ZooMontana Blog

Highland Games

2009-07-02T13:47:00.010-06:00

Pipe bands performing at the Opening Ceremonies

Enjoying the sunshine!

Visitors hagning out at the ampitheatre listeneing to The Clumsy Lovers

To be honest these guys just scared me

Keepers, Jessie and Kari, getting in touch with their Scottish side (I promised them this would not make it on the blog)

This past weekend we held the 2nd annual Highland Games. The weather could not have been better and despite the road construction on Shiloh over 900 people come out for the festivities. It was not a bad to be at work either; we all got to enjoy pipe bands, celetic dancers, vendors, great food (I chowed down on on the fish and chips), and the band The Clumsy Lovers played for us! All in all, a pretty great day. Next year we will be hosting this event again so be on the lookout for the dates!

Luna - we will miss you

2009-07-01T09:40:00.003-06:00

Luna pictures start on page 43 of scrapblog.

ZOO MOURNS LOSS OF TIGER

ZooMontana’s female tiger dies unexpectedly

Just with the untimely and unexpected death of Michael Jackson, so was the sudden death of ZooMontana’s female Amur tiger, Luna. Luna passed away Sunday morning, June 28th, at 5:00 AM in the presence of her keepers.

Zoo keepers noted her loss of appetite and disinterest in Saturday afternoon’s enrichment. They kept a close eye on her throughout the day, and at 3:00 PM contacted the veterinary staff when they noticed she had difficulty getting out of the small pond in her exhibit.

Every attempt was made to assess her and provide Luna with proper care. The keeping staff stayed with her throughout the night, but by early Sunday morning her health took a turn for the worse and she stopped breathing. At this time, it is unclear what caused the rapid decline in health that led to her death. Results of the necropsy are pending, which will hopefully provide answers as to what happened. The Zoo’s other Amur tiger, Prince, will be temporarily off exhibit pending assessment of all plants in the exhibit as well as a review of the exhibit enclosure to make sure no foreign objects were thrown into the exhibit. This will rule out any environmental factors that may have contributed to her death.

“As we try to come to grips with this tragic loss, we will always remember how unique Luna was,” said ZooMontana Curator Travis Goebel. “In recent years she really came out of her shell and displayed some exciting behaviors both for our staff and visitors alike. I personally will deeply miss the way Luna would greet me in the morning with an affectionate chuff or a snarly roar! The countless hours of work with Luna were both the most challenging of my zoo career and the most rewarding. She will be great missed by all who were fortunate enough to know her.”

“This is an extremely difficult time for the entire staff here at the Zoo,” said Director Jackie Worstell. “Luna touched everyone she came in contact with and will be deeply missed.”

Amur tigers are the largest cats in the world and the biggest subspecies of tigers. Their native home is a harsh environment with extremely cold temperatures and deep snow. Their bodies are well adapted to these conditions. Amur tigers are currently listed as endangered; ZooMontana’s participates in the Species Survival Program (SSP), which is a captive breeding program, to ensure the survival of the species. The Amur tiger SSP was the very first created by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is one of the most successful.

Further information will be released once ZooMontana receives results from the necropsy.

ZooCamp

2009-06-26T11:59:00.007-06:00

Our first Conservation Camp of the summer just finished up last week and judging by the pictures i think the kids had a blast! The registration for the July camp is coming up on the 29th of June so make sure to come in or call if you are interested or have any questions!

Campers and Yazoo-ers posing for a pic with staff, Mihail and Jessie, and islands that were graciously donated by Anne at Floating Islands International

Nicole and Erin study the uses of plants in our Native American Plant Garden.

Mihail, our grounds keeper, helping campers identify native and invasiveplant species

Campers disecting flowers

Wild Wine Walks

2009-06-25T14:43:00.008-06:00

Some Wine Walkers enjoying themselves at the Bear Habitat wine station

Some of our staff hangin out before the Wild Wine Walk

Iggy, our iguana, painting for a "quick draw" that was available for auction

Guests enjoying the food, wine, and sunshine!

So we had our 2nd Wild Wine Walk of the summer last night we had a great turn out. Over 60 guests came to enjoy five different wines by Simply Wine (my favorite being the Paringa Sparkling Shiraz), food by Beyond Basil Catering, "quick draws" by our very own animal artists, a silent auction, a raffle, and got to watch enrichment for Bruno! As you can see from the pictures it was a wonderful evening to spend on the plaza in the company with new and old friends. Our next Wild Wine Walk will be July,29th , 6:00-8:00pm. It is $25 for non-members and $20 for members, or if you bring your glass back from previous Wild Wine Walks.

Otter Exhibit Now Open

2009-06-21T01:18:00.001-06:00

16 week old Amelia

Luna's Loves a Good Bloodsicle

2009-06-16T14:07:00.001-06:00

Luna's Enrichment on Saturday

Lucky - Bighorn Sheep

2009-06-14T17:26:00.002-06:00

What is your Carbon Footprint?

