Posts Tagged ‘cheetahs’

Nov
15

FOTO Friday Winner of the Week!

Posted by in Carnivores,Contest,Funny

Welcome to the Houston Zoo’s FOTO FRIDAY Caption Challenge results post from Friday, November 11!

Last Friday, we asked you to leave your best caption in the comment section. Then readers could “like” each caption comment to vote for their favorites. Their votes, combined with those of our own panel, determined the caption to appear under the picture right here on the Official Houston Zoo Blog this week. We hope you’ll come back for the fun EVERY FRIDAY.

YOUR VOTES HELP DETERMINE THE WINNERS!

Here is the picture that was posted with the top voted caption by Tricia Nicole Mulkey McClelland!

SPOT-ACULAR, and the flock cheers!

Doesn't smell like chicken...

FIRST RUNNER UP:

  Lizette Kim Gonzalez: Darn… they’ve tricked me again!! ITS PLASTIC!! GGGRRRRRRAAAH…

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SECOND RUNNER UP:

  Sara Keene-Jeter: I thought we got free range, not processed

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THIRD RUNNER UP:

  Lynne Hengst: I wonder if Jonathon flamingo flocked me !?!?

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HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Tonia White: Ugh! I can’t eat this! Its pink!

Dana Rice: Unfortunately, the hiney sniff doesn’t give me any clue as to what this creature is. To eat or not to eat?

Tammy Farnsworth: If I get a wee bit lower I can blend right in…

Erika Wehmeyer Livingston: Nope. I still don’t see why the dogs do that!

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Thanks for joining in the fun!

And please come on back for the next FOTO Friday!

Looking for a fun creative way to surprise your friends? Fill their lawn with flamingos from The Houston Zoo’s Flamingo Flocking!


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Dec
05

Cats of a Different Color: Cheetahs

Posted by in Animal Info

Three species of large cats have spots and to the casual observer, they may all look the same. But if you look a bit closer you’ll see they are actually quite distinct.

Let’s start with the easiest – the cheetah. Cheetah spots are fairly round and solid black.

cheetah spots

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Nov
24

Enrichment All Day Long

Posted by in Enrichment

Thanks to everyone who came out for Enrichment Day! The cheetahs and dogs made a another run with the lure course, one of their favorite activities.

Here’s a shot from the good old days when the cheetahs and dogs ran the course together.

dogs and cheetah lure course

maybe the dogs should get a head start

 

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Oct
01

Behind the Scenes: Enrichment

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Enrichment

Now for the fun part – every day the cheetahs get some sort of enrichment and today its bones! Bones are not only entertaining for the cheetahs but are also good for their teeth since their regular diet is ground meat.

The bones are kept in a freezer at the lion building so Kevin and I have to head across the zoo to get them. 

 
Since the cheetahs are already outside, we just toss the bones over the fence to them. This will keep them busy for a while.

cheetahs with their bones

yummy!

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Sep
28

Behind the Scenes: The Fun Part

Posted by in Behind the Scenes

Breakfast is done, the yard is clean, now what? Well, it almost 9:00 so its time for the cheetahs to head back outside.

 

Before we leave the building, we update the dry erase board so that anyone who comes in the barn knows where all the animals are.

dry erase board

translation: dogs are in the back and side yards, cheetahs have access to the exhibit and barn

Next time: What will the cheetahs get for enrichment today?

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Sep
17

Behind the Scenes: Cleanup Crew

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Featured

So all that food is great, but what goes in must come out.  The next part of the morning routine is cleaning the yard. Kevin heads out into the yard in search of poop…

Next we’re off in search of the prize. Overnight rain means everything is a little bit mushy.

And here are our spoils for the whole day – if only I could have gotten t the Smell-o-Vision working…

its a dirty job

its a dirty job

Oh wait, I think I found one more pile

and that's why they pay me the big bucks

and that's why they pay me the big bucks

*This is part 4/4 in our CheetahDog Blog Giveaway. Post a comment and you’ll be entered to win two free tickets to the Zoo! If you answer all 4 in this series, your chances of winning increase.

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Sep
16

Behind the Scenes: Breakfast Part 2

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Training

In the last post we told you all about what the cheetahs get for breakfast, so now its time to deliver.

You’ll see that the cheetahs are excited to get their breakfast each morning and we use this as part of their training to get them to come inside. The great outdoors is way more interesting but sometimes we need to lock them in the barn to get work done or if there is bad weather. If they always get a big bowl of food inside, then INSIDE=GOOD TIMES and they are eager to come for us each day.

And now its Kiburi’s turn

Next time: Cleaning the yard. Hopefully the Smell-O-Vision will be up and running by then.

*This is part 3/4 in our CheetahDog Blog Giveaway. Post a comment and you’ll be entered to win two free tickets to the Zoo! If you answer all 4 in this series, your chances of winning increase.

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Sep
15

Behind the Scenes: Breakfast of Champions

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Featured

After we check on everyone in the morning, the first task of the day is breakfast. As you can see, the kitchen at the cheetah barn is quite cozy. That’s Carnivore Supervisor Kevin making breakfast today.

cheetah barn kitchen-featured

time to make the donuts...

It does have everything a cheetah keeper would need though – brushes, leashes, dog food, tools, cleaning supplies, and safety equipment.

cheetah barn kitchen wall

Mmmmm yummy!

*This is part 2/4 in our CheetahDog Blog Giveaway. Post a comment and you’ll be entered to win two free tickets to the Zoo! If you answer all 4 in this series, your chances of winning increase.

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Sep
11

Behind the Scenes: Wake Up Call

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Featured

Today is the first in a series of posts that will provide a behind the scenes look at cheetahs and dogs at the Houston Zoo. I have to admit, I’m stealing this idea from Alyson Footer, who writes a great blog about the Houston Astros, my favorite baseball team. Alyson just did a series about what goes on behind the scenes on a baseball road trip, and I thought “this is great, I bet people would like to know this about the zoo too.”

So first, we head down to the cheetah barn. It’s only 7:30am and the Grounds team is already out getting the zoo ready for another day.

Next, we head over to check on the animals. Unless the weather is bad, the cheetahs and dogs have the option to sleep out under the stars if they choose. Here’s Kito coming over to say good morning.

Or more likely he’s saying “where’s my breakfast?” Tune in next time to see what’s on the menu.

What kind of behind the scenes info about cheetahs and dogs would you like to see?

*This is part 1/4 in our CheetahDog Blog Giveaway. Answer our cheetah keepers’ questions and you’ll be entered to win two free tickets to the Zoo! If you answer all 4 in this series, your chances of winning increase.

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Sep
02

We're Back – Training Update

Posted by in Training

Finally some reasonable weather has allowed us to do some more training. Below is some video of Carnivore Keeper Angie working with Kiburi on exhibit.

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