Posts Tagged ‘Primates’

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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Jan
04

Mangabeys Munching

Posted by in Primates

Mangabeys munching are a fun sight to see at the Houston Zoo. We have Red-capped mangabeys, native to central Africa; they are the most colorful of the mangabey species with a bright red “cap” on the top of their heads. These are very social animals that usually live in a harem, which consists of one male and several females and their offspring. These monkeys eat lots of fruits, nuts and leaves and occasionally bugs, small birds or lizards. When one member of the group finds a fruit or nut tree, they will alert the rest of the group where they are, so the entire group can have a snack too.

At the Houston Zoo, when the mangabeys see the keepers coming with their food, they will do a similar vocalization; we call it the “happy cackle” because they usually are excited about their food. In the wild, they usually cooperate and can sit together eating food peacefully, but in captivity, sometimes they aren’t too keen to share (especially the males – for some reason they think they should get all the good food! – sound familiar?), so keepers have to make sure to spread the food around as much as possible so that all group members get an equal share of the food and to prevent any “arguments”. Also, mothers will often share their food with their offspring, so they can learn what is good to eat and what isn’t.

Often keepers will hide some of the food, so the monkeys have to spend time finding their food, we call that foraging. In the wild, monkeys spend many hours foraging for food, so keepers try to recreate that in captivity. Sometimes the food can be hidden in pine bark, a paper bag, or in a cardboard box to name a few; it will be something different everyday.

 

When the mangabeys aren’t eating they are engaging in lots of social behaviors. When you visit the exhibit, you will most likely see them grooming
each other. Grooming isn’t just for removing dirt (and no, they don’t have fleas –those are just on dogs and cats) it is also very socially bonding. A subordinate animal will gain favors by grooming a more dominate animal. The mangabeys also have a strict social order and when one of the subordinate animals steps ‘over the line’ the dominate animal will have to discipline them; usually by way of chasing and screaming…you may have seen that too since it happens several times a day. Next time you are at the zoo, spend 15-20 minutes watching them; there’s a lot going on with the mangabeys…in addition to munching!

Written by Dena Strange, Houston Zoo Primate Supervisor

 

 

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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
22

12 Days of Grub: Day 10 – Ten Chimps a Chasing

Posted by in African Forest,Chimpanzees,Feeding Our Animals,Gift of Grub

On the Tenth Day of Grub, your zoo gift will help to feed…Ten Chimps a Chasing, Nine Fruit Bats Flying, Eight Giraffes a Galloping, Seven Snakes a Slithering, Six Mole-rats Mining, Five Golden Frogs, Four Calling Birds, Three Wild Dogs, Two Grizzly Bears, and Darwin the Cassowary! CLICK HERE to read them all!

For most wild animals, the acquisition and consumption of food is not just a casual activity, but in fact a full-time job.  A wild chimpanzee in Africa must always be on the search for ripe fruit, edible greens, tasty termites or ants, hard-shelled nuts  and yes, even small animals to hunt and eat.

Although we can’t re-create a wild chimpanzee diet, here at the Houston Zoo, we provide our chimps with a healthy variety of food including many types of lettuce, fruits, vegetables, nuts, different types of local plants and a specialized “biscuit” made for primates in zoos.  We also give them many types of treats which make up only a small portion of their diet, but are their favorites, including popcorn, peanut butter, honey and fruit juice.

Lucy enjoys some sweet potato and sunshine

Our chimps did not grow up hunting or eating termites, ants or meat, so this is not included in their Houston Zoo diet, but they are given the daily opportunity to show off their amazing ability to use tools by “fishing” for sweet or savory treats in our termite mound replica.

The chimps enjoy using sticks to “fish” for delicious treats

In order to keep their day interesting and to keep them active, the chimps’ meals are provided at different times throughout the day.  One of their favorite types of food is “browse”, or edible plants collected for them throughout the zoo by our own amazing Horticulture team.  Everyday the chimps get some combination of mulberry, banana leaves, willow, fig leaves or other edible plants.

Mac enjoys fig leaves

Chimps aren’t great at sharing their food with one another with a few notable exceptions (moms and their babies, males “wooing” receptive females, etc.)   They have a fairly stable social hierarchy and the higher-ranking chimps have first access to the yummy stuff.  For that reason, it is important that we make sure the food is scattered throughout the chimps’ entire habitat so that each member has the opportunity to collect food, and there is always enough for everyone.

