12/2/11 Primate Zookeeper Michelle Reports....

We have been very grateful that the weather has been mild so far! The primates are loving it! Tanzie, our toddler chimpanzee has discovered "rolling" and "somersaults"! She's discovered that if she starts at the top of her hill, she can roll longer and faster all the way down.  She does get dizzy at the bottom, but runs right up to do it again! Check out our post to see a short video of her rolling skills! The new siamang exhibit is well under way and the Siamangs just arrived! They are inside a new winter enclosure where it is nice and warm.  We have a wonderful family unit with a mom, dad, and 2 year old!  The toddler reminds us of Tanzie with the playful demeanor and curiosity! They've adjusted very well to their new home and are doing great!  We've also had a pair of Red Ruffed Lemurs arrive and they are so beautiful and have lots of personality! They are doing great also.  We can't wait to see what is next and share them with you when we open next season! We are looking for donations of blankets, sheets, towels, and toys for the Holidays (used is fine)! Thank You  (Below Mama, Papa, & Toddler Siamang)

(female, male Red Ruffed Lemurs)

10/7/11 Zookeepers Report....UPDATE: Clyde the male White Rhino over 40 yrs old passed away due to natural causes. He is greatly missed.

We've had an exciting Fall so Far.  Zookeeper Duane reports that our new young female White Rhinos are doing great and adapting well to their new environment.  They've taken to Duane and the girls were a little fearful at first but have really warmed up to their home and are venturing outside more and more each day.  We are really grateful that we were able to help protect these amazing animals.  It has been a long haul for these girls and we are happy they are in a stable environment and we were a part of their species survival plan!  Zookeeper Michelle reports that a baby Schmidt's Guenon was born 2 weeks ago and is doing really well.  Schmidt's Guenons are an endangered species, so breeding in captivity is very promosing for them!  They are a curious group and can be seen playing, jumping on each other, and swinging on each other's tail! They are very curious about the new baby.  Some of the other females will help groom or hold the baby. We spied the toddler born last year pulling at the newborn's tail!  Kids will be kids!

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08/31/11 Zookeepers Report....

We feel very lucky that all of the animals, staff, and zoo suffered little damage due to Tropical Storm Irene.  We'd like to thank everyone for their concern and really appreciate your support.  We had a lot of clean up in the exhibits and in the park itself.  Many of the animals enjoyed the leaves, twigs, and branches that fell!  The hoofstock like the Giraffe's, Warthogs, Aoudads, Goats, etc. love to eat the leaves and the primates love to play with the sticks and pull the bark off the branches!  All of our animals were very secure and the storm didn't phase them one bit! We've had a lot of new babies in the last month or so and we are excited as fall rolls around the corner with the arrival of our new White Rhinos!  They are on site...when they get acclimated to their enviornment and to us they will go out into their new habitat!  We are very excited!

These pictures we took after the storm...see the zebras and ostrich grazing as soon as the sun came out!

06/25/11 Zookeepers Report....

Sorry for not posting this season yet!  We have been very busy getting the zoo ready for summer!  We've just opened a new Giraffe Habitat and our 2 1/2 yr old Molly Giraffe had to be acclimated to the new exhibit and her new friends Midas and Pina.  We are offering a Giraffe Encounter for $10.00 per person where you'll learn about the giraffes and get up close to feed them!  This is a great program with a limited amount of tickets and we are so excited about our new exhibit.  On June 16th, our visitors and staff were able to watch a red deer being born right near the train station.  It was great that our visitors got to experience this amazing event. Here are some pictures as it happens.  Red deer momma is a great mom and she took care of her newborn right from birth to nudging the fawn up to suckle! What a beautiful moment and we wanted to share it with you!  There have been many other babies born and we are expecting a few more this coming summer, so stop by the zoo soon!

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1/21/11 Zookeepers Michelle and Ruth Report....

