Reid Park Zoo Reid Park Zoo News 2009-2012

Arizona Docent

Arizona Docent

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15+ year member
Reid Park Zoo has become the first zoo in the country to receive Platinum level certification from the Green Building Council. The council certifies construction projects that use environmentally sensitive construction, giving different levels of certification. Platinum is the highest level and the most difficult to achieve. The certification was given to the Lee H. Brown Family Conservation Learning Center, which opened almost one year ago. The education center, which is open to all zoo visitors, uses animals to demonstrate how people can live more eco-friendly. Green tree pythons, for example, collect rain water in their coils and so people can put rain water cisterns in their home. The building has jean scrap insulation, solar panels, bamboo cabinets, etc.
 
I just found this cool video of top ten Reid Park Zoo favorites from staff members (plus one visitor). By the way, the visitor favorite, the train, does not actually go inside the zoo. It starts outside the front entrance and goes around a lake in the park (but still raises money for the zoo, so I'm all for it). There is some info about our new elephant expansion in the zoo administator's segment.

I'm new to attaching video links, so I hope this works:confused:

Tucson 12 Programs - Zoo News
 
Today (Thursday, April 30) Reid Park Zoo launched an all new website. This replaces the old one that was, how shall I put it, totally lame. Although the new one is not the best website in the world, it's certainly much better than what we had. There is a nice clickable map with info on all the major animals. Here's the link: Reid Park Zoo, Tucson Zoological Society - index - index
 
Thanks for the link. The website is much more eye-catching, and the interactive map is impressive.
 
Jungle Jack Hanna will be doing an informal appearance at Reid Park Zoo (Tucson, Arizona) on Tuesday, September 29. He will be at the zoo from approximately 2:30pm to 4:00pm. Just a meet-and-greet thing.
 
Indoor cafeteria with expanded (hot) lunch menu is now open. See photos in the gallery.

Grevy's zebra birth imminent. We are expecting a grevy zebra to be born any day now. I will post photos as soon as I get them. (I will be able to upload photos much faster, since I just ordered my first digital SLR, which should arrive next week. So I will not have to wait to develop the slides and then have the best ones scanned at the lab. Although I have mixed emotions about this - I honestly never thought the day would come when I would "go digital.")
 
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On April 26, Laurie Marker of Cheetah Conservation Fund will be doing an after hours presentation at the zoo. Cost is $10 (in advance).

On April 29, Jane Goodall will be doing an after hours presentation at the zoo. Cost is $75 (in advance).
 
A male muntjac was put on exhibit with the female who has lived alone for years. (Well, she lived with a pair of demoiselle cranes for a while, but they are long gone).
 
Male lion M'Bali died this week. He was over 22 years old. His son Kitabu, who is 18, was taken off exhibit over a month ago and put in the health center due to difficulty getting around. So now we just have the young 3 year old female on exhibit. Probably will not seek a new male until we find out if Kitabu will improve enough to go back on exhibit.

Since the young female Kaya is an SSP recommendation from San Diego Wild Animal Park, we could now potentially get an SSP male and hopefully see cubs at our zoo (assuming Kitabu does not go back out). Kitabu was non-breeding per SSP, so he was given a vasectomy before Kaya arrived.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Male lion M'Bali died this week. He was over 22 years old. His son Kitabu, who is 18, was taken off exhibit over a month ago and put in the health center due to difficulty getting around. So now we just have the young 3 year old female on exhibit. Probably will not seek a new male until we find out if Kitabu will improve enough to go back on exhibit.

Since the young female Kaya is an SSP recommendation from San Diego Wild Animal Park, we could now potentially get an SSP male and hopefully see cubs at our zoo (assuming Kitabu does not go back out). Kitabu was non-breeding per SSP, so he was given a vasectomy before Kaya arrived.
Click to expand...

Is Kaya from a particular ssp. recommeded by the AZA/SSP African Lion Programme?
 
Sorry - I used an American abreviation that I assumed everyone would know, but of course I should not. I used a capitalized SSP (with no period), which means Species Survival Plan. You used a lower case ssp. with a period, which means subspecies. So I meant she is recommended for breeding by the Species Survival Plan (equivalent of EEP in Europe).

But since you are asking, San Diego imported her parents from South Africa and they list their lions as south african subspecies - Panthera leo krugeri. HOWEVER, I think most taxonomists would agree that all lions in Africa, or at least in East and South Africa, are the same subspecies. I think many have reclassified them as simply African lion - Panthera leo leo.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Sorry - I used an American abreviation that I assumed everyone would know, but of course I should not. I used a capitalized SSP (with no period), which means Species Survival Plan. You used a lower case ssp. with a period, which means subspecies. So I meant she is recommended for breeding by the Species Survival Plan (equivalent of EEP in Europe).

But since you are asking, San Diego imported her parents from South Africa and they list their lions as south african subspecies - Panthera leo krugeri. HOWEVER, I think most taxonomists would agree that all lions in Africa, or at least in East and South Africa, are the same subspecies. I think many have reclassified them as simply African lion - Panthera leo leo.
Click to expand...

I meant ssp = subspecies as is internationally recognised among scholars. Re. lion subspecies: I would not agree with the line of thinking among some circles (NCRI) that all African lion ssp. are uniform and thus one subspecies only, nor that it is general accepted view on African lion subspecies.
 
Summer Friday Nights

Officially called Summer Safari Nights, the zoo will reopen on Friday evenings during the first half of summer. (I presume they are not doing the second half of summer because that is our monsoon season when thunderstorms often form in the late afternoon).

Dates are May 21-July 9, from 5-8pm. Website says they will broadcast jazz music from the local jazz station. For the past couple years, they have had either live bands or movies on the lawn, but I guess they are simplifying things this year (or spending less money on entertainment so we can FINALLY get enough to start our elephant construction - just a hunch).

BTW, Tucson's other zoo (Arizona Sonora Desert Museum) does their summer evenings on Saturday nights, so our two local zoos do not overlap. Makes a great weekend for zoo-loving visitors, especially since summer is considered the "off-season" here in the desert and all of the hotels cut their prices nearly in half.
 
Male lion Kitabu put back on exhibit today (May 4). He will be alternated with the female until staff are sure they will get along ok together again.
 
Both muntjacs died within a few weeks of each other. Not sure what we will do with that exhibit.

Cape Thicknees in Flight Connection aviary have two chicks. (See photo gallery).

We will be getting a hawk (species not yet determined) to do a free flight demonstration, largely because the king vulture we use has decided he doesn't like flying that much. Surprisingly, we are probably the only generalized zoo in the country that does not have any species of hawk/eagle/owl/falcon. One of the trainers who joined our staff last year used to do the free flight program at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
 
A customer came into my work today and recognized me from the zoo. She said I am in a video they submitted to a school website. The whole video is three and a half minutes and I am about halfway through. I was standing at our Grevy Zebra exhibit, since we had just had a baby, answering a question about the different types of zebras.

SchoolTube - Utterback Invasive Species
 
Ten chilean flamingos from Santa Barbara Zoo are halfway through quarantine and will go on exhibit in a couple weeks. They will join our current eleven, essentially doubling the size of the flamboyance (which is what a group of flamingos is called, FYI).

One female giraffe will arrive this Fall from Disney Animal Kingdom, increasing our herd from three to four.

Rhino yard is being shortened to accomodate construction of new path to future elephant exhibit. See photos (and commentary on my disappointment) in gallery.
 
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