I had the honor of capturing baby giraffe Asali’s birth on film last week for the Houston Zoo’s YouTube Channel. On a busy Friday afternoon in the spring sunshine, Tyra the giraffe began giving birth in the middle of the field in full view of an increasingly large crowd of public. Not long after I arrived, out of breath, having racewalked across the zoo with camera in hand, the keeper staff decided Tyra might appreciate a little privacy. They opened up the gate to the back and waved a green plastic buoy atop a tall bamboo pole. The giraffes notice this as a “come over here if you like” signal. Tyra thought this was a great idea and moseyed into the private back yard, followed by moans of many disappointed guests. For those of you who thought you might have missed the birth, here it is in high definition:
Myself and a few other chosen staff were allowed to follow keepers and vets behind the scenes. It’s not safe to stand in the yard with the giraffes – although they’re completely gentle, there’s always a risk of one accidentally crushing your foot with a misplaced hoof – so we watched and I filmed from behind a wall. Tyra slowly paced around the yard, looking around and gazing at us with her big dark eyes as if to reassure us that she had this completely under control. She stopped periodically for contractions, and would often point her back end at us the contractions came – she knew what we were there to monitor.
We watched and I filmed as giraffe Asali was born
As we watched the baby’s nose, tongue, and then the entire head emerged. Unlike a human birth, the head is not the first to come out, but only after the front feet have appeared. After a brief delay the shoulders came after, and then it was just a minute more before the whole baby came sliding out. Since giraffe moms give birth standing up, it’s a rude awakening into life as baby falls to the ground.
The most remarkable thing about the whole process was how silent it was. There were no outcries of pain, beeps of fetal monitors or hurried bustle of nursing staff around a maternity ward. Zoo veterinarians kept a vigilant eye, ready for any intervention needed, and we all waited holding our breath while Tyra calmly and quietly brought Asali into the world.
A clouded leopard skull model is great for teaching about carnivore teeth. Check out those canines!
There are many different types of teeth inside a mammal‘s mouth. This makes it easy for us to tell what a mammal eats, just by looking at its teeth. In the Education department, we teach about the three main groups of “eaters.” For these lessons, we use a variety of skull biofacts to show the different types of teeth.
Carnivores are animals that eat meat. They have large, sharp canine teeth for catching their food, with scissor-like molars to help tear meat into smaller pieces. Any of the cat skulls work well for this group, but my favorite is either a cougar or clouded leopard. They are smaller, so they are easier to take on programs, and the clouded leopard has huge canines. At the zoo, our mammalian carnivores include lions, cheetahs, and African wild dogs.
Take a look at the flat molars in the capybara's mouth. They're prefect for grinding plants.
Herbivores are animals that eat plants. They have flat, grinding molars with “clipping” teeth in the front. Some herbivores don’t even have teeth in the front! I like to use a model of a capybara skull for my sample herbivore. We have many members of this group at the Zoo, including giraffes, elephants, antelope, porcupines, and lemurs.
Once I’ve taught kids about these two types of teeth, I always bring out a “mystery skull.” I’ll carry it around, let them touch it, and then ask for votes on what the animal eats. Most of the time I can’t fool them; they figure out that it is a trick question and the animal is really an omnivore. Omnivores are animals that eat “everything” (that’s the “omni” in the word). Typically that means a combination of both plants and meat. These animals have some combination of both types of teeth. They typically have sharp, carnivore-like teeth in the front and flat, herbivore-like teeth in the back. Omnivores at the Zoo include raccoons, maned wolves, grizzly and Andean bears, and most of our primates.
The "mystery skull" omnivore I use: a raccoon!
Of course, there are lots of other “ivores” at the Zoo, like insectivores, piscivores, nectarivores, and frugivores. (That’s bugs, fish, nectar, and fruit eaters, if you wanted to know.) We’ll even teach about sanguinivores (blood eaters) from time to time, although we don’t have any on exhibit at the Houston Zoo. The next time you visit, imagine the teeth inside your favorite mammal’s mouth. They might reveal more than you think!
Written by Leigh Whitted, Senior Education Specialist
Now imagine all the mammals in the Zoo, and all the different things they eat. This holiday season you can help us feed our mammals (and everybody else, too) by donating to our Give the Gift of Grub campaign! You can make your tax-deductible donation at www.houstonzoo.org/gift-of-grub. or, click our our CONTRIBUTE tab on Facebook! Email development@houstonzoo.org for more information.
