Ask a zookeeper (2 Viewers)

[valence]

awesome thread! I've been to the Cincy zoo a ton but I really want to see the Columbus zoo. I'm gonna have to head up there this spring. After reading this thread I want to go dig out all the pictures from my safari in Kenya in 2004. After going to Africa and seeing the animals freely roam I had a hard time going to the zoo for a while because I felt so bad for the animals being confined. It makes more sense and a little comforting that most of the animals are born that way and not captured from the wild. When I got back from my trip and went the zoofor the first time again I immediately noticed that the giraffes and lions looked so different at our zoo than they did in Africa, is that because of them not being born there or are there different types?

I'm jealous. I really want hope I can make it to Africa some day. Last place in the world you can see that kind of untouched wildlife. Yes there are different types of giraffe and lions.

 

[valence]

Bear vs. Gorilla. Who ya got?

What kind of bear?

 

[bosoxs45]

1.)I was just wondering if elephants are really afraid of mice or is that a stupid folklore?

2.) What is your favorite dinosaur, and why?

 

[valence]

The zoo is on fire.You can save seven animals.Name them.(forget logistics or logic, you get to save seven. period)Which animal was 8th and why didn't it make the cut.

do I get to save all of that type of animal or just seven individuals?

 

[valence]

Given the choice that you could come back reincarnated as one animal at your zoo, what would it be?

I don't believe in reincarnation, but I'd have to say that big cats have it pretty good. Sleep 20+ hours a day and never have to hunt for their food.

The names of all the animals are written on cards and placed in a goldfish bowl.You will be reincarnated as the animal whose name is drawn from the bowl.

You get to choose five animals who will not be included.

Name them.

Mosquitoes, cockroaches, candiru, tapeworms.

 

[higgins]

Given the choice that you could come back reincarnated as one animal at your zoo, what would it be?

I don't believe in reincarnation, but I'd have to say that big cats have it pretty good. Sleep 20+ hours a day and never have to hunt for their food.

The names of all the animals are written on cards and placed in a goldfish bowl.You will be reincarnated as the animal whose name is drawn from the bowl.

You get to choose five animals who will not be included.

Name them.

Mosquitoes, cockroaches, candiru, tapeworms.

[familyfeud]Good answer...good answer.[/familyfeud]

 

[valence]

1.)I was just wondering if elephants are really afraid of mice or is that a stupid folklore?

2.) What is your favorite dinosaur, and why?

1.) myth. Elephants probably don't even notice the occasional mouse due to a combination of their immense size and poor eyesight.2.) I'm going with the ankylosaur the things are tanks with giant spiked clubs for tails.

 

[cosjobs]

The zoo is on fire.You can save seven animals.Name them.(forget logistics or logic, you get to save seven. period)Which animal was 8th and why didn't it make the cut.

do I get to save all of that type of animal or just seven individuals?

Let's compromise - a mated pair of each.

 

[cosjobs]

Given the choice that you could come back reincarnated as one animal at your zoo, what would it be?

I don't believe in reincarnation, but I'd have to say that big cats have it pretty good. Sleep 20+ hours a day and never have to hunt for their food.

The names of all the animals are written on cards and placed in a goldfish bowl.You will be reincarnated as the animal whose name is drawn from the bowl.

You get to choose five animals who will not be included.

Name them.

Mosquitoes, cockroaches, candiru, tapeworms.

Let me clarify: zoo animals only.

 

[spOOfy]

Great thread. I stopped in here tonight just to catch up on it. I think a book would be a great idea. If not a book, a daily/weekly column in a newspaper, or at least a blog would be worthwhile. For the latter ideas, it would give you the opportunity to field questions, which I think is really giving this thread the optimal entertainment value.

 

[valence]

Given the choice that you could come back reincarnated as one animal at your zoo, what would it be?

I don't believe in reincarnation, but I'd have to say that big cats have it pretty good. Sleep 20+ hours a day and never have to hunt for their food.

The names of all the animals are written on cards and placed in a goldfish bowl.You will be reincarnated as the animal whose name is drawn from the bowl.

You get to choose five animals who will not be included.

Name them.

Mosquitoes, cockroaches, candiru, tapeworms.

