Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo News 2018

Last edited:
Sarus Crane said:
How tall does Spike look in person? He looked really big at BG but you couldn't get a true sense of his height because of the difference in elevation from where you were standing. With the historic bird house under construction for Operation Migration and the cranes probably gone, the only reason I'd want to visit the zoo again is to see Spike. And it makes you wonder if he is the biggest Asian Elephant in the country at the (eventual) time of his natural death whether he'll be put on display like the Fenykovi Elephant at NMNH or at another museum.
Click to expand...

How "Big" an elephant is can be defined by both height and weight. Up until his recent death, Portland's famous Packy, at 10 feet, was the tallest Asian in the country. Spike currently weighs in at 14,000 pounds, and a diet is set to begin. Even without a diet Columbus's "Hank the Tank" is even larger weightwise and, from pictures, looks to be taller than Spike. However, I can't stress how impressive Spike is, both in physicality and disposition. I brought along a friend who isn't a "zoo-ie" devoted to observing animal behavior like most of us--and he was simply spellbound with Spike. We must have spent two hours elephant-watching. He alone is fascinating, and his interactions with the other girls makes for a fascinating set of behaviors to witness. Even if the crane is temporarily gone, I'd make the trip. Not only is Spike fascinating, but Ambika is 70+, and every visit is a chance to enjoy her while she's still gracing us with her presence.
 
Daktari JG said:
What is the goal of terrorists? To instill fear. And to disrupt economies.
We are also talking about people who do not value other human lives- or often even their own. 13 entrances is excessive and while the National zoo is free
still there must be some sort of monitoring at each entrance.
Security concerns seem justified to me.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. I had no idea there were so many ways to enter a facility that houses endangered and expensive ($10 million panda loans) and priceless genetically-unique animals. There are very few animals that couldn't be kidnapped and be considered important enough to be held for ransom. There can't possibly be too much security.
 
Sarus Crane said:
And it makes you wonder if he is the biggest Asian Elephant in the country at the (eventual) time of his natural death whether he'll be put on display like the Fenykovi Elephant at NMNH or at another museum.
Click to expand...

We have to remember that every AZA animal death requires a necropsy, an animal autopsy. That could preclude donaton to a museum.
 
Andrew_NZP said:
Two Indigo Buntings Hatch at Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Woodland Park Zoo Blog: Meet Kwame: A new silverback coming to Woodland Park Zoo
^
First posted by @Echobeast

This does make me wonder if the zoo is trying to move Kojo as well, since he and Kwame currently live together in a bachelor group.
Click to expand...

I'd say yes. Kojo earliest use here would be as a breeding male to some future female offspring of Calaya and Baraka, which is probably a decade away. I'm becoming a bit concerned about the breedng population of lowland gorillas. Heart failure claims an unusual number of males, and there are now four Mandara offspring out there to breed. If they need to use so many genetcally-related specimens, there would seem to be a real shortage of candidates.
 
Sarus Crane said:
This is ridiculous! I can understand the White House, Capitol Hill, other government buildings including the National Archives and the Smithsonian Museums needing security but the National Zoo??? Get a grip people! I don't think anything bad would happen and the zoo is far out of the city.
Click to expand...
Aside from all other issues, creating the impression of greater security is a wise p.r. move. Families that fear violence at the zoo will not go. The security checks do give many potential visitors peace of mind. SNZP is not the only or the first facility to do this.
 
AmbikaFan said:
How "Big" an elephant is can be defined by both height and weight. Up until his recent death, Portland's famous Packy, at 10 feet, was the tallest Asian in the country. Spike currently weighs in at 14,000 pounds, and a diet is set to begin. Even without a diet Columbus's "Hank the Tank" is even larger weightwise and, from pictures, looks to be taller than Spike. However, I can't stress how impressive Spike is, both in physicality and disposition. I brought along a friend who isn't a "zoo-ie" devoted to observing animal behavior like most of us--and he was simply spellbound with Spike. We must have spent two hours elephant-watching. He alone is fascinating, and his interactions with the other girls makes for a fascinating set of behaviors to witness. Even if the crane is temporarily gone, I'd make the trip. Not only is Spike fascinating, but Ambika is 70+, and every visit is a chance to enjoy her while she's still gracing us with her presence.
Click to expand...
I got to see Spike at BG last December and of all the animals there, I easily spent a good hour and a half watching him. It says here that Hank is 9'5" and I would definitely say he needs to go on a diet. I haven't seen Hank in person yet, but I remember that Nellie at Zoo Miami had to go on a diet to lose lbs because of joint issues until she could be reunited with Dalip (the patriarch of Zoo Miami). How many lbs does Spike need to lose?
 
AmbikaFan said:
I totally agree. I had no idea there were so many ways to enter a facility that houses endangered and expensive ($10 million panda loans) and priceless genetically-unique animals. There are very few animals that couldn't be kidnapped and be considered important enough to be held for ransom. There can't possibly be too much security.
Click to expand...
Now that you addressed the Pandas I totally understand now. Better safe than sorry!
 
AmbikaFan said:
We have to remember that every AZA animal death requires a necropsy, an animal autopsy. That could preclude donaton to a museum.
Click to expand...
I would suggest that the necropsy could be done in a way that doesn't destroy the skin of an animal or damage the skeleton. For instance, you'd carefully remove the skin as professionally as possible then the rest of the body and the organs needed to determine the cause of death. That way you get your answer while saving a valuable specimen for display or storage at a place like the Smithsonian. If I did zoo necropsies, that's the way I'd do it.
 