At long last, the adventure for our zoo team concludes !
In my last blog we had just boarded our cargo plane to leave Africa. Flying cargo was certainly an interesting experience. The plane was a 747. Anyone who flew on these planes in the 70′s and 80′s might remember that there was an upstairs area. Back then, the upper flight deck was a lounge area for first class passengers. That area has long since been replaced with more seats for more revenue, but on our plane there were 6 business class seats, a small galley, the bathroom and two small closet with “beds” in them. I could barely stretch out on one and I’m only 5’1″ so I’m not sure how the Joe’s fit…they’re both over 6 ft! But the beds were a nice option when we had been crammed in a car and were still facing 48 hours of transit time.
Knowing there were three rhinos below us that had never flown before was also an adrenaline-pumping feeling. And believe me, we knew it when they got restless! Turbulance is one thing, but a rhino bouncing around in a crate is something quite different. The whole plane would shift and the thumping was a bit disconcerting at first. During the first leg from Johannesburg to Harare we checked on the rhinos often because we weren’t sure how they would react, and we needed to reassure ourselves that the crates were still safely locked down. But after a bit the rhinos settled down and so did we.
In between the two shorter legs of our trip, we were on the ground for several hours in both Harare and Nairobi abd we weren’t allowed off the plane. We used the time to feed the rhinos and watch the cargo being shifted around in the hold. That in itself was a cool operation to watch. The floor of the cargo hold was a series of tracks, wheels and mechanized plates that moved the cargo around with seeming ease. Huge pallets, including the ones the rhinos were on could be moved back & forth like a kid’s puzzle game to make sure everything fit. Check out this video, curtesy of Dr Joe Flanagan, of the rhino crates being moved into position. Eventually they had pallets of flowers packed all around them.
By the third leg of the flight, the long 10 hours from Nairobi to Amsterdam, the rhinos seemed to have gotten the hang of takeoffs and landings. They seemed less thrilled about the landing part. With ears as huge as theirs are, I imagine it might have been a bit uncomfortable, especially since we couldn’t explain to them about pressure and without thumbs they can’t hold their nose while blowing! But the flight was smooth and the Joe’s & I even managed to get some sleep. Because we were the only passengers, we could turn out the lights on the flight deck and there were no seat mates to climb over to get out of your row. Nice!
Joe K. catching some well deserved zzz's on the cargo plane.
Eventually we landed in Amsterdam where more fun awaited us. Believe it or not, we were given more conflicting information about where we were supposed to go, where the rhinos were going, where our luggage needed to be and how everyone/thing was getting where.
As I mentioned in my last blog, we originally thought we would have twelve hours in Amsterdam, but that had been whittled down to about four. 90 minutes of that were spent waiting for the person from the animal hotel to arrive at the plane to transfer the rhinos. She told us we needed to go through the regular passport control so we waited again while they called someone to come and collect us. After that we had to find our own way to the animal hotel, which was about a 20 minute brisk walk. We quickly fed the rhinos, collected our luggage from the pallets (apparently we were breaking some international regulations by leaving them on the pallets. It was OK in South Africa, but not The Netherlands…sigh!) and dashed back to the terminal to check in.
We had been promised that we would get right through the ticketing and security lines. By now we should have known not to take anything at face value. Joe Kalla and I could not print our boarding passes at the numerous ticket kiosks they have in Amsterdam. Dr Joe managed to get some assistance and was successful in printing a boarding pass, but Joe K. and I were directed to a line of other passengers with problems. We decided that Dr Joe should head to the gate because someone needed to be with the rhinos. We also needed to figure out where Dan was. The plan had been to meet him at the hotel the night before and we had no way of letting him know we weren’t going to make it to Amsterdam until morning.
Joe K. discovered that his name was misspelled on his ticket and the people at the “problem line” could not help him. He was sent away to yet another desk with another line.
