The Zoo Experience Day One

Day One of the Zoo Experience
Melissa, Kelly, and their afternoon mentors, Karen and Melinda.

DID YOU KNOW THAT BEARS CAN GET ARTHRITIS, TOO?

In the Alpine Zoo, there’s a bear named Huckleberry. He came to the zoo when he was a few months old because he got hit by a vehicle and they had to remove his front right leg. Since he’s a 458-pound bear, all of his weight is supported by only three legs instead of the usual four which, causes him to have arthritis. He will use his nose (as a forth leg) to help him walk when he feels stiff.

Bald Eagle, Valentine, is a female and almost blind due to
cataracts. Valentine was rescued in 2004.
Photo by Kelly Mount

For now, Huckleberry is separated from the other two bears in his enclosure because he had two teeth removed and can only eat soft foods. They must give certain animals certain medications for everything from arthritis to flaky skin.

We also learned about carnivores along with omnivores. The zookeepers will create certain activities for the animals. Today, they did a taste enrichment activity. For this the snow leopards were given mice and the bears got raisins. The snow leopards smelled the mice and then walked away, while the bears ate the raisins.   

Kelly Mount

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A RAVEN AND A CROW?

The acorn woodpecker is one of the zoo's
most recent rehabilitation patients,
rescued in late 2017, due to a broken
wing. He currently has no official name
but is sometimes called Narwhal.
Photo by: Melissa Ellis

Do you know how to tell the difference between ravens and crows? I didn't until today. Other than their size, they have multiple differences. I discovered that ravens have a much broader beak than crows do, and they typically are seen soaring rather than flapping their wings. Crows have rounded tail feathers rather than a raven’s more v-shaped tail.

It was very interesting to me to learn about them since I’ve always been fascinated by these birds and wondered how to differentiate the two species. I was able to observe two ravens, George and Gracie, who were great additions to my day.

I was also able to see a beautiful (and very active) acorn woodpecker up close. Other amazing parts of my first day in this program were being able to see the coy arctic fox and kit fox. 

Melissa Ellis

Thank you to Amangelas for providing lunch for the students, mentors, and staff.