CLR Design

-

Client News

Zoo Knoxville celebrates World Tiger Day

by

Reposted from WBIR, by WBIR Staff, July 29, 2019 | Archived Version

Zoo Knoxville celebrated World Tiger Day with its Malayan tigers Arya, Bashir and Tanvir.

The zoo hosted several activities with their tigers, including pole climbing and throwing a tasty watermelon into their pool.

Zookeepers with the Asian Trek exhibit said activities like these help simulate the hunting tigers would do in the wild.

“It’s extremely important that we treat them like their wild counterpart. We make sure their diet is clean and nutritious but we give them enrichment every day multiple times a day,” zookeeper Sydney McCartt said.

The zoo said activities like these are also great for guests because they get to see the sometimes-elusive animals. Tigers actually sleep 18 to 20 hours every day.

A portion of ticket sales Monday went to conservation efforts.

Guests also learned about the impact palm oil production has on endangered tiger species and their habitats.

According to the World Wildlife Foundation, critically endangered species like the Sumatran Tiger are holding on for survival as palm oil and pulp plantations caused deforestation of more than half Sumatra’s forests in the last 40 years. According to the WWF, Indonesia’s tigers now number fewer than 400.

Likewise, Malayan tiger species are also critically endangered due to poaching and deforestation.

Dallas Zoo Welcomes Baby Hippo

by

Reposted from the Zoo’s website, May 16, 2019 | Archived Version

The Dallas Zoo is proudly welcoming a Nile hippopotamus calf born Tuesday, May 14, around 6:30 p.m. to 12-year old mom Boipelo after an eight-month-long gestation. Both mom and calf are doing well – labor lasted roughly seven hours, and the calf was observed nursing just two hours after birth. The animal care team was able to observe labor and delivery via the hippo barn’s closed-circuit camera to give mom privacy.

“We timed Boipelo’s contractions every moment she barrel rolled in the water, and after about 100 rolls, we saw a baby emerge,” said Matt James, Dallas Zoo’s Senior Director of Animal Care. “The baby immediately began moving and kicking and Boipelo swiftly nudged it to the ledge of the pool, where the baby sprawled out and took a break. Boipelo has been very attentive, gently nudging the calf to the surface for air after each nursing session. Hippo calves need to come up every 30 seconds to breathe, and she’s doing a great job ensuring the baby is getting everything it needs.”

The zoo’s veterinary and animal care experts have prepared for the calf’s arrival since January, when they first preformed a successful ultrasound on 2,420-pound Boipelo. In 2018, the Dallas Zoo became the first U.S. zoo to capture serial fetal growth images on a pregnant hippo through voluntary ultrasound.

The team performed weekly ultrasounds capturing images of the baby’s heart, chest cavity, head, feet, and other body parts. With very few high quality images of hippo fetal growth in zoos, Dallas Zoo’s experts have built a foundation of growth norms to share with other institutions accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

“Performing ultrasounds on hippos has always been challenging because of the sheer size of the animal. Being able to successfully track this baby’s growth is really a testament to the relationships the zoologists have built with Boipelo,” said Jan Raines, D.V.M., Dallas Zoo’s associate veterinarian. “After the tragic loss of our male hippo Adhama last October, the zoologists went above and beyond to provide Boipelo with the emotional support she needed. I know the bonds they’ve formed have really helped during our ultrasound sessions.”

Boipelo and Adhama were paired together on an AZA Species Survival Plan breeding recommendation shortly before Adhama passed away.
In February 2018, Boipelo lost her first calf moments after delivery – the calf never took a breath due to its lungs not fully inflating. “We have gone through great loss to get to this remarkable moment of welcoming a healthy hippo calf,” said Gregg Hudson, Dallas Zoo’s president and CEO. “Our animal care team and our female hippo are nothing short of resilient. We are grateful to have Adhama’s legacy live on in this new baby.”

Over the past six months, zoologists have observed very positive behaviors in Boipelo as she’s grown into her independence.

“Boipelo has really come out of her shell; this time of adjustment has been very important for her,” said John Fried, Dallas Zoo’s mammal curator. “She’s developed her own personality and has gained a lot confidence that will surely contribute to giving her newborn the best care possible.”
In the wild, hippos live in social settings for greater protection from predators. In order to replicate the most natural environment for Boipelo, the animal care team will bring in another male hippo later this year from an AZA-accredited institution.

Native to sub-Saharan Africa, hippos are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN) due to habitat loss, and poaching for their meat and ivory-canine teeth.

The Dallas Zoo opened its $14 million award-winning Simmons Hippo Outpost in April 2017. The habitat features an immersive African waterhole with a 120,000-gallon pool and a 24 by 8-foot underwater viewing window. The habitat also includes a herd of critically endangered okapi that guests can learn about up close in daily keeper chats.

Schematic Design Aerial Illustration of Simmons Hippo Outpost by John Collins

Omaha Zoo Welcomes Giraffe Calf

by

Reposted from the Zoo’s website, April 24, 2019 | Archived Version

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium welcomed a female giraffe calf on April 16 at 8:45 a.m. This is the third calf to mother Dottie, a 19-year-old female giraffe, and Jawara, a 10 year-old male. The last giraffe calf born at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium was Penelope in November 2017.

The calf weighed 152 pounds and was measured around six feet tall 24 hours after birth. Dottie and the calf are viewable to Zoo guests in the Syd and Betty Cate Giraffe Herd Rooms in a separate area before they will be introduced to the rest of the herd in the upcoming weeks. There are currently eleven giraffe at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium – one male and ten females, including the calf.

The gestation period for a giraffe is 15 months. Giraffe give birth while standing and the calf is born feet first. The calf will nurse for about four months, then it will begin consuming solid food such as hay and pelleted grain. Giraffe calves grow at a rapid rate during their first year of life, gaining about three and a half to four pounds per day.

Reticulated giraffe are currently listed as endangered on the International Union of Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Habitat loss has been a major factor in the population decline, which has been approximately 80 percent in the last thirty years for the reticulated giraffe species. Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium supports field conservation efforts of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, an organization that focuses on understanding the range and distribution of giraffe in Africa and habitat management.

As of January 29, 2018, there were 431 giraffe at 88 reporting Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited institutions and four non-AZA institutions.

The public is invited to help name the calf by submitting name suggestions through a Facebook contest that will begin on Friday, April 26. Submissions will be accepted through Friday, May 10. The winning name will be announced on Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium’s Facebook page on Friday, May 17, which is also Endangered Species Day. The winner will also receive a prize package with items from the Zoo’s Gift Shop.