Our newest male cougar came to us from Washington State in early December of 2011. Like many of our animals that reside at The Houston Zoo, our new cougar now serves as an ambassador for his species in our newly renovated cougar exhibit. However, unlike his counterparts in the wild, this little cub has a very special job. He’s now the official mascot for the University of Houston! Thanks to a new partnership with The University of Houston Alumni Association, Shasta VI will make live appearances during UH events via webcam and, most importantly, guard UH senior rings before the class ring ceremony.

The road Shasta took to get here began a bit rocky.  His mother was shot by a hunter, leaving Shasta and his two brothers orphans. Thankfully, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife stepped in after a good samaritan was able to save one of the cubs, and the search began for Shasta VI and his brother.  The second brother was found, but little Shasta still proved elusive, so the search team came up with an inventive plan.  In the wild, cougars make chirping sounds to communicate with one another. A biologist helping with the rescue imitated this ‘chirp’, and was relieved to hear a chirp in response. Other than being hungry and thirsty, our little guy was safe, and made the trip to the Houston Zoo.

At the Houston Zoo, Shasta VI lives in safety and comfort with his fellow cougar Haley, exploring the heights of his exhibit and observing Zoo guests. On Saturday, March 24, from 10:30-12:00 join us at the cougar exhibit as we officially introduce Shasta and announce all the details of this new partnership between The Houston Zoo and The University of Houston Alumni Association! Show up in UH gear and receive half-price admission! UH students get in FREE with a student ID. We’ll see you there!

Ever wondered what a painting by an elephant would look like? What about a clouded leopard? Now is your chance to find out. 

Started in 2004 as a grass roots effort by Houston Zoo Primate Keepers, Pongos Helping Pongos was an art show featuring paintings by our orangutans here at the zoo. The scientific genus name for orangutan is “Pongo“, and so the name for the event. Pongos Helping Pongos (or PHP for short) has become a biennial tradition carried on by the Primate Team. 

One of the messages we like to give our zoo guests is that every species is part of a web. If you affect one strand of the web, it affects the entire structure. Holding with this belief, PHP has expanded to include several other species that call the South East Asian rain forests home. You will not only find paintings by our talented orangutan artists but elephants, clouded leopard, siamangs and binturongs as well. 

And not to be left out, some very talented and generous Houston area artists have collaborated with our animals on several very unique, one-of-a-kind paintings that are well worth seeing.

This fun and worthwhile event will be held on March 10th at the G-Gallery in the Heights from 6PM – 8PM. It’s free and everyone is invited to view the art, bid on paintings and enter our raffle. We’ll have horse de’ ouvers and beverages generously donated by our sponsors so join us for an evening of animal art and conservation.

http://www.houstonzoo.org/php/

Guests meet our great horned owl

On February 11, Flock kicked off the season with their Beastly Brunch. Despite some rain the day before, the day proved to be beautiful at the Zoo’s Masihara Pavilion. Guests enjoyed a Mexican brunch, mimosas, Bloody Marys, and beer generously donated by St. Arnold Brewing Company.  Special thanks to event sponsors Momentum Audi, St. Arnold, Sodexo, and Yelp for their continued support of Flock.

One of our raffle winners assisting with the Lion Training Demonstration

Some of the Zoo’s animal ambassadors, including a great horned owl, attended the Beastly Brunch which allowed event goers to meet and interact with animals. Four very lucky guests from the Beastly Brunch won a chance to assist the Zoo’s Carnivore Staff with a special lion feeding demonstration. During this unforgettable Zoo experience, the winners were invited to join the Carnivore staff at the Lion Training Window and squirt goat’s milk directly into our lions’ mouths.

For an annual donation of $150, Flock members receive exclusive benefits including free admission to all Flock events, free or discounted admission to over 150 zoos and aquariums nationwide, a 10% discount off purchases in the Houston Zoo’s Gift Shop,  a discounted ticket to Feast with the Beasts (the Zoo’s annual culinary event), and much more. To see a complete list of benefits, please visit Flock’s webpage.

