Make-up Observation 2 -sm

Sand Cat

The sand cat or "felis margarita” (I knew there was a greater meaning to my connection with the sand cat – tequila! Cat party time!! Just kidding, just kidding, but not really kidding at all) can be found in the small mammal exhibit at the LPZ in a small dark cornered space. Weighing in at an average 7 lbs it is very close in size to a domestic house cat. Like a domestic house cat, and even like humans, the sand cat has many hairs on the inside of their ear holes that protect their hearing from the sand or debris of their native desert surroundings. You will find the sand cat in nature in Africa and Asia. They can withstand EXTREME hot and cold temperatures making the sand cats FIRECE. So fierce that we don’t really know much about how they live in the wild because we can’t withstand the conditions they live in for long enough to find out. If you are smaller than a sand cat I would advise not messing with a sand cat because they will probably eat you. Carnivorous like the domestic house cat – except for the whole eating snakes part. When they aren’t hutting down things to stay nourished you can find them chilling in the sand where they dig holes to keep cool in the cool sand out of the sun.

Sand cats have something that I know I would like when the sand at the beach gets really hot – furry paw protectors! That’s right, the fur on their paws is longer and wirier than their other fur in order to protect their little paws from some seriously hot Sahara Dessert sand. Another fun fact, their mating call is supposed to sound like a barking dog.

Sand cats aren’t at much risk of extinction because of their isolated extreme habitats. Some are killed because they are seen as threats to livestock, while others are collected for pet trade. For the most part, they are left alone because they aren't easy to get to. I looked on google and yahoo answers "sand cats for sale" to see if I could "purchase" one, but it appears people are having trouble getting their hands on a sand cat and if they do they are very expensive. 1,300.00 was one price I saw for a young sand cat. 

http://www.earthsendangered.com/profile-64.html

http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/sand-cat

http://bigcatrescue.org/2011/sand-cat-facts

Observation 2 WEEK-3

While at the zoo today what caught my attention was how small and limited the space was for many of the animals within the zoo. Especially the Tigers and Lion Exhibit. The Tigers and Lions seemed tired, and wild Tigers and Lions live in a more dangerous and larger environment were they can travel, chase down their preys and consume after hunting them down. They are more viscous and are full of energy. The Tigers that were shown at the Lincoln Park Zoo seemed almost unreal, even though the Zoo had incorporated some natural native environmental elements such as trees, grass, rocks, it did not seem to fool the Tiger. All the tiger was doing when I was there was just lying on the ground staring at the visitor that past by or took pictures of the Tiger. The Tiger reminded me of domesticated animals, when I researched the topic online on the keywords domesticated tigers, the results that I found were circus animals. Tigers which were wild animals, which relied on their hunting skills to survive and their natural instincts to stay alive within their natural habitat were removed. They were kept in a cage for several years fed by humans and there were no need for the Tigers to hunt or use their natural instinct of survival. I strongly believe that the Lincoln Park Zoo, because of their lack of funding, they are unable to provide the Tigers with an adequate amount of space to roam, also I believe that the Lincoln Park Zoo are literally placing these innocent Tigers to their own death bed by “training” the tigers to rely on humans. If these Tigers at the Lincoln Park Zoo were to release these Tigers out into the wild today, back to their own natural environment they will die. All that these Tigers do, at least when I was observing them at the Lincoln Park Zoo were just lying down doing nothing. They were just staring at the visitors or just sleeping. If the Lincoln Park Zoo were to capture a “real wild Tiger” and place them into the Tiger’s cage today, I truly believe that the “Wild Tiger” will truly be the “realistic” depiction of the true “natural” behavior. They would not be domesticated, so once the Zoo throws in a prey that the Tiger consumes within the cage, I truly believe that the Tiger that was just imported from the wild today would consume and devour the animal in a different way versus feeding the Tiger that I observed at the Lincoln Park Zoo today. Isn’t the point of a Zoo for the visitors to actually truly experience the animal as if the animal was within its wild environment? “Like a simulation of the wild Tiger within its own environment”. I’ve been to the Bronx Zoo several years ago and the Tigers there actually have a larger space to roam within their artificial environment, and the Tigers in the Bronx Zoo are not lying on the ground but actually walking around and “actually moving” where as the Lincoln Park Zoo has failed to achieve this ultimately, but I believe that it isn’t the Lincoln Park Zoo’s fault, for the Lincoln Park Zoo has to work off a “budget” which they are offered. Also considering that the Lincoln Park Zoo is “free” to the public, it is hard to expect the Lincoln Park Zoo to accommodate all the public’s demands and expectations. If the Lincoln Park Zoo was charged each visitor, and was well funded by the city, state, and federal government I believe that the Tigers would have not been in these devastating conditions, where they are kept in a “prison”, and forced to become domesticated which would inevitably lead them to their ultimate demise once they are released back into their natural environment by the zoos once they don’t need Tigers within the Lincoln Park Zoo anymore.  

