San Diego Zoo Blogs

Our newest little sun bear cubs at the San Diego Zoo are now three weeks old (see previous blog, A Star (or Two!) is Born. Thankfully, things seem to be going well for them in the den, and Marcella is doing a great job of caring for them. We don’t get to see too much of her babies since Marcella tries to keep them covered up and warm most of the time. However, our occasional glimpses are enough to confirm that both cubs have big, round bellies that suggest she is feeding them well.
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On October 16, 2008, I witnessed a piece of conservation history. Seven light-footed clapper rails were released at the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge in Seal Beach, California, 23 miles (37 kilometers) south of Los Angeles. Two of the birds were hatched and parent-raised at the Wild Animal Park in the off-exhibit bird breeding compound (or BBC), where I work as a senior bird keeper. (Read a previous blog, BBC: Clapper Rail Chicks.)
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I’m back in Peru again after a six-year absence. I haven’t spent much time in this country, but I have to say it’s among my favorites. My first trip, in 2002, was mostly recreational, but I did stop by to see an Andean bear reserve in Chaparri in northern Peru. Ever since, I’ve wanted the San Diego Zoo to establish a field conservation program to help save this charismatic species that gets so much less attention than its more famous cousins, the panda and the polar bear. Not too long ago I was able to pursue this goal by hiring Dr. Russ Van Horn to do the job. Read the rest of this entry »

The three Malayan tiger cubs at the San Diego Zoo are now six months old and quite the handful (see previous blog, A Tiger Cub's Day). Menderu (which is Malayan for "roar") is a male and the largest, weighing 80 pounds (36 kilograms). His two sisters aren't much smaller; Jin (which means "spirit") weighs 72 pounds (33 kilograms), while Seri (meaning "brightness") is the smallest at 70 pounds (32 kilograms). But just because Menderu is the biggest doesn't mean that he is in charge of his sisters! They are quite capable of holding their own against him.
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Yesterday morning, the bears were late in getting out on exhibit; a very special enrichment was being prepared for them that required them to be extra patient. Staff members from the San Diego Zoo's Giant Panda Reserach Station, Sun Bear Forest, and the Horticulture Department all convened to paint the panda area green.
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We all know that the Zoo is huge! There are lots of people moving about and lots of animals to see. It seems like it's almost impossible to see the entire Zoo in one day and see all of your favorite animals. Of course, the San Diego Zoo realizes this and has set up a bus tour system so you can see all of your favorite animals and more!

The bus tour starts from the loading dock, which is near the entrance of the Zoo. The bus is a double decker, and passengers can choose to sit either on the bottom or the top (with a nice view, I might add) and it can hold 104 passengers. The bus then goes through Tiger River, where you can see plants and animals from Southeast Asia, then goes through Ituri Forest, which is modeled after the central African rain forest (of the same name). Read the rest of this entry »

I must say that Janey and Clyde, the orangutans, have been great conservation ambassadors during our daily keeper talks at the Absolutely Apes exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. Just under a year ago, I began to develop a conservation package that would some day becomepart of a pilot program for the rest of the great ape areas of the Zoo (see Juan's blog, New Age Orangutan Conservation). Our conservation package includes materials and products that are made of sustainable and/or reused material; these were used as tools to show Zoo visitors options that we, as consumers, have for becoming more eco-friendly at home.
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It's been a few weeks since you've had a report on the goings-on at our Giant Panda Research Station, which is the bad news. The good news is that nothing much has been going on, and from our perspective, normal-normal, same ol'-same ol', is a good thing! At this time of the year we don't expect to see any hormonally induced behavior shifts. Zhen Zhen is busy eating and growing, the summer crowds have gone, and it's a bit early for large numbers of field trips, so the Panda Canyon is quiet. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to believe that our little cubs at the Wild Animal Park's Lion Camp are already one year old. Where did the time go? (see blog, Lion Cubs Grow by the Minute.) It seems like only yesterday we were looking into those soft brown eyes, wondering, "Are you Tamu or Laini?" "Is your left shoulder or left hip to be shaved?" Now I look into those eyes and a whole personality appears.
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Russ Van Horn is studying Andean bears in Peru. Read his previous blog, Andean Bears: Peppers and Maize

Cusco, Department of Cusco, Peru
I’m leaving Cusco for a few days in Quince Mil before going to Lima for the Second International Symposium on the Andean Bear. Before going to Lima, I’m hoping to retrieve the memory card from a digital infrared camera, or camera ‘trap,’ that I set in the cloud forest over a week ago. We can’t collect enough data with this camera to address our ecological questions, but we do hope to collect a photo of a wild Andean bear and verify that they are using a particular site.
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