Posts Tagged ‘Houston Zoo’

Aug
28

Meet the Staff: Susan Shepard

Posted by Tina Carpenter in Bears,Featured,Meet the Staff

Susan Shepard

Hometown:  Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, CA (Oceanside)

Department/Title: Carnivore Keeper

How long have you worked at the Houston Zoo?: 8 years

How long have you been in the your field?: Total of 11 years – I worked at the Topeka Zoo for 2 ½ years

Animals I train: Patty (Spectacled Bear); Kadu (Leopard); Uzima (one of newest female Lions); Taji (Anatolian Shepherd)

Favorite animal: Spectacled Bears – bears in general!

Animals at home: I have a Blue and Gold Macaw, 1 dog and 2 cats.

Special interests/hobbies: Knitting, reading, hiking, working with Rhodesian Ridgeback and Anatolian Shepherd rescue groups. I also volunteer at a low cost spay/neuter clinic in La Marque.

 

Spectacled Bear

What made you want to work at a zoo?:

Initially I wanted to be a vet but by the time I would have gotten accepted, I would have had to go to college for 8 years and didn’t want to commit the time. I also knew that I did not want to work with livestock animals as a career. One day a woman from Cat Tales, a private facility in Spokane, WA that specializes in cats, came to the university and did a presentation about cats and zoo keeping. She brought one of their leopards and took him out for part of the presentation. After talking with her I thought Zoo Keeping would be fun to do as a career. I did some research, decided that it was something I wanted to do and switched my major to Zoology.

Education/training: Bachelor of Science Zoology, emphasis on Animal Care from Washington State University and a Certificate in Zoo Keeping from Cat Tales Zoological Training Center.

Advice to anyone wanting to enter your field: Be prepared for a lot of hard work and don’t get discouraged if you don’t get a job right away! Getting a job takes a lot of luck and good timing. You have to work for it and be persistent! If possible, take courses in psychology, training workshops, horticulture, and public speaking.

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Aug
21

Introducing Penelope and Olivia-Guinea Hog Piglets at the Houston Zoo!

Posted by Andrea Pohlman in Children's Zoo,Enrichment,Featured,Guinea Hog,Mammals,Training

Penelope (right) and Olivia enjoy snuggling together, even on hot summer days!

Guinea Hog piglets. Just saying that now brings a huge smile to my face, and I’m not the only one.  Our new girls have charmed every person-young or old, zookeeper or not-that has laid eyes on them.  They now have adorable names to match their very individual personalities: Penelope and Olivia.  Named after two famous piglets from children’s story books, Olivia was named such for her dainty, princess-like personality.  Penelope, on the other hand, goes by the nickname “bulldozer”, always trying to push her way to the center of attention. If these first few weeks of Penelope and Olivia being on exhibit has taught us anything, it is definitely that piglets have a TON of energy!  These girls seem to be on the move the majority of the day.  Running, chasing, bouncing off of each other, training, climbing in water bowls and searching for snacks in the dirt sure takes a lot of energy!  Even eating is a mini-marathon, each piglet trying to play and eat at the same time.  And when they are tuckered out they find a corner to snuggle in, sometimes nose to nose, other times side by side.

Play or eat? Decisions, decisions.

Even the other animals who live nearby are entertained by their antics.  The first few days on exhibit piqued everyone’s interest and nearly every move they made was being carefully watched.  Crowds of goats gathered at the fence, each one trying to get a good look at the new additions.  The Zebus called out, seeming to wonder why the attention was not centered on them, and the Llama couldn’t decide if the piglets were friend or foe.  A week later, everyone is content with Penelope and Olivia being their new neighbors.   When it is time for a training session, the excitement is easy to see.  Penelope and Olivia can’t get enough affection and attention, and they usually greet their trainers with a grunt or squeal.  According to trainer Amy Lavergne, Penelope and Olivia’s favorite reward seems to be strawberries, although being pigs they will accept almost any fruit or vegetable we give them!  Pigs are not picky.  One of the girls’ favorite behaviors to work on is paint, where the trainer applies non-toxic paint to their snouts and lets them go wild on a canvas to create their own masterpiece.  Ok, maybe they don’t go wild yet, but they’re working on it.  And just like your kids at home, they do not like cleaning up!  Running around with a bright pink nose is much more fun than taking a bath.  Before too long they will be learning to walk on harnesses to get some exercise and excitement outside of their exhibit.

