ANIMAL HEALTH CENTER (AHC)Happy spring equinox from the Animal Health Center staff! By now, many of you have met our visiting veterinarian from Madison, Anna Martel, who was with us for the month of March.

Goeldi’s monkey, Diego, continues to have weakness in his limbs. Plans are being made to find suitable housing for him back at Primates so he doesn’t have to be housed alone.

African spurred tortoise, Fluffy, returned to the ARC. Yellow-footed tortoises, Smaller and Speedy, will be staying at the hospital a while longer.

Our emu, Palmer, and the mob of red kangaroos visited until they transferred to the Hemker Park & Zoo in mid-March. We desensitized the kangaroos to our new horse trailer while they were still here, in hopes they would have no problems entering Hemker’s trailer.

All but two of the straw-colored fruit bats returned to their renovated exhibit at Small Mammals. The pair of bats under veterinary care remain at the AHC.

A female rockhopper penguin named Clover was having some issues with the rest of the flock during her molt. She spent a few weeks here until her molt was complete.

The female gaboon viper completed the first phase of her quarantine here, and is now finishing her quarantine at the ARC. We have a new timber rattlesnake in her place. We also have a new corn snake and ball python in quarantine for the Family Farm.

We have some sad news. Our fennec fox, Ariel, is no longer pregnant. She aborted her kits about halfway through the pregnancy – we are still unsure of the cause.

Keeper talks started for the 4 & 5 year old Junior Vet classes.

Last, but certainly not least, Vet Tech Margaret Michaels is retiring after over 30 years of service!! The AHC staff wishes her a fond farewell and best of luck as she enjoys this new chapter of her life!

AQUATIC & REPTILE CENTER (ARC)Fluffy, our African spurred tortoise, returned to us from the Animal Health Center, where she got to spend some time in the sun. One of our surge tank pumps was replaced with a rebuilt pump taken from a DE filter that was no longer in use.

Our gaboon viper has finished part of his quarantine at the Animal Health Center, and is now finishing the remainder in the reptile quarantine area at the ARC. Sadly, our western rat snake passed away; we are awaiting results from the necropsy.

TRACKSZOONEWS

March 2017

African spurred tortoises

Margaret Michaels

1

AVIARYThe Humboldt penguins have been busy nesting – they really seem to like their new nesting material made of green strips. You may see birds stealing pieces from one another and running off with their prize! A big thank-you to the Zoo Priders for making the Humboldt penguin nest boxes recently – they will be put to good use!

The Hamerkops and storks in East Flight are busy constructing nests. We recently caught up some of our white-bellied storks from East Flight, and are preparing for them to be sent to new homes.

We have moved some birds around in the Tropics Exhibits to get ready for even more bird moves. The oyster-catchers previously in Tropic 5 are now in Tropic 4, and have been doing very well with the pale-mandibled aracari. The white-faced whistling ducks that were in Tropic 4 are now hanging out in Tropic 1 with the plush-crested jays. Tropic 5 will be getting new residents soon, so stay tuned!

We introduced our red-billed hornbills to one another, which although not new birds for us, is a new pairing. Despite not being together before, these birds seem to be hitting it off quite well, as the female is already inside the nest box in the Kopje Exhibit. It will be some time before we will be able to determine if she has chicks, but it is very promising seeing as they are getting along so well.

Heather is very excited that it is cotinga breeding season! She is putting together our newer pair of birds this year (they were introduced in late fall but did not produce eggs). However, they have spent the winter side-by-side and are showing very encouraging behaviors, so we hope they will breed this year.

Cinereous vulture update: since the last issue of TRACKS, our youngster, Thusius, was moved from behind the ARC over to Winter Quarters to cohabitate with his older brother. Grimm has been reunited with Cruella, having received the ok to breed this year. Everyone seems quite happy with the new arrangements.

BIG CATSThe official results are in from the tiger cubs’ 6-month weigh-in, and they are dramatic! Kash is becoming a big boy – just like his dad – and weighed in at 91 pounds as of mid-March! The girls aren’t gaining quite as quickly, with Eloise weighing 79 pounds and Bernadette at 73 pounds. Even at these weights, we are still able to crate them to move either the girls to Kash, or Kash to the girls, for social time in the large indoor Tiger Exhibit – the girls even still go in the same crate together. All three cubs have now been introduced to the outdoor yard, so keep an eye out for them!

