Follow this unlikely team of cats and dogs as they and their trainers develop new presentations for our guests and work to help save wild cheetahs.
I posted some initial photos a few weeks ago about our renovation of the jaguar exhibit. This is one of the biggest projects going on in the zoo right now. Check out the progress so far:
out with the old
the old rock wall gets pressured washed and primed for paint
forms for the new pool
I’ve spent this little hiatus thinking about where to go next with this blog – now, don’t get me wrong, I love writing about cheetahs and dogs but there is a lot more that goes on at the zoo. We’re thinking about expanding this blog to cover more animal-related topics – what do you think?
For example, the behind the scenes series was popular (hopefully not just because we gave away some free tickets) so we could do more of those in other areas. I’m also hoping to get some of my colleagues to pitch in with stories from other sections. I’m going to try out a few things the next few weeks and I’d love to hear from all of you on what you like and what you’d like to see.
African wild dog, one of the Africa's most endangered carnivores - want to see more about them here?
We saved the hardest part for the end so first, a little review:
1. Cheetah spots are solid black
2. Leopard spots are actually rosettes
And now the tricky part – jaguar spots are also rosettes, but with one subtle difference.
Jaguar rosettes have black spots inside them. The tricky part is that some leopard rosettes have spots and some jaguar rosettes don’t, so how else can you tell?
First, check your map – if you’re in Africa or Asia, its a leopard. If you’re in Central or South America, its a jaguar. When compared side by side, jaguars also tend to have a stockier build, and anyone that as worked with them in a zoo will tell you their temperaments are quite different as well.
Leopards are quite a bit different than cheetahs, their markings are not really spots but rosettes – notice how they are more like rings than the cheetah spots.
Interesting cat facts of the day: Leopards have the largest distribution of any cat species. They range throughout Africa and Asia and are highly adaptable (quite the opposite of the specialist cheetah), living in different types of habitats like grasslands and forests from the equator to the mountains. However the the Amur leopard is one of the most endangered cats in world.
Three species of large cats have spots and to the casual observer, they may all look the same. But if you look a bit closer you’ll see they are actually quite distinct.
Let’s start with the easiest – the cheetah. Cheetah spots are fairly round and solid black.
Things are just crazy busy in Carnivores these days, so much so that I barely have time to blog, which is a shame because blogging is a lot of fun. As a curator, I have many other responsibilities besides cheetahs and this month we have some exciting stuff going on with another spotted cat here at the zoo, the jaguar.
The jaguar exhibit was last renovated in 1982 and until about 4 years ago it housed snow leopards. Snow leopards are great cats but as their name suggests, the are not partcularly well adapted to Houston’s climate. Our last snow leopard is now enjoying the lovely weather at the Toronto Zoo, which I’m sure is much more to her liking.
The jaguar exhibit is closed about 8 weeks for a major rehab – the first task was to get rid of the old:
what a mess!
How do tell a jaguar from a cheetah? What about a leopard? Answers to all of your spotted cat questions are coming soon.
Thanks to everyone who came out for Enrichment Day! The cheetahs and dogs made a another run with the lure course, one of their favorite activities.
Here’s a shot from the good old days when the cheetahs and dogs ran the course together.
maybe the dogs should get a head start
Now for the fun part – every day the cheetahs get some sort of enrichment and today its bones! Bones are not only entertaining for the cheetahs but are also good for their teeth since their regular diet is ground meat.
The bones are kept in a freezer at the lion building so Kevin and I have to head across the zoo to get them.
Since the cheetahs are already outside, we just toss the bones over the fence to them. This will keep them busy for a while.
yummy!
Breakfast is done, the yard is clean, now what? Well, it almost 9:00 so its time for the cheetahs to head back outside.
Before we leave the building, we update the dry erase board so that anyone who comes in the barn knows where all the animals are.
translation: dogs are in the back and side yards, cheetahs have access to the exhibit and barn
So all that food is great, but what goes in must come out. The next part of the morning routine is cleaning the yard. Kevin heads out into the yard in search of poop…
Next we’re off in search of the prize. Overnight rain means everything is a little bit mushy.
And here are our spoils for the whole day – if only I could have gotten t the Smell-o-Vision working…
its a dirty job
Oh wait, I think I found one more pile
and that's why they pay me the big bucks
*This is part 4/4 in our CheetahDog Blog Giveaway. Post a comment and you’ll be entered to win two free tickets to the Zoo! If you answer all 4 in this series, your chances of winning increase.