Chilean Flamingos Feeding at the Houston Zoo

Here at the Houston Zoo, one of the most beautiful sights is our large flock of Chilean Flamingos. These brightly-colored birds are social, vocal and highly interesting. Amazingly, the size of our flock is nothing compared to the spectacular gatherings these birds would naturally form in the wild; Chilean Flamingos are known to form flocks numbering into the thousands!

Flamingos have grooves along the edges of their beaks used for filtering small food items from the water

Without question, one of the most intriguing aspects of these unique birds is the way they feed. Flamingos have a specialized beak designed to help “filter” small plants and animals out of the water, which are then consumed and metabolized to create the striking pink coloration! Flamingos will take in a mouth full of water (along with whatever happens to be in the water), and then use their tongue to push all the water through special grooves on their beak. The result is a mouthful of food that these birds will then eat!

Here at the Houston Zoo, our flamingos are fed a variety of different pelleted diets (depending on the time of year and their current metabolic needs). These pellets are made to be nutritionally complete, which could easily help contribute to the fact that several of our flamingos are in their forties and fifties!  Our flamingos also receive krill, a small species of shrimp that is relished as a treat.

A large group of animals can prove to be ravenous; Chilean Flamingos are no exception. Our flock of birds readily eats through 50+ cups of pelleted diet per day. In addition, 5lbs of krill per week are consumed by our flamingos. When temperatures hit lows in the winter, these amounts are increased to keep up with the metabolic needs of these amazing birds.

Give the Gift of Grub by December 31 to help provide our flamingos and the rest of the Zoo’s 6,000 animal residents with all the tasty and nutritious grub they need to stay happy and healthy in the New Year! 

Thank you to TXU Energy for generously matching the first $25,000 in donations this year!

One of the most popular exhibits at the Houston Zoo is our meerkat yard. Located just outside the entrance to the Carruth Natural Encounters building, the meerkats are fun to watch as they go about their lives. And if you need a break from walking, the benches are a great place to sit and watch them.

Meerkats are small, African mammals related to the mongoose. They live in groups called “mobs,” which can have up to 40 meerkats, but it is more common for a mob to have 10 to 15 individuals. There is an alpha pair which includes the dominate members of the mob responsible for reproduction. When there is a new litter, each meerkat contributes to caring for the young by helping to find food, digging new burrows, and even babysitting the new litter. Acting as a lookout, called sentry, is another important job for meerkats. A sentry helps to protect the colony by looking out for predators and will sound the alarm if any threat is present.

In the wild, a meerkat will eat mostly insects, but it will also catch and eat reptiles, birds and other small mammals. A mob will even work together to catch venomous snakes and other larger prey.  The meerkats at the Houston Zoo love spending their days digging new burrows, exploring their enrichment, play wrestling with each other and sunbathing on exhibit. The next time you’re at the Houston Zoo, take a few minutes to enjoy the antics of the meerkats. Our meerkat yard is definitely an exhibit that is fun to see again and again!

Written By Kamryn Suttinger

Help provide tasty and nutritious grub for the Zoo’s meerkat mob and the rest of our animal family this holiday season: Give the Gift of Grub!

Thank you to TXU Energy for generously matching the first $25,000 in donations this year.  Our mob says that’s an offer you can’t refuse!

At the Houston Zoo, Straw-colored fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) can be seen in the Bat Cave area of the Carruth Natural Encounters building. These are one of the largest species of fruit bats in the world and the Houston Zoo has 24 of them on exhibit! Just as their name implies, Straw-colored fruit bats love to eat fruit. In fact, at the zoo, they eat 15lbs of fruit every day! In the wild, these African bats roost high up in treetops during the day and at night fill the sky as they forage for figs and other types of fruit.

When you stop at the bat exhibit, look for bats with their mouths full of the 3 different types of fruit they get each day. Their favorite fruits to eat are grapes, bananas and cantaloupe, but they also have mango, apple, pear, papaya and honey-dew melon. When a bat finds a tasty piece of fruit, it takes the biggest bite it possibly can and swallows all the juice from the fruit as it chews. When there is no more juice, the bat spits the remaining pulp, seeds and skin out onto the floor. In the wild, this habit is crucial to the forests’ health. The pulp and skin from the fruit decays on the forest floor, which helps enrich the soil, and by spitting seeds out, bats help more plants grow. If a bat happens to swallow a seed, it will pass, undamaged, through the bat’s digestive tract and, eventually, be deposited on the ground in one of the world’s best fertilizers: bat feces. In this way, the bats ensure that there will always be a plentiful supply of their preferred foods.