We are very excited that our sensitive tiger, Strannik, allowed for voluntary injections of his annual vaccines. Great job Sheri and Bob! Speaking of vaccinations, our lion girls – who just celebrated their 4th birthday in March – also allowed for vaccinations this year! Great job Katie and Bob! With vaccinations complete, we can now focus on training for blood draws with all the animals, especially our aging residents.

Red-billed hornbill Cinereous vulture

Tiger cubs

2

BIG CATS cont.You may notice some changes in the Red Panda Exhibit this spring. Posts have already been installed, and we will soon be re-propping and building climbing structures. The new mesh will hopefully be installed just in time for the summer season. We are very excited to be able to leave the pandas on exhibit overnight and give them more places to climb and play!

A big thanks goes out to Alex and his helpers in Forestry for changing out the large scratching logs in the indoor Tiger and Lion Exhibits! The cats love them and we really appreciate all the help!

FAMILY FARMThe farm has had its ups and downs this past month. Our red and white Holstein, Ellie, had a bull calf on March 2, who we named Desi after actor, Desi Arnaz (who also has a March 2 birthday). We noticed Desi had a head tilt and sometimes would stumble to his right. Within a few days, his head tilt subsided and he seems ok now – no more Dizzy Desi! We have another cow due around the end of July/early August.

Our Ayrshire, Pearl, has recovered from her teat injury and is doing well. We moved cows around soon after her injury and this seems to have returned the status quo to the herd. They can be very particular about who their neighbors are.

The farm purchased two new snakes for programs: another corn snake and a ball python. They are both currently in quarantine. The ball python is a new species for the farm and we are excited to have him. We named him Severus (yes, another Harry Potter name), and we are pretty sure Joe will be calling him “Severus Snake.” Only Joe… all we can do is shake our heads! The corn snake is female, and Margaret suggested the name “Maizey” for her, which is fitting as she is a corn snake with a light yellow color just like corn. Hopefully both snakes will sail through quarantine and we will have them in the farm by the time our summer season starts.

Those were some of the ups this month. The big down was when our woodchuck, Wynter, was found dead in her cage. She seemed fine the day before and was moving around, eating and being her sassy self. Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble about Wynter, but she was generally not real nice. We have had very nice woodchucks in the past, but she could be mean and let you know it. We had a feeling she might go this year or next due to her age, we just didn’t expect it to happen so suddenly. RIP sassy squirrel! We will miss you!

NORTH AMERICA / BEAR LINE & AUSTRALIAMarch was a sad month for us. After nearly 18 years, we had to say goodbye to Nikan, the last member of our wolf pack. Nikan had been living in the Winter Quarters exercise yard since last fall (thanks WQ for the great hospitality!). He held tough through the winter, enjoying extra food treats and hangin’ with the sparrows that had moved into his dry Christmas tree. He finally started using one of his shelters and had become more active with the warm weather.

Nikan maintained a great attitude to the end, but his old body could no longer keep up with his spirit. He touched the lives of so many, teaching thousands of Zoo visitors the importance of the carnivores at the top of the food chain to their ecosystem. For those of us who got to interact with him on a daily basis, our jobs will never be the same. To those whose lives were touched by Nikan and his pack, imagine the enthusiastic pack bonding that’s happening now that they are all reunited!

Also leaving us this month are the one male and five female red kangaroos and the male emu, Palmer. All will be missed – from Ellie May greeting us as we entered the exhibit, to Palmer maturing from a flighty adolescent to a calm, cooperative bird.

On a lighter note, a new badger arrived into quarantine and our bears are beginning to stir in anticipation of spring. A prairie dog was even seen briefly!

Nikan

Desi

3

PACHYDERMSThe unpredictable weather this past month has been keeping everyone in Pachys on their toes! Our giraffes, elephants, bongos and even Mimi the rhino have enjoyed some quality time outside enjoying the beautiful weather, only to spend the next day shivering and wondering where spring went.