Candace applies animal friendly paint to Olivia's snout, which she will use as her paintbrush.

Olivia makes her first swipe onto the canvas.

She seems to be catching on to the fun of being an animal artist!

She even managed to get some good snout prints!

A completed painting by Olivia

Next up is bath time to clean all that paint off!

For now, Penelope and Olivia are very busy exploring, playing, tasting new foods, learning new behaviors and getting used to their daily routine.  They are absolutely adorable and quite rambunctious, qualities that are sure to make them a Houston Zoo favorite for many years to come!   Be sure to visit the John P. McGovern Children’s Zoo during your next visit to see Penelope and Olivia up close! For more adorable pictures of Penelope and Olivia visit the Houston Zoo’s Photo Albums!

To learn more about Olivia books by Ian Falconer, visit http://www.oliviathepiglet.com/. Visit http://www.nicolerubel.com/nicolebooks.htm to learn more about Penelope Pig books by Nicole Rubel.

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Aug
21

Meet the Staff: Kaitlin McDonald

Posted by Candace VanScyoc in Behind the Scenes,Children's Zoo,Featured,Meet the Staff

Kaitlin, a 2010 Zoo Crew member!

Name: Kaitlin McDonald
Hometown: Houston, TX
Age: 16
Section: CZ ZooCrew
Favorite Animal: Otters  

Special Interests/Hobbies: I like to read, hang out with friends, and watch movies. My favorite movie is Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn! I am also involved with volunteering with Fort Bend Teen Service League as president-elect and with Students against Destructive Decisions (SADD) as co-president.  

 What animals do you have at home?: I have two cats, Furby and Furry.  

Education/Training: I’m in High School and going to be a junior where I’ll graduate in 2012.  

Jobs: Last year I was a Zoo Crew member for the commissary. I also worked at  kids’ camp called Camp Invention.  

What do you want to do in the future?
I’m not really sure, although I definitely want to go to college!  

Why did you choose to be a Zoo Crew member for the CZ this year?
I love animals, and it seemed like a fun thing to do during the summer!  

What is it like to be a Zoo Crew member here at the Houston Zoo?
It depends on the area – In an animal section, you take care of the animals. In education, there is a lot more public interaction and teaching.  

At the Children's Zoo, Kaitlin designed and presented her own animal show!

What advice do you have for people wanting to become a Zoo Crew member?
Be prepared to work hard, but you get to see a lot of neat things!  

What is your favorite animal story?
One day in the Children’s Zoo, I got to watch Ariel (our North American River Otter) paint! It was so neat to watch Ariel step into the paint and then step on the canvas. She was also soaking wet, so it made it  very interesting painting. I absolutely love the painting, and I am definitely hanging it up on my wall in my bedroom!To learn more about becoming a Zoo Crew member here at the Houston Zoo, visit our Teen Volunteer page!

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Aug
19

Flamingo Chicks: Sometimes Baby Gets Sick!

Posted by Rochelle Joseph in Birds

Not everything about hand raising birds is fun and games.  Sometimes the chicks can get sick – but thankfully we have 4 vets on staff that we can count on to help us out when it happens.

Chick 6 (or “Green Head” as we marked him) is a little bit of a bully.  It was one that had to be kept in a brooder alone (but still next to all the other chicks) because every time we would put them all together, 6 would chase around and bite the other ones.  Until one day about 2 weeks ago….

We weigh the chicks every morning and every evening to make sure they are growing well.  Also, we carefully monitor their hydration and food intake.  About 2 weeks ago, Chick 6 was not gaining as much weight as everyone else and the chick’s appetite seemed to decrease.  About a day after we started really watching 6, we noticed that he (or she) sneezed a lot — but was otherwise active and lively.