You may not know it, but many different species of bats help us get some of the foods we like to eat too. Bats are important pollinators. Fruit bats, like the ones in Natural Encounters, help spread pollen from one plant to another while foraging for fruit in the tree tops. Without bats, a lot of things we like to eat would be much more difficult to produce. Foods like avocado, peaches, carob and many others are all pollinated by different types of bats.

Like many other animals, wild bat populations are suffering due to things like habitat loss, disease, and even the pet trade. To learn more about native Texas bat populations and how you can help bats worldwide, visit Bat Conservation International or stop by the bat cave in the Carruth Natural Encounters Building.

Written by Kamryn Suttinger

Give the Gift of Grub for the holidays to help feed our fruit bats and the rest of the Zoo’s 6,000 animal residents! 

Our thanks to TXU Energy for generously matching the first $25,000 in donations this year!

What is the best thing to do after your afternoon snack?  Well if you are Asali, the Houston Zoo’s nine-month-old Masai giraffe, the best thing is to gallop.  Nothing feels better than to stretch out those long, long legs.

While it was too hot that afternoon to get the rest of her family involved in the fun, the heat was of no concern to Asali.  Even the ostriches watched in amazement as Asali worked off those calories.

Dinner Time at The Houston Zoo

What is on the menu for the Masai giraffe at Houston Zoo?  Our giraffes enjoy hay, fruits and vegetables, and romaine lettuce.  However, their most favorite food of all time is the vast array of different plant material provided by the horticulture staff at Houston Zoo.  The horticulture staff will search the entire zoo looking for tasty treats for the animals, and since they are so tall, the giraffes are able to see them bringing the food from across the zoo.  The giraffe keepers will then place the branches up really high so that the giraffes have to reach up high for them.

This behavior is exactly the same in the wild.  Giraffes are able to reach very high up in the trees to get the tastiest leaves.  Please come by The Houston Zoo’s African Forest exhibit and watch our herd of Masai giraffes as they explore their exhibit, look for food, lounge in the shade, and of course, stretch out those long giraffe legs.

Written by John Register, Hoofed Stock Supervisor

Help provide tasty and nutritious grub for the Zoo’s giraffes and the rest of our animal family this holiday season: Give the Gift of Grub!

Our thanks to TXU Energy for matching the first $25,000 in donations this year.  That’s a LOT of lettuce!

The 2900 species or so of snakes are incredibly diverse in terms of colors, size, and habitat.  However, they all share certain common characteristics.  One of these is that all snakes are carnivorous and must consume whole prey.  Snakes have a very highly modified skull which allows them to consume very large prey items.

The type of prey consumed and method of capture is quite diverse.  Some snakes are sit-and-wait ambush predators while others actively hunt for their food.  Some, like boas and pythons, kill their prey by constriction.  Contrary to popular thought, venomous snakes use their venom as a prey capturing device, and not as a means of defense. Next time you are visiting The Houston Zoo, please visit the Reptile and Amphibian building.  Check our keeper chat board and you might be able to see one of our staff feeding some of our snakes!

Aruba Island rattlesnake (Crotalus unicolor)

Some snakes are generalists, and will eat a wide variety of other animals; others are more specialized and consume only specific prey items.  For example, wild King cobras consume only other snakes.  They have even been known to eat each other on occasion!  Others, like the Aruba Island rattlesnake pictured here, will eat several types of different lizards and rodents.  Several species of snakes are known to eat only eggs, while one species eats only snails.

Angolan python (Python anchietae)

Although snakes in the wild consume live prey, here at the zoo we have trained most of our snakes to accept previously euthanized food items.  Most eat rats and mice while our large pythons eat rabbits.  While the amount varies, the Herpetology section uses around 165 rats and 588 mice of all sizes to feed our animals each month.

The size of the food item and the amount depends upon the species of snake we are talking about.  Snakes have a lower metabolic rate than mammals or birds, so consequently they need less food.  Most of our snakes eat only once a week, while others might go several weeks to a month between feedings.  During periods of hibernation, snakes may go several months without eating.

Speckled kingsnake (Lampropeltis getulus holbrooki)

Some of our snakes are more finicky or are more specialized in their diets.  In addition to rodents and rabbits the Herpetology Department also receives dietary items such as quail, lizards, frogs and toads, and even other small snakes!  For these species, a detailed knowledge of the snake’s natural history and considerable training in methods of herpetological husbandry is required.  This is where the skills of our highly experienced and knowledgeable staff are employed.

Written by Stan Mays

Give the Gift of Grub this holiday season to help provide tasty meals for our snakes and all of the animals at the Houston Zoo!  Our reptilian friends thank you in advance for your support.

Thank you to TXU Energy for generously matching the first $25,000 in donations this year!

