Posts Tagged ‘Contest’

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 chosen guest. We have plenty of work to keep them busy.  It’s important to change out the climbing structures in our exhibits in between previous residents moving out and new residents moving in.  We have lots of grape vine and branches that need to be put into the exhibit so Peach and Andy have plenty of arboreal pathways and can easily get in and out of their night house. Hope Susan and Mickey are ready to get dirty!

The second piece of news is that Peach and Andy were both given clean bills of health by our veterinarians and after a few days of visiting through a mesh barrier they were able to meet face to face. Everything went exactly as we had hoped and it does indeed seem to be love at first sight!  Now we just have to wait for them to clear their required quarantine period and then we can move them to their new home. Are they not the cutest couple?

 

There seems to be no question that they are going to be a great couple! Photo credit: Jennifer Stevenson

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Apr
30

Where in the World is Jeffery? The FINAL Week!

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

Melissa, Tess and Linda, it’s been a great pleasure!  Thanks for sticking with Jeffery this entire time, and I will be in touch with each of you on Friday, after the final total is announced.  I hope to see you on Saturday or Sunday for our Birds of Prey Days! We plan to have lots of games, keeper chats and opportunities to learn about raptors and the Philippines!

Right now, it’s time to reveal the final photo in our contest!!!

Jeffery visited this public art installation originally created by the art group Ant Farm that encourages visitors to add to the art by spray painting vehicles half-buried nose-first in the ground, at an angle corresponding to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

Where in the world is Jeffery?

 

You have until Friday at 10 AM to submit your final captions!

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Apr
23

Where in the World is Jeffery? Lucky Week 13

Posted by in Birds,Conservation,Endangered

Please don’t forget about our Birds of Prey Days on May 5th and 6th.  The Houston Zoo will be hosting a fun-packed educational event to help raise awareness and funds for the survival of the largest and most endangered eagle in the world, the Philippine Eagle! Meet our birds of prey and their keepers, play games, win prizes, and go wild at the Houston Zoo!

 

Alright Jeffery fans, this is your second to last chance to make it to the top! Final results will be calculated soon, but I can already tell you, Tess, Melissa and Linda will be winning prizes! This photo may take a little research, and we will only give points to the correct answer, giving the correct name and state (there’s a hint for you!)

Unveiled in 2004, Jeffery visited this Stonehenge replica which matches the original Stonehenge horizontally, but is approximately 14 percent shorter in height than the original.

I may be small, but don't count me out!

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Apr
06

A Three Week Wrap Up for Jeffery, the Well-traveled Puppet!

Posted by in Birds,Endangered,Spotlight on Species

Did you follow Jeffery’s recent road trip through the southwest on twitter or facebook?

Did you happen to get a glimpse of Jeffery during the Houston Zoo’s Call of the Wild Speaker Series last night?

Jeffery letting the public know about the amazing Philippine Eagle!
Have you been following this very CLOSE contest???  Let’s do a wrap up and see where everyone stands!
 

Are you on the endangered species list too?? --Linda

 

Hooray – I get to ride on Herbie the elephant into the jungle! --Tess

 
 

Elevating the Philippine Eagle Foundation Pride! --Melissa

 
The current totals are….(drumroll, please!)
 
Tess is in the lead with 89 points!
Linda is right behind her with 81 points!
Melissa has 80 points! 
 
This is one close contest and anyone could win!  There are only THREE contest Mondays left, and guess what?  It’s time to reveal another prize!
 
The first place winner will have a Philippine Eagle adopted in their name.  The adoption kit will include a personalized adoption certificate, a fact sheet, a photo of your adopted bird and an update letter about the Philippine Eagle Foundation at the end of the year.
 

One of the many eagles that will be available for adoption during our Birds of Prey Days!

Minalwang and many other Philippine Eagles will be available for adoption during our Birds of Prey Days on May 5th and 6th!  There will be games for kids and adults of all ages, prizes, meet the keeper opportunities, chances to see our birds of prey up close, and much more! 

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Mar
05

Flying High with Jeffery. Week 6 of Our Contest!

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

 

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!
 

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Mar
05

Have you ever named a banteng? Ever even heard of one?

Posted by in Conservation,Contest,Houston Zoo Partners

People in North America are not very familiar with the cattle outside of our general livestock but there are a number of species of wild cattle in Southeast Asia which are all in decline. Many have probably heard of the yak, but who knows what a gaur, kouprey or banteng are? How about anoa or tamaraw? When working with our partners in Borneo on orangutan and elephant conservation efforts, an opportunity arose to support a project which focused on a little known species of wild cattle – the banteng – and we quickly jumped at the chance to study the population dynamics of this great animal.

The Houston Zoo funds lead field researcher, Penny Gardner, who is working on her PhD through Danau Girang Field Centre with an affiliation to Cardiff University on determining the population status and habitat needs of the banteng.

During her time in the field, Penny and her team have identified a group of bantengs, including a female who has yet to be named. Penny was kind enough to allow the Houston Zoo to have the opportunity to name the female banteng. Because this is such a rare opportunity, we are extremely excited to announce that we are going to let you decide what the name will be!

How the naming contest works:

In the comments section below, submit BOTH:

1)      The name you would like for the banteng

2)      A short paragraph (3-5 sentences) describing why the name you chose would be meaningful for this animal.

 

Name the young female in the middle of the picture!

 

Our conservation department will review the names submitted this week and choose their top ten favorites. We will then open the polls on this blog with those ten names and you will get to vote for the winner! Check back soon for more!

 

 

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Mar
03

Week 5 Standings with our Traveling Puppet!

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

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! 
 
 

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Feb
27

Where in the World is Jeffery? Week 5!

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

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!

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Feb
25

Jeffery the Traveling Puppet: Week 4 Standings!

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

"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!

 

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Feb
20

Where in the World is Jeffery? Week 4!

Posted by in Birds,Contest,Spotlight on Species

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:

 

 

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