Our male hippo, Happy, had some episodes of stumbling and also stopped eating briefly; no definite diagnosis was reached, but after a dose of anti-inflammatories and some dietary pampering, he seems to be feeling better (knock on wood). Our female hippo, Patti, is currently contributing fecals for collection so that we can run tests to evaluate her hormone levels, as she seems to be cycling in and out of estrus at an alarming rate. Perhaps she has reached hippo-pause?

As long as we’re on the topic of fecals, over at the giraffe barn, we recently completed the winter data collection for Brookfield Zoo’s giraffe research project. Data collection for this project included videotaping, collecting fecals and recording giraffe movement with a data logger. We’d like to give a big “thank you” to the Zoo Pride volunteers for doing all the videotaping! We’ll continue the same types of data collection in August, as the research project is highlighting the differences in giraffe activity in summer versus winter.

In the elephant area, we’ve been working on collecting more signatures to support the statewide ivory ban. In April, we’ll be collaborating with UW-Oshkosh and Carroll University to raise awareness and gather additional signatures; the petition can also be found on the Zoo’s website.

Dr. Roberta Wallace has been in our area a few times playing with the vet staff’s new thermography camera. Our elephant, Brittany, has been willing to pose for thermographic images, and we’re hoping that the thermography camera may help with diagnosing Happy the hippo’s intermittent issues as well.

Last but not least, we’re training Amy Andree as a rover in Pachyderms and are enjoying having her around. Welcome Amy!

PRIMATES / APESOh man, spring is in the air yet again. We were teased by some 70s last month, and now we have everyone wondering exactly why they can’t go outside. The broken record of a reply is “sorry guys, but it’s too cold – you have to wait for warmer weather.” So the days continue as if it were still winter out there, which means excess enrichment to keep everyone busy, especially Rayma the orangutan. She’s been dismantling propping weekly; we find nuts and bolts every now and then. As hard as we tighten said nuts and bolts, she still manages to wiggle them loose.

While Rayma’s taking care of business, Tommy sits on, watching and waiting for a bolt or washer to hit the floor. At some point during the day, he will look for a treat-for-trade if he gets ahold of some hardware. Smarty McSmartyPants he is! All Rayma needs is a spare Type 27, 1/4” thick, 5/8”-11 hubbed grinding wheel, Dual-Tool chipping hammer and a 350 Tig welder (with wireless foot pedal), and she’ll be ready to start creating new props that she’s taking apart. I think it’s time to set up a GoFundMe page for her welding supply.

On the other side of the Primate complex, researcher, Natalie, has returned to do more cognitive work with our bonobos. The days are pretty hectic for the crew of bonobos and keepers… much more shifting and maneuvering occurs with the research people here. By the end of the day, everyone is spent and ready to hit the hay by the time we’re out the door. Enrichment, right?

Hippo

Rayma

4

SMALL MAMMALSOur baby golden lion tamarin, Sage, is now over a month old. Big sister, Paisley, has taken up some of the carrying. This is her first time carrying a baby and she seems very proud of herself! She was a bit wild at first, but has now settled down nicely – although we still have a few mats on the floor just in case! The baby recently started walking around proudly on the branches by itself, but someone always comes and snags it after just a few seconds. It’s really fun to watch, so stop by if you can before Sage is all grown up!

Our lemurs got to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather this month. It was nice to see them outside, soaking up the sun – it really breaks up the long winter for them. Hopefully spring is right around the corner!

WINTER QUARTERSHello from “down under”… the Big Cats building! If you haven’t already noticed, there is a new vulture making appearances in the Savanna Exhibit when the weather is decent. In late February, we swapped cinereous vultures. Grimm went to join his lady friend behind the ARC, and Thusius – the chick from last year – came to Winter Quarters. He and Torgos (the 2015 chick) appear to have become the best of buds. (Thusius is the darker of the two.)

Most of you have already heard about our camel herd growing by one. On March 5 around 12:30 p.m., Sanchi gave birth in front of a very large crowd of excited visitors. The 100 pound male has since been named Patrick, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, and can be seen on exhibit with mom and the other two females.

Also in March, Sanchi turned 20 years old!

