|
|
|
|
Cotton Top Tamarin Twins
Watch as our new
twin baby cotton top tamarins move about the exhibit on their own,
before dashing back to find their father’s back. Born September 1st,
these twins are moving off either parent’s back for longer and
longer periods of time. Our babies, Syd and Mel, are now learning
which foods are good to eat. Watch them on exhibit: if either
parent is holding a food item and one of the babies cries for it,
the parent gives it to the baby. This is how the babies learn which
foods are good for them to eat. If you see one of the babies cry
for a grape, Mama Jasmine’s favorite food, you will see her sigh as
she hands it over!
Click
here to view video |
|
Lemur
Painting 
In
addition
to her usual, and always varied duties, Keeper Jenny Monroe enjoys
giving her artistic lemurs a chance to show their talents.
Using non-toxic finger paints, and encouraging them with
raisin treats, Jenny sets up their canvases and lets them go.
This is another way that our keepers use enrichment to keep the
animals interested and challenged. Watch as Baxter and Bertha,
our ring-tailed lemurs, enjoy raisins and art on exhibit!
These unique and lovely works of art are available for sale through
the Northern Lights Chapter of the American Zoo Keepers Association
for between $20 and $40, depending on size and quality. All
proceeds benefit the AAZK's conservation efforts.
Click
here to view video |
|
|
Springhaas
As
you will see in this video, a keeper’s job covers a wide range of
tasks, from maintenance, to chef, to mother!
Little Riachu was unexpectedly born on exhibit, not allowing
her mother the privacy to bond to her.
Therefore, Keeper Wendy Buczynski took on the task of
mothering her, pausing in whatever she was doing every three hours
so she could feed this newborn Springhaas.
And, yes, that meant Wendy took her home with her nightly and
got up every three hours all night long as well!
When
Raichu is not being fed by Wendy, she is in isolation with her
mother receiving Springhaas lessons.
Her father, Cujo, is holding down the fort in their exhibit
home, seeing visitors and waiting for his family to return.
A
springhaas has feet like a kangaroo and the face of a rabbit but is
actually a rodent, with squirrels, gophers and beavers being among
the closest relatives. Springhaas
live in East and South Africa, and are rather common in the wild.
Still, most people in this country have never heard of a springhaas!
Watch as Wendy takes Raichu out of her
own maternity ward in the back of the Primate Center kitchen,
carefully weighs her and then bottle feeds her.
Despite some impressive looking claws, Raichu really is a
cutey!
Click
here to view video
|
|
|
Lion
Enrichment
On
special days, the lions are kept in their dens a bit longer so that
interesting scents and objects can be placed in their exhibit.
On this day, our Junior Docents brought in Dolly, the llama, Ashely,
the miniature donkey, and Pauline, the sheep. the keepers also
placed bags of bedding from the kangaroos and the phalangers of the
Australia exhibit for the lions to discover. As a special
treat, our Summer Camp kids came to the exhibit as well! The
enrichment isn't for the lions alone; Dolly, Ashely and Pauline
found the new space very interesting and long grass quite delicious,
and the Juniors and Summer Camp kids were quite excited to see the
zoo from the lions' perspective. Watch as the exhibit is
prepared and then see Nemo, our male lion, come out and please the
crowd!
Click
here to view video
|
|
|
Your
friends in the Nocturnal exhibit
Here
are some various critters from our nocturnal exhibit in the Primate
Conservation Center. Check
out the bats in their newly remodeled exhibit, as they have their
morning feed. Then the
mouse opossum chases his meal of yummy crickets!
Visit briefly with our two-toed sloth, Georgie (she doesn’t
do a whole heck of a lot, but she’s very cute) and finally watch
the burrowing owls watching you!
Click
here to view video |
|
|
Phoebe
enjoys her pool
Early
and late in the day are optimal times to visit the zoo.
This clip, taken right at the beginning of the day, shows
Phoebe enjoying her pool while Trouble feasts on the treats left on
exhibit by the keepers. While
relaxing in the pool, Phoebe discovered the pleasure of blowing
bubbles with her nose, a new trick that the keepers had never seen
her perform!
Click
here to view video |
|
|
Feisty
shows off at the seal training show
Our two female
harbor seals, Vivian and Feisty, have been target training for about
a year. The training
sessions are conducted by our Education Curator, Leslie Gibson, and
our Education Specialist, Christine Herberg, whom you see in this
clip. These sessions
give the seals some enrichment, as they associate hand cues with a
behavior to work their minds and give them some midday exercise.
Another area of training is husbandry training where
behaviors they perform enable the veterinarian to more easily exam
them, such as presenting a flipper, or introducing various medical
tools. Have fun now
watching Feisty show her stuff!
Seal Training Shows are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at noon
through the summer!
Click
here to view video |
|
Baby
Angolan Colobus
Baby born December 6, 2002 at the Lake Superior Zoo.
12/6 -
Kelly was a good mom right from the start. She figured out how to hold the baby and maneuver around her home within the first 24 hours. |
12/7
- Keeper Jenny able to weigh mom and baby together.
12/8 - Kelly is definitely nursing!!
12/9 - Baby is climbing all over mom.
12/10 - Dad (Ross) allowed to hold baby for the first time.
12/12 - Parents playing very rough with baby! Hard to watch, but normal Colobus behavior. Baby is playing a little away from mom for first time today.
12/13 - Docent Linda gets close up glimpse of baby’s anatomy: it’s a girl! More rough play from adults: baby Colobus are tough!
12/16 - Keeper Jill confirms Linda’s gender choice.
12/26 - Baby playing alone, short distance from both parents.
12/29 - Baby teething on a browse branch.
1/1/03 - Baby starting to darken, especially on face. Looks like she has two black eyes! Baby very active, more independent.
1/4 - Baby hanging off food dish
1/7 - Chest is turning black.
Click
here to view video |
|
Bubba Plays Ball!
If you have been lucky enough to visit the zoo in person, you’ve probably seen volunteer Dick Simmons playing ball with our polar bears, Bubba and Berlin. On the day this video was shot, Berlin was feeling too pretty to get her fur wet, so only Bubba was playing. Dick Simmons reports: “One of our visitors that day remarked on how they had been visiting zoos for years and had never seen such active and happy polar bears!” Watch this little clip, and see how much fun Bubba had playing ball and visiting with some young fans!
Click here to view
video |
|
Kero and her swing
Keeper Bob Beaupre added a new swing to the Angolan Colobus exhibit
at the end of July, just before he retired (and we really miss
him!). In this clip, you will see our energetic little Kero, who is
still a youngster at just under two years, trying out her new toy!
Click
here to view video |
|
Tiger enrichment
Docent Jayme Christine designed this enrichment for our Siberian
tigers, and it ended up being almost as much fun for Jayme. Watch as
she “fishes” for tigers using a bunch of peacock feathers dropped
down into the exhibit from the tiger deck. Natasha, our female, is,
as usual, the bolder and more energetic of the two tigers!
Click
here to view video |
|
| If
you would like additional information on any of the
exhibits at the Lake Superior Zoo please use our request
information form, send us an e-mail,
or call 218.723.3777 |
|
|
|
|
|