Let me clarify: zoo animals only.

mice, naked mole rats, rabbits, cockroaches (we have them in the insect zoo), budgies

 

[valence]

The zoo is on fire.You can save seven animals.Name them.(forget logistics or logic, you get to save seven. period)Which animal was 8th and why didn't it make the cut.

do I get to save all of that type of animal or just seven individuals?

Let's compromise - a mated pair of each.

If we are talking about MY zoo:1. Tapirs2. Sun Bears3. Tree Kangaroos4. Gorillas5. Lemurs6. Red Pandas7. Jaguar8. Giraffe\Elepant just miss the cut. Only because of the rareness and scarcity of the aforementioned 7 and the size and the level of difficulty for saving giraffes and elephants from a fire without jsut letting them out and run free.

 

[Mario Kart]

valence would own all of you in a Deadly Animal Draft 2.0. He knows things.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

1.)I was just wondering if elephants are really afraid of mice or is that a stupid folklore?

2.) What is your favorite dinosaur, and why?

1.) myth. Elephants probably don't even notice the occasional mouse due to a combination of their immense size and poor eyesight.2.) I'm going with the ankylosaur the things are tanks with giant spiked clubs for tails.

Swung low enough that would make your ankles sore for sure.

 

[valence]

valence would own all of you in a Deadly Animal Draft 2.0. He knows things.

I missed the first one. if there is ever another be sure to let me know.

 

[CBusAlex]

2. One of scariest ones happened just last year when we got in our new male silverback gorilla Leonel. It was my first day working gorillas in quite some time and it was the first time meeting Leo. He has had a history of abuse with men so he wasn't so happy to meet me.

What kind of suicidal ******* abuses a 400lb gorilla?

 

[perry147]

The zoo is on fire.

You can save seven animals.

Name them.

(forget logistics or logic, you get to save seven. period)

Which animal was 8th and why didn't it make the cut.

do I get to save all of that type of animal or just seven individuals?

Let's compromise - a mated pair of each.

If we are talking about MY zoo:1. Tapirs

2. Sun Bears

3. Tree Kangaroos

4. Gorillas

5. Lemurs

6. Red Pandas

7. Jaguar

8. Giraffe\Elepant just miss the cut. Only because of the rareness and scarcity of the aforementioned 7 and the size and the level of difficulty for saving giraffes and elephants from a fire without jsut letting them out and run free.

Jag-wireor

Jag-u-ar?

 

[39407]

Would it be possible to keep African Wild Dogs in a zoo?

 

[valence]

2. One of scariest ones happened just last year when we got in our new male silverback gorilla Leonel. It was my first day working gorillas in quite some time and it was the first time meeting Leo. He has had a history of abuse with men so he wasn't so happy to meet me.

What kind of suicidal ******* abuses a 400lb gorilla?

The kind that illegally aquires one as a baby and tries to raise it on his ranch in Texas until realizing he doesn't have the right facility for this sort of thing.

 

[valence]

The zoo is on fire.

You can save seven animals.

Name them.

(forget logistics or logic, you get to save seven. period)

Which animal was 8th and why didn't it make the cut.

do I get to save all of that type of animal or just seven individuals?

Let's compromise - a mated pair of each.

If we are talking about MY zoo:1. Tapirs

2. Sun Bears

3. Tree Kangaroos

4. Gorillas

5. Lemurs

6. Red Pandas

7. Jaguar

8. Giraffe\Elepant just miss the cut. Only because of the rareness and scarcity of the aforementioned 7 and the size and the level of difficulty for saving giraffes and elephants from a fire without jsut letting them out and run free.

Jag-wireor

Jag-u-ar?

I say Jag-waaar but either is acceptable.

 

[valence]

Would it be possible to keep African Wild Dogs in a zoo?

Yep. We have three of them here at WPZ. They are really cool animals, but can be difficult to house.

 

[HERBERT THE HIPPO]

The zoo is on fire.You can save seven animals.Name them.(forget logistics or logic, you get to save seven. period)Which animal was 8th and why didn't it make the cut.

do I get to save all of that type of animal or just seven individuals?

Let's compromise - a mated pair of each.