I was told there was a security hold on my passport for some reason. In our post 9/11 world, this was somewhat disturbing to hear. At this point I was getting a bit impatient and after insisting that I HAD to be on the plane leaving in 20 minutes with the rhinos they printed me a boarding pass but warned me that I would be detained at security. I saw Joe K. still waiting in a line, wished him luck and headed off to try my own luck with security. I caught up with Dr Joe and apparently security didn’t care that I was some sort of risk because no one asked me anything and I went right through. Presently we saw Dan in line behind us. He had spent a not very comfortable night wandering the airport because the hotel room wasn’t in his name and they wouldn’t let him check in. The three of us collectively wondered if Joe K. would make it before boarding. Fortunately (?!?) the flight was packed and getting all the passengers screened took a while. When everyone seemed to have gotten through to the waiting area I asked a staff member if she could check on Joe K’s status. The computer showed that he was checked in with a boarding pass so we crossed our fingers and hoped he would make it. Finally we saw him coming down the hall and at last we were all set for our final leg of the journey!
This plane was again a 747 but it’s what is referred to as a “combi”. It holds both passengers and cargo. The front 2/3 of the plane is passengers, and the back section is cargo. The two sections are separated by a wall with a door through to cargo. To the average passenger this would look like the back of the plane. Little did they know that there were three large and unusual passengers traveling with them! We had our own KLM staff member that flew with us whose sole job it was to let us through the door to the cargo area to check on the rhinos.
Towards the end of the flight, the male rhino began bouncing in his crate. By this point we were used to this, but to the stewardess, who’s job it is to know what sounds are normal on the plane and what aren’t, it was quite a surprise. I saw her eyes get really big and realized that she didn’t know it was the rhinos and not the plane! She breathed a huge sigh of relief when I explained it was just the rhinos moving around a bit. I thought it was amusing that we were reassuring the flight crew instead of the other way around.
We were pretty excited, very tired and also extremely relieved when the captain announced that we must all fasten our seat belts, ensure that our seat backs and tray tables were in the proper upright and locked positions and prepare for landing in Houston. What a welcome sight to see some familiar terrain out the plane window!
It was a beautiful landing. Jeremy Stewart, our resident videographer got a nice shot of our plane landing at IAH. We were very happy to see Hannah Bailey, Curator of Birds, waiting to shuttle us to the cargo area after we cleared customs. When we arrived at cargo, a whole team of zoo staff was already busy getting our three rhinos loaded onto flatbed trucks for the drive to the zoo. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see it yet, here’s the video showing the final leg of the rhino’s journey to the Houston Zoo.
With the rhinos safely unloaded in their brand new barn, our adventure had at long last come to an end. For all of our guests, though, the adventure is just begining! We hope you’ll join us on December 10th for the official opening of The African Forest and you’re own adventures with giraffes, chimpanzees, and of course our three new rhinos, Sibindi, Lynne and Annie Kamariah!
The tale of The Houston Zoo’s crew who were sent to Africa to bring home our trio of white rhinos continues…
Our drive to Johannesburg stretched out until about 3:30 in the morning. We stopped every 30 – 60 minutes to check on the rhinos, and sometime for coffee for our brave volunteer, Joe Kalla, who drove the entire route. We went through one mountain pass that was so foggy we couldn’t see the truck with the rhinos right in front of us.
Fortunately though there were no hold ups on the road and we pulled into the cargo area at Johnannesburg Airport in the wee early hours Monday morning. Normally the gate at the KLM area doesn’t open until 7 AM so we had made arrangements for the guards to let us in when we arrived. When we pulled up to the gate, though, there was no one to be found. We saw someone peering at us from the shadows of the building across the lot and tried to attract their attention to no avail.
Not quite sure what was going on, we went to the next compound down the road and spoke with the guard there. He said he would go and check with the KLM guard staff and let us know. When he returned, we were very surprised to hear that the KLM guard was afraid we were there to rob him and had run away and would not come back to his post! So much for making arrangements to be let in early.
Fortunately the guard that was helping us felt sorry for us and let us into his compound to wait until 7 AM. We spent a very chilly and cramped few hours sleeping (or attempting to sleep) in our car, smushed in among all our luggage and gear. We were pretty happy when first light dawned and we could finally convince the KLM guard that we were not there to rob him!
Once the cargo staff arrived in the morning it was time to move the containers from Louis’ truck onto the pallets that they would be shipped on. The rhino containers were secured to the pallets and then the pallets would be locked down to the floor of the cargo hold in the plane. Here’s Joe Kalla helping to line up one of the containers on a pallet.