2009-06-14T10:42:00.003-06:00

So i just calculated my carbon footprint at What is Your Carbon Footprint . Wow, I thought I was doing a sufficient job at keeping my carbon footprint in check and this was certainly eye opening! My score was 43 tons of CO2 vs. the national average of 24 tons of CO2! I couldn't believe it! And get this, the world average is 5.5 ! I know I am changing things in my lifestyle, like simply switching to energy efficient lightbulbs and turning down our hot water heater by a few degrees. Check out yours and come up with ways that you can offset your carbon footprint.

River Otter Fun

2009-06-14T01:05:00.000-06:00

Welcoming Party!

2009-06-13T10:04:00.004-06:00

The long awaited arrival of our baby River Otters is almost here! Saturday, June 20th is the official unveiling of Benjamin and Amelia, our new River Otters. For their homecoming we will have a baby animal scavanger hunt, education booths, and special River Otter adoption kits. Here at the zoo we are all getting anxious for the public to see them (I have, and they are cuuuute)! So, please come out and help us welcome Benjamin and Amelia! Admission opens at 9:00am for members and 11:00am for non-members, hope to see you there!

Conservation Camps

2009-06-12T12:13:00.005-06:00

Are your kids driving you crazy yet? Are you sick of hearing "I'm bored!", "What should we do?" Well, we may have a solution....Conservation Camp! I started going to Conservation Camp when I was 10 years old.....and now at 21, I work here! It is a great opportunity to get your kids involved in conservation and their community (and out of the house)!

Info:
Ages 9-11
9:00am - 3:00pm
Members: $150.00/week
Non-Members: $170.00/week

Registration Deadline Dates:
July camp - June 29th
August camp - August 3rd

Camp Dates:
July 13th - 17th with a focus on zoology
August 17th - 21st with a focus on energy conservation

Now, are both YOU and YOUR kids bored this summer? Come out and join the Green Team! You and your family can get dirty in the garden, learn about conservation, and have an animal encounter over lunch at the zoo!

Info:
Monday mornings 9:00am - 12:00pm
Members: $35.00 child/guardian per month
$90.00 child/guardian per 3 months
Non-Members: $40.00 child/guardian per month
$105.00 child/guardian per 3 months

.......and you get a cool T-Shirt!

New Roomie for Angie

2009-06-10T14:20:00.004-06:00

As you read in my earlier post, Angie, our big horn sheep was sharing accomidations with our golden eagle, Oro. Well, she has another new roommate. Lucky, a baby big horn sheep that we recently acquired joined her today for the first time. Lucky was found by the Allen family outside of Gardiner, MT after his mother died from a fall. After contacting Fish Wildlife and Parks the family brought him here, to the zoo. Once Lucky completed quarantine we were able to introduce him to Angie and his new home. He and Angie immediatly took to eachother and he seemed to fit right into the exhibit, romping and racing around! We are glad that this seems to be a good fit for both him and Angie. We plan on giving him and official homecoming along with the new baby otters on June 20th! PLease come down and help us welcome our new additions!

Luna the Star Trek fan

2009-06-09T12:32:00.001-06:00

Our Siberian Tiger Luna enjoying her enrichment item hidden inside of a cardboard box.

Bruno Blowing Bubbles

2009-06-08T10:18:00.002-06:00

Bruno having fun in his pool on Saturday.

Animal Continents

2009-06-07T11:04:00.006-06:00

Arent these pics cool?! the dimensions and shapes of the continents haven't been altered at all! They are a little abstract but still pretty neat...check out more pics Animal Continents

Oro and Angie...Together?

2009-06-06T10:51:00.003-06:00

If any of you have visited the zoo in the last couple of weeks you may have noticed an edition to the Big Horn Sheep exhibit. Oro, our golden eagle has now joined Angie, the big horn sheep. At this point Angie is a little skittish of her new roommate but consdiering they are sharing such close quarters she will eventually warm up to him. Come down and check them out!

Bruno's Birthday Cake

2009-06-06T10:31:00.006-06:00

Hey Guys! I just wanted to thank all of you who came out for Bruno's Birthday Party and got to try a piece of his birthday cake and watch him open (destroy) his presents and mock-campsite! I found the recipe for his cake at Dog Birthday Cake (my dogs couldn't get enough....and the keepers were sneaking bites of it as well)! Enjoy!

ZOOMONTANA PLANS BIG BIRTHDAY

2009-05-30T08:39:00.000-06:00

Zoo prepares for Bruno’s birthday

Bruno, ZooMontana’s grizzly bear, will celebrate his 9th birthday on Friday, June 5th at the Zoo. His birthday party, the first one celebrated at ZooMontana, will start at Noon and go until 6:00 PM. Regular admission applies, however all guest who wish to purchase or renew their Zoo membership during this event will get $10 off. Visitors will get the chance to watch Bruno enjoy birthday cake, open presents, and explore a mock-campsite.

