Archive for the ‘Wortham World of Primates’ Category

Feb
18

First Ever “Crowd Curated Exhibit”!

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

I have been busy contacting species coordinators to see if any of our top choices for monkey species are available. The news is good! I’ve talked to the coordinators for titi monkeys, emperor tamarins and Goeldi’s monkeys (callimico). There is a high likelihood that we could obtain any of these species. Emperor tamarins and Goeldi’s monkeys can both co-exist with titi monkeys, although probably not with each other so keep that in mind.

Endearing titi monkeys

Curious Goeldi's monkey

Fascinating Emperor tamarins

For a ground dwelling species, since we unfortunately cannot obtain pudu, our two options are agouti which seem to be fairly readily available or a tortoise species.

Cute agouti at the Hogle Zoo.

Red footed tortoises from South America can have quite unique personalities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So check out the pictures, think about your final vote for animals in your exhibit and leave your votes in the comments section.  Then it will be time to start acquiring animals!

Once we know exactly what animals we’re getting we can start prepping the exhibit.  If you have been following this blog since the begining, you may remember I mentioned a contest along the way.  Stay tuned in the next week or two for a fun chance to come out to the zoo and help get your exhibit ready!

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Jan
31

First Ever “Crowd Curated” Exhibit!

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

I wanted to give everyone a quick update on where we are with our exhibit.  I have contacted the New World Primate Taxon Advisary Group (TAG) leader to find out the availability of our most frequently mentioned choices.  I included emperor tamarins, callimico (Goeldi’s monkeys) and titi monkeys. 

Titi monkeys are known for the endearing habit of entwining their tails.

Taxon Advisary Groups work under the umbrella of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and over see an entire taxa of animals, for example I mentioned the New World primate TAG. There are also a Felid TAG, a Lizard TAG and many more. If you read my last blog you may remember what an SSP is.  TAGs oversee SSPs.  Have you picked up on the fact that the zoo world has a LOT of acronyms?  The AZA website even has a list you can refer to because there are so many!  For now I think if we can keep AZA, TAG and SSP straight we should be good.

I will keep you posted on what the TAG says about our choices.  I also asked if there were any species that particularly needed space. It’s always good to play nice so if we need to place an animal in the future the TAGs and SSPs will remember that we were willing to help out.

For all the rodent fans out there, there are agoutis available, although we’re not sure how far down the cement around the bottom of our exhibit reaches.  We’re going to look into that to see if there is enough of a dig barrier to contain a rodent species.

Another option comes from reader MC. MC suggested a South American opossum species.  Any ideas of what species might work?  Post your ideas to the comments!

???

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Jan
13

First Ever “Crowd Curated” Exhibit!

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

Hi All.  Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays!

On our exhibit front, bad news on pudu. Currently there are none available, and it doesn’t look like there will be any time soon. Many species in North American zoos have what is called a Species Survival Plan(SSP). This is a management group that is under the umbrella of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums(AZA). The SSP committee keeps track of genetics of all the animals in accredited zoos in North America and makes breeding recomendations in order to preserve genetic diversity in captive populations.  The pudu population in North America is very small and there are no available animals at the moment.  Dissapointing, especially since the husbandry manual indicates they are very tolerant of both humidity and temperatures below freezing so they would be perfect in Houston’s climate.  Any other ideas?

On the primate side, tamarins still seem to be the popular vote, especially Emperor tamarins. I will start checking to see if Emperor tamarins are available, and if not then what other species may be.

Gotta love those moustaches! Photo credit: Aspex Design

All of you should think about what other species we may want to investigate in lieu of pudu. 

Let me know what you come up with!

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Dec
23

First Ever Zoo “Crowd Curated” Exhibit!

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

So many good thoughts this week!  Several of you  brought up good points that must be considered when curating an exhibit.