Joe Kalla helps position a rhino-filled container while Niccor nonchalantly rides on top as it swings from the truck to the transport pallet.
Once we got the containers fastened securely to the pallets there were towed into the warehouse to wait to be loaded onto the plane.
Rhino containers being towed into the cargo area at Johannesburg Airport.
Now we had time to label the containers, attach the zoo’s and sponsor’s logos and finally grab a welcome cup of hot coffee. Our flight didn’t leave until almost two, so we had plenty of time…or so we thought. Our adventure wasn’t quite over yet!
Because we were flying cargo, we didn’t have regular tickets. We needed something called a “General Direction” sheet, (or a “Gendex” for short) to get through security. We were assured this was on the way and so we had some more “tortoise time” before we would finally leave Africa. As I said, we thought we had plenty of time, so while we were anxious to get going, we weren’t worried yet. We kept an eye on the rhinos and passed the time talking with the wonderful staff that were assisting us with the arrangements. After a couple of hours, though, we started to get a bit antsy about the paperwork. Time was ticking. Our videographer, Dan, couldn’t fly cargo for the first leg of our journey because only the staff directly responsible for animal care could go on the cargo plane. We needed to get Dan to his flight, return our rental car, get ourselves checked in and meet our flight crew at the gate to transport out to the plane.
With time getting tighter, our GenDex finally arrived and we dashed off to the terminal. Turning in our car we all hurried into the terminal, said so long to Dan until we met up in Amsterdam and headed to security. Then things got a bit dodgy once again. The security officers did not recognize our GenDex as a Gendex. They repeated to us several times that we needed a Gendex. We were a bit tired at this point and mostly stared blankly and pointed at our magical piece of paper that was supposed to sail us right through security.
Finally, when the passengers behind us started grumbling, one agent said we must come with him. After trailing all over the airport to several offices he said he must go upstairs to check on our Gendex. Fortunately it was Joe Kalla to the rescue again. He refused to be separated from the piece of paper that was our only link to the rhinos at that point, and went with the airport employee while Dr Joe and I waited anxiously. Eventually they returned, really none the wiser as to what the gentleman was “checking on”, but at least he seemed to finally have picked up on our sense of urgency. He rushed us through security and we headed to our gate.
It was different being the only passengers waiting and shortly our pilot and co-pilot arrived. We all transported out to the plane in a van. As we were boarding, they told us we pretty much had free run of the plane and even that we could stay with the rhinos in the cargo area during take off and landing. Dr Joe took them up on this offer and stayed in the hold for take off, which he reports was quite a strange thing when we are so used to being told to absolutely not move from our seats during take off and landing.
Here is what the hold of the plane looked like. The rhinos were packed in with lots and lots of flowers heading to Europe from Africa.
Dr Joe watches as cargo is moved into place around the rhino containers.
Now we were on the plane at last. But there was one more piece of information that we didn’t have until we talked with the captain. Our schedule said we would arrive in Amsterdam around midnight. Once again we thought we had plenty of time. Our flight from Amsterdam to Houston wasn’t scheduled until 10:40 the next morning. We planned to get the rhinos unloaded and fed at the “pet hotel” that KLM has in Amsterdam and then grab showers and maybe even a little sleep at the airport hotel. Yet another plan evaporated, along with our visions of hot showers when the captain told us we would fly to Harare in Zimbabwe, lay over for a few hours while more cargo was loaded, then fly to Nairobi, Kenya for another few hours of cargo loading, and then finally on to Amsterdam, arriving early morning. That wasn’t going to give us much time to unload the rhinos and get them to the next flight, let alone have a nap. At that point all we could do was shrug and settle in for a long trip to Amsterdam!
At long last, the day we had been planning for dawned, along with a feeling of uneasy deja vu for us! But this time, the crates were ready, Louis had his team ready to switch the containers, and the veterinarians would be on hand to help load the rhinos and sign the last minute paper work.
