Hey, you can’t park that camel there!

Feb 112012
 

Keepers were working in a large stall with two newly-arrived, energetic, young Bactrian camels. The camels were frisking around the stall, bouncing around in that characteristic rolling camel gait. One of the keepers, whose foot was extremely sore from a recent injury, didn’t notice that one of the youngsters was frolicking in his direction until it tromped soundly on his sore foot. He let out a loud yell and, reacting instinctively, lashed out and punched the animal on the side of the head. The camel dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes and lay still.

The keepers first thought, quite naturally, was that the animal was dead, and after a moment of shock, they rushed to its side. Its breathing, however, was normal, and in a minute or two it recovered enough to lift its head and look around. Not long after that, to the keepers’ relief, the camel got to its feet — a little groggy but otherwise apparently none the worse for the wear.

 Hoofstock

Watch where you step!

Feb 112012
 

A relatively new bird keeper was preparing to clean the free-flight area and had been warned to be careful of the black-and-white plovers that were sitting on eggs. She set her bucket down just inside the railing and climbed carefully into the exhibit. The plovers immediately began flapping around and vocalizing excitedly. From their reaction, the keeper knew that the nest had to be nearby but she couldn’t find it.

The birds were growing more agitated by the minute but the keeper was reluctant to move until she knew where the nest was for fear of stepping on it. Finally, the birds’ distress reached the point that she had to do something. She decided to move slowly away, placing each foot carefully.
When she picked up the bucket she discovered why she had been unable to find the nest. Underneath the bucket was the remains of the plovers’ nest and its clutch of eggs—all smashed.

 Birds

That’s a big raccoon!

Feb 112012
 

Keepers in the children’s zoo were attempting to catch a nighttime marauder that was killing their chickens and waterfowl. One keeper in particular was determined to get the animal, suspected to be a large raccoon. When live traps near the bird areas failed to catch it he spent several nights in the zoo with a shotgun. That was no more successful.

Then one morning a live trap at the other end of the children’s zoo was found sprung but empty. The keeper figured that his hunt would soon be successful. The next few mornings, however, gave the same result: the trap was sprung and the bait was gone, but the trap was empty. Each day the keeper became more excited—a raccoon that could reach the bait in the large live trap but still stick out far enough to prevent the trap door from closing must be a giant. And he was going to catch it!

He was rather disappointed a few nights later when another keeper got a look at the “monster raccoon.” One of the working dogs, a border collie, jumped out of the dog yard, wriggled his head and shoulders into the live trap, and cleaned up the meat in the live trap. Then, his evening snack finished, he nonchalantly returned to his enclosure.

Editors Note:
The keepers didn’t think that the border collie was responsible for killing the birds, only that he figured out a way to get an extra midnight snack. The “killer raccoon” was never caught although the night-time killings stopped soon after.

 Children's Zoo

The great escape

Feb 112012
 

It was time for the Barbary macaques to undergo their annual physical examinations. Keepers entered monkey island, nets in hand, to herd the monkeys into their underground holding facilities where they would be crated for the trip to the animal hospital. The staff had this procedure down to a routine; it had been done many times without mishap.

One energetic juvenile male, however, wanted no part of the holding cages. Instead, he climbed the rock-work to the top of the waterfall. Seeing an avenue of escape he made a tremendous leap, cleared the moat with room to spare, and landed in a baby stroller right in the lap of a very surprised child.

Neither the monkey nor the child were injured, and after a brief, stunned moment the macaque dashed away. After leading the pursuing keepers on an extended chase through the zoo (including a shortcut across the top of the jaguar cages) the monkey took refuge on the loading dock of a restaurant on the zoo grounds. After several minutes of searching among the piles of large boxes stored there, the keepers safely captured the macaque and returned him to monkey island. The irony in this story is that even after such a spectacular demonstration of his athletic abilities, the monkey still had to endure the physical.

 Primates

Bouncing baby boy

Feb 112012
 

Giraffes aren’t known for their jumping ability, but one frisky young male, just a few months old, escaped over a four-and-a-half-foot high moat wall.

This particular young giraffe was quite active and spent a lot of time frolicking around the yard. One of his favorite games was to rear up against the moat wall and slam his chest into it. He did this many times without problems because the moat wall is five- to six-feet high for most of its length. One day, however, he hit the wall at one end where the ground is a little higher, lowering the effective barrier to about four and a half feet. When he hit the wall his momentum carried him over the top and he landed, unhurt, on the cement apron separating the giraffe yard from the public.

He apparently was uncomfortable in his new-found freedom for he only spent a few minutes exploring the apron before he turned and jumped back down into the yard. He landed on his feet, again uninjured, as if jumping down four an a half feet was something he did every day.

