for their animals. In 3 hours, in 180 minutes, or in 10,800 seconds, our wonderful team finished.

The experience of providing enrichment for our animals proved to be an enriching one for us all.

Cassidy Horn is a student at Stanford University and a summer intern at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. Read her previous post, What’s that Smell?

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3

What’s that Smell?

By
Cassidy Horn
– July 22, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories

An Indochinese sika deer engages a scented spool.

Ever passed an animal exhibit at a zoo and thought, “Wow. That smells!”? Me too.

For the past few weeks it has been my job to sit in front of deer, antelope, and wild horse off-exhibit enclosures at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park and watch the animals react to enrichment items I’ve placed there (see previous post, Enrichment Study: Who Likes What?). Every once in awhile I get a whiff of the animals’ natural scent. I’ve tried putting perfume on myself—even right under my nose—but that didn’t work. People just didn’t sit next to me anymore because I was “too strong” (and it wasn’t because of my bulging muscles). So I had to come up with a better idea.

I thought, “What do people spray perfume on? Why, what smells, of course!” So, naturally, I figured it would be a good idea to spray the enclosures. I wasn’t sure how this was going to work out, but I had seen and been told about studies that other people were doing on scents. Apparently the animals have shown a particular interest in “Obsession” by Calvin Klein. They have good taste. So I tried it.

I put perfume on a small green spool and put it in each one of the 17 off-exhibit enclosures I am studying. I was sure that I would get some kind of response from the horses, but I was most interested in the reactions of the deer. The first Indochinese sika deer that I tried it with enjoyed it! This was the first real reaction to anything I had given them (things like other scents, balls, and big brushes). The male was the first to go over. He sniffed it and then knocked the spool down. The most interesting part is that he wouldn’t let the female sniff it—or get anywhere near it. He chased her, seemingly “interested” in her. Apparently perfume is good for animals as well as humans.

A Przewalski's wild horse investigates the new scent.

After this success (I was starting to get excited!), I moved on to the Mandarin sika deer. There are four deer in this enclosure, and they were only interested for a minute. A little less exciting. But the Malayan sambar deer liked it: I barely made it out of the pen before the hand-raised ones and some of their friends were rolling the spool around and rubbing against it. The Przewalski’s wild horses and the Somali wild asses loved it as well. They played with the scented spool for nearly the entire 30 minutes.

An unexpected lover of the Obsession scent was the nyala: he spent the entire 30 minutes sniffing, licking, biting, rolling, pushing, rubbing, and kicking the spool.

It was wonderful to see the deer react (even slightly) to the enrichment. I was so pleased with my experiment that I decided to try it on myself just before my boyfriend came to visit.

His reaction? Clueless. :)

Cassidy Horn is a student at Stanford University and a summer intern at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park.

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11

Okapi Activity Patterns

By
Lizzy Lopez
– July 20, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories, Conservation at the Zoo

You know those animals you see at the zoo that look like a combination of several other animals? Have you ever seen the one with the giraffe-like face, horse-like body, and zebra-striped rump? Well, that’s an okapi (oh-cop-ee), and they are going to be spending all summer with me.

Contrary to the eye, the okapi is not a combination of a giraffe, a horse, and a zebra; they are indeed their own species. Their closest living relative is the giraffe, with which they share many similar physical characteristics such as their long necks, extremely long tongues, and even ossicones (horn-like structures that only male okapis develop). While the giraffe has the height, the okapi has the longest tongue: it’s long enough to reach its eyes and ears! Not much is known about the behavior of the okapi because they are very elusive creatures where they reside in the Ituri Forest of Congo in Africa. This is where I come in.

The goal of this project is to study the okapi’s use of its environment at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. We are particularly interested in the daily behavior of this species, as it is solitary in the wild and little is known about its activity patterns. Our project will investigate how certain odors (which mimic the presence of other okapis in the enclosure) will affect an individual’s activity. Specifically, we will be placing urine-soaked wood shavings from one male in different parts of the exhibit and conducting daily behavioral observations. We will also analyze associated levels of a key stress hormone, cortisol. I will be working with all seven okapis at the Wild Animal Park as well as one okapi at the San Diego Zoo.

I’ve just started observations at the Wild Animal Park. I’ll keep everyone posted on my findings. And remember, if you want some more fun okapi facts, look for me! I’ll be the girl with the clipboard and a stopwatch. Can’t wait to see everyone out there!

Lizzy Lopez is a recent University of California, Davis, graduate with a degree in wildlife, fish, and conservation biology, emphasis in behavioral ecology, and the Bonner Endowed Summer Fellow in the Behavioral Biology Division of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.