We we once again packed our bags and tried occupy ourselves through the morning, hoping against hope that all would go according to plan this time! We would be loading the rhinos in the evening and driving six hours through the night to Johannesburg in order to be there at 8:00 AM to check the rhinos in for their first flight. Driving at night served several purposes. We wanted to minimize the amount of time that the rhinos would be in their shipping containers, and it’s cooler to drive at night which is much more comfortable for the rhinos. Aside from the normal road hazards we were also worried about hitting traffic if we arrived too late in the morning. Johannesburg is infamous for having the worst traffic in the world, and the last thing we needed was for any hitch in our journey to be because of a traffic jam!
There was one more critical point to the ground transport. I have previously mentioned the poaching situation in Africa. Literally every rhino on the continent of Africa is in danger from poaching. Rhino horn is unfortunately extremely valuable on the black market so people will go to great lengths and take huge risks because the payoff is so big. Rhinos have even been hijacked and poached during translocation transports like ours. This is obviously dangerous to the people transporting the rhinos as well as to the rhinos themselves. Louis wasn’t taking any chances. Traveling at night when there was less traffic meant that not only could we travel faster, but less people would be around to wonder what was in our containers. There are many international regulations that determine how crates must be marked during transport by air, including “Live Animal” labels and also labels indicating the contents of the container. Large “Rhino on Board” labels aren’t exactly subtle. Louis was adamant that we not mark the containers until we were safely inside the cargo area at the airport behind locked gates. Until then our containers would just be three more non-descript shipping containers driving down the highway.
Thankfully, for once, the catch this night was that there was no catch. Louis’ crew is expert at moving animals. It was fun and exciting to watch them riding on the crates and chains as they swapped out the trainer containers for the shipping containers. The rhinos were given some more of the “happy drugs” that we used when we moved them down from their quarantine boma and they went into their crates without too much fuss. The crates were then loaded onto the flatbed trucks and secured for the journey. The whole process took about four hours, but finally we were ready.
Here is some video of the shipping containers being moved into place. Quite the production!
The HZI team loaded luggage and all of Dan’s camera gear into our rented vehicle that seemed to get smaller with each bag that we stuffed in, and at 9:15 PM we pulled out of Ngongoni Lodge and were finally, at last, after much ado, on the road with our three rhinos!
The meerkats kits are continuing to display exceptional cuteness and are ranging farther and farther around their exhibit. The whole group is together now which has all of the staff breathing a huge sigh of relief. Alpha female, Chafu, was introduced to them early this morning and she accepted them without any apparent hesitation.
That moment at first light when we opened the door and let the entire mob onto the exhibit was both nerve racking and exhilirating. Fortunately, it went exactly as we had hoped it would! All of the work leading up to that moment, however, took place behind the scenes from a dedicated group of keepers. They kept pages of notes, took many pictures and rotated individuals in with mom and kits multiple times each day. The following video lets Paul, Priscilla and Jose tell you the story of all the work in their own words. And it delivers plenty of the cuteness you expect from our meerkat kits!
If you stop by the meerkat yard in the next few weeks you are likely to see Paul, Priscilla and Jose keeping a watch on the social structure of the group just to make sure things proceed as we expect. They love showing off the kits and talking with guests about the animals in their care. Say hi and let them know what a great job they’re doing!
And thanks to Jeremy Stewart, our videographer extrodinaire, for putting together this video for us to share with you.
If you were lucky enough to be at the zoo on this blissfully uncrowded morning, you may have seen one of the very cutest sights in the animal kingdom. Our new baby meerkats made their debut on exhibit this morning!
People immediately began asking questions; “How old are they?” ”Which one is the Mom?” “Is that one OK that just rolled down the hill??” These were the easy questions to answer; four weeks old, Mom is the lightest colored one, and yes, they roll around a lot and the adults keep a close eye that they make it back to the nest.
One of the trickier questions to answer was “How come we didn’t know you had babies until now?” The answer to that essentially lies in the complicated social structure of meerkats, how we have to try to decipher their behavior and how we use that knowledge when making management decisions in captivity.
In the wild, only the alpha pair is allowed to breed. Unfortunately our alpha male died about three years ago, and since then, alpha female, Chafu, has not had any babies. We recently noticed that one of our other females, Kala, was pregnant. Because Kala is a subordinate animal, we were worried that Chafu’s natural instinct would kick in and she might try to harm the babies. We decided to try to help Kala protect her kits.