I think you’re right Trowaman when you say capybaras might be better off in a large area like our South America yard but pudu might do well in a space the size of our exhibit.   As Laci Bertrand pointed out, pudu live in dense forest habitats so we’d need more plantings to provide hiding places for them to feel safe, but that’s easy enough to accomplish.
MP, you bring up a very good point.  Sometimes even if we want a species to exhibit in our zoo, they just aren’t available.  Trowaman‘s comment about never having seen a uacari in a zoo is probably a good clue that they aren’t easy to obtain.

 Pudu Baby. Pretty cute! Photo credit: Belfast ZooBaby pudu.  Pretty Cute! Photo Credit: Belfast Zoo

Spider monkeys are a popular option so I looked up space requirements for spider monkeys. As a zoo that exhibits animals for the public, we are subject to standards that are regulated by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) branch of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)  There are many standards to which we must adhere and we can be inspected without warning at any time. We work diligently to remain USDA compliant at all times. Space requirements are part of these standards. Technically our exhibit is big enough for several spider monkeys, but unfortunately our holding area is not.

So from the comments, it looks like pudu might be a good choice for the ground so I’ll start talking to other zoos to see if any are available. We still need more consensus on a primate species though.  Again going by comments and the space we have available, emperor tamarins, golden headed lion tamarins, Goeldi’s monkeys and titi monkeys could all work.  Over the Christmas weekend, think about which of these species we should look into and hopefully by New Year’s weekend we’ll at least know what we’d like to explore as far as primate species.

Enjoy whichever holiday you celebrate with your family & loved ones!

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Dec
14

First Ever Zoo “Crowd Curated” Exhibit!!

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

The bald uacari. Definitely one of the strangest monkeys on the planet. Photo credit: ABC Vozes dos Animais

Thanks everyone for your ideas and input on what we should put in your exhibit. Keep sharing this series with your friends and help increase the size of our Crowd!

So far we’ve had suggestions from very small and cute, such as Goeldi’s monkeys, to larger and stranger like uacaris.

The idea of having a multispecies exhibit is also very intriguing. The exhibit is too small for  giant anteaters, and while I really like the idea of having birds and monkeys together, the thought of a tiny monkey finger in the mandibles of a macaw makes me a rather nervous. But overall the idea is very cool!

 

Big birdie beak + tiny monkey fingers = OUCH! Photo credit: barloventomagico on Flickr

Below is a list of suggestions we have had so far, in no particular order! I left off the species that have been suggested that we already have here at the zoo. This week your job is to peruse the list and let me know your vote for which of these species you think should be in the exhibit. Vote by leaving your thoughts in the “Comments” section at the end of this post. Tell me if you want just one species or more than one. As a curator, some of the things you need to consider are what niche each species fills in the wild. Where does it like to hang out? Do you want all arboreal animals or do you want some down low and some up high? It all depends on how much space you have, the needs of each species and what you want your final exhibit to look like for the guests. You have to think about if the space is appropriate for that species and if the type of containment will hold the particular species that you want.

 

Have fun, maybe do some research on the different species. You can vote on this list even if you didn’t make any suggestions. I hope to hear from more people each week, so feel free to jump in!

 

Goeldi's monkey. One of the cutest monkeys on the planet. Photo credit: bayucca on Flickr

Possible Species:

Primates:                                            NonPrimates

Spider monkeys                                  Capybaras

Squirrel monkeys                                Brazilian porcupines

Common marmosets                           Pudu

Emperor Tamarins

Golden bellied capuchins

Titi monkeys

Woolly monkeys

Uacaris

Goeldi’s monkeys

Golden headed lion tamarins

The ever popular spider monkey. Photo credit: Primates.com

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Dec
14

Aurora Orangutan: 9 months old and counting…

Posted by in Animal Info,Babies,Primates,Volunteers,Wortham World of Primates,Zoo Births

For the last few months, zoo staff and volunteers have been very busy in the orangutan building. Baby Aurora has been flourishing under their care:  from her birth weight of 3 pounds she is up to a whopping 12 pounds in December. She has gone from a tiny, clinging being to an independent, personality-infused kid who is able to traverse her room all the way up to the skylight and back down again in a heartbeat.  She spends her days interacting with and watching her surrogate mom-to-be, Cheyenne, and her big-sister-in-waiting, Indah, now 7.

