OTHER BLOGS
Want to find out more about our polar bears? Wondering how our pandas YaYa and LeLe are doing? Or how about how our gorillas are starting to get along? You're at the right place.
Of course, with over 3,500 different animals living here, the Memphis Zoo always has something interesting happening. Here's the latest from elsewhere in the zoo:
Monday, November 02, 2009
In the wild bears hibernate in response to lack
of food and water which occurs during the cold winter months. Bears are not
“true hibernators” meaning they don’t experience the extreme drop in heart
rate, breathing and body temperature as animals such as ground squirrels and
chipmunks do when they hibernate. Therefore, bears don’t sleep as deeply as the
“true hibernators” and can wake up easily.
n fact, bears will wake up periodically to shift around inside their den
and, if needed,...
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Friday, October 23, 2009
To brighten up your Halloween season, here's a video featuring our singing pumpkin patch, and some scenes from this year's Zoo Boo! Happy Halloween, everyone!
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Friday, October 23, 2009
We thought you'd like to see a short video of our bears from Alaska, Peak and Hydee, going out into their exhibit for the first time today. They're a bit older and larger than Cochise, Else, and Yukon, our trio from Montana. Once the smaller bears catch up in size, we'll work to have them all out at the same time. But for now, both sets of bears will take turns having fun in Teton Trek!
...
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Memphis Zoo is proud to announce the a successful captive breeding and rearing of the Mississippi gopher frog, also known as the dusky gopher frog. This has truly been a group effort that has included the research department, curators and several keepers. Mississippi gopher frogs are considered to be the most endangered frog in North America.
These frogs are called gopher frogs because they share underground burrows with gopher tortoises and small mammals. These...
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Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Congrats to Bonita Bongo, who gave birth to a yet-to-be-named calf on Sunday night!
Mom and baby are off exhibit getting to know one another, but you should be able to see them out in the African Veldt soon.
The bongo is one of the largest African forest antelope. This species is found in dense tropical jungles and bamboo forests. In addition to the deep chestnut color of their coats, bongos have bright white stripes on their sides to help camoflage them...
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
With the city needing to drain Rainbow Lake to make repairs on it's pumps, the fish and turtles that called it home were in need of somewhere to go.
Zoo Staffers, members of Park Friends, and volunteers from around the Mid-South helped catch the residents of the pond, and we put them up at the Zoo while workers repaired and cleaned the pumps at the lake.
Last Saturday, we returned them all to the lake! It was a lot of fun!
Visit the ...
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The Memphis Zoo’s largest snake, a reticulated python, died this morning. “Ann,” an 18-year-old snake, lived at the Memphis Zoo for more than 10 years. Ann was a crowd favorite at the Memphis Zoo’s Herpetarium exhibit, home to the Zoo’s reptiles and amphibians.A necropsy is being preformed for research and to determine an exact cause of death. Reticulated pythons have an average lifespan of 15 years.
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Thursday, July 16, 2009
When we feed our reticulated python "Anne," it's always a big deal. Join us for our next feeding, July 25 at 1pm. It could take anywhere from 20 minutes to 4 hours, so even if you can't make it right at 1, stop by to see how Anne is enjoying her meal!
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Monday, July 13, 2009
Consider yourself lucky if you've been to the zoo this spring and
have been able to catch our "Living with Venomous Snakes" show in the
courtyard. As the extreme Mid South heat bears down on us, we have had
to cancel the show several times, and we foresee having to continue to
do so on days when the temperatures soar over 95 degrees. Even reptiles
have...
Posted by
zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at
10:11 AM
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Our pachedyrm keepers and veterinarians have been giving Asali ultrasounds to monitor her baby's progress. Get the latest update from elephant manager Andrew Smith below.
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Monday, April 20, 2009
With the upcoming birth of our first elephant calf, we have been preparing both the elephants and the facility for our new arrival. Construction has recently finished on the conversion of our rhino exhibit into an elephant baby-proof exhibit. While the area is still very suitable for exhibiting our beloved female white rhino, Tombi, we have added some barriers and removed the seldom-used pool in order to make the area safer and more appropriate for an elephant calf. After our mother...