If we are talking about MY zoo:1. Tapirs2. Sun Bears3. Tree Kangaroos4. Gorillas5. Lemurs6. Red Pandas7. Jaguar8. Giraffe\Elepant just miss the cut. Only because of the rareness and scarcity of the aforementioned 7 and the size and the level of difficulty for saving giraffes and elephants from a fire without jsut letting them out and run free.

WHY DO YOU HATE HIPPOS?

 

[BassNBrew]

The zoo is on fire.You can save seven animals.Name them.(forget logistics or logic, you get to save seven. period)Which animal was 8th and why didn't it make the cut.

do I get to save all of that type of animal or just seven individuals?

Let's compromise - a mated pair of each.

If we are talking about MY zoo:1. Tapirs2. Sun Bears3. Tree Kangaroos4. Gorillas5. Lemurs6. Red Pandas7. Jaguar8. Giraffe\Elepant just miss the cut. Only because of the rareness and scarcity of the aforementioned 7 and the size and the level of difficulty for saving giraffes and elephants from a fire without jsut letting them out and run free.

WHY DO YOU HATE HIPPOS?

Have you seen the amount of pooh they make?

 

[perry147]

The zoo is on fire.You can save seven animals.Name them.(forget logistics or logic, you get to save seven. period)Which animal was 8th and why didn't it make the cut.

do I get to save all of that type of animal or just seven individuals?

Let's compromise - a mated pair of each.

If we are talking about MY zoo:1. Tapirs2. Sun Bears3. Tree Kangaroos4. Gorillas5. Lemurs6. Red Pandas7. Jaguar8. Giraffe\Elepant just miss the cut. Only because of the rareness and scarcity of the aforementioned 7 and the size and the level of difficulty for saving giraffes and elephants from a fire without jsut letting them out and run free.

WHY DO YOU HATE HIPPOS?

More people are killed by Hippos than lions, tigers and bears combined.

 

[Mario Kart]

Bears beets Battlestar Galactica.

 

[valence]

The zoo is on fire.You can save seven animals.Name them.(forget logistics or logic, you get to save seven. period)Which animal was 8th and why didn't it make the cut.

do I get to save all of that type of animal or just seven individuals?

Let's compromise - a mated pair of each.

If we are talking about MY zoo:1. Tapirs2. Sun Bears3. Tree Kangaroos4. Gorillas5. Lemurs6. Red Pandas7. Jaguar8. Giraffe\Elepant just miss the cut. Only because of the rareness and scarcity of the aforementioned 7 and the size and the level of difficulty for saving giraffes and elephants from a fire without jsut letting them out and run free.

WHY DO YOU HATE HIPPOS?

I don't hate hippos. I worked them today in fact. Gertie, Lily, and Lupe all say hello btw. As a hippo yourself, you should realize that they spend a lot of their time in water. I think they will make it through the fire just fine.

 

[valence]

Bears beets Battlestar Galactica.

Which bear is best?

 

[Mario Kart]

Bears beets Battlestar Galactica.

Which bear is best?

That's a ridiculous question.

 

[Verbal Kint]

Bear vs. Gorilla. Who ya got?

a bear would smash a gorilla. that wouldn't be a long fight

You've never been more wrong in your entire life.

 

[Harry Manback]

Bears beets Battlestar Galactica.

Which bear is best?

That's a ridiculous question.

False. Black bear.

 

[cosjobs]

1n 1979, I was living in an apartment in Dallas. It backed up to a creek and had lots of undeveloped wild land along the creek.

I bought a kinkajoo out of the Dallas Morning News want ads for $75. I named him Joo-boy.

He lived in my bathroom.

For 2 months.

One day I came home and the bathroom window was open and the screen was broken out. Joo-boy was gone forever.

Do you think he survived? I remember some news stories about a weird monkey-like creature terrorizing some family downstream from the apartments, and always hoped it was him.

 

[The Future Champs]

If you were in a Zoo Draft, which animal would be your first round pick? How about sleeper?

 

[Ignoramus]

The zoo is on fire.

You can save seven animals.

Name them.

(forget logistics or logic, you get to save seven. period)

Which animal was 8th and why didn't it make the cut.

do I get to save all of that type of animal or just seven individuals?

Let's compromise - a mated pair of each.