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13

Bottle-fed Giraffe

By
Jane Kennedy
– July 19, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants

Part of my job as lead keeper at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park is to take care of the animals, even those that may not have a good mom. This is Majagi the giraffe’s story:

On April 28, 2010, Crystal the Uganda giraffe had her first calf. Crystal is only 3½ years old, quite young for a normal giraffe mom; most female giraffes don’t give birth until they are 4 or 5. Since she was a first-time mom, we kept a careful watch to observe her for maternal instinct and nursing the calf. Our keeper doing the watch, Jennifer Minichino, named the giraffe Majagi, which means “tall glass of water” in Swahili.

During our observations we noticed that Crystal would nuzzle, lick, and care for her baby, but would not let her nurse. We watched all day but never saw nursing, and Majagi seemed to be getting weak since she wasn’t getting any milk from her mom. We separated her from her mom and took her to the Wild Animal Park’s Harter Veterinary Medical Hospital overnight. Her mom didn’t seem to mind.

The veterinary staff and keepers worked hard to get her healthy enough to go back to her mom the next day. Majagi weighed in at 176 pounds (80 kilograms) and was 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall. We offered her bottles overnight and got her drinking giraffe formula from us.

We then teamed up with the Park’s Animal Care Center (ACC) staff to take care of Majagi. The ACC is in charge of preparing her bottles and doing the evening feedings, while we do the morning feedings. Several keepers volunteered to be her surrogate mom, even a couple of the guys! (Thanks, Steve and Matt!)

Jane uses a giraffe-patterned towel to lure Majigi

The next day we introduced her back to her mom; Crystal accepted her but still would not let her calf nurse. Since Crystal was a good mom in other ways, we let her stay with her calf and took over the feedings for Majagi. We initially fed Majagi five times a day, with her last feeding at 7 p.m. Majagi is now going on three months old, so she only eats three times a day. We feed her over 3 gallons (11 liters) of milk each day! Majagi now weighs over 300 pounds (136 kilograms) and is almost 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall!

We hope to introduce Majagi and her mom to the rest of the giraffe herd early next month and finish bottle feeding her in the field where she can interact with the other giraffe kids (three boys and three girls with three more moms due this summer!) and learn to be a part of the giraffe herd in the East Africa exhibit at the Wild Animal Park. Come visit the Park this summer to see the giraffe calves play together!

Jane Kennedy is a lead keeper at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. Watch video of Jane feeding Majagi.

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5

Okapi Zuri Grows Up

By
Marcia Redding
– July 15, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants

Zuri enjoys an ear rub during a hoof trim.

How quickly time passes at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park! It seems as if just yesterday our young okapi, Zuri, was a wobbly little calf, but on June 17, he turned two years old. Our little guy is practically an adult now!

A recital of his accomplishments to date seems in order. As one of the few halter-trained okapis in the world, he has broken new ground in the field of okapi husbandry. (See Exciting Times at the Okapi Barn.)


Zuri demonstrates the hoof jack.

Historically, okapis have needed general anesthesia to periodically have their hooves trimmed. We have patiently accustomed Zuri to all the tools used for hoof work and do minor work ourselves. Recently, we introduced him to a really neat tool called a hoof jack; it consists of a stand with a sling on top made of webbing that provides a place to rest his hoof so we can comfortably work on the foot without having to hold it up. Zuri seems to find this pretty comfy, too. Of course, his foot is not secured in any way, and he is free to put it down whenever he wishes. His reward for all this silliness is constant rubbing, scratching, and massages in all the right places!

Zuri has become extremely trusting of his regular keepers. In general, if we ask something of him, he tries to oblige. We have always been very careful not to ask anything unreasonable of him. Case in point: our Reproductive Physiology Division is exploring the possibility of collecting semen from him for possible artificial insemination use. This would require training him to stand with his front feet on an elevated platform. We decided that hay bales with rubber matting on top would be about the right height. As we led him up to this strange thing for the first time, he sniffed it and then looked at us as if to say “Now what?” Just for the heck of it, we asked him to step up, and up he went! He held the pose until we asked him to get down. Needless to say, he got the rubdown of his life! The same thing happened when he saw a trailer for the first time: even though the step up was kind of high, he followed me in on the first try. We’re so proud of our boy!

At two years of age, Zuri is considered sexually mature. He has been selected to breed with three females in the future. I hope his offspring will all be as wonderful as he is!

Marcia Redding is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. Read her previous post, A New Okapi!

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17

Elephants: Calf of Umoya

By
Curtis Lehman
– July 8, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories, Elephants

Umoya and her son

As many of you know, there were some difficult circumstances following the birth of Umoya’s calf on May 12 of this year (see post, A May Elephant Baby) at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, so it’s been a big relief to their adoring and caring public, their keepers, and our veterinary staff that things have worked out so well for the both of them.

