Leaves: A Favorite Seasonal Treat at the Zoo!

At the Eden Zoo, Boomer the Bennett’s wallaby is learning how to paint! All the paint we use for the animals is nontoxic washable paint used for human babies, so it’s safe. Boomer already likes to hold onto objects, so it wasn’t hard to teach him to grasp a paint brush. Then we just rewarded him for touching the bristles to a canvas!

Meanwhile, Promise the miniature Hereford continues to do well standing on the scale to be weighed. She weighs 968 pounds! This is called a husbandry behavior, which is any trained behavior that contributes to an animal’s healthcare. Instead of having to wrestle this big animal onto a scale, she calmly walks onto it by herself in exchange for treats. This makes veterinary procedures safer and less stressful for both the animals and zookeepers.

Over at the Ararat Ridge Zoo, our zookeepers wanted to do an experiment on our Eurasian eagle owl, Luna. Scientists have recently discovered more and more bird species have parts that glow under ultraviolet (UV) light. While humans can’t see UV light, some birds can. Zookeepers shined UV light under Luna’s wings and sure enough—Luna glows bright pink! That color is caused by a pigment called porphyrin (POUR-fir-in) in her feathers. It’s mostly a mystery why birds like Luna glow, but it’s not a mystery to God, who says in Psalm 50:11, “I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.” 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.” Glowing birds display the glory of God!

Speaking of birds, have you ever seen an emu walk on a leash? Petra the emu has learned how to do just that! Her trainers are so proud that she is walking on a leash and harness. Similarly, Thomas and Caleb the African crested porcupines have known how to walk on a leash and harness for a while, but they are now venturing out into the zoo to walk among guests. Don’t worry—porcupines can’t shoot quills, and these boys are friendly. Esau the large hairy armadillo has also made some big progress: he’s coming out on stage! He has learned how to go through a tunnel and run on a cat wheel in front of adoring audiences.

We’ve also had some fun with enrichment at the Ark Encounter. Gabriel the sugar glider celebrated his third birthday, so zoo staff threw him a pint-sized party with a tiny cake and tiny decorations! Our emu chicks Carmel, Petra, and Sinai did some painting for the very first time. The goal was to have them walk through the paint and then onto the canvas, but Carmel decided the paint was just too tasty to resist (remember, it’s nontoxic, so she’s okay). Our sloths, Felix and Eutychus, were offered some peppers—Felix snarfed three in just two minutes, while Eutychus took one bite and fell asleep holding his! Finally, our ring-tailed lemurs enjoyed some finger-licking good applesauce smeared on their toy bells.

I hope you enjoyed learning what’s happening at the zoo! Tune in next time for more animal adventures.