Don’t miss out on Flock’s next event on Thursday, May 3. Flock members will have the exclusive opportunity to view the Zoo’s traveling DINOSAURS! exhibit before it opens to the general public. For up to the minute information on Flock, follow us on Facebook.

“When I came to the Zoo, I heard stories about the animals, and where they came from,” said Kaitlin. “I was surprised to learn how many of the animals in the Zoo’s Carnivore Department came from private owners who had kept them as pets,” Kaitlin added.

“I wanted to do something to help people understand that keeping big cats as pets is not a good idea,” Kaitlin added. The result was a series of video presentations profiling the ‘rescued cats’ at the Houston Zoo and recounting their individual stories. The videos were produced using a Canon PowerShot camera and edited on the iMovie platform.

“In the future, I hope to work with an organization like the Houston Zoo, promoting conservation education or traveling to new locales, working with marine and wildlife sanctuaries,” said Kaitlin.

“When I came to the Zoo, I heard stories about the animals, and where they came from,” said Kaitlin.  “I was surprised to learn how many of the animals in the Zoo’s Carnivore Department came from private owners who had kept them as pets,” Kaitlin added.
“I wanted to do something to help people understand that keeping big cats as pets is not a good idea,” Kaitlin added.  The result was a series of video presentations profiling the ‘rescued cats’ at the Houston Zoo and recounting their individual stories.  The videos were produced using a Canon PowerShot camera and edited on the iMovie platform.

“In the future, I hope to work with an organization like the Houston Zoo, promoting conservation education or traveling to new locales, working with marine and wildlife sanctuaries,” said Kaitlin.

 

On Sunday, January 15, the Houston Zoo is proud to partner with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra and InterActive Theater Company to present two performances of the children’s classic, Peter and the Wolf. With the intent to “cultivate musical tastes in children from the first years of school,” this beloved story delights and entertains.

At this special event, a small ensemble of River Oaks Chamber Orchestra musicians will play Prokofiev’s composition while actors from the InterActive Theatre Company narrate and act out the story.

This event is included in your regular Zoo admission, and is FREE for Zoo Members. Performances will take place in the Brown Education Center Auditorium, and seating is first come, first served. This event is sponsored by The University of Texas MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital.

Performances are at 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

A student at Texas A & M University at Galveston where she studies marine biology, Kaitlin McGraw interned at the Houston Zoo last summer.

Through the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program, Kaitlin spent 8 weeks working with the Zoo’s carnivore staff.

Kaitlin has a special appreciation for predator species. “Ever since I was little I’ve loved animals and a special place in my heart has always been reserved for predators,” she said.

“When I came to the Zoo, I heard stories about the animals, and where they came from,” said Kaitlin. “I was surprised to learn how many of the animals in the Zoo’s Carnivore Department came from private owners who had kept them as pets,” Kaitlin added.

“I wanted to do something to help people understand that keeping big cats as pets is not a good idea,” Kaitlin added. The result was a series of video presentations profiling the ‘rescued cats’ at the Houston Zoo and recounting their individual stories. The videos were produced using a Canon PowerShot camera and edited on the iMovie platform.

“In the future, I hope to work with an organization like the Houston Zoo, promoting conservation education or traveling to new locales, working with marine and wildlife sanctuaries,” said Kaitlin.

Below is the first installment of Kaitlin’s videos featuring Houston Zoo big cats.  Stay tuned each week as we post a new video.

Three African Wild Dogs call the Houston Zoo home.  Blaze, Aries, and Mikita have resided here since May of 2007 and are representatives of one of the most social carnivore species in the world.  African Wild Dogs, or Painted Dogs, have fascinated researchers with their ability to cooperate with both the hunt and the sharing of the kill.  Wild packs will allow the young to eat first and will even feed sick and injured dogs by regurgitating the meat.