Available just in time for holiday reading, a new children’s book for iPad, Chimps Should Be Chimps is now available for download fre free from the App Store.

Published by Lincoln Park Zoo’s Project ChimpCARE, Chimps Should Be Chimps is designed for early readers aged 3 to 8 years of age and offers an interactive and engaging story that aims to educate and inform kids – and their parents – perceptions about chimpanzees.

“Too often, first impressions about chimpanzees are formed by seeing them in human clothes performing in movies or television shows,” said Steve Ross, PhD, founder of Project ChimpCARE.

“Unfortunately, recent research suggests that these impressions can be lasting and have detrimental consequences for this endangered species,” added Ross.

Chimps Should Be Chimps provides kids, and their parents, with a different impression – one that looks at life from the perspective of the chimpanzee. Through rhyming, lyrical prose, the story is told through the eyes of two chimpanzee characters: wise old Poe and his granddaughter Lulu who live amongst other chimps at a local zoo.

The engaging story is highlighted with bright, colorful and playful illustrations which seem to come to life with the stroke of a finger on the iPad screen. The multisensory book includes the sounds of waterfalls, music and birds to bring the characters to life.

The story highlights things that chimpanzees love to do including climbing and swinging in trees, fishing for termites, building nests and playing with other chimpanzees.

The story carefully conveys a message about things that do not make chimpanzees happy, such as being separated from their mother at an early age and being isolated from their peers to be used for performances in movies or TV shows.
“The inspiration for the book came from trying to talk to my own children about chimpanzees,” explained Ross. “The story aims to relate how chimpanzees deserve to be free from these antiquated practices of being dressed up for human amusement. But perhaps just as importantly, it conveys to kids the importance of being yourself and believing in what comes naturally to you.”

Chimps Should Be Chimps was created in partnership with Manning Productions. Find out more about this free iPad book, see illustrations, view the book trailer and get details behind the scenes interviews about the creation of this children’s app and the work of Project ChimpCARE when you visit www.chimpsshouldbechimps.com.

One lucky person could win a brand new iPad! Sign up to win when you visit www.lpzoo.org/chimpcare until December 31. The lucky winner will be notified on January 16, 2012.

Here at The Houston Zoo we know Mole Rats are clearly the original miners. They dig tunnels, they dig out feeding chambers, they dig out a chamber for their queen, and also one for a latrine. And they do it all in a termite-like social setting known as eusociality (meaning truly social). There are only two known eusocial mammals in the world and we have them both in Natural Encounters: The Naked Mole Rat and the Damaraland Mole Rat, both from Africa.

The Naked Mole Rat is the better known of the two but it is neither truly naked, truly a mole nor truly a rat, which just adds to the mystique of this animal. Naked Mole Rats spend nearly their entire life in darkness of underground burrows. Our pink, buck-toothed ( their incisors are on the outside of their mouth which help them dig) friends tunnel beneath the arid African soils constantly looking for food such as roots and tubers and evading predators such as snakes.

Their colonies are structured with a Queen running the show who only reproduces with a select few males. Below them are the soldier mole rats that defend the colony. Due to extremely poor eyesight, they use odors to distinguish friend from foe and since a colony all uses the same latrine chamber, they typically all smell the same and that is all I will say about that but since I used latrine and smell in the same sentence, you get the idea. At the bottom of the colony are the smaller workers who dig the tunnels, maintain the burrows, find the food and are for the Queen and her pups, lots of pups – like up to 25 in a litter every 90 days.

This species has evolved over time to live in colonies of up to 200 animals, all nearly genetically identical, in an environment devoid of normal levels of oxygen, complete darkness. Oh, and they do not drink water – ever.

There are 37 species of Mole-rats, all equally amazing, so come by and learn more of what lies, crawls, eats and sleeps beneath the ground.

Give the Gift of Grub for the holidays to help feed our mole-rats and the rest of the Zoo’s 6,000 animal residents!  From now until December 31, your gift could go twice as far thanks to a generous matching gift challenge by TXU Energy.  All gifts, up to $25,000 total, will be matched dollar for dollar in an effort to help the Zoo provide for its growing animal family.  Our mole-rats really dig that.

Written By Peter Riger

The Golden frog, Atelopus zeteki, is a species as important to the people of Panama as the Bald eagle is to citizens of the United States.  Their cultural significance dates back to Mayan times, and even today they are considered to be symbols of good fortune.  In Panama, the Golden frog (also known as the Rana dorada) has become a national symbol of nature.  Golden frogs are still used as advertisements for restaurants and hotels, and even appear on lottery tickets. You can also find some of those great Golden frogs here at The Houston Zoo!