The next morning was a completely different story!  When the keepers came in, Chick 6 was coughing and sneezing constantly, and having a really, really hard time breathing.  We called the vets immediately.

Without delay,  Chick 6 was moved to our vet clinic.  It seemed it was pneumonia.  The vet staff placed  it in a special holding area where it could receive oxygen constantly and be nebulized 4 times a day.

The little guy in a nebulizing chamber

The chick was still having trouble breathing, so the vets put in a “air sac canula.” This is basically a tube that is put into the air sac (on the side of the body) that allows the chick to breathe easier — a little like a person getting a tracheotomy.  This helped Chick 6 a lot! He was able to breathe a lot more and not be so stressed.

After a week of treatment (both oral antibiotics, anti-fungal medication and aerosolized medication for the chick’s lung), Chick 6 was able to be move to a holding area with out the oxygen.

The chick in it's holding cage

Just like the other chicks, Chick 6 got it’s exercise by running around to keep it’s strength up.

As it got better, Chick 6 got more strength and was able to play for longer periods at a time.

On Friday, August 13, Chick 6 was returned to the department to live with the 7 other flamingo chicks.  Yay!  He still has to be kept separated from the other chicks – but now it’s just because he’s still a little bit of a bully!!

The now-healthy chick, with Dr. Lauren Howard and Dr. Maryanne Tocidlowski

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Aug
14

Meet the Staff: Brooke Vincent

Posted by Tina Carpenter in Featured,Keepers,Meet the Staff,Vet Clinic

Brooke and Sifaka Infant "Sebastian"

Hometown:  College Station, TX

Department/Title:  Clinic Keeper

How long have you worked at the Houston Zoo?:  5 years

How long have you been in the your field?:  7 years

Favorite animal:  Okapi. When I was an intern at White Oak Conservation Center, we had a couple of young okapi that were being weaned. Tulia was the youngest of the three and very sweet and small. It was always my favorite part of the day to go see the calves. After I had been at Houston a few years, we received Tulia into Quarantine. I was amazed at how large she had gotten! She has grown into quite the young lady. Now I get to see a whole new side to her and it will be exciting when she has her own babies!

Quote:  “Winning hearts and minds for animals” – Jack Brown SFCC Director

Special interests/hobbies:  Reading, Knitting badly, hiking and camping, kayaking, and I am also AAZK Vice President of the Greater Houston Chapter

What made you want to work at a zoo?:  I was trying to find my niche so I had a lot of different jobs, several of which involved working with animals. During one of my quests to find my niche, I was working as a Disney College Program student at Disney’s Animal Kingdom as a custodian when I happened to see a keeper feeding produce to the gorillas. I had never considered zoo keeping as a career because I’d always assumed that your family had to teach you the skills, like a trapeze artist. It just so happened that this particular keeper’s parents were zookeepers! Awhile later, I asked a different keeper how she got into the field, and they told me about the Teaching Zoo.

Education/training:  Associates of Science in Zoo Animal Technology from Santa Fe Teaching Zoo – Gainesville, FL

Previous related jobs:  Pet sitting, vet clinics, animal shelters

Advice to anyone wanting to enter the your field:  Work or volunteer anywhere with animals. Be prepared to get down and dirty! If you need to be clean or can’t handle dirt, you won’t be happy in this field no matter how much you love animals.

What is unique about being a clinic keeper:  The clinic is a little known area by zoo guests because we are behind the scenes. We are the ones who take care of the sick, new arrivals, geriatric, and injured. We are able to give special attention to specific animals that really need it at critical times in their life. We have the ability to rearrange an entire enclosure for just one animal’s needs, whereas that is difficult to do for a whole enclosure full of different animals that may need it another way!

Why you like this department:  I like working in the clinic because it is trying to find the order in chaos. Every day is different. We work with so many different animals that I get to use all the knowledge I learned from school every day. I love the challenge and thinking outside the box!