Photo by Janet Hughes

Cheyenne seems less than patient on the occasions when Aurora is engaged in play away from the mesh introduction panel placed in between their rooms. Chey kiss-squeaks loudly to get her attention, fishes for her with plant stalks or other modified tools, or makes throaty rumbling sounds in her direction. Cheyenne will come over to the introduction door with a blanket over her head to see if the baby will notice, and when she does, Chey engages her in gentle play through the mesh.  Her tenderness and avid interest in this infant is very touching to see.  Indah is a little more rambunctious in her attentions, and it is evident that she will be a great playmate to the baby once they are all together.

Other activities for Aurora include familiarizing herself with the outdoor exhibit, where she goes every morning prior to the zoo opening as the yard is serviced by keeper staff.  Her volunteer caregiver brings her outside in all but very chilly weather, and she curiously investigates the grass, the pool, the wooden structures and the windows. She enjoys sampling various types of edible browse, watching the fish and ducks get their morning breakfast, and just enjoying the morning air and the sounds of the birds chattering back and forth.

Photo by Tammy Buhrmester

 

Aurora still drinks formula from a bottle, but instead of being held by a caregiver while taking it, she simply receives her bottle through the mesh wall of her room.  This will facilitate the upcoming introduction, as of course human contact will be unnecessary once she goes in with Cheyenne.  She feeds herself bites of fruits, vegetables and primate biscuits and disdains the spoon for her cereal: caregivers just hand her a bowl of the mixture and she makes quick work of it.  She is very comfortable with our more distanced relationship now, which gives us high hopes that she will be quite ready to meet Cheyenne when the time comes.  We expect to start the first full introductions around the first of the new year.  Once Cheyenne and Aurora are fully comfortable with each other, we will work Indah into the mix.

Photo by Diane Chesley

 

This will be Cheyenne’s  fourth adopted baby since 1999.  Now age 39, she has been a great mom to previous kids Luna, Elok and Indah.  Adding Aurora to her brood is something that fulfills Cheyenne’s seemingly never-ending maternal potential. For Indah, at age 7, having a new baby sister will provide a bit of practice for her own child-rearing skills in the future, as well as letting her roughhouse with someone closer to her own age.

We look forward to the introduction and will keep you all posted on their progress!

Dec
05

First Ever Zoo “Crowd Curated” Exhibit!

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

Have you ever wondered what a Zoo Curator does? When I tell people I am a Curator at the Houston Zoo they quite often get a puzzled look on their faces because most people think of museums and art or fossil collections when they think of a Curator. Zoo Curators fill a very similar role to Museum Curators, only we plan which animals go in which exhibit instead of which painting goes on which wall. We have to make sure animals are compatible with each other rather than making sure that an Oligocene carnivore jaw bone isn’t identified as a Pliocene primate femur.  Both museum and zoo Curators want our exhibits to be engaging and educational.  We want kids to love them instinctively and students to gain knowledge from them.  We want people to leave wanting more and for them to talk about what they saw to their family and friends, and our highest hope is that people will act to preserve what they have enjoyed so much on a given day.

Hopefully the title of this blog caught your attention.  But what is a “crowd curated exhibit” you might ask. If you do an Internet search for “crowd curated exhibit” you’ll find a handful of articles about museum exhibitions that have been crowd curated, but none on crowd curated zoo exhibits. In the art world it’s actually highly controversial, believe it or not. There are those that don’t believe a crowd has the background to properly curate an exhibition, but using a crowd to reach a decision is a phenomenon called ”crowdsourcing” that has actually been studied and tested for some time. The results are really quite fascinating. I urge you to read some about crowdsourcing and suggest a very engaging book entitled “The Wisdom of Crowds” by James Surowiecki. Mr Surowiecki discusses crowdsourcing and gives some extremely interesting examples. I’d love to hear your thoughts in our “Comments” section if you decide to look into crowdsourcing.

