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NEWS FROM THE ZOO
Here's the latest goings on at Franklin Zoo  Tommy, our cute otter, is soon to be joined by another friendly otter named Paddles. Read about it in our August Zoo Diary. |
Zoo Diary February 2008
The hot weather brought large numbers of visitors to the Franklin Zoo in January. While most of the animals enjoy the warm summer months, some days were a bit too hot for them so they preferred to rest among shady vegetation until the temperature dropped to a more comfortable level.Many of our species originate in tropical climates so they know to simply rest during the midday heat unlike us humans who carry on normal activities no matter how uncomfortable it is.
Recently Queenie one of our 18-year-old retired circus lionesses fell asleep in the sun and when awakened she appeared to be suffering from heat stroke. We were able to wash her down with ice and water and offer her electrolytes but it was not until 9pm that she felt well enough to have dinner and return to join Eddie and Gypsy in her night area. She was back to normal by the morning, though.
I have seen many wild lions in East Africa and most will find shade in the heat, but in some places there were no trees for shade and the lions would simply pant looking entirely uncomfortable until dusk and the dropping of the sun gave them some respite from the heat.
Chaska and Miracle, our new cotton- topped tamarins, have moved across to a new purpose-built holding area next to the boisterous capuchins and spider monkeys. They now have an excellent area to finish their quarantine time. This is only the first stage in the construction of the Tamarin Hilton as we call it. The second stage, the outdoor enclosure will be completed over the next few weeks.
Fortunately, both tamarins were housed near capuchin monkeys in New Plymouth and are used to the capuchins sometimes loud and boisterous behaviour, so we believe they will settle in well in this area. Visitors will be able to view these lovely two monkeys once stage two of construction is completed.
I will be away for part of February as I have been asked to assist with the design of a new chimpanzee enclosure and future management strategies at a Queensland Zoo and then attend a regional meeting in Sydney on the future management of chimpanzees within the Australasian region. Although we do not have chimpanzees at Franklin Zoo, I have previously worked with them for many years and they are a species very dear to my heart, especially with the challenges of their management in a captive situation.
I look forward to sharing some of the Australian experience with you readers next month.
Graeme Strachan
Manager Life Services
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| Pigtail macaque monkeys |
| Dirk and Carol are well adapted to the environment with hard patches on their bottoms to make sitting in branches more comfortable, and cheek pouches for storing food. When they get fed, they put as much food in their cheek pouches as can fit so they can eat it later at their leisure. They use their eyebrows to communicate so if you watch them they pull some very cute faces. |
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