ETC.AAZK – American

Association of Zookeepers

In March, the Milwaukee AAZK hosted its first-ever Chili & Soup Cook-off. Despite receiving nearly 10 inches of snow the day before, we had an excellent turnout! It was very difficult to pick a winner, with 15 different soup and chili recipes to choose from. Third place went to Collette Konkel with a white chili, and second place went to Chris Fifarek with a baked potato soup. Our first place winner and newly-crowned

queen of the cook-off was Becky Danes, with a delicious chicken ranch chili.

Thank you to everyone who attended and worked the event! We also want to give a big thank-you to the Zoo Pride volunteers who helped make this event possible: Lynn Wilding, Jessie Franz, Dan Rambo, Mary Jo Crawford, Pat Gromley and Sandy Hafemann. We managed to raise over $400, which will go toward Bowling for Rhinos!

Ring-tailed lemur

Baby, Sage

Sanchi and Patrick

Becky Danes

5

Project SEARCH / Goodwill Industries Students Meet Celia RosmannCelia graduated from Nicolet High School in 2016. Her favorite classes were English and gym. She also participated in Best Buddies, a program dedicated to “establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.” In her free time, Celia participates in several sports in the Wisconsin Special Olympics, including track & field, basketball and gymnastics – for which she recently won a trophy. She also recently started snowshoeing with her friends this winter. She enjoys drawing, listening to music, playing games and spending time with her cat, Hobbs.

In the Project SEARCH program, Celia recently completed a rotation in the Gift Shop, where her mentor was Shirley Wenzel-Rogahn. Celia helped to organize merchandise like T-shirts and toys, stock the shelves and keep the store clean. Her favorite task was organizing the sunglasses, because they remind her that warm, sunny weather is hopefully right around the corner! Celia enjoys any chance she has to go visit Big Cat Country, where she really likes to watch the lions.

Before joining Project SEARCH, Celia worked in a hospital kitchen and also helps out in her family’s sporting goods store, Les Moise. After completing Project SEARCH, Celia would like to work in a retail setting, where she can help keep everything organized and stocked.

Project SEARCH / Goodwill Industries StudentsMeet Katherine SchwartzKatherine graduated from Kradwell School in 2016. Her favorite subjects were math and science, and she also enjoyed playing volleyball during gym class. Katherine spent time volunteering in the Nicolet High School cafeteria. In her free time, Katherine likes doing puzzles and creating arts and crafts projects using Perler beads, and likes to spend time with her dog, Misty, a border collie/lab mix.

Katherine recently competed a rotation in the Zoological Society Education Department, where her mentor was Rachel Hahn. Katherine assisted in the classroom with both the 2 & 3-year-old and 4 & 5-year-old student groups, as well as helped with preparing project materials and setting up and taking down classrooms before and after lessons. Katherine really enjoys working with children, and her favorite activity in the Education Department was helping the 4 & 5-year-old students with class projects.

After completing the Project SEARCH program, Katherine plans to study to become a veterinary technician. She would like to work with dogs and cats in a veterinary clinic setting. Katherine is excited to begin her next rotation in the Animal Health Center, where she can learn more about what it’s like to work in a veterinary setting.

Celia Roseman

Katherine Schwartz

6

7238C17

ZOO GNUS Special Events UpdateOn March 11 & 12, Behind the Scenes Weekend drew over 3,300 visitors despite some very chilly weather. The tours were well attended and very well received. Thank you to the animal staff for being so helpful and accommodating during this event. Thanks also to the many Zoo Pride volunteers who make this event possible every year. Without the immense knowledge and time that you donate, this event could not take place!

Next year’s Behind the Scenes Weekend will take place on March 10 & 11, 2018.

Upcoming Events at the ZooEgg Daysponsored by metroPCS April 15, 2017

The Zoo blooms with springtime fun. Our expert “Bubblologist” create amazing works of art during the “Bubble Wonders” Show, and the animals receive special enrichment items and activities. Kids can participate in an Egg Hunt, Easter parade and bunny-themed face painting.

World Penguin Day April 22, 2017 The Zoo celebrates World Penguin Day. Visitors can learn about penguin conservation, design their own penguin masks and enjoy a special zookeeper talk by one of our Humboldt penguin keepers. The first 100 visitors wearing black and white clothing receive a plush penguin toy.

Egg Day at the Zoo

7