Observation week 3 ----MEN)))

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Observation

This weekend I paid my second visit to the Lincoln Park zoo. Uncomfortably visiting the ape house, strolling to the lion house and then to the bears, the hordes of people gathered at these specific exhibits.  As I weaseled my way to the front of the out door lion exhibit I found the information displayed about the animal, much more extensive than information offered about less popular animals such as the Painted Hunting Dog. The lion exhibit informed viewers of behavior, location, diet and size of the animal as well as interactive comparative sculptures in witch one can relate to the lions paw size. The Painted Hunting Dog on the other hand places in a rather small cage for the amount of animals in the enclosure. The exhibit had information that was hard to find or lacked the interest of passers by to the extent that parents were informing their children that they were hyenas. It was clear to me that the Lincoln Park zoo favored animals and thus reserved more information for the animals of popular interest or the other way around? In further research I found that the Painted Hunting Dog are on the endangered species list published by (IUCN)/World Conservation Union and African lions are not. The question of aestheticized conservation arises and public awareness is very much present in comparing these two animals.  The Painted Hunting Dog live in packs some can be as small as a pair, or as large as thirty. The dogs utilize light conditions for hunting and there are 3,000 individuals in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa today. The question remains why put so much effort into animals that are not endangered but have grater esthetic value and possible fanatical support for the establishment of the zoo and diminish less attractive endangered animals to the point of misinformation. It is indeed a two-headed coin, both provide advantages and disadvantages.

Representation of endangered and non-endangered animals in popular culture. Is this the product of conservation esthetics?

http://www.painteddog.org/the-dogs/

http://www.iucnredlist.org/
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-hunting-dog/

Observation week3

At the zoo I noticed how all the enclosures for the primates were more or less the same size, regardless of the size of the monkey species. Obviously because of this, the smaller monkeys, overall, seemed more content, and the larger more confined to preferred spots throughout the enclosure. I would have felt more at ease if there were windows, but only one enclosure in the whole primate house had a window, which was at the top of the space, so the monkeys were not even visible to the public since they only sat by the window. I find this to be extremely stressful for both the monkeys and people. This leaves the display window as their only experience of the outside world. When one thinks about the monotony of their lives, the murals become almost insulting. They are clearly there to make humans feel like the animals are actually “immersed” in their natural habitat, when really, the monkeys cannot tell what the images on the walls are. The larger ones, overall, seemed more lethargic. Not necessarily anxious, just bored.

Ariella Scott: Observation 2

The most impressionable aspect of my Lincoln Park zoo experience was when my group and I visited the Ape House.  I was struck by the fact that the apes behind the glass had their backs turned to us as their viewers.  There was one ape, a female who was lying on her stomach staring out one of the glass windows where no one was standing.  We walked over to her and put our hands on the glass and made eye contact with her.  I felt a somberness in her stare, that felt so completely human that I could not shake.

I then thought about how we as humans are apes, of course, and that maybe this extremely close link to these creatures and I is why I felt that connection.  As we kept staring at each other, she soon turned around and I could not help but feel extreme empathy for her as I felt she and I shared the same humanity.

This could be complete projection, of course.  However, in my research I found that it may not be completely.  I suppose what I found most compelling about my research is that the African Ape, like those that left such a major impression on me at the zoo, migrated from Europe to Africa a good 23 million to 5 million years ago.  Apparently, the apes, many of which came from Austria and Turkey were in search of lush jungles and vegetation which the African climate harbored.  Apparently, these early apes strongly resemble the modern African apes as they have similar teeth and other features including alike sinus glands. This is such a small connection, but somehow makes me feel closer to the ones at the zoo all the more.