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Aug
13

Flamingo “Foot”-age

Posted by Rochelle Joseph in Birds

After several weeks of practice and time to grow strong, the flamingo chicks are starting their walks to the flamingo exhibit.  They will be in the exhibit each day for about an hour to make sure they get plenty of sun and exercise.  Check out the zoo’s daily update  on our webpage, on the Plan Your Day Kiosks on Zoo grounds, or on our iPhone app to find out the time that the flamingo chicks will be out and about….

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Aug
07

Meet the Staff: Joy Oria

Posted by Andrea Pohlman in Uncategorized

                                    
Joy stands in front of the Patas Monkey exhibit at the Houston Zoo.

Hometown: Houston, TX
Section: Primates
Quote: The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible. –Oscar Wilde
Special interests/Hobbies:
Outdoor activities like hiking and kayaking, reading historical fiction, learning foreign languages
Favorite animal:
It tends to be whatever animal I’m working with at the time, however, I have a special fondness for Patas monkeys – I love their athleticism, reticent nature and social dynamics.  I currently train the Patas monkeys.
Interesting Facts:
I graduated as a dance major from Houston’s High School for the Performing & Visual Arts

What made you want to be a zookeeper?
While working as a park ranger on Alcatraz Island I had the opportunity to observe up-close the entire life cycle of western gulls and found it fascinating. I wanted to learn more about animals and animal related careers, so I applied for an internship at the Houston Zoo.  I have been working here for 4 years.

What is your education, training, and previous institution(s) you attended before coming to the Houston Zoo?
I have a BA in Music from the University of Houston. I worked internships with the Primate and Hoofstock departments here at the Houston Zoo.  Previously, I worked as a mule driver on a re-created 1870s canal boat.

What sort of advice would you give to anyone wanting to enter the zoo field?
Volunteer first to see if you like it – it’s more hard work than you might expect.

What is your favorite animal story?
Everyday while I’m working with animals something cute, funny, sweet or interesting happens. Probably the most inspiring moments, though, are the ones where I get to observe animals in the wild, such as coming face to face with California gray whales in Baja Mexico, hearing elk bugling in Rocky Mountain National Park and standing underneath a capuchin troop in Costa Rica.

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Aug
02

Growing Up Flamingo: Swimming and Feeding

Posted by Rochelle Joseph in Birds

Flamingos grow-up quickly… sort of… they will need us to help feed them for at least the next 90 days – so they will still be babies in that sense.  However, in just a span of 3 months they will grow from being about 10 inches high to being over 3 feet tall.  Growing this quickly means that we have to keep a close eye on the development of the flamingo’s legs. Flong-legged birds, it is very important that the chicks do not outgrow their leg strength.

Flamingos hatch out with very dense white/gray down.  This down helps them keep warm and dry.  It also makes them very buoyant.  When chicks are just 2 – 3 days old, the parents will often taken them for their first swim.  Swimming is great exercise for baby flamingos, as it helps their legs develop properly. To mimic this, we start swimming the flamingo chicks when they are just a couple of days old.

The Fuzzy Bunch takes their first swim!

Swimming is just one form of exercise that the flamingo chicks receive.  Several times a day they are placed in “play-pens” with all the other chicks. This allows them to start interacting with others and also show off their ability to bathe themselves (a behavior that they start almost from the time they hatch).

Each flamingo chick has its own distinct personality. Some are very sweet, others like to bite.  This distinction can be seen when they interact with each other. Watch this:

One of the other ways we definitely notice the chick’s personality is when we’re feeding them. Some of the chicks will sit quietly and eat, others like to run around the table.  Some don’t mind if the formula is warm, others want the formula to be exactly 104.6º or they throw food every where. When you’re feeding a formula made of pureed fish and shrimp, having the formula spit back out on you it is not necessarily a pleasant experience. 

A wee bite of the hand that feeds.

This little one needs a napkin.

Now here's how you eat politely!

We’ll share this delictable recipe in the next post, for those among you who are conniseurs… and show a delightful demonstration of just how it’s made, so please stop back!

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Jul
31

Meet the Staff: Kristin Windle

Posted by Candace VanScyoc in Children's Zoo,Featured,Meet the Staff,Volunteers

 
Kristin holding our American Alligator during an Animal Presentation.

