Behind the Spines... Scenes Babies!

Spring must have sprung at Como Zoo!  Our Zookeepers and the education animal collection would like to welcome four new baby African Four-Toed Hedgehogs to our collection! The four –toed African Hedgehogs are just one of several species of small mammal that Como Zoo has in its diverse collection that is used for educational programs and value added events at the Zoo. The hedgehogs are often spotted with Educational Interpretive Specialists and Nature Walkers (our teen volunteer program) around zoo grounds; as well as with our Educators and Zookeepers in the classroom and events. These little prickly friends have a love for insects and fruit; and often ball up with spikes up in the air to protect their underside.

Como Zoo is one of the number one successors for sending the offspring to other Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Accredited Institutions around the United States and Canada. Over the last eight years, the zoo has sent over 100 offspring to other institutions for use in their Education programs and value added programs! That’s a lot of hogging the classroom!

Como Zoo Brings Students On Week-Long Field Trip

Join us for a unique opportunity to move your classroom to Como Park Zoo and Conservatory for a week of hands-on, interdisciplinary, inquiry-based learning. Como education staff will partner with you to deliver a program where students will use the scientific method to do real-world learning about the plants and animals of Como. Teacher training is provided and the program, including transportation, is free of cost thanks to the generous funding from the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment.

Kemala Is Helping Raise Awareness for Wild Orangutans!

Our Baby Shower may be over but there is still a lot everyone can do to help save wild Orangutans! Some experts estimate that at the current rate of habitat destruction for palm oil, orangutans could face extinction in as few as 10-15 years.
 
An easy way to find out whether or not the products you buy are orangutan-friendly is to download the FREE smartphone app from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The app includes more than 5,000 products whose manufacturers are certified by the RSPO. Purchasing products from these companies helps save orangutan habitat and lives!

Thanks to Sven Sundgaard and KARE 11 for the great story!

It’s a Girl! Como Zoo Welcomes Baby Orangutan

Como Zoo announces the birth, via Caesarean section, of a female orangutan. Markisa, a 27 year-old Sumatran Orangutan, gave birth to a female infant weighing a healthy, 3.45 pounds on January 7, 2015. The newborn was delivered at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center by Dr. Micky Trent, DVM, Veterinary Medical Center Surgeon and lead veterinarian for Como Zoo, with the consultation of an extensive pre-appointed medical team comprised of human obstetricians, neonatologists, and veterinary anesthesiologists.

This is Markisa’s second required C-section, both of which were performed at the Veterinary Medical Center. “C-sections are very rare in that there are only about a dozen recorded within the International Orangutan Studbook that has tracked more than 1,200 births in captivity throughout history” said Como Zoo primate keeper Megan Elder, who also serves as the International Studbook Keeper for the World Association of Zoos & Aquariums (WAZA) and the Vice-Chair for the North America Orangutan SSP.

This is a very important birth both for Como and for the species. Markisa was recommended for breeding by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Orangutan Species Survival Plan (SSP) because of her status as one of the most genetically valuable female Sumatran orangutans in North America.

The delivery was attended by an assemblage of experts in human maternal health and consultant veterinarians from the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center and the University of Minnesota Fairview Medical Center. Many of these individuals have been prepping for weeks for this procedure and several (Yasuko Yamamura, MD and Kirk Ramin, MD) consulted on Markisa’s last C-section. These included an obstetrical team of 14-16 individuals including professionals from the human and animal neonatal intensive care units, human maternal-fetal medicine, veterinary surgeons, veterinary technicians, veterinary anesthesiologists, a nutritionist, and a biosecurity supervisor.

Markisa is back at Como Zoo and recovering from the procedure. Her infant is currently in an ICU unit at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center in the care of Como Zoo primate keeper professionals. She is expected to return to Como Zoo within a day or two. The newborn female is being bottle-fed by Como staff during the time she is separated from Markisa.
Como Zoo plans to visually reintroduce the infant and her mother upon the infant’s return to Como. The reintroduction process may take several days to weeks.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums governs a Species Survival Plan (SSP) for endangered species in captivity in the United States.  The committee that supervises the SSP for orangutans set guidelines and recommendations each year to manage the captive population.  “The SSP provides good zoo homes for each animal and helps to maintain a diverse gene pool with in the zoo community” explains Como Campus Manager Michelle Furrer. “The Zoo will work with the SSP to ensure that this animal becomes a healthy addition to the zoo population.”

About 200 orangutans are currently on exhibit in zoos throughout the U.S.  Their native population, found primarily in Sumatra and Borneo, has dwindled due to commercial logging, agriculture, hunting and poaching –all of which put the species under the threat of extinction.

Sponsor the baby Orangutan! Sponsoring an animal makes a great gift – that keeps giving back. Animal sponsorships are a unique way to help Como Park Zoo and Conservatory with its wildlife conservation efforts. They support enhanced habitats and efforts to maintain the best care possible for the animals at Como Zoo. To purchase, visit Garden Safari Gifts at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory or call 651-487-8229.

Lil' Explorer Thursdays - One of the Best Activities For Families in the Winter!

 Visit Roseville recently composed a list of the Top 10 Family Friendly Activities in the Winter and we were listed at #1!

Lil' Explorers is a FREE program from 10:00AM-noon each Thursday from September through April. Perfect for the 1-3 year old to meet animal and plant visitors, see story time, play games and many other fun activities. Different theme each week!

Take a look at the full list HERE:

Winter Doesn't Have To Be Bad, Just Ask Suka and Sakari!

In September, we received two new Polar Bear cubs from our friends at the Toledo Zoo and they are some of the most energetic animals you will ever see! They are often seen swimming, wrestling with each other, and playing in the snow!

Zookeeper Julie in Churchill, Manitoba!

I have been privileged enough to volunteer with Polar Bear International (PBI), a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving polar bears through research and education for the past several years.  I just returned from visiting the town of Churchill, Manitoba to experience the wild polar bears.  My role while I was there is to go on the tundra buggies with Frontiers North and talk to the guests about PBI and the role of zoos in research and education.  It is also a time for me to learn more about current research from world renowned scientists.  Most importantly through, I try to inspire the guests to remember that our everyday actions can and do make a difference in the world around us.

This year was my third year volunteering with PBI in Churchill, and I always leave feeling fortunate to be able to see bears in the wild and inspired to make sure other generations can enjoy the same experience I had.  The previous two years, I had also left feeling a bit disheartened about the state of bears in the wild, as well as the evidence that the world is warming and its effects.  However, most concerning is how little is being done to combat this.  In these previous years, I met some resistance discussing climate change and polar bear populations; however, this year the discussions felt different.  This year, I left with a new feeling of hope.  As I interacted with the guests on the buggies, I fielded a new surge of questions, which were widely centered on how the western Hudson Bay population of bears can adapt or change to survive. While some of these questions/ideas were unrealistic, I could not help feeling that the message—these bears are in trouble—was getting out to the public.  People were starting to listen and think, “What if?”  What if all this talk about climate change is happening, and what if there is something I can do.  The science behind climate and mathematical models are very complicated and hard to interpret, but at least people are questioning, listening, and hopefully most importantly, doing.  So this year, I left feeling once again inspired and fortunate, but also hopeful. Hopeful that my daughter could one day have the same feeling I had when I saw a wild polar bear in its natural environment.

-Zookeeper Julie