Gene Simmons: Bear Extraordinaire (Sun Bear)

At the zoo, I was particularly taken by the Malaysian Sun Bear. He was tucked away in a hollow log, quite daintily (or with great deliberation) pulling apart a chunk of meat with its hooked claws, using them to grip and pull apart tendons and stringy flesh. Later visits showed it digging in the dirt with those same sickle-like claws.
Upon researching sun bears I found out some interesting facts. They are the smallest of the bear family and are illusive. Irony that a bear so invisible in the wild should be on display in the zoo. They are made for swelteringly hot tropical climates, thus their fur is shorter. With their claws they are expert climbers, though there is not much to climb for containment reasons. They are supposed to be mainly nocturnal, so it was quite out of the ordinary to see it in the day, if to see it at all. heir diet consists of berries, fruit, roots, insects and other small game. I'm pretty sure the chunk of meat it was eating was part of a cow, and it was almost half the size of the bear. I believe it's safe to assume that game that large are outside its hunting forte. The tongue is used for impressing women at rock concerts. That's a joke. It uses it to gather honey from inside bees nests. The digging that I observed seemed to be a method of foraging for food. As for its location in the log, it offered the most seclusion from the prying eye, though not really. Though they are not often seen and thus indeterminably (endangered?), they still face poachers, deforestation, and extermination by farmers.
All in all, sun bears are pretty interesting creatures with swanky colored patches on their chests and very impressive tongue talents. I really hope they are around for generations to come.

lovely little seals!

At the Zoo I absolutely fell in love with the grey seal, currently living by itself in the Sea Lion House.  Watching the enrichment with the seal and the zookeeper was one of the first times in quite a while I’ve really enjoyed seeing something at a zoo.  So, naturally I figured I’d try to learn some more about grey seals,  because I don’t really know much beyond what they told us at the zoo, and that they’re pretty cute!  The grey seal is scientifically known as Halichoerus grypus.  They live on both sides of the north Atlantic ocean, and have three separate populations. I’m not sure which population the grey sea at the zoo belongs to.  
Grey seals are on the “of least concern” end of the endangerment scale.  There are around 150,000 in the wild.   Female seals grow to be about 7 feet long and 400 pounds while male seals grow a foot longer and weigh twice as much.  
Grey seals are excellent swimmers and divers, and they can go to 150 feet or more depth rather quickly.  Seals exhale before they dive and their lungs collapse as they go down to depth with no ill effects.  They don’t have the issue of getting the bends (gasses in the blood bubbling if a [human] diver comes up to quickly from too deep a depth)  the way humans do, and they can swim for very long distances without having to get out of the water.  

sources: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Gray_Seal#p00cq3k2
http://www.pinnipeds.org/seal-information/species-information-pages/the-phocid-seals/grey-seal
http://www.cresli.org/cresli/seals/greyseal.html

Real cat facts

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 Week 3- Obervation

The Lion House was one part of the zoo that I was stationed to observe last week. Ironically, I had chosen it to see if my perception of it would differ from my first disapproving impression, 4 years ago. With all the grandeur that it evoked at the turn of the Century, I find that it is the most somber part of the zoo today. Perhaps the architecture was renowned at the time, (admittedly, the interior structure is quite beautiful, with the elevated ceilings, curvature, and gold framing of the gates) but it was only constructed ideally for the audience- I really cannot imagine that there was much consideration to the wild cats, as the limitation of space is quite absurd. 

While there, what caught my eye was the emptiness the room conveyed. Most of the cats were not present, or if they were, they were hiding. One cat that seemed especially out of its element was the Eurasian lynx, pacing back and forth anxiously.

In the zoo

At each display exhibit, there is a synopsis of general facts for each cat species. The lynx, however, was different in that it provided what the others did, i.e, general location on the map, scientific name, etc. but it also included an odd “cat fact” that really had nothing to do with the Eurasian lynx at all!

It read as follows:

“Zoos provide a safe haven for endangered species, which receive expert health care and scientifically balanced diets. When managed through a species survival plan, