Como Teen Heads to Churchill for Polar Expedition of a Lifetime

We are excited to send one of our Nature Walk teen volunteers, Tiana, to Churchill, Manitoba as part of Polar Bear International's Leadership Camp program. This is the 5th consecutive year that Como has sent a teen to Churchill. While there, Tiana will have the opportunity to meet other teens, learn about polar bears and conservation from leading experts, and see polar bears in their wild habitat. For more information about the PBI Leadership Camp and to follow their blog, click here.

About Tiana

My interests include community involvement, polar bears, climate change, the outdoors, art, debate, and teaching. Volunteering is very important to me, because I have always wanted to help others. Even when I was little I never dreamed of accumulating money or fame, but rather sharing what I had with others, helping people grow and finding some sense of peace in their lives. There is no amount of money that could stand up against a person’s smile and knowing that they are smiling because of you. I also love polar bears. They are such beautiful creatures so adapted to what most would see as a hostile environment. With their strength, patience, and uncanny wisdom, polar bears give me a great sense of joy to watch, and I hope I can help keep them here on earth for my grandchildren to learn from. Therefore, I am very invested in climate change and the effects it has on our environment. I love the natural world and I want to keep my home with all its wonders intact.


To communicate these interests and ideas that I believe are important I have come to love public speaking in the form of both debate and teaching. Both have very important skill sets and I am always amazed at what I’ve learned from these two activities. I also love art, and love integrating my passion for environmental consciousness with my love of creating art, to me it is another powerful form of communication.

From the PBI leadership camp, I hope to learn even more about climate change and human impact, specifically on the Arctic Circle. It would be a great honor to meet and talk to some of the best in their field of research and share what I learn with my community. I am also looking forward to gaining a network of other driven young people that also want to change the world for the better. I hope to gain lifelong friendships and grow from others’ experiences and ideas. Most of all, I want to go home more organized, wiser, and as a better leader of social and environmental change. I have no doubt in my mind that this opportunity will far surpass all of my expectations.
In five years, light rail tracks connecting the central corridor tracks and the surrounding suburban areas will be funded and built, giving people an efficient, inexpensive form of transportation to the midway community. This will create an influx of urban renewal along with a substantially reduced carbon footprint not only in the midway community, but also the surrounding suburbs. I will continue to share my experience and knowledge of the topic not only to my school, but also to anyone who will listen. I hope to inspire a truly green initiative in the community and I hope that this will diffuse eventually into a nationwide consciousness of the problems occurring in the Arctic Circle ecosystem.

Como on KARE-11!

Caroline Mehlhop of Como Friends stopped by KARE this Saturday morning to discuss a couple zoo topics with us.
The Como Park Zoo is celebrating member's appreciation day where Como Friends will get to enjoy behind-the-scenes tours of the Conservatory and Zoo.
The zoo will also be featuring a new learning experience where patrons will get a chance to meet and speak with a zoo keeper! A different topic will be featured every day and guests will get the chance to learn about day-to-day zoo operations. Saturday Zoo Keeper Talk begins at 11 a.m.
Another fun activity at the Zoo this year is ZooBoo, a five-night family friendly adventure for Halloween. Children and families will get to trick-or-treat through the zoo with themed stations, characters, and ghosts along the way.
ZooBoo days are October 20th, 21st, 26th, 27th, and 28th from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tickets to ZooBoo are $6 and may be purchased at Como's Garden Safari Gifts, all metro area Cub Food's, and online.

Baby ball pythons!

Como Zoo has recently welcomed 4 ball python neonates (baby snakes). The eggs were laid in May and hatched approximately 60 days later at the end of July. The female ball python will coil around the eggs and increase her body temperature in a “hiccup” type movement with her whole body to keep the eggs at the optimal 90 degree temperature during incubation. However, Como zoo keepers chose to remove the eggs and incubate them in a controlled environment to monitor them closely.

Ball pythons (also called Royal pythons) are heavy-bodied constrictors native to West and Central Africa. They reach a maximum length of five feet. Snakes are born as identical miniatures of their parents. Upon hatching, they are completely independent and will search for their first meal after shedding.
The python parents (and the neonates when they’re older) are utilized in a variety of Como Zoo's education and interpretive programs.

Baby Flamingo Born at Como Zoo - Video From KSTP-TV

Had fun in KARE-TV studios with the baby Arctic Fox!

Happy National Zoo Keeper Week!

The staff at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory joins the American Association of Zoo Keepers in wishing all zoo keepers a happy National Zoo Keeper Week!

"As the need to protect and preserve our wildlife and vanishing habitats has increased, our role as educators and wildlife ambassadors has become essential. During the third week of July each year, celebrate National Zoo Keeper Week; both you and your animals deserve the recognition." - American Association of Zoo Keepers

Sparky shows some love to one of Como's keepers.

Como Zoo’s Tortoises Chow Down On Unique Birthday Cakes « CBS Minnesota

Como Zoo’s Tortoises Chow Down On Unique Birthday Cakes « CBS Minnesota