There will be no hint for this photo, as it should be quite self-evident! Don’t forget to include a caption for a chance at an extra 8 points!
- Where HASN’T Jeffery been?
If you haven’t already, make sure to like Jeffery on Facebook!
Archive for the ‘Spotlight on Species’ Category
Mar
10
Jeffery the Traveling Puppet: Week 6 Results!
- “Oh my, that wheel soars so high!”
Europe, Africa, Asia and all over the US? Jeffery’s been having a blast spreading the word about the Philippine Eagle!
As we gear up for our Birds of Prey Days on May 5th and 6th, I want to remind everyone why we’re working so hard to save this bird.
The Philippine Eagle has been named a national symbol of the Philippines, and it follows that the eagle is a symbol of all wildlife of the Philippines.
As a series of islands once covered in rain forests, the Philippines is a biodiversity hot spot, with a high amount of endemic species that cannot be found anywhere else.
| Taxonomic Group | Species | Endemic Species | Percent Endemism |
| Plants | 9,253 | 6,091 | 65.8 |
| Mammals | 167 | 102 | 61.1 |
| Birds | 535 | 186 | 34.8 |
| Reptiles | 237 | 160 | 67.5 |
| Amphibians | 89 | 76 | 85.4 |
| Freshwater Fishes | 281 | 67 | 23.8 |
**courtesy of www.biodiversityhotspots.org**
We can’t save the Philippine Eagle without saving the forest and all these other species it contains. This isn’t about just one bird; it’s about almost 7,000 species of plants and vertebrates! A staggering 18,000 insects are also unique to the Philippines!
Did you know that a common drug used in cancer therapy came from a plant in the rain forests of Madagascar?
In fact, hundreds of drugs, that help with everything from aggressive tumors to arthritis and headaches have been derived from plants. Approximately half the known plant species on earth are found in rain forests, but scientists can’t keep up and potential life-saving discoveries are disappearing faster than they can be discovered.
So, we’re not just trying to save an eagle. We are trying to save all the biodiversity the Philippines has to offer and the knowledge we can’t afford to lose.
With that in mind, please visit us at the zoo the first weekend of May to learn about our native birds of prey, the Philippines, and its magnificent eagle!
Now on to the rankings!
Melissa won our caption contest, putting her at 50 points, only 4 points behind Tess, who remains in first place! However, Linda means business and she has zipped into 3rd place with 31 points. Melissa and Tess, I think Linda is coming after the prize!
The next photo will be up Monday morning at 10 AM!
Mar
05
Flying High with Jeffery. Week 6 of Our Contest!
I know you are impatient to see where Jeffery ended up this week, so take a look! Keep reading though, because we have some exciting news!
At 541 feet, the world’s tallest Ferris Wheel is located where?
Now where am I???
Lately, I have become very interested in art for conservation. The Houston Zoo hosts a wildly successful event called Pongos Helping Pongos, which has raised thousands of dollars for orangutan and elephant conservation. Besides that, it’s an amazing collaboration of human and animal artists!
Philippine Eagle by David Tomb
By David Tomb
When Jeffery first made his existence known on social media outlets, he was immediately adopted by the founders of Jeepney Projects Worldwide. It seems our endangered eagle has some very talented friends!
Artist David Tomb and Jeepney have been creating bird art for the birds, specifically the Philippine Eagle. In the begining of February, they opened an exhibit entitled The Vanishing Birds of the Philippines in Berkely, California. The exhibit has been garnering international attention for both Jeepney and the Philippine Eagle Foundation.
Seeing all this beautiful bird art made me curious, and I began to scan the internet for Philippine Eagle themed pieces. I was very happy with the results, but have been floored by the overflow of positive responses and genuine excitement I have received from the artists I contacted.
During our Birds of Prey Days, we will be raffling off prints of high quality digital copies of art focusing on the majestic Philippine Eagle. This is artwork produced and donated by artists in and from the Philippines, to help their national bird.
For the next few weeks, I will be unveiling these pieces and introducing you to the gracious and generous artists behind them.