Our exhibit waiting for YOU to help CURATE!

As far as I can tell, no one has yet attempted to crowd curate a zoo exhibit so we’ll be exploring new territory with this project. I have been eager to try this idea for some time, so when we found ourselves with an empty exhibit in Wortham World of Primates I jumped at the opportunity to try out what museums have done with quite a bit of success. I am also excited to share the experience of being a zoo curator with all of you.  It really is one of the best jobs in the world.

Follow this blog in the coming weeks as we go through the process of developing an exhibit, identifying and obtaining animals, making the environment inviting for the new residents, and finally opening the exhibit. We have hung a banner in front of the empty exhibit with a QR code that people can scan with their smart phones. It takes them to this page: http://www.houstonzoo.org/crowd-curated-exibit/ where they can learn about this blog and join in as Curators, so hopefully we’ll build up a nice size crowd.  The bigger the crowd, the better so tell your friends and share this blog on your Facebook page and Twitter feeds.

This week, I’m going to give you a few parameters and then open the process to start developing a list of which animals you might want to put in your new exhibit.  We always have to take into account things like the size of the exhibit, temperature requirements of animals, which other animals we already have in our collection, which animals are available etc. So here’s what we have to work with:

  • The exhibit is in Wortham World of Primates, so the species in the exhibit must include primates.
  • We are lucky to live in the south, so harsh winters are not a major concern for us, although the opposite is true. Species that live in cold climates need climate controlled exhibits here. This is an outdoor exhibit.
  • The size of the exhibit is 15’W X 15’L X 15’H
  • The mesh is 1½” woven wire, which means it has some give to it but is very strong. The mesh completely encloses the exhibit.
  • When housing primates in close proximity to one another, you have to maintain strict standards because of cross contamination between species.  Very often New World primates carry diseases that affect Old World primates and vice versa.  All of our primates come inside to their holding areas at night.  The holding building that this exhibit is attached to houses New World primates that go out in the other exhibits during the day, such as our howler monkeys and various tamarin species.
  • We do not like to duplicate species that we already exhibit elsewhere in the zoo.  For example, the Natural Encounters building houses saki monkeys and golden lion tamarins as well as other primate species, so we don’t want to exhibit those same species in Wortham World of Primates.

Based on the above information, your task as a Curator this week is to develop a list of species that may be appropriate for this exhibit. Post your ideas in the “Comments” section at the end of this blog post. The early phases of this process are a lot of fun because your ideas can be pie-in-the-sky. Brain storm and throw out names of species without worrying too much about if it would ever be possible to obtain them. It’s always fun to dream.

Follow the comments of your fellow Curators and see what others think would be cool in this exhibit. Do you agree with them? Why or why not? Next time we’ll start narrowing down our list of possibilities.

Have fun and thanks for helping us develop the First Ever Crowd Curated Zoo Exhibit!

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Nov
23

Meet the Staff: Alissa Fuhrman

Posted by in African Forest,Behind the Scenes,Chimpanzees,Featured,Meet the Staff,Wortham World of Primates

Hometown: Livermore, CA

Section: Primates-I mostly work in Chimps right now.

Quote: “If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it.” Willy Wonka

Special interests/hobbies: I’m a member of a Drum and Bugle Corps.  I play the French horn and the Mellophone.  I also have 5 fresh water fish tanks at home.

Favorite animal: Amelia, a De Brazza’s Guenon; she is really cute.  Penda, a Swamp Monkey; she has a great personality.  Kerchak, a Red-capped Mangabey; he can be aggressive and unpredictable but I’ve taught him some fun behaviors that kind of off-set his personality.

Animals you train: Mangabeys, Red-tailed guenons, Swamp Monkeys, De Brazza’s Guenon, Chimpanzees

How long have you been in the animal care field?  I was a volunteer/intern beginning in 1997 at the Charles Paddock Zoo and the Oakland Zoo.  I have been a keeper here at the Houston Zoo since 2001.