The little guy currently weighs 290 pounds (132 kilograms) as of July 4. He’s figured out some of the social hierarchy within the herd, namely “watch your step” around Swazi. He’s learning to play with half brothers Ingadze, Lutsandvo, and Swazi’s calf, born in April (see Newest Elephant Calf).

Nap time!

Umoya’s son is very easy to entertain if you have a hose in your hand. Big sister Kami shares the babysitting duties with Mom, but for the most part he stays pretty close to Umoya. Because of this, whenever Umoya ventures into the big pool, junior follows right behind her without any hesitation. If the water level is such that he can remain standing, he’s usually right underneath her, dipping his mouth into the pool for a drink or three (he likes to drink). If the pool level is higher, he’ll actually swim around her. If his head goes under, he’s already figured out the trunk-periscope thing, which is just hilarious to observe. He really loves the water, more than any of the other calves have at this age.

If you get the chance to come to the Wild Animal Park, make sure you visit the Elephant Viewing Patio for the 11 a.m. Elephant Rush and also later in the afternoon, when the elephants are more likely to be swimming in the pool. You might be lucky and get to observe a “Baby Pool Party” from a great vantage point. And if Umoya decides it’s time to cool off, you’re sure to see little munchkin #3 sliding in right behind her!

Curtis Lehman is an animal care supervisor at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park.

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31

Elephant Rush!

By
Rick Schwartz
– July 2, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories, Elephants, Events at the Zoo

Moya and her son, with Kami (left) and Litsemba

Most of the time when we think of the word “rush,” we don’t think of fun; instead, the word brings to mind being in a hurry (or in a panic!). “Elephant Rush” at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park is quite different, yet there is one similarity. The big difference is how much fun you will have: you can’t help but smile. The similarity? The elephants are indeed in a hurry!

As you know, our keepers offer fun and interesting enrichment for the elephants every day. However, what you may not know is that now, every day right before 11 in the morning, the keepers finish placing all of the enrichment out into the elephant yard. Then at 11 a.m., the elephants hastily make their way out to play with and explore all of that great enrichment. This has become known as Elephant Rush, and, let me tell you: it is a sight to behold and one you MUST see!

Although we don’t get to enjoy playing like the elephants do, we can get a great view from multiple spots around the Wild Animal Park. As most of you know, the Park’s Elephant Overlook has a great vantage point, but did you know you can see the majority of the yard from the Elephant Viewing Patio just east of Tembo Stadium? There is even some remote viewing as you walk to Kilima Point.

Who has more fun with this daily activity? Well, as much as all of the humans seem to love watching this event, I can honestly say I think the elephants have the most fun. However, I am not sure if the adult elephants or the youngsters are enjoying it most: you’ll have to go see them and try to figure that one out on your own. Between the rolling, playing, exploring, and even swimming, it kind of makes me wish I was an elephant, too!

Rick Schwartz is the San Diego Zoo’s ambassador. Read his previous post, Polar Bear Plunge: Re-Opened!

Watch the Wild Animal Park’s elephants daily on Elephant Cam.

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28

Three Elephant Munchkins

By
Curtis Lehman
– June 30, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories, Elephants

Umoya with her little one, born May 2010.

I guess now is as good a time as any for a quick update on our three little munchkins, all born this year to the African elephant herd at the Wild Animal Park. (Read Curtis’ previous post, A May Elephant Baby.)

Lutsandvo, aka Looty, is now 4 months old and 480 pounds (218 kilograms). Could he be any cuter? He’s currently just about everybody’s favorite baby. Looty’s at that phase where he always comes over to us and solicits attention, and who are we to deny it? He loves to suck on our fingers and have his tongue scratched.

You’d think his personality would make him a perfect training candidate when it comes to being weighed, but it’s just the opposite: chewing on a fence is more reinforcing to him than following his keeper to get onto the scale. We always have to walk his mother, Ndlula, over the scale first and hope he stops on the scale when he decides to look for Mom. Everything in his world is when he decides it!

Ingadze and Looty enjoy some mud time!

Looty’s favorite elephant playmate is Ingadze, now 15 months old; they both constantly wrestle and play together. He’s very social, a lot like Khosi was when she was younger. You can tell he’s very comfortable with his surroundings and acts like he owns the place. He’s eating a little browse, hay, and pellets now, so he’s coming along just fine. Big brother ‘Musi has been nice to him, and he still enjoys “nursing” off of Lungile. I’ve even seen him having shoving matches with Swazi’s baby over Lungile’s mammaries (Lungile is very tolerant). Looty is very entertaining to watch!