The keepers weigh all of the meerkats regularly and keep meticulous records. Because of this we were able to determine when Kala’s weight was at a point at which meerkats generally give birth. We kept Kala inside to give birth instead of allowing her access to the outside tunnels where we would not be able to help her if anything went wrong. We also rotated three or four mob members in with her each day, all except Chafu. We timed it perfectly and the second night that Kala was inside she gave birth. She had a cozy den that she kept the kits in and we continued to rotate other individuals in with her. They were all very protective of the kits and helped Kala by “babysitting” when she would leave the den to eat. It took a few days but eventually the adults were comfortable enough to let the keepers get a peek and count six babies!
Check out this picture. Cute!
Four day old meerkat kits snoozing in their nest.
The babies are now four weeks old, very mobile and beginning to eat solid food. It was time for their first foray into the yard. In preparation, we brought Chafu and three buddies inside and let the rest of the mob out. Within moments the babies were peeking out and beginning to explore. Here they are during their first minutes in the big wide world. Could you wish for anything cuter?
The playful kits are always under the watchful eye of their babysitters.
After the kits have a few days to explore, we will start to introduce Chafu back into the group. She has seen, smelled and touched the babies through a mesh barrier, and has exhibited no aggression towards them. This is very encouraging. We will have plenty of staff on hand ready to assist in case things don’t go according to plan, but we have high hopes that because the rest of the mob has accepted the babies, Chafu will too.
Stop by the Natural Encounters building when you visit the zoo and watch the kits as they explore and tumble in their yard. Of course we’ll be blogging as they grow so check back often and let us know in the comments what you think of our super cute kits!
Hometown: Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, CA (Oceanside)
Department/Title: Carnivore Keeper
How long have you worked at the Houston Zoo?: 8 years
How long have you been in the your field?: Total of 11 years – I worked at the Topeka Zoo for 2 ½ years
Animals I train: Patty (Spectacled Bear); Kadu (Leopard); Uzima (one of newest female Lions); Taji (Anatolian Shepherd)
Favorite animal: Spectacled Bears – bears in general!
Animals at home: I have a Blue and Gold Macaw, 1 dog and 2 cats.
Special interests/hobbies: Knitting, reading, hiking, working with Rhodesian Ridgeback and Anatolian Shepherd rescue groups. I also volunteer at a low cost spay/neuter clinic in La Marque.
Spectacled Bear
What made you want to work at a zoo?:
Initially I wanted to be a vet but by the time I would have gotten accepted, I would have had to go to college for 8 years and didn’t want to commit the time. I also knew that I did not want to work with livestock animals as a career. One day a woman from Cat Tales, a private facility in Spokane, WA that specializes in cats, came to the university and did a presentation about cats and zoo keeping. She brought one of their leopards and took him out for part of the presentation. After talking with her I thought Zoo Keeping would be fun to do as a career. I did some research, decided that it was something I wanted to do and switched my major to Zoology.
Education/training: Bachelor of Science Zoology, emphasis on Animal Care from Washington State University and a Certificate in Zoo Keeping from Cat Tales Zoological Training Center.
Advice to anyone wanting to enter your field: Be prepared for a lot of hard work and don’t get discouraged if you don’t get a job right away! Getting a job takes a lot of luck and good timing. You have to work for it and be persistent! If possible, take courses in psychology, training workshops, horticulture, and public speaking.
Penelope (right) and Olivia enjoy snuggling together, even on hot summer days!
Guinea Hog piglets. Just saying that now brings a huge smile to my face, and I’m not the only one. Our new girls have charmed every person-young or old, zookeeper or not-that has laid eyes on them. They now have adorable names to match their very individual personalities: Penelope and Olivia. Named after two famous piglets from children’s story books, Olivia was named such for her dainty, princess-like personality. Penelope, on the other hand, goes by the nickname “bulldozer”, always trying to push her way to the center of attention. If these first few weeks of Penelope and Olivia being on exhibit has taught us anything, it is definitely that piglets have a TON of energy! These girls seem to be on the move the majority of the day. Running, chasing, bouncing off of each other, training, climbing in water bowls and searching for snacks in the dirt sure takes a lot of energy! Even eating is a mini-marathon, each piglet trying to play and eat at the same time. And when they are tuckered out they find a corner to snuggle in, sometimes nose to nose, other times side by side.