What made you want to be a zookeeper? Animals are cool and can be easier to relate to than people sometimes.  In Junior High I wanted to work at Seaworld and work with marine mammals.

What is your previous education/training? I have a Bachelors of Science in Animal Science with a concentration in Zoo and Exotics from California Polytechnic State University.

What sort of advice would you give to anyone wanting to enter the zoo field? Volunteer and be well rounded. You need to know how to work with tools and be creative.  Work on making fun toys for your dog, similar to how we enrich animals here at the zoo.  You should also read “Don’t Shoot the Dog” by Karen Pryor to learn more about animal training.

What is your favorite animal story?
Naku, our Swamp Monkey, loves his pool. He likes to take things from the yard and soak them in the pool.  We decided to put grass sod in the yard for greenery and give them something else to walk on.  The day we put the sod in, Naku decided to take each sheet and drag it to the pool.  80 squares of grass was in the water.  He had fun that day.

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Sep
29

It’s “Howlerween” Time Again!

Posted by in Primates,Spotlight on Species,Wortham World of Primates

The Houston Zoo Primate Department is gearing up for the 3rd annual “Howlerween” celebration this October. The purpose is to help to raise awareness about Wildtracks and the illegal pet trade that surrounds Howler Monkeys.

The Yucatán Black Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra) is one of the many primates listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red list.  This species, which is native to Central America, faces numerous threats that contribute to this status. 

One of the top threats these monkeys face includes the illegal pet trade which is often times a by-product of hunting these animals for the sale of bush meat in local and international markets. Confiscation of Black Howler Monkeys from the pet trade is overwhelming the Belize Forest Department and the Belize Zoo.  As a viable alternative to leaving these illegally procured monkeys with their owners, confiscated pets are being transferred to a non-profit organization called Wildtracks, operated by Paul and Zoe Walker.  You can visit the Wildtracks website and also their Facebook Page.

Wildtracks rehabilitates these former pets and reintroduces them into the wild forests of northern Belize.  Primate keepers Rachel Vass and Helen Boostrom visited Belize in June and spent time working at Wildtracks with some of these rehabilitated monkeys. You can read their awesome blog posts on the Houston Zoo’s Wild Conservation Blog!

 

Throughout the entire month of Howlerween, there will be special Howler Monkey Meet the Keeper Talks everyday at 3:30. “Howlerween” will coincide with Zoo Boo from 9am to 3pm both days inside Wortham World of Primates near the Howler Monkey exhibit.  Then on the weekend of October 22-23 we will be holding a Spotlight on Species event which will include educational activities, Howler Monkey keeper chats at 10:00, 2:00, and 3:30, and a variety of merchandise that will be on sale to help raise money for Wildtracks. 

Visit our website to learn all the details about our special Howlerween Spotlight on Species weekend on October 22-23, located in our Wortham World of Primates. Please come out and visit us for a howling good time!

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Jun
12

Baby Aurora gets some teeth … and other interesting developments

Posted by in Babies,Enrichment,Primates,Wortham World of Primates,Zoo Births

Aurora with new flashy smile

Orangutan infant “Aurora” is growing fast, and at the early age of 3 months has decided to grow some teeth. These new incisors resemble Chiclets coming out of her gums and are rather ridiculous looking objects, which she proudly shows off regularly.

She has graduated to some solid foods like rice cereal and banana in addition to formula and is practicing with those choppers daily. Of course, while we are doing introductions with her to birth mother Kelly or potential surrogate mom Cheyenne, we share the goodies with the adults.

Beware of these pearly whites!

As we step up face-to-face introductions, we are also increasing the types and amount of enrichment that she receives. She is now being exposed to everything that the adult orangutans receive: paper of all types, browse, substrates, boxes, plastic toys, and even a mirror, which she found quite entertaining.

Aurora with mirror

Look for Aurora to appear sometime soon on the orangutan exhibit as we acclimate her to the viewing area and guests. This announcement will come soon, so stay tuned!

Photos by Nathalie Jolicoeur.

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