Two of the Children's Zoo bats having a snack

Just in time for the new year, we’re starting a new program!  Maybe you’ve brought your kids to Camp Zoofari, or attended a Safari School class with your preschooler.   If you’ve ever wished there was a zoo class for you, you are in luck!

Our new Backyard Wildlife Series is for adults and teens, and offers an opportunity to learn about our native Texas wildlife, have a unique animal experience at the Zoo, make something for your feathered and furred neighbors, and contribute to conservation – all at the same time! 

Each month the class will be themed around a project.  Our first project, on January 9th, is a bat house.  We’ll discuss the bats of Texas and visit the Children’s Zoo bat colony.  And if bats aren’t your thing, we have a new project each month.  Maybe frogs, butterflies, or hummingbirds are what you’re interested in – we have upcoming projects for those critters, too!

Registration is for up to 2 people, and each pair will take home a completed project.  The proceeeds from this collaborative effort between the Children’s Zoo and the Education Department will be donated to a related Texas-based conservation organization.

If you are interested in learning more, or want to register, make sure to check out our Backyard Wildlife Series webpage.  Hope to see you there!

The Harris Hawk is native to Texas.

 Texas is home to a huge variety of wild animals and plants.  As the largest state south of Canada, we are the meeting point for many habitat zones; prairie from Oklahoma, pines from Louisiana, desert and mountains from New Mexico, and brush country from Mexico.  We also have habitats unique to the state, like the Edward’s Plateau region near Austin.

With all these different habitats, we get to claim a LOT of different animals as native species!  Many of our wild neighbors are on exhibit at the zoo - cougars, alligators, rattlesnakes – but the best place to see Texas native species at the Houston Zoo is in the Children’s Zoo.  With the exception of the domestic species (and our bats) everything on exhibit in the Children’s Zoo is native to Texas!

The Houston Zoo also participates in several conservation projects in Texas; there are endangered species here, too.  There are many ways that you can get involved in local conservation, and one of them is a new adult and teen program you can take at the zoo!

Texas Tortoises are seasonally on exhibit in the Children's Zoo.

The Backyard Wildlife Series is a collaborative effort between the Children’s Zoo keepers and the Education Department.  This program will highlight local species and conservation efforts, while at the same time helping you to make your own backyard more wildlife-friendly.  The first project is a bat house, on January 9 at 1pm.  The proceeds from these programs will be donated to related Texas-based conservation initiatives.

So if you want to learn more about the native animals that share Texas with us and improve your own backyard habitat at the same time, check out the Backyard Wildlife Series.  And if you want to see some native animals up close, make sure to stop by the Children’s Zoo on your next visit!

Swift Fox in the Children's Zoo

Tucked into the far corner of the Children’s Zoo is the Swift Fox.   It is the smallest wild dog relative found in North America.  This little fox lives in the Great Plains, from southern Canada to the southwest US, and their range includes west Texas.  They are fast, capable of running more that 30 mph, but like most predators, they prefer to do as little as possible.  They are also good climbers, often scaling the giant flower stalk of the century plants found in the southwest.

If you check out our swift foxes, don’t expect to see a lot of activity.  These animals are primarily nocturnal and spend most of their day sleeping.  Unless you see them in person, though, it is hard to tell just how small they really are.  We have 2 swift foxes, a male and a female, and one is almost always curled up asleep on the ledge at the back of the exhibit.

Swift Fox exhibit in the Children's Zoo

To find the swift foxes, head to the back of the Children’s Zoo, past the farm and the prairie dogs.  They are in the exhibit on the outside of the building with the bat cave, near the yellow pavilion.

Of course, no animal is guaranteed to be visible on every visit.  Even if you know where to look, you might still miss the animal if it is off exhibit or hiding especially well when you visit.    But now you know where the swift foxes makes their home at the Houston Zoo, and hopefully you’ll get to see one the next time you visit!

Unfortunately this incident was not captured on film, but how could anything that hangs out with this guy cause that much trouble? You may be surprised. Don't let that cute face fool you. They only play innocent on TV.

Names: Jessica, Caitlin, and Tara- Third Year Zoo Crew Members
Section:  Children’s Zoo

We had a blast hanging out together and stayed really cool in the hot Houston sun.  Our volunteer work today in the Children’s Zoo was giving the Sheep Beau a bath and man, we got more of a bath than he did, but we had a good time trying.