Kristin holding our American Alligator during an Animal Presentation.

Name: Kristin Windle
Hometown: Lake Jackson
Age: 20
Section: Children’s Zoo Intern
Favorite Animal: Elephant

Special Interests/Hobbies: Dance: Ballet for 16 years and tap for 15 years

What animals do you have?: I have a dog named Grady

Education/Training: Certified Veterinary Assistant, Bachelor of Science in Animal Science in progress

Jobs: Veterinary Assistant for 3 years. I started as a kennel attendant and worked my way up to receptionist and then veterinary assistant.

What do you want to do in the future?
Apply to veterinary school to work with small animals.

Why did you want this internship?
I love animals, and I wanted to get more experience with small animals than just in a veterinary clinic!

What is it like to be an intern here at the Houston Zoo?
There is no typical day. There’s lots of raking, cleaning, and loving on the animals…a bunch of fun! And lots of sweating.

What advice do you have for people wanting to enter this field?
Work hard at school! Make sure it’s something you love and have fun at, or you might be miserable (although this goes with any job!).

What is your favorite animal story?
When I got Grady: I was working, and someone abandoned him at the end of the veterinary office driveway. I went out to get an appointment, and he ran right up to me. I loved on him for a while and got him set up in a kennel. We picked each other right then and there!

There are several ways to join in on the fun at the Houston Zoo! To learn more about becoming an intern, visit the zoo’s Internship Programs page, or to learn more about volunteering, visit the zoo’s volunteer page.

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Jul
27

Guinea Hog Piglets Soon to Make Their Debut at the John P. McGovern Children’s Zoo!

Posted by Andrea Pohlman in Children's Zoo,Endangered,Featured,Guinea Hog

Spring is typically thought of as a time for baby animals and flowers, but not for the John P. McGovern Children’s Zoo!  This year, our babies are arriving right in the middle of summer, and they definitely don’t smell like flowers!  We have two adorable Guinea Hog piglets that arrived at the zoo in July, soon to make their debut on exhibit in the Children’s Zoo.  Now, adorable may not be a word that you typically use to describe pigs, but how can you describe these faces as anything else?

You will be able to see this adorable face up close soon in the John P. McGovern Children's Zoo!

These girls may be small now, weighing about 25 lbs, but in a few years they will be about 150 lbs!  That may seem very large, but Guinea Hogs are actually one of the smaller breeds of pigs.  Guinea Hogs originated from West Africa and have been crossbred to create their unique breed, found only in North America, making them a true American Heritage Breed.  You won’t find this breed in the wild, they are only bred and kept on farms and ranches.  Guinea Hogs are omnivores, spending their days foraging for grasses, roots, nuts and the occasional small mammal or snake. Once one of the most commonly kept pigs, there are now fewer than 200 remaining making them a critically rare, or a minor breed.  Similar to a wild animal being classified as threatened or endangered, the term minor breed is used to describe nearly 100 breeds of livestock in North America that are declining.  Many of these breeds, like the Guinea Hog, were once kept widely and played a major role in the development in North American agriculture.  Over time, these breeds have been replaced by specialized breeds to meet the increasing production demand.  Guinea Hogs have a very sweet and docile disposition, and are extremely receptive to attention and training from keepers.  Our new additions have been receiving regular training from the time that they arrived.  Being very intelligent, Guinea Hogs are able to learn new behaviors quickly, already mastering target and station, seen below.  This consistent training is not only important as enrichment, but is also helpful for veterinary check ups, lessening the stress to the animal and staff.

Target is commonly one of the first behaviors any animal learns. Here, one of our girls targets to trainer Russell's hand. She must touch her snout, or gruntle, to his open palm to receive a reward.

Our girls will be venturing out onto exhibit in the John P. McGovern Children’s Zoo very soon.  Check back to see how much they enjoy their new home, exciting enrichment, and learning fun new behaviors, and be sure to visit them soon at the Houston Zoo!

Visit the American Guinea Hog Association to learn more about Guinea Hogs.

To learn more about American Heritage Breeds visit the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

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