The snow can be a challenge for us zookeepers and for the animals!  Some absolutely love it, some don't want to even go near it!  Enrichment Activities are very important during the winter where the animals may not get as much exercise as they would outside.  We've been doing all kinds of enrichment for the animals.  We've taken a run by Salvation Army to grab a lot of things for the animals to explore and discover.  We've made hay boxes stuffed with hidden "goodies", usually special veggies!  We've used pvc pipes, clothing, cardboard boxes, water bottles filled with hidden items, and so much more.  We really appreicate everyone who has dropped off items for the animals, it really helps us during the winter!!  We're always looking for enrichment ideas and donations!  You can contact us at primates@southwickszoo.com or for the cats and hoofed animals, zookeeper@southwickszoo.com if you have any questions!  We've taken these pictures last week, hope you enjoy them.

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12/21/10 Zookeepers Report.... Primate Keeper Michelle reports...

We've had a couple of monkeys born within the last 2 months, the babies and moms are doing great!  The Chimps and Mandrills love the snow!  Today was their first real taste of snow for the season, they like to come out and check it out then go back in where it is warm!! We're looking for donations of blankets, towels, and sheets for the primates.  The chimps epecially love to walk around and wrap themselves in blankets! We're also looking for a radio/cd player...they love music!  The hoofstock keepers are looking for a push broom, buckets, and feed pans from Nasco....we'll take anything new or used! We'd like to thank everyone for their donations and holiday wishes for the animals, we have much to be thankful for!  Happy Holdiays!

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11/16/10 Zookeepers Report.... Tim from EARTH is the primary keeper for the owls...

We are happy to report that we now have a pair of Eagle Owls and are really excited.  They are really amazing and beautiful animals.  They are currently getting acclimated to their new home.  They are a little leary of us right now, but we can't help but be in awe of their beauty and power. We have a male and female. Eagle Owls are one of the largest owls in the world and are native to most of Europe, Russia, and parts of Asia. Eagle owls live in a various habitats where good... food supply and nesting choices are plentiful! They eat a variety of prey from insects up to fox or fawns! Females are about 1/3 larger than the males and can weigh over 10 lbs! Males average at about 7lbs. Their wingspan can be over 5 feet in length! Did you know owls have enough power in their feet to burst a tennis ball? Did you know that owls do not have teeth and eat their prey whole with only their sharp beak to tear up prey? Did you know that owls can't digest the bones and other hard materials and they regurgitate those materials in the form of an owl pellet?

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10/09/10 Zookeepers Report....

The Zookeepers are pretty excited about the Animals & Pumpkins next week.  This is the first season that we will be open when the zookeepers give pumpkins to the animals and we're all curious about what the animals will do with them! The zookeepers are asking for some fall produce donations for the animals for enrichement activities.  The zookeepers would like to thank everyone who have brought donations like blankets, toys, radios. etc. for the animals.   Cornstalks were donated by Whittier Farms last week and given to some of the animals.  The Mangabey monkeys ripped them apart, the capuchins played with them, some of the other animals tried to eat them...it was a great success! An African Crested Porcupine was born a couple of weeks ago and will spend some of his days at the Earth Discover Center when not with his foster family (momma porcupine wasn't able to care for him).  He is so cute!

                              photo credit: Laura Vear

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6/14/10 Zookeepers Report....

Zookeeper Michelle reports that the monkeys are loving the warm weather and Tanzie (baby chimp) is getting more and more independent and it is a lot of fun watching her play with her family. The Kangaroos love lazing in the sun all day and we love this picture of one our kangaroos taking her afternooon  nap.  Zookeeper Marianne reports that we've had a lot of baby goats born in the last few weeks and Pot Bellied piglets were born on Friday, June 11th! The lions are loving the sunshine!

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It has been great watching the primates that like to go outside in the winter. If the weather is nice enough, the Chimpanzees, Mandrills, and Colobus Monkeys like to go outside.  Just after the last big snowfall, the male chimpanzee was trying to make his way outside towards his favorite tree.  He didn't like getting his feet wet so he kept hopping from one foot to the other all the way to the tree!  It was such a funny sight and then one of our female chimpanzees followed in his exact footsteps!  How intelligent these animals are!