The person who comes in first place in this contest will get 10 raffle tickets, second place 6 tickets, and third place 3 tickets. So, fight on, contestants! This art is amazing!
"Admiral" by Dezzoi C. Scott
Dezzoi uses the image of a Philippine Eagle for his character, ‘Admiral’, in a illustrated story with an all raptor cast.
In his email, Dezzoi stated, “Also, thank you so much for your help with the Philippine Eagle. I love this species so much and I wish there were more that I could do to help. How I wish I could attend the event in Texas!”
Many of the artists that donated pieces remarked that they wish there was more they could do to help the Philippine Eagle. If you’re feeling the same way, it’s very simple, spread the word about the Philippine Eagle, visit the Philippine Eagle Foundation website, or post something about this amazing bird on your Facebook account. There’s always twitter, and of course, one brave traveling puppet!
If you think there’s nothing you can do to help, you’re very mistaken. Look what we’ve done with a sock and some felt!
Mar
03
Week 5 Standings with our Traveling Puppet!
So Jeffery has also made it to Zimbabwe! Are you impressed with this puppet yet? Jeffery’s mission is to spread the word about the Philippine Eagle, so to help Jeffery help the eagle, why don’t you visit the Philippine Eagle Foundation website, or post something about this amazing bird on your Facebook account? There’s always twitter, too. Jeffery is a very modern puppet!
Darn...I forgot to pack my Kindle again!
There’s a new player in our ranks! Karmyn swept the caption competition this week! Our standings are:
1. Tess came in second for the quickest answer, giving her a total of 47 points.
2. Melissa is still right behind Tess with 37 points!
3. Paul praised Google for earning him 5 points, for a total of 23 points.
4. Linda is picking up her pace, coming in first this week with the quickest answer, for 21 points.
5. Carmen has a total of 17 points.
6. Congrats to Karmyn for getting on the board this week with 8 points.
Is anyone else interested to see a battle of the Carmen/Karmyn’s???
There will be a post up Monday morning at 10 AM, and it should be an exciting one, as we reveal more prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place of the competition!
Feb
27
Where in the World is Jeffery? Week 5!
One of the most important things the Philippine Eagle Foundation does is support local communities near eagle nests. They not only educate the people about the eagle, but teach modern, sustainable farming techniques to help increase farmer productivity while decreasing further deforestation. They visit schools to teach the kids about their national bird, and host a Philippine Eagle Festival every year. Conservation efforts never work without the support of the people living with and around the wild animals, and that’s why approximately $8,000 raised by the Houston Zoo’s fundraising efforts for the Philippine Eagle have gone to PEF’s outreach education programs! We’re so proud of the help we’ve been able to provide any help we can, and all funds raised during our Birds of Prey Days this May 5th and 6th will go straight to PEF! So please, mark your calendars and visit us that weekend, meet Jeffery, enter some of our raffles, meet Liberty, our Bald Eagle, and learn about the numerous birds of prey you can find in Texas!
Now, on to the contest!
One of the national symbols of this country, a stone carving of a bird, most likely represents a Bateleur Eagle. What country is Jeffery in?
Where am I?
Don’t forget to add a caption for a chance at an extra 8 points!
Feb
25
Jeffery the Traveling Puppet: Week 4 Standings!
"Tropical climate, lots of trees, lots of food, no hunters, maybe THIS sanctuary is the place for us!"
It seems that our tireless puppet has been exploring his home state of Texas, making it all the way to the border to visit the Sabal Palm Sanctuary in Brownsville!
Thank you to everyone who played! The competition is still very close:
Tess gained 5 points for her answer, with an added 8 points for her caption, giving her a grand total of 40 points. That allowed her to JUST squeak by Melissa who came in first last week, and has a total of 35 points. We didn’t hear from Paul last week, but we did hear from Carmen, who is now tied with Paul for third place, both with 17 points. Linda is catching up! She earned 7 points this week, and has a total of 11 points!