Blaze, Aries, and Mikita share about 5 pounds of meat daily.  In addition to their normal diets, the African Wild Dogs also enjoy special treats such as goat’s milk, chicken, tuna, herring, blood pops, rats, quail, and eggs.  They are the only carnivores at the Houston Zoo that are fed together as a pack. You can learn more about the painted dogs’ social habits by reading about them in National Geographic.

Our guests may hear some interesting sounds coming from the pack during feeding times or when a new toy is introduced, but they are not necessarily the sounds of conflict.  Each dog is simply trying to assure the other that he is the most submissive/youngest and therefore more deserving of the treat or toy.  It may sound like loud fighting, but Painted Dogs have a large and expressive vocabulary – equal only to the dolphin!

Painted Dog packs, found in Africa, are highly successful with their hunts.  While lions and leopards may only catch 20-30% of what they attempt, African Wild Dogs top the charts at about an 80% success rate, largely owed to their endurance, cooperation, and communication! They prey primarily on impala and other medium-sized antelope, but can take down prey as large as Cape Buffalo if they have enough pack members.

Written by carnivore keeper, Samantha Junker

Give the Gift of Grub  for the holidays to help feed our wild dogs and the rest of the Zoo’s 6,000 animal residents!  From now until December 31, your gift could go twice as far thanks to a generous matching gift challenge by TXU Energy.  All gifts, up to $25,000 total, will be matched dollar for dollar in an effort to help the Zoo provide for its growing animal family.  Blaze Aries and Mikita thank you in advance for your support!

Houston Zoo Jaguar "Cocoy"

December Issue of National Geographic Magazine
Spotlights 8 “Cats in Crisis”

National Geographic, December 2011

Planet Earth is home to 37 species of cats. All are facing an uncertain future. Even though humans have coexisted with predators for thousands of years, the world’s cats are losing ground to habitat loss, illegal hunting and retaliatory killing when they prey on livestock. Yet conservationists see hope.

In the December issue of National Geographic Magazine, on newsstands November 29 and available now as a digital magazine, author and world-renowned field biologist George B. Schaller proposes bold action to ensure their survival.

Schaller’s essay, Politics Is Killing the Big Cats is accompanied by a 5-panel pullout poster featuring stunning photos of 8 of the world’s big cats, seven of which are cats from the Houston Zoo, captured in stunning detail by National Geographic photographer Vincent J. Musi.

“We are proud and honored that our Houston Zoo big cat ‘ambassadors’ were chosen to accompany George Schaller’s essay and grateful that National Geographic’s Big Cat Initiative is raising awareness about the conservation status of the world’s cat species,” said Houston Zoo Carnivore Curator Beth Schaefer.

Assisted by Houston Zoo carnivore keepers, Vincent J. Musi photographed the Zoo’s male African lion Jonathan and 6 other cats (clouded leopard, jaguar, cougar, leopard, cheetah, and Malayan tiger) during a week-long photo session in February. Each cat was photographed in its off exhibit ‘bedroom’ against a black backdrop. Each photo in the pullout poster is accompanied by a brief profile that includes the cat’s estimated wild population and its conservation status. The National Geographic Society is working to save big cats through its Big Cats Initiative; find out more at www.causeanuproar.org.

Houston Zoo African Lion "Jonathan"

“We are deeply appreciative of the Houston Zoo’s hospitality. It is unusual for one facility to have such a diversity of big cats, and their generousity in facilitating Vince’s photo shoot helped us to illustrate the animals’ beauty and power for our 40 million readers worldwide,” said Kathy Moran, senior photo editor in charge of the National Geographic magazine’s natural history coverage.

The December issue of National Geographic magazine is available on newsstands November 29 and as a digital magazine at the National Geographic App Store, http://nationalgeographic.com/apps. Prints of Musi’s photographs are available at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/bigcats-purchase.

Houston Zoo Clouded Leopard "Rama"

Houston Zoo Cougar "Rocky"

Houston Zoo Leopard "Kadu"