A true definition of digest: The Official Houston Zoo Blog

The Houston Zoo Blog is a digest, in the true definition of the term—a collection of condensed information about the day to day happenings at the Houston Zoo.

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May
23

Enrichment for a Fierce Hunter

Posted by in Children's Zoo,Enrichment

Swift Fox

The Houston Zoo is home to one of the widest varieties of animal species that can be found in the country. Peaceful grazers and fierce hunters can be found side-by-side, and it is the responsibility of animal keepers to provide appropriate enrichment for these animals.   Here we have one of our (not so) fierce [...]

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May
21

Meet the Staff – Phyllis Pietrucha-Mays

Posted by in Commissary,Meet the Staff

Phyllis

When you visit the Zoo, it is very easy to identify a member of our staff. The Houston Zoo employees (and volunteers!) make ourselves as visible as possible so that guests can recognize us. This allows us to be accessible to our wonderful guests, and provide the best experience possible. What you may not know [...]

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May
19

(Live Blog) Sea Turtle Release

Posted by in Conservation,Live Blog

Hello! We’ll be live blogging the release of a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle this morning, with the festivities kicking off around 8:00 am. This sea turtle was severely injured by a boat prop. After almost a year of recovery at NOAA’s sea turtle barn in Galveston and receiving constant veterinary care from Houston Zoo’s, Dr. [...]

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May
18

Monkeys Go Wild (Haired) for Conservation!

Posted by in Conservation,Natural Encounters

Camera 360

By Natural Encounters keepers Corri Osborne and Rachel Godambe   For guests visiting the Indoor Rainforest exhibit in the Carruth Natural Encounters building, a little monkey awaits with a big surprise! Normally, visitors are quick to comment on the flashy appearance of the bright orange Golden Lion Tamarins seen in the Indoor and Outdoor Rainforest [...]

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May
16

Problem Solving with Apes

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Chimpanzees,Enrichment,Primates

Indah with Helen using iPad

Chimpanzees and orangutans, two great ape species, can be found at the Houston Zoo. These amazing animals are incredibly intelligent. In the wild, this intelligence is constantly being put to the test as they encounter novel situations on a daily basis. To deal with these novel situations as well as completing everyday tasks, apes have [...]

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May
10

First Ever Crowd Curated Exhibit!

Posted by in Contest,Crowd Curated Exhibit,Mammals,Primates,Wortham World of Primates

Today we have two big announcements to make!  First of all, I would like to congratulate Susan Draper on winning our contest posted in the last blog.  Susan will be at the zoo this Saturday to help prepare the exhibit for our new Goeldi’s monkeys, Peach and Andy.  Susan’s husband, Mickey, will be joining us as her [...]

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May
09

How Bowling Helps Rhinos

Posted by in Conservation,Rhinos,Supporting Your Zoo

BFR_0532

This post written by Kim Siegl  Bowling for Rhinos (BFR) is a family friendly event that is organized by your local zookeepers . The event associated with the Houston Zoo is designed every year by the Greater Houston Chapter of American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK). Bowling for Rhinos was initially started by zookeepers in [...]

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May
08

Cheyenne Reaches a Milestone on Mother’s Day

Posted by in Conservation,Primates,Wortham World of Primates

Aurora's first birthday

May 13 is a special day for mothers everywhere, and orangutan Cheyenne is no exception. In addition to celebrating Mother’s Day with her latest adopted infant, Aurora, she turns 40 on the very same day. Many people express surprise that all the great apes have such a long lifespan. Cheyenne’s own mother lived to be 52 [...]

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May
04

Bird Of Prey – Spotlight on Series Keeper Talk Schedule

Posted by in Spotlight on Species

Catori, the Houston Zoo's Eastern Screech Owl. Photo by Ali Striggow.

Our Bird of Prey Spotlight on Series is happening this weekend! Below are all the special keeper talks we’ll have available: Reptiles Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – Python keep talk (reptile house)  10:30 a.m. – Komodo Dragon keeper talk (reptile house) Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – Cuban Crocodile keeper talk (reptile house) 10:30 a.m. – American Alligator keeper talk (reptile house) [...]

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May
04

The Results Are In, and Jeffery’s Right Here in Houston!

Posted by in Birds,Conservation,Contest,Spotlight on Species

Artwork by Hazel Dawes

We’ve reached the end of our blog contest! We’ve followed Jeffery to Italy, Zimbabwe, Thailand, Singapore and all over the US! I have to say, that’s one well-traveled puppet.   We believe this contest and Jeffery accomplished our goal of increasing awareness in the States of the declining population of the Philippine Eagle.  Raising a thousand [...]

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