There are two footnotes to this story. The first is that none of the keepers saw it happen. It occurred around noon; some of the keepers were at lunch and the rest were busy inside. Several visitors did witness it, however, and one of them stopped to report it. The keepers, of course, found it difficult to believe. When he explained that he was an experienced keeper from another zoo, and showed them the muddy footprints on the cement apron, they were convinced. Additional proof came a few weeks later when he sent them a photograph he had snapped showing the giraffe in the process of jumping back into the yard.

The other thing that made this singular event even more incredible is that it occurred, not only during the week the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) national convention was in town, but on the very day that all of the visiting zoo directors and managers were touring the zoo. But for the fact that it occurred during the catered lunch, this might have been the most famous giraffe escape in zoo history.

 Hoofstock

You’re not my baby!

Feb 112012
 

Like many young animals, the young black-faced gray kangaroo in the children’s zoo spent a lot of time frisking around. One day he apparently zigged when he should have zagged and sailed over the low fence surrounding his yard and landed in the arms of a woman standing nearby.

The woman was so surprised to find herself suddenly holding a kangaroo that she took a step backwards, knocking her own baby, who was strapped into a stroller, into a shallow duck pond. The baby and stroller were about half submerged, although, fortunately, the child’s head was safely out of the water for his mother was so busy with the kangaroo joey that she didn’t even notice her own child’s predicament.

Keepers, responding quickly to the incident, pulled the waterlogged baby out of the pond, a little damp but otherwise none the worse for the wear, and returned the wayward kangaroo to his yard.

 Children's Zoo

Dive bomber

Feb 112012
 

Cleaning a large flight cage became quite an adventure when a pair of black-and-white hornbills were introduced. The male, in particular, became quite proficient at flying over keepers’ heads and delivering a smashing blow to the top of their head with his massive bill.

The keepers’ solution was to borrow a riot helmet from Security, complete with Plexiglas visor. Keepers wearing the helmet were safe from the bird’s attacks.

The finishing touch, however, was a small label that had been stuck on the front of the helmet: “Death Before Dishonor.”

 Birds

Super-size me!

Feb 112012
 

At many zoos peafowl are allowed to roam loose on the grounds where they pretty much fend for themselves to find food and shelter. Keepers in the animal hospital were having a hard time getting an ailing peacock to eat. They offered him every sort of normal fowl food that they could think of and he refused them all.

Finally, they stopped to consider what sort of food the bird had been used to eating. They went to a nearby food stand and got some popcorn and French fries. The bird, of course, began eating immediately.

 Animal Hospital

Turkey vulture FTW

Feb 112012
 

Many zoo animals get used to a set routine, and the turkey vulture in the Southwest United States exhibit in the children’s zoo was no exception. The exhibit, which he shared with a few prairie dogs and assorted lizards, was an oblong, walled enclosure with glass in the front. Children could see in through the glass and adults could lean over the open top.

The vulture was brought inside every afternoon, although not always at the same time. Some days the bird was ready to go in before keepers came to get him and he would hop up and wait on the front wall of the enclosure. If that subtle hint wasn’t taken within a few minutes he would simply hop down and walk to the holding area.

Often keepers working inside the building would be warned of his approach, either by visitor’s screams as he marched resolutely through the crowds, or by the distinctive clicking of his toenails on the cement. Other times they would just open the door and find him waiting impatiently to be let in.

His greatest escapade, however, was the day that he made it completely out of the children’s zoo. Somehow he managed to end up inside the Kodiak bear grotto. The adult female bear had recently died, but her three young male offspring were still in the exhibit. Although they had nearly reached full adult size, the bears were still immature. And they didn’t quite know how to deal with this unusual creature that had suddenly appeared in their grotto.

The turkey vulture had no such qualms. Hissing and flapping his wings, he had those three young bears, each of which outweighed him by quite a few hundred pounds, backed into a corner. The bears were scrambling backwards over each other in an attempt to get as far away from him as possible.

The situation was eventually resolved peacefully. The bears’ den door was opened, allowing them to beat a hasty, if undignified, retreat to the safety of their den, and the turkey vulture was quickly recaptured and returned safely to the children’s zoo.

 Children's Zoo

Don’t break the sea lions, please

Feb 092012
 

Feeding time at the sea lion grotto was always popular and a large crowd would gather to watch. The keeper, who stood inside the exhibit to pass out the fish, generally carried a stick to keep the animals back a reasonable distance. One old female, who was almost totally blind, was more persistent than usual one day and the usual pushes and pokes with the stick were not stopping her. Finally, he gave her a sharp (but not very hard) tap on the top of her head.

The keeper was astounded to see the animal collapse as if she had been shot, topple over, and sink like a rock to the bottom of the pool. He immediately got assistance to pull her out of the water but to their amazement she was already dead.

A necropsy showed that for some reason, either genetic or medical, the bony covering over her skull had been exceptionally thin and had just crumpled in spite of the fact that he hadn’t hit her hard at all. Her skull was so thin, in fact, that the veterinarians were surprised that she had lived as long as she had without bumping into anything due to her blindness.

 Marine Mammals
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