Feeding the zoo’s animals is one of the best parts of being a zookeeper.  We enjoy giving them their food almost as much as they enjoy eating it!

Give the Gift of Grub this holiday season to help provide tasty meals for our chimpanzees and all of the animals at the Houston Zoo!  Our chimps send their ape-preciation for your support.

Thank you also to TXU Energy for generously matching the first $25,000 in donations this year!

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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
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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Oct
25

FOTO Friday Winner of the Week

Posted by in Contest,Funny,Primates

Welcome to the Houston Zoo’s FOTO FRIDAY Caption Challenge results post from Friday, October 21!

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.

Here is the picture that was posted - taken by Houston Zoo volunteer Juile Bearman –with the top voted caption by Rebecca Dolen Bowers ! ** Insert a Halloween Happy Dance!**

YOUR VOTES HELP DETERMINE THE WINNERS!

Darling, please tell me where you get your hair done. That is the exact color I was going for.

FIRST RUNNER UP:

 

Sandra Fleming Studios: Take a deep breath. Does it hurt here? What about here? _________________________________________________________________________________

A SECOND RUNNER UP:

Donna Weaver: “We’ll have to let those trousers out just a little around the waist.

_______________________________________________________________________________

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

 

Sharika Brooks: ARE THEY SURE IM NOT A CHAMELEON?

Paul White: cousin it!

Shannon Smith Stilwell: Oooh a well ventilated little Tamarin casa just for me. Now, how do I get in?

Randall Laughlin: I swear I left my keys right here!

Stephanie Feller Lundy: I….I think i love you!

Kathern Sparks: “Orange you glad it’s Halloween? I know I am!” 4

Lori Schumacher: I’ll hide behind you and when they walk up I’ll jump out and yell, “Boo!” 4

Christine Forisha: Hey bud, have you tried the Hair Club for Primates? Works great!

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

Thanks for joining in the fun!

And please come on back for next Friday!

You can come get your very OWN pumpkin from our pumpkin patch on any one of the TEN, count ‘em TEN days of Zoo Boo this year. Visit our website for dates and details. Times vary, so be sure to check. See you ghouls, goblins and geeks there!


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Sep
19

Animal Enrichment: Yummy for the Tummy

Posted by in Commissary,Enrichment,Events

The Commissary at the Houston Zoo works like a five star restaurant!  The staff prepare animal diets daily, consisting of fresh produce, fruits, meats and an assortment of many other foods.  But who doesn’t like a special treat now and then….many of the animals certainly do and the Commissary makes sure they get a favorite treat. 

Some of those treats are also part of the animal’s enrichment.  Those include ice pops, from 8 oz cups to 5 gallons!!

Now, I know you’re thinking who would get a 5 gallon ice pop!!!  Those lucky animals would be the bears and the elephant herd.  The bear’s pops are filled with fish or fruit.  The elephants’ pops are fruit filled with apples, pineapple, pears, mangos and grapes. 

Primates get the smaller ice pops.  Their pops contain fruit juices and another item such as currants, sunflower seeds, grapes, etc.  Here’s a picture of Rudi enjoying his ice pop, although it looks like he’s dreaming of a 5 gallon ice pop!

The Carnivores enjoy an assortment of bones once a month.  Watch the video below, they really seem to love stalking and capturing their “prey”.

Holiday food enrichment is also something different for the animals.  Putting something new and different in their habitat helps to enrich their lives by finding something unexpected, something unknown.  One of those items is pumpkins at Halloween.  Most animals receive pumpkins and have a great time playing and foraging through them.  Watch the Meerkat search for yummy treats in their pumpkin.

Enrichment Day at the Houston Zoo is Saturday, September 24th.  This is a great opportunity to come and join in the fun.  Come out and see all of the animals enjoying special enrichment, hear keeper chats and loads of  fun games for kids of all ages!  Enrichment Day celebrates the meaning and joy of enriching our animals and visitors!

Find your favorite animals and see what they’re wishing for at Amazon.com. Then just sit back, shop, click and send your animal of choice a wonderful gift to enrich their life!  They really do appreciate it and so does the Houston Zoo!

 

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