Golden frogs are small frogs that range in background color from brilliant gold to greenish yellow with highly variable black markings.  They are endemic to cloud forests with clear running streams and prefer cooler temperatures.  Females are larger than males.  Wild frogs have a unique skin toxin, zetekitoxin, which is used for defense much as in other poison dart frog species.  The basis for this toxin comes from the food they eat in the wild; captive animals lose their toxicity.

Unfortunately, very few Panamanians have ever seen a wild Golden frog.  Habitat destruction, agrochemicals, and over-collection for the pet trade have all played a part in the decline of the Golden frog population.  The worst threat, however, has been the appearance of a recent fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (also known as “chytrid”) which is highly contagious and fatal to both adult and larval Golden frog.  In response to these threats, the Houston Zoo has joined a conservation initiative called Project Golden Frog along with a group of other zoos and scientific organizations whose primary goal is to preserve this species.

The Golden frog diet in the wild consists of a wide variety of different species of arthropods.  In captivity adults receive primarily two week old crickets that have been fed a highly fortified diet and are dusted with vitamin and calcium powder.  They are also given flightless fruit flies and occasional silkworms and small hornworms.  Newly metamorphosed frogs receive fruit flies, day old crickets and small arthropods known as springtails.

Maintaining not only the Golden frog, but also the other amphibians at the Houston Zoo is a challenging task.  These animals eat a lot of insects! Did you know that the Houston Zoo feeds over 18,000,000 (no, I did not make an error in the number of zeros) crickets per year to the animals in our collection?  The zoo amphibian species consume a significant part of this number.

Written by Stan Mays, Herpetology

Help provide tasty and nutritious grub for the Zoo’s Golden Frogs and the rest of our animal family this holiday season: Give the Gift of Grub!  TXU Energy is matching all donations through December 31, up to $25,000 total, so your gift could have TWICE the impact.  Don’t miss out on this truly GOLDEN opportunity.

On Saturday, December 17 from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m., the lawn next to the okapi habitat will be covered with 15,000 lbs of snow! That’s a lot of snow! You can play, build snowmen, and win prizes.  The snow fun will begin at 9 a.m. and is FREE with your paid admission or Zoo Membership. Get here early because who knows how long the snow will last in this unpredictable Houston weather.

To add to the holiday festivities, at 10 a.m. on the 17^th Leah White and the Magic Mirrors will perform holiday favorites at the Zoo’s Reflection Pool. Leah White and the Magic Mirrors are winners of the 2009 Nickelodeon Parent’s Choice Award and a Zoo-favorite!

You won’t want to miss this – join us this December 17 for music, animals, and fun in the snow!

Anyone who has watched a television show or movie filmed in a tropical location has undoubtedly heard the call of a Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaguineae). While these birds are only found in certain areas of Australia and New Zealand, the call of this bird has become synonymous with untamed wilds and is often added to the soundtrack to create a more “natural” feel. Less melodic but much more visually-striking, our Blue-winged Kookaburras (Dacelo leachii) are also favorites amongst our guests.

The call of a kookaburra may in fact be one of the most interesting things about these birds, with a great deal of myth associated with the vocalization. Aboriginal legend tells us that the Kookaburra is a messenger for the Earth, using a powerful call to alert the Earth of the lighting of the great fire in the sky. In actuality kookaburras will call for a variety of reasons (including territoriality and excitement), and these early morning calls are typically used to assert territorial boundaries. However, this myth does indicate the majesty of the call and the reverence it has inspired.

However, kookaburras have a great many other interesting attributes. While they may appear somewhat fluffy and cuddly, these birds are in fact accomplished predators. Kookaburras consume large food items by beating the prey against a rock or log to break down bones and make the food item easier to swallow.

At the Houston Zoo, our birds receive a wide variety of food items to keep them interested in their food and also ensure their nutritional well-being. Our birds eat mice, chicken chicks, anoles (small lizards), crickets, mealworms, smelt, walking sticks and a specialized ground meat diet to ensure optimum feather condition! In the course of a month, these four birds can eat:

• 50 Mice
• 50 Anoles
• 16 Chicken Chicks

A variety of insects are also readily accepted by these ravenous birds. Our Keepers at the Houston Zoo also perform regularly-scheduled feedings so that our guests can learn even more about these fascinating birds. Our Laughing Kookaburras and Blue-winged Kookaburras are on-exhibit daily at Birds of the World, a large outdoor area showing off some of our most interesting feathered residents!

Give the Gift of Grub this holiday season to help provide tasty meals for our Kookaburras and all of the animals at the Houston Zoo!  Between now and December 31, TXU Energy has generously agreed to match all donations, up to $25,000 total, so your gift could go TWICE as far.  That’ll give our birds something to call about.