Animal Care at the ZooWe’ve created Zoo Tracks to guide your educational visit to Lincoln Park Zoo, complete with exhibit descriptions to prompt discussions with your students.

It takes a whole team of professionals to care for our animals. In this installment of Zoo Tracks— Animal Care at the Zoo—we focus on ways we keep our animals healthy and the different people who help with the process.

Providing Well-rounded CareCaring for the animals and keeping them healthy at Lincoln Park Zoo takes a team of professionals and a detailed plan. From animal diets to animal habitats, zoo employees pay attention to every detail.

The Perfect Social Group

Some animals prefer to live alone. Others are more comfortable in groups. The zoo works hard to create social settings for species that mirror their life in the wild.

Good Nutrition

From fresh veggies for gorillas to raw meat for lions, each animal at the zoo has its own special diet plan. With over 900 animals, that takes a lot of preparation!

Engaging Enrichment

Providing new experiences—such as introduc-ing unusual smells to pique curiosity or adding a sturdy ball to the exhibit for playful interaction—helps keep Lincoln Park Zoo’s animals mentally and physically active.

The Right Exhibit

Some animals enjoy large spaces while others need small ones to stay comfortable. Some animals like the opportunity to climb high, while others prefer to burrow down deep. Lincoln Park Zoo works hard to match each animal with the proper exhibit space.

Knowledgeable Veterinarian Staff

Veterinarians and vet technicians on staff are specially trained in the medical care of exotic species. Regular checkups keep animals healthy and a full-service hospital enables us to treat animals quickly when health problems occur.

What Now?At The Zoo...

As you move throughout the zoo, you’re likely to see additional examples of enrichment and might even discover some of our other animal kitchens. You may also see keepers or other zoo profession-als hard at work caring for our animals. While they may not have time to stop and chat, feel free to spend a few minutes watching them at work. You might gain some insight into the dedication it takes to provide top-notch care.

Back At Home...

The zoo isn’t the only place you can learn about animal care. After your visit, you might want to:

Think about the type of enrichment you provide your pet cat or dog. Is it a favorite toy? Do you give them different places to rest or sleep?

Visit the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to learn more about what it takes to work at a zoo: http://www.aza.org/careers-zoos-aquariums/

Want To Know More?

Lincoln Park Zoo has numerous education programs that can help you learn even more about our animals and their wild relatives. To discover what’s coming up, visit our web site at www.lpzoo.org/education.

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Let’s Make Tracks!

Visit these four areas to learn more about animal care at Lincoln Park Zoo. Start with #1 and work your way through the zoo.Be sure to take advantage of any additional exam-ples of animal care you might see during your visit.

I can’t find the animal hospital!

Our animal hospital is not open to the public. Animals receiving specialized care or treatment are housed in an area away from visitors and other animals. This enables veterinarians to do their work without interruption and provides our animals with the quiet they need to recuperate.To learn more about the work of our veterinarians, and try your hand at solving a case, go to http://www.lpzoo.org/vetservices.

1. Good Nutrition: McCormick Bird House

Here you can peek through the glass to see all the work that goes into preparing food for birds. From different-colored cutting boards (to prevent contamination between

meat and veggies) to detailed diet plans for each animal, there’s a lot to see!

What do you find in our animal kitchen that you might use in your home? Do you see any foods that birds would enjoy but you wouldn’t?

3. Enrichment: Helen Brach Primate House

While all of our animals receive enrichment, the Primate House is an area where it’s especially easy to see it in action. Look for enrichment such as unique food presentation

or specialized climbing structures. What types of enrichment do you see? How are the primates interacting with the enrichment items?

This Zoo Tracks is made possible through a generous gift by the Susan and David Sherman Family

2. Perfect Social Group: Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House

Some species prefer to live alone while others are bet-ter together. In this building you’ll see examples of both solitary animals as well as those living in groups.

What types of animals are living alone? Why do you think they prefer this?

4. The Right Exhibit: Flamingo Habitat

The best exhibit is one that enables an animal to behave like it would in the wild. The right sized exhibit helps with that. As prey animals, flamingos naturally huddle as a flock to prevent

predators from picking out a single bird. Larger exhibits make these birds less comfortable than ones that prompt them to clump together.

Which part of the exhibit do the flamingos seem to prefer?