Tess’ caption was chosen, because it highlights one of the biggest problems facing the Philippine Eagle–negative interactions with humans. Many Philippine Eagles are shot in the wild. Check out this video, provided by our friends at Jeepney Projects Worldwide, of an eagle brought into the Foundation with a gunshot wound. The Philippine Eagle Foundation not only rescues these injured eagles, but they travel into the habitat of the remaining eagles and teach the surrounding communites about this magnificent animal. The money raised by the Houston Zoo during our Birds of Prey Days event will go to support this community outreach and education program.
We’ll see you with another photo challenge on Monday morning at 10 AM.
Get more Jeffery updates on Facebook and follow him on Twitter!
Feb
20
Where in the World is Jeffery? Week 4!
This year the Philippine Eagle Foundation celebrates their 25th annivesary! Go visit them and say thanks for saving the world’s coolest eagle!
Ready for this week’s installment of our traveling Philippine Eagle puppet contest? Don’t forget to add a caption for a shot at the extra 8 points!
Owned by The National Audubon Society, this special place boasts the last remaining large stand of native sabal palms in the nation; and is one of the most biologically diverse areas in Texas.
Now where am I?
Remember last Friday I revealed those adorable birds as part of the contest prize? Well, try this on for cute:
Feb
17
A Puppet in Florence, a Renaissance Story! Week 3 Rankings!
"Which way to the Boboli Gardens? My Italian sweetheart is waiting on the statue of Neptune!"
This competition is really heating up! You were all correct, Jeffery did indeed make it to Florence, Italy.
As we recently celebrated Valentine’s Day, I thought it might be fitting to tell you that humans can learn quite a bit about relationships from the Philippine Eagle! Check out this article, written by staff at the Philippine Eagle Foundation about how these magnificent birds pair up, court, and care for their young!
Also, as a little added incentive, I thought I’d show you another one of the prizes that will be included:
- A flock of these colorful eco-friendly birds (they’re stuffed with plastic bags) will be included in the winner’s prize basket!
Now, on to the rankings!
Last week the standings were:
Tess with 20 points
Melissa with 15 points
Paul with 12 points
Wendy with 8 points
Carmen with 7 points
Linda with 2 points
After week 3 in Florence, the standings are:
Tess with 27 points total
Melissa with 25 points total
Paul with 17 points total
Carmen earned 8 points for her caption and now has a total of 15 points
Linda with 4 points total
Liz Turner came in at the wire, but didn’t get on the board this week. We hope to see you next week, Liz!
Once again, choosing the caption was really tough! I loved Tess’ caption, because we really do need a rebirth of the Philippine Eagle species, and speaking of art and eagles, have you checked out our friends at Jeepney Projects Worldwide???
Ultimately, we had to choose Carmen’s romantic entry, during this week of St. Valentine’s Day!
The next photo will go up at 10 AM Central this Monday, February 20th. We haven’t even scratched the surface of Jeffery’s adventures yet!
Get more Jeffery updates on Facebook and follow him on Twitter!
Feb
13
Where in the World is Jeffery? Week 3!
Feb
06
Where in the World is Jeffery? Week 2!
Don’t forget to add a caption! If your caption wins, there’s an extra 8 points in it for you!
Please leave all answers and captions in the comment box directly below this blog!
Based on the children’s book Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, this sculpture can be found in what city?
The sculpture is so popular, a replica was installed in Moscow as a gift from Barbara Bush to Soviet First Lady Raisa Gorbachev!
Imagine your caption here!
Many people think the Harpy Eagle is the largest eagle in the world, and many people are incorrect. The Harpy Eagle is most often regarded as the world’s heaviest eagle, and even so, the Steller’s Sea Eagle often grabs that record.
Read this great article about specimen comparisons of the world’s largest species of eagle–I’m betting you can guess which eagle comes out on top!
Did you think the prize we revealed last week was painfully cute?
These knitted owls were made by our very talented volunteer Margaret. Did you know that our volunteers and staff aren’t the only talented beings at the zoo? A variety of small animal paintings, complete with information on each artist, will be included in the winner’s prize basket! This contest keeps getting better and better!
