Lincoln Public Schools High School Science Focus Program/Zoo School

By John Chapo

Lincoln, NE - A hands-on introduction to authentic science.

Sponsored by: Zoo School (LPS Science Focus Program), Doane College, The Lincoln Children's Zoo and State Farm Insurance:
Sunday, October 12, 12:00-4:00 AND
Monday, October 13, 10:00-3:00

The Lincoln Public Schools High School Science Focus Program/Zoo School, the Lincoln Children¹s Zoo, and State Farm Insurance Company have joined together to create an educational program designed for elementary students, teachers, and families.

These Two Kittens Received A Clean Bill Of Health

By Gigi Allianic

Seattle, WA - Would Paris Hilton and Britney Spears make good role models for Woodland Park Zoo's two healthy female ocelot kittens?

Woodland Park Zoo veterinarians have given a clean bill of health to the zoo’s 2-week-old ocelot kittens after performing a neonatal examination.

Born September 23, both kittens were identified as females and were examined from head-to-tail. The kittens currently weigh between 7 and 8 ounces. The ocelot kittens represent the first offspring for mother Bella, 7 years old, and father Brazil, 12 years old. The mom and kittens remain off public exhibit and the father is currently on view in the zoo’s award-winning Tropical Rain Forest exhibit.

Someone Is Looking For A Trick Or A Treat

By Kirsten Wilf

Philadelphia, PA - The Philadelphia Zoo will host the region’s most festive annual Halloween celebration for families. “Boo at the Zoo,” taking place Saturday, October 25, and Sunday, October 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This popular signature Zoo event has been expanded from one to two days this year.

During  the two-day “Boo at the Zoo, ” children can come in costume to  connect  with all their favorite animals  as well as the environment we share while "trick-or-treating"   at candy stations throughout the Zoo.  

" Boo at the Zoo”  will also feature storytelling, games, music and more , including a chance to meet the cast of Hairspray from the Walnut Street Theater. Sweets and treats for “Boo at the Zoo” are generously donated by Peanut Chews® Brand Candies, M&M’s® Milk Chocolate Candies, SUPERPRETZEL® Soft Pretzels, Herr Food, Inc., Cabot Creamery Cooperative, R.M. Palmer Company and Endangered Species Chocolate. Radio station B101FM will also be onsite both days with music, games and prizes.

Can You Lend Him Your Ear?

By Cindy Hanson

Newport, OR - Creatures of the Night to Haunt Aquarium October 25.

Admission is 2 cans of food for Lincoln County Food Share.

Every year at this time the Oregon Coast Aquarium closes its doors early and quietly mutates into something very strange. The lovely wooded grounds are transformed into an ominous landscape with haunted caves and foggy courtyards summoning all manner of ghosts, ghouls and creepy characters to partake in its annual soiree of the sinister.

The Aquarium will close at 4 pm and reopen with jack-o-lanterns lighting the way through the 16th annual Creatures of the Night, the Aquarium’s annual Halloween Party, Saturday, October 25, from 7 to 9 pm.

Look At This Cute Chick With Nice Legs

By Kim Riley

Twycross, UK - Long spindly legs and standing 20 cm tall with brown downy feathers, these “ugly ducklings” are the two new hand reared, East African crowned crane chicks, who moved to Twycross Zoo from Exmoor Zoo this week. The cute double act can be seen in the crèche eating a mixture of cereals and marine duck pellet provided by their keeper. The ugly duckling description applies very well to these little bundles of fluff. As youngsters these birds are a drab brown colour but when they reach adulthood their down transforms into silvery grey and white feathers with a distinctive scarlet throat lappet and a golden fanned crown.

Adult crowned cranes eat a varied diet, including seed heads, fresh tips of grasses, insects, frogs and crabs. They have a long straight beak which helps them to catch their food. Sometimes they stamp their feet to flush out insects to eat and catch them with rapid feeding motions. The adult crane is an excellent flier with a wing span that can reach up to seven feet across when they are in flight.

The African crowned crane inhabits a mixture of wetlands and open grassland. They can also be found in pastures, cropland, fallow fields, irrigated areas and ranches. They roost in trees or even on telegraph poles. They are active during the day and live either in breeding pairs or in flocks of up to one hundred non breeding birds.

Name: Rick Schwartz

Actual title: President, Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

Name of your zoo: Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

URL for your facility: www.nashvillezoo.org

Number of species at your facility: More than 160

Your favorite critter at the facility: Clouded Leopards

Total number of animals or fish at your facility: More than 1,600

Number of visitors annually: 546,429 in 2007

Number of employees: 156

Number of volunteers: 1100

Annual budget: $7.7 million

Degree(s): None

Experience prior to this position: I’ve been involved with the care of exotic animals since the age of 14 when I owned my first cougar (much to the dismay of my parents).

Favorite part of your job: Walking around our park and listening to the general public enjoying the staff’s creativity and hard work.

One dream wish for your facility: A state of the art gorilla facility.

Family: Married for seventeen years to my wife Catherine. We have a fifteen year old daughter followed by three sons who are 13, 11, and 8 years old.

Pets at home: Varies on any particular day, but our house is filled with snakes, lizards, frogs, fish, two dogs, and a cat.

When you retire, you plan to: Go back to my real passion of breeding endangered species. As our facility continues to grow I unfortunately spend less time working directly with animals.