Sarus Crane said:
I got to see Spike at BG last December and of all the animals there, I easily spent a good hour and a half watching him. It says here that Hank is 9'5" and I would definitely say he needs to go on a diet. I haven't seen Hank in person yet, but I remember that Nellie at Zoo Miami had to go on a diet to lose lbs because of joint issues until she could be reunited with Dalip (the patriarch of Zoo Miami). How many lbs does Spike need to lose?
Click to expand...

Keepers say he needs to lose about 1,000, but that Spike is known to lose that amount during musth--which he was just entering a week ago when I was there. As to Hank, Google him under Columbus Zoo Hank Phoebe images, and there is one picture there showing the two of them together. He is about twice her weight, but the height difference is what's really staggering to see. I wouldn't be surprised if he were now the tallest Asian here in North America.
 
Sarus Crane said:
I would suggest that the necropsy could be done in a way that doesn't destroy the skin of an animal or damage the skeleton. For instance, you'd carefully remove the skin as professionally as possible then the rest of the body and the organs needed to determine the cause of death. That way you get your answer while saving a valuable specimen for display or storage at a place like the Smithsonian. If I did zoo necropsies, that's the way I'd do it.
Click to expand...

I agree this would be ideal. But especially in the case of elephants, advanced arthritis may have so damaged wrist joints that they would not make an accurate skeletal representation for a museum. When I saw my original knees after joint replacement, I was stunned by how torqued, twisted and malformed they were. I guess this is why we were once told (in the 2000s when my daughter wondered if the pandas were Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing from the 1970s) that none of MNH's specimens had come from NZP. I am not a hunter but was recently surprised to visit a Cabela's store and see a veritable museum of natural history including exotics. I wonder where their specimens come from.
 
AmbikaFan said:
I agree this would be ideal. But especially in the case of elephants, advanced arthritis may have so damaged wrist joints that they would not make an accurate skeletal representation for a museum. When I saw my original knees after joint replacement, I was stunned by how torqued, twisted and malformed they were. I guess this is why we were once told (in the 2000s when my daughter wondered if the pandas were Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing from the 1970s) that none of MNH's specimens had come from NZP. I am not a hunter but was recently surprised to visit a Cabela's store and see a veritable museum of natural history including exotics. I wonder where their specimens come from.
Click to expand...

I would imagine that the specimens in Cabelas come from people wealthy enough to go on the world hunts and then donate their collection to the different stores. I think its a great way to not only showcase a trophy collection, but also the world's wildlife, particularly species you don't see in zoos such as wild sheep, wild goats, large freshwater fish species.... etc. I remember going into a Cabela's for the first time and being wowed by all the cool mounts inside. I don't at all mind big game hunting as long as the animal will be fully utilized after the hunt by eating the meat and donating the skin, skeleton to a museum or store like Cabelas where the public can see, learn about and perhaps be inspired to help their conservation in the wild. Kenneth Behring is that type of guy. He's the one who donated his collection for the Hall of Mammals at NMNH. Did you ever get to see the Teddy Roosevelt specimens before they did the renovation? I wished I could've seen the dioramas before they got rid of them. They had one for the Northern White Rhinos, Lions, Coke's Hartebeest, Cape Buffalo and more. They brought out his male lion and two Shoebills recently for an exhibit but all else they have on exhibit is the one sitting Northern White Rhino in the mammal hall.
 
I thought I'd go hunt for the pic I was thinking of showing the dramatic height difference between Hank and Phoebe--and I found something even better! Following a 9-year period after the birth of son Beco, Phoebe is pregnant! The sire could be Hank or an AI contributor, but she's due in December, which means she's 18 months through her 22-month gestation! There is ultrasound confirmation!
 
Andrew_NZP said:
First posted by @Echobeast in the Woodland Park zoo thread, Kwame will leave the zoo in September to become Woodland Parks new silverback since their last silverback passed in March.

This does make me wonder if the zoo is trying to move Kojo as well, since he and Kwame currently live together in a bachelor group.
Click to expand...

The AZA doesn't like males living alone even when they have visual contact with other gorillas. There are some cases where it's just necessary like males who are too old, behavioral issues, medical needs, ect. When they break up a bachelor pair they tend to move quickly to place the second male as well. I can think of two groups right now off the top of my head in need of a silverback, Calgary and Milwaukee (needing a total group rebuild). They could also be looking at swapping around some silverbacks to mix up genetics.
 
AmbikaFan said:
I thought I'd go hunt for the pic I was thinking of showing the dramatic height difference between Hank and Phoebe--and I found something even better! Following a 9-year period after the birth of son Beco, Phoebe is pregnant! The sire could be Hank or an AI contributor, but she's due in December, which means she's 18 months through her 22-month gestation! There is ultrasound confirmation!
Click to expand...
I found a video showing the size difference. It seems like Hank is like an American Mastodon. He's all body mass and has very short legs, which could explain why he looks so fat. This should probably be moved to the Columbus Zoo forum.
 
Does anyone know of a current species list on exhibit in the Small Animal House?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top