Volunteer Keeper Week 25

Today I worked with Amy on the Uco String. The Spectacled Bears (Will and Rio) are getting more fruit in their diet now, and they loved their oranges today. They won't eat lettuce or celery at all but for some reason, comessary still includes it in their diets. In the morning I mixed Will's glucosamine tablets with some grape jelly and let him lick the spoon -- he seemed to especially enjoy this. Rio wouldn't go out on exhibit, instead she insisted on making a nest for herself using palm tree frawns and burlap -- quite an interesting behavior to witness. We thought that she may be going into estrus, explaining her sudden, intense nesting behavior. I also learned today that the male bear is only "effective" certain times of the year, this being one of them.

The new baby otter - Mckenna - swam in little circles around her tub chasing her toy -- the most adorable thing I've seen in a long time. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera with me.

Volunteer Keeper Week 24

I was assigned to work with Amber today on the Uco String. It was cold and rainy which made for some rough golf cart rides around Zoo grounds, but the experience was well worth it. Preparing diets for Spectacled Bears, cleaning the Cheetah nighthouse -- I'm really getting a feel for all the aspects involved in being a keeper.

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Cheetahs → Juma & Ratel

The Phoenix Zoo housees two Cheetas, Juma and Ratel. The two are brothers and have been raised from cubs by humans. Although fierce predators in the wild, these Cheetahs are very comfortable with people and will even allow us to go into their exhibit (territory) and to be within very close proximity to them. From what I understand, Cheetas are not considered to be a part of the "big cat" family since they don't roar.

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White Faced Saki Monkeys → Misto and Vashti

Below are Misto and Vashti, male and female (respectively) White Faced Saki Monkeys. We hand feed them today. We decided to let them dig through the pan themselves after a bit, to pick out what they liked best - turns out it was peanuts. Who knew?

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Coatis → Jake and Lewis

The Coatimundi (most people shorten this to Coati) is a mammal related to the raccoon, in the family Procyonidae. The Coati is a widespread species, living in habitats ranging from hot and arid areas to humid rainforests.

Coati's have been scientifically described as 5 different species:

1. South American Coati (Nasua nasua)
2. Brown- or White-Nosed Coati (Nasua narica) - Jake & Lewis
3. Nelson's Coati (Nasua nelsoni)

4. Wedel's Coati (Nasua wedeli)

5. Mountain or Andean Coati (Nasuella olivacea)

Our little Coatis, Jake and Lewis, are complete sweethearts.

Below is Jake, being cute, and Lewis, peeking through the gate to watch me clean his bowl. We had just finished setting up thier exhibit, which today, included a bowl of water with antiseptic mouthwash in it for behavioral enrichment. Apparently they love this, because they rubbed it all over themselves.

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