Play or eat? Decisions, decisions.
Even the other animals who live nearby are entertained by their antics. The first few days on exhibit piqued everyone’s interest and nearly every move they made was being carefully watched. Crowds of goats gathered at the fence, each one trying to get a good look at the new additions. The Zebus called out, seeming to wonder why the attention was not centered on them, and the Llama couldn’t decide if the piglets were friend or foe. A week later, everyone is content with Penelope and Olivia being their new neighbors. When it is time for a training session, the excitement is easy to see. Penelope and Olivia can’t get enough affection and attention, and they usually greet their trainers with a grunt or squeal. According to trainer Amy Lavergne, Penelope and Olivia’s favorite reward seems to be strawberries, although being pigs they will accept almost any fruit or vegetable we give them! Pigs are not picky. One of the girls’ favorite behaviors to work on is paint, where the trainer applies non-toxic paint to their snouts and lets them go wild on a canvas to create their own masterpiece. Ok, maybe they don’t go wild yet, but they’re working on it. And just like your kids at home, they do not like cleaning up! Running around with a bright pink nose is much more fun than taking a bath. Before too long they will be learning to walk on harnesses to get some exercise and excitement outside of their exhibit.
Candace applies animal friendly paint to Olivia's snout, which she will use as her paintbrush.
Olivia makes her first swipe onto the canvas.
She seems to be catching on to the fun of being an animal artist!
She even managed to get some good snout prints!
A completed painting by Olivia
Next up is bath time to clean all that paint off!
For now, Penelope and Olivia are very busy exploring, playing, tasting new foods, learning new behaviors and getting used to their daily routine. They are absolutely adorable and quite rambunctious, qualities that are sure to make them a Houston Zoo favorite for many years to come! Be sure to visit the John P. McGovern Children’s Zoo during your next visit to see Penelope and Olivia up close! For more adorable pictures of Penelope and Olivia visit the Houston Zoo’s Photo Albums!
How long have you worked at the Houston Zoo?: 5 years
How long have you been in the your field?: 7 years
Favorite animal: Okapi. When I was an intern at White Oak Conservation Center, we had a couple of young okapi that were being weaned. Tulia was the youngest of the three and very sweet and small. It was always my favorite part of the day to go see the calves. After I had been at Houston a few years, we received Tulia into Quarantine. I was amazed at how large she had gotten! She has grown into quite the young lady. Now I get to see a whole new side to her and it will be exciting when she has her own babies!
Quote: “Winning hearts and minds for animals” – Jack Brown SFCC Director
Special interests/hobbies: Reading, Knitting badly, hiking and camping, kayaking, and I am also AAZK Vice President of the Greater Houston Chapter
What made you want to work at a zoo?: I was trying to find my niche so I had a lot of different jobs, several of which involved working with animals. During one of my quests to find my niche, I was working as a Disney College Program student at Disney’s Animal Kingdom as a custodian when I happened to see a keeper feeding produce to the gorillas. I had never considered zoo keeping as a career because I’d always assumed that your family had to teach you the skills, like a trapeze artist. It just so happened that this particular keeper’s parents were zookeepers! Awhile later, I asked a different keeper how she got into the field, and they told me about the Teaching Zoo.
Education/training: Associates of Science in Zoo Animal Technology from Santa Fe Teaching Zoo – Gainesville, FL
Previous related jobs: Pet sitting, vet clinics, animal shelters
Advice to anyone wanting to enter the your field: Work or volunteer anywhere with animals. Be prepared to get down and dirty! If you need to be clean or can’t handle dirt, you won’t be happy in this field no matter how much you love animals.
What is unique about being a clinic keeper: The clinic is a little known area by zoo guests because we are behind the scenes. We are the ones who take care of the sick, new arrivals, geriatric, and injured. We are able to give special attention to specific animals that really need it at critical times in their life. We have the ability to rearrange an entire enclosure for just one animal’s needs, whereas that is difficult to do for a whole enclosure full of different animals that may need it another way!
Why you like this department: I like working in the clinic because it is trying to find the order in chaos. Every day is different. We work with so many different animals that I get to use all the knowledge I learned from school every day. I love the challenge and thinking outside the box!