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Monday, February 02, 2009
Zookeepers at the Memphis Zoo are getting ready for a BIG event:
Asali, one of our African Elephants, is scheduled to give birth in July!
Andrew Smith explains how developing routines like these for Asali will help the birth go smoothly.
...
Posted by
zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at
11:08 AM
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Friday, January 30, 2009
Join us outside of the Zoo's front gate Monday morning at 8 am for Stella the Hedgehog's predictions for the new year!
Posted by
zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at
10:16 AM
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Monday, January 26, 2009
MEMPHIS, TN – The Memphis Zoo has been listed as the highest rated zoo in America
by the 2008 Cultural Attraction Benchmark Report, conducted by Morey Group.
Visitor surveys conducted at 37 different cultural attractions in America rated the
Memphis Zoo as the leader in overall satisfaction among zoos.
“We really strive to connect people with wildlife in everything we do,” says Memphis Zoo
president Chuck Brady. “We’re honored, and we’ll...
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Monday, December 22, 2008
The Memphis Zoo has recently acquired 9, yes 9, Asian small-clawed otters from the Newport Aquarium. Currently, their exhibit is being renovated, but by February, they should be back out on display. The family group is comprised of an adult pair Chiko and Koto and 7 of their offspring. Chiko, the mom, can easily be identified by her "hop-a-long" gait from a previous hip injury. Koto, we're finding, is a dedicated mate to Chiko and is rarely found far from...
Posted by
zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at
10:44 AM
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Thursday, December 04, 2008
Head over to our video page to get the latest scoop on how "Gina" is getting along with her fellow African elephants.
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The Memphis Zoo has another big reason to be thankful this year.
This morning, “Gina,” a 25-year-old African elephant, became the third resident in a growing herd of African elephants at the Memphis Zoo.
“We’re extremely happy that Gina is at the Memphis Zoo,” said curator Matt Thompson. “Elephants are social animals, and with Gina and a new calf due next summer, our herd will be...
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Our zookeepers have been studying copperheads that live in the Zoo’s portion of Overton Park’s forest for several years. Recently, the staff spotted another interesting forest resident — the purseweb spider.
Last year, zookeepers were doing field study on the copperheads when they came across the elusive spider species.
“We looked down and saw a spider that looked very different,” said curator...
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Saturday, October 18, 2008
Updated 8/2/2008 by Liz DiMaggio, Reptile keeper
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Saturday, October 18, 2008
Updated 7/25/2008 by Amy Schacht, Giraffe keeper
Our giraffe area is in a state of great anticipation! Our two adult females, Marilyn and Sarobi, are pregnant! Giraffes have a gestation period (or the time the fetus develops in the womb) of 15 months. At the end of this time, the mother will give birth while standing, meaning the baby will fall to the ground head first! This drop causes...
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Saturday, October 18, 2008
Updated 4/29/2008 Audrey Fisher, Pachyderm keeper
This winter season has been very pleasant for all the animals in the pachyderm area. The elephants, Tyranza and Asali, have especially enjoyed this winter because they have had the opportunity just about every day to go outside and enjoy their sand piles along with their other enrichment such as their tire and rope. Tombi, our White Rhino,...
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Saturday, October 18, 2008
Updated 2/22/2008 Kathy Fay, Northwest Passage keeper
We are very excited to have Andre on display in the sea lion pool. Andre is a 13-year-old male California sea lion who weighs almost 600 pounds! He has been at The Memphis Zoo since shortly after hurricane Katrina. His home in Gulfport, Mississippi was damaged, so like so many inhabitants of the gulf coast, Andre came...
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Saturday, October 18, 2008
Christmas for the Bears of Northwest Passage
Updated 1/2/2008 Kendall Carter, Northwest Passage keeper
Since the Zoo is closed Christmas Eve and Christmas day, we let our black bears and polar bears celebrate the holiday a little early. On Friday, December 21, we decorated a Christmas tree for the black bears. The tree was...
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Saturday, October 18, 2008
Elephants and Rhinos
Updated 11/2/07 Andrew Smith, elephant keeper
As part of our keeper duties, it is very important for us to provide mental and physical stimulation for all of the animals. One way to accomplish this is to provide behavioral enrichment. Enrichment can be offered in a variety of ways such as...
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