Swazi’s baby, born in April, is already 405 pounds (184 kilograms). He’s very tall looking, long-legged like his mom. This little guy is very independent and loves to hang out with his dad, Mabu, and yes, he still “nurses” off of him. Trying to get him to stay close to Mom when we need to separate her from the herd is a big challenge for us. He’s either with Lungile or with Mabu, and his mother isn’t as sharp with the concept of having her baby nearby like Moya is with her baby. For instance, Keith (one of our keepers) can say to Moya, “Go get ‘im,” and Moya will turn and go get her son and return with him. If we say to Swazi, “Go get ‘im,” she looks at you as if to say “Get who?” We actually have to walk Swazi over to the vicinity of her calf and hope that he decides to join her before proceeding forward with our plans.

Swazi’s calf will also sleep anywhere he decides to plop down. I’ve seen him all alone in the dirt in full sunlight. Who needs shade? Unlike Lutsandvo, he weighs himself. As soon as we open a gate to have access to the scale, he pretty much runs in and stands on the scale. He also enjoys playing with Ingadze but is currently starting to hang out with Looty more and more each day. With his personality and his mom being the dominant female, you can tell that someday he will own the place.

Umoya’s baby, born in May, is now 277 pounds (126 kilograms) and has graduated from our 5-week, 24-hour baby watch that we’ve done with all our calves. He still loves water. If we want to weigh him, all we need is a hose. He likes it when we squirt the water directly into his mouth, just like Cha Cha, our Asian elephant that’s now at the Zoo’s Elephant Odyssey. Moya’s boy thinks his big sister, Kami, is great, and she lets him head-butt her like she used to let Ingadze and Lutsandvo do. He’s playing more and more with his little half brothers and hangs out with them at the small drinker. We’ve seen him doggy-paddle in the big pool with Mom twice already. I told you he loves water. Umoya’s incision has almost completely healed, by the way. So there you have it: Ingadze has three new playmates. Let’s get ready to rummmble!

Curtis Lehman is a animal care manager at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park.

Watch all the elephant action daily on Elephant Cam!

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41

Lion Cubs: All Grown

By
Amy Whidden-Winter
– June 16, 2010Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Cats

Ekundu, top, and Nyack from earlier this year.

Where has the time gone? It really does seem like only yesterday when we watched as the eight African lion cubs attacked the boxes and frozen treat enrichment items we put out for their first birthday celebration in November 2008 (see Lion Cubs Turn One). Now, only one of our “pride of cubs” remains with us at Lion Camp at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park: Ekundu, the smallest of Oshana and Izu’s two boys. All the others are settled into their new homes across the country with loving and glowing reports from their new keepers.

Laini, Tamu, and Ingozi were the first to leave. It was a sunny January morning when we loaded them into their crates and placed each crate into a modified stock trailer. It was hard to let the first of our cubs go, but we knew all of these cubs were born with a mission: to go out into the world and help keep the captive lion population diversified and strong. Oshana’s two girls, Laini and Tamu, were sent to Jacksonville, Florida, where they were introduced to a young male. Their keepers tell us stories of Laini and Tamu chasing turtles and lounging in the Florida sunshine. Mina’s boy, Ingozi, was sent to St. Louis, Missouri. He has been paired up with a young lioness. Their keepers tell us stories of Ingozi and his girlfriend romping around their exhibit, climbing trees, and engaging in a rambunctious game of tag.

Then Mina’s smallest girl, Kaya, headed off to the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Arizona. When she got to her new home, she was greeted by her personal staff and a news crew documenting her arrival. Her keepers tell us she enjoys her pond and her favorite toys.

Shortly after Kaya got to her new home, a van arrived at Lion Camp from Wildlife Safari in Oregon to pick up her sister, Sarabi; she was escorted safely to her new home by her own personal entourage. Her keepers tell us Sarabi settled into her new home well. They say she is playful and fun and enjoys chasing the birds.

Next to leave was Oshana’s biggest boy, Zawadi. His ride showed up to take him to his new home in Portland, Oregon. He arrived there safe and sound, with two lionesses waiting for him. His keepers tell us he rests on his back and looks lazily at his world from his upside-down vantage point (a habit he shares with his father, Izu).

Our hand-raised boy, Nyack, left for his new home in April. It was a bittersweet sendoff for his keepers. He arrived at his new home in Indianapolis safely and made it through his 30-day quarantine without a problem. His keepers tell us they are working on building their own relationship with him and are looking forward to introducing him to his new female companions.

Ekundu is our last “cub,” although he’s hardly a cub anymore at two-and-a-half years old and 365 pounds (166 kilograms). He is waiting to go to his new home, and until then we are happy to keep him here.

It was quite an adventure having all those cubs—Lion Camp had never been so full of challenges and lions! As for now, it’s nice to have a bit of time to regroup. One can never tell what the future may bring, but whatever happens, we should be ready.

Amy Whidden-Winter is a senior keeper at the Wild Animal Park.

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