Posts Tagged ‘habitats’

Dec
10

Winter Vacation

Posted by Leigh in Camp, Featured

Campers participate in lots of fun activities at Camp Zoofari!

Campers participate in lots of fun activities at Camp Zoofari!

Everyone wants to have fun plans during the winter holidays.  Maybe you’re heading to visit family, or going someplace snowy to ski, or even just hanging around Houston with friends.  This year, kids can take a trip around the world during Camp Zoofari!

We’re spending four days exploring some of the habitats of the world: dry, cold, wet and tropical.  Each day is a different topic, and every age group does different activities based on the same habitat.  We’ll be starting off in the rainforest, taking a dip in the ocean, drying out in the savannas and deserts, and capping it all off with polar explorations on our last day.

Unlike summer Camp Zoofari, you don’t have to take the entire trip during Winter Camp.  You can join us just to spend a day on the savanna, or maybe to take a cold-weather polar excursion.  Winter Camp Zoofari is a day camp from Dec 28th through Dec 31st for kids age 4-12.  If you want more information, check out our Camp Zoofari brochure.  We’ll be enjoying our trip around the world, and hope you or someone you know can come along!

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Nov
25

Neighborhood Wildlife

Posted by Leigh in Classes/Programs

The Harris Hawk is native to Texas.

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.

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!

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