In celebration of both Bruno’s birthday and National Bear Awareness week, special appearances and presentations from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Vital Ground and the Bureau of Land Management will take place throughout the day. Montana FWP will give a talk on responsible camping and ways to reduce the chance of wildlife encounters while Bruno explores his campsite in his Bear Meadows exhibit.

“We believe this will be a fantastic, kick off to summer, family event,” said ZooMontana Events Coordinator, Jenny Moellendorf. “Our goal is to remind and educate visitors to respect wildlife while they enjoy the great outdoors this summer.”

TWO NEW RESIDENTS TO MAKE THE ZOO THEIR NEW HOME

2009-05-21T14:46:00.001-06:00

ZooMontana prepares for young river otters

Next week, ZooMontana will send their Curator to North Dakota to meet and take home two, 13 week old river otters. The river otters, one male and one female, will be the new residents to the Zoo’s Oakland Otter Exhibit. Although they will be at the Zoo, they will not be on display until after a quarantine period to ensure their travels were safe and they are healthy.

“We are very excited about this,” said ZooMontana Director Jackie Worstell. “The otter exhibit has been a favorite for our visitors; losing our river otter’s this past year was really hard on our staff and guests. These two new additions will again enliven the Zoo.”

Tiny the Giant

2009-05-11T21:35:00.002-06:00

ZOOMONTANA RECEIVES FURRY GIANT

Zoo prepares for new animals this summer

ZooMontana has added an eight month old German Giant Rabbit to its barn and homestead exhibit. This rabbit will become an educational and outreach animal for the zoo to serve as an ambassador for its species.

The rabbit, named Tiny, is a popular domestic breed in the United States. German Giant Rabbits average about 18 pounds in weight, but have been known to get up to 30 pounds. They are believed to have originated from Patagonia and brought to the United States from Europe in the 1880s. The rabbit did not receive special attention until around 1910 when they started appearing in small livestock shows around the country because of their pretty coloring and size.

“We are very excited to add Tiny to our collection,” said Director Jackie Worstell. “She will be a great fit for our educational programs and outreaches. However, she will not be the only addition to the zoo this summer; we will soon be announcing two other new residents.”

Volunteer Training Meeting

2009-03-07T07:16:00.002-07:00

Volunteer Training Meeting for events at 10am today.

Check out Bruno's scrapbook and new pics of him playing in the snow!

2009-01-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

Zoe - our new red panda

2009-01-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

On August 15th, 2008 the Red Panda Species Survival Plan Committee met in Knoxville TN to discuss the upcoming year’s breeding recommendations. Every year these elected zoo professionals; including geneticists, studbook keepers, population managers, and animal keepers, get together to determine which pairings to make and which transfer need to occur to ensure a high degree of genetic diversity within the species captive population. There are currently 119 red pandas in captivity in North America. Of the 119, the SSP recommended the paring of seventy individuals. This year ZooMontana was selected to receive a female red panda to breed with our resident male.
As with most managed populations, pairings are prioritized to maintain or increase gene diversity through considerations of mean kinship, avoidance of inbreeding, and differences in sire and dam mean kinship. In addition to these genetic criteria, the SSP also considered factors such as social grouping needs, age, health, and reproductive status when making pairing and transfers. Based on all of these criteria, the committee felt that Zoe, a five year old red panda at the Chattanooga Zoo was the best fit for our male. This is ZooMontana’s first breeding pair of red panda. Since 2000, we have exhibited two males here at the zoo. With the passing of William this summer, the opportunity arose for us to receive a companion animal or a breeder. A few years ago the SSP recommended that we transfer our boys to the Miller Park Zoo in Illinois for breeding purposes. Unfortunately the Miller Park Zoo had complications with this transfer and the move was never completed.
Until last year, males were not successful first-time breeders after the age of 10, since Taylor was approaching this “retirement” age it was thought that he was not going to get the opportunity to rear any offspring. That was until last year at Utah’s Hogle Zoo where a successful pairing of a 12 year old male (first-time breeder) and a 7 year old female occurred. Some males in captivity have breed up to the age of 14; so long as they had successfully bred by the age of 9. Male and female red pandas are sexually mature by 14 months old; females are able to breed up to 12 years old.
Based on Taylor’s population genetics, he ranks number 2 out of 47 breed-able males. This means his genetics are rare and extremely valuable to the population. This value, termed the mean kinship value will fluctuate from year to year based on the number of births and deaths from the previous year. Zoe currently ranks 20th out of 46.
Zoe arrived in Mid-November and after a successful quarantine period will be introduced to Taylor shortly after the New Year. Look for her and Taylor at the end of our Asia Trail in 2009.

Update on Bruno's page

2008-12-28T23:26:00.001-07:00

Find out updates on Bruno and visit his scrapbooks on his page.

Otter Exhibit Closed

2008-12-28T23:25:00.002-07:00

Due to the loss of Annie, the otter exhibit will be closed until we acquire new otters.