Fall Weather at the Zoo

Despite having no legs, this unusual reptile is not a snake. He is one of the longest legless lizards in the world! How do we know he is a lizard and not a snake? Firstly, check out the holes on the side of his head. Those are his ears. Snakes do not have those. Secondly, Boris has eyelids and will blink. Snakes do not blink—you will never win a staring contest with a snake! Finally, Boris can sever his tail to defend himself and then regrow it. Snakes cannot do that.

Another lizard went on an adventure this week at the Eden Zoo. Mushu the bearded dragon got to visit some other zoo animals. Allowing animals who get along to meet each other is a form of enrichment. Enrichment is anything that makes an animal’s life more exciting, whether it’s exercise, fun food, new smells, new sounds, toys, or visiting new places. Mushu got to visit our alpacas, goats, and pigs! As you can see, they were all very curious about each other.

Our zookeepers made some more training progress this week. Cain and Abel, the alpacas at the Ark Encounter, are eventually going to be featured in our daily animal shows, so they are learning lots of fun behaviors. This week, they learned how to give kisses to their trainers! At the Creation Museum, KuneKune pigs Thorin Oinkenshield and Gimli son of Gloink are also progressing in their training. They have learned to walk on a leash and harness, sit, and stay. That may not seem impressive, but pigs have up to 15,000 tastebuds. Humans only have up to 9,000. Imagine how good food would taste if you had as many tastebuds as a pig! Asking a pig to sit and wait when he knows his trainer has tasty treats in her pocket is a difficult task. However, Thorin and Gimli are doing great!

Over at the Ark Encounter, the oldest of our Philippine leaf insects have molted into adults. Since insects do not have bones, they instead have exoskeletons, which are like armor around the outside of their bodies. Every time they grow, they must shed their old exoskeletons in a process called molting. Insects must usually molt many times before reaching adulthood. Philippine leaf insects may be large, but they are harmless to humans. They are beautifully designed to mimic leaves to camouflage in the forests. Each one looks a bit different since all leaves look different. Some are green, while others are brown or yellow. Some have “rotten” edges or are irregularly shaped. Still, others have “holes” or “bite marks” on them! They take their mimicry even further by behaving like leaves. When the wind blows, they will rock back and forth, just like leaves swaying in the breeze! Some people may not like bugs, but Romans 1:20 says, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Even the insects show the glory of the creator!

Leaf Insects

Tune in next time to learn what’s new at the zoo!