If we are talking about MY zoo:1. Tapirs

2. Sun Bears

3. Tree Kangaroos

4. Gorillas

5. Lemurs

6. Red Pandas

7. Jaguar

8. Giraffe\Elepant just miss the cut. Only because of the rareness and scarcity of the aforementioned 7 and the size and the level of difficulty for saving giraffes and elephants from a fire without jsut letting them out and run free.

When my wife and I went to the African Sun Bears exhibit at the New Orleans Zoo, the bears were humping. Henceforth, we've called them the African Fun Bears.Tapirs are rather ugly beasts. What about them, other than their rarity, put them atop your list.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

If you were in a Zoo Draft, which animal would be your first round pick? How about sleeper?

sleeper - koala bear

 

[UOFI_316]

1.)I was just wondering if elephants are really afraid of mice or is that a stupid folklore?

Mythbusters proved this to be a myth. Elephant never reacted to the mouse.

 

[39407]

Would it be possible to keep African Wild Dogs in a zoo?

Yep. We have three of them here at WPZ. They are really cool animals, but can be difficult to house.

How would you rate their quality of life in a zoo? Are they happy having their meals served up on a plate?

 

[39407]

If you were in a Zoo Draft, which animal would be your first round pick? How about sleeper?

sleeper - koala bear

Deep sleeper - Sloth

 

[TLEF316]

Bears beets Battlestar Galactica.

Which bear is best?

That's a ridiculous question.

False. Black bear.

Well thats debateable. Basically there are 2 schools of thought....

 

[B-Deep]

I have heard that women who are menstruating should not be around certain type animals? It makes them crazy.

What animals are these?

that does have some truth to it. Great Apes go a little nuts around them. I have heard courtship grunts from our male gorillas towards our female keepers. it's pretty disturbing.on the other side of the spectrum, we have "orangutan groupies" that will come to the zoo and bring stuffed animals and stuff to show the orangs through the glass. on one occasion a female was caught exposing herself to Towan the male orang while he was enjoying himself.

pretty gross.

was she banned from the zoo?and did he finish?

surprisingly, no she wasn't banned. Security always sends out a radio call to the keepers when she is on grounds though.Towan always finishes.

awesome on both countsTowan is my hero, and having an ape slut alert rules

 

[UOFI_316]

[The elephants have it rough. I don't thin that most zoos have the area required to care for an elephant honestly. they need TONS of room. I wish our zoo would get rid of elephants. Places like the Wild Animal park in San Diego have the space to care for them, but lots of places don't

The Brookfield Zoo outside of Chicago has had two elephants die in the last two years I think. One was old age, and the second was a bladder infection or something like that. They are now debating weather to just close the exhibit or try to find another elephant to keep the remaining one company.

 

[B-Deep]

As a follow up:lets say an army of tigers, chimps, gorillas, wolverines, locust, screw worms, and honey badgers rode in on the back of blue whales and tried to assault an island defended by great white sharks, crocodiles, leopards, anacondas, boars, porcupines and lambs.What would the probable outcome be?

Very interesting thread.I think the first group slaughters the second group. I don't think there is anyway to stop the Blue Whale landing craft. They will take some hits from the sharks but still be able to deliver. Once the group got past the crocs on the beach, it would be over.

for the OP. if i were to submit, say 7 of these armies, would you be willing to rate them from the most badass to the most sissy?

 

[B-Deep]

So I told my Kindergartner about this thread, he was impressed. His questions follow:

1) What time to the giraffe's go to bed

2) What is the elephants favorite food

3) what tim do elephant eat lunch

and 4) would you like tigers better if they only slept at night, and did not have stripes?

The last one came because i was explaining that you said lions and tigers were the most over rated animals. I guess he wants to see what tiger's need to do to move up your ratings. I am not sure where the stripes thing came from, maybe he is a racist.

 

[valence]

The zoo is on fire.

You can save seven animals.

Name them.

(forget logistics or logic, you get to save seven. period)

Which animal was 8th and why didn't it make the cut.

do I get to save all of that type of animal or just seven individuals?

Let's compromise - a mated pair of each.

If we are talking about MY zoo:1. Malayan Tapirs

2. Asian Sun Bears

3. Tree Kangaroos

4. Gorillas

5. Lemurs

6. Red Pandas

7. Jaguar

8. Giraffe\Elepant just miss the cut. Only because of the rareness and scarcity of the aforementioned 7 and the size and the level of difficulty for saving giraffes and elephants from a fire without jsut letting them out and run free.

When my wife and I went to the African Sun Bears exhibit at the New Orleans Zoo, the bears were humping. Henceforth, we've called them the African Fun Bears.Tapirs are rather ugly beasts. What about them, other than their rarity, put them atop your list.

Asian Sun Bears. No Sun Bears in Africa. I told a story about Tapirs a few pages back, but short answer is intelligence and personality

 

[valence]

[The elephants have it rough. I don't thin that most zoos have the area required to care for an elephant honestly. they need TONS of room. I wish our zoo would get rid of elephants. Places like the Wild Animal park in San Diego have the space to care for them, but lots of places don't

The Brookfield Zoo outside of Chicago has had two elephants die in the last two years I think. One was old age, and the second was a bladder infection or something like that. They are now debating weather to just close the exhibit or try to find another elephant to keep the remaining one company.

I read about that. Brookfield recently made the list of top 10 worst zoo's for elephants. Sorry to break the news to you. Woodland Park Zoo made the hall of shame list for elephants though so don't feel too bad.

 

[Sarnoff]

1.)I was just wondering if elephants are really afraid of mice or is that a stupid folklore?

Mythbusters proved this to be a myth. Elephant never reacted to the mouse.

http://mythbustersresults.com/episode91

Elephants are scared of mice.

plausible

The Mythbusters traveled to a wildlife preserve in Africa to find wild elephants to test the myth on. They hid a mouse under a ball of elephant dung, planning to flip the dung over and reveal the mouse when the elephants approach it. When they flipped the dung and revealed the mouse, the approaching elephant was startled and quickly moved away from the mouse. The Mythbusters then flipped dung without the mouse under it, but the elephants did not react at all. They then retried their first experiment to confirm their results, and the elephant noticed the mouse and actively avoided it. Even though the elephants didn’t panic at the sight of the mouse, the fact that they acted cautiously around it was enough to label this myth plausible.

 

[perry147]

Are there any animals that you feel should not be kept in a zoo, but instead need to always remain wild?

 

[rodg12]

Have you guys brought any animals to the Woodland Park Zoo that have only recently (within the last couple years) been found to exist? If so, what are they?

 

[valence]

Would it be possible to keep African Wild Dogs in a zoo?

Yep. We have three of them here at WPZ. They are really cool animals, but can be difficult to house.

How would you rate their quality of life in a zoo? Are they happy having their meals served up on a plate?

tough to say for sure but I think they have it pretty good. They are captive bred so it's they've ever known. Ours are a geriatric and have several health problems. The alpha male of the group died last year so there's been a lot of fighting for rank.

 

[valence]

As a follow up:lets say an army of tigers, chimps, gorillas, wolverines, locust, screw worms, and honey badgers rode in on the back of blue whales and tried to assault an island defended by great white sharks, crocodiles, leopards, anacondas, boars, porcupines and lambs.What would the probable outcome be?

Very interesting thread.I think the first group slaughters the second group. I don't think there is anyway to stop the Blue Whale landing craft. They will take some hits from the sharks but still be able to deliver. Once the group got past the crocs on the beach, it would be over.

for the OP. if i were to submit, say 7 of these armies, would you be willing to rate them from the most badass to the most sissy?

I'll do my best

 

[B-Deep]

As a follow up:lets say an army of tigers, chimps, gorillas, wolverines, locust, screw worms, and honey badgers rode in on the back of blue whales and tried to assault an island defended by great white sharks, crocodiles, leopards, anacondas, boars, porcupines and lambs.What would the probable outcome be?

Very interesting thread.I think the first group slaughters the second group. I don't think there is anyway to stop the Blue Whale landing craft. They will take some hits from the sharks but still be able to deliver. Once the group got past the crocs on the beach, it would be over.

for the OP. if i were to submit, say 7 of these armies, would you be willing to rate them from the most badass to the most sissy?

I'll do my best

SWEETi can pm them or list in thread, don't wanna highjack your awesome thread with our animal army draft dooshbaggery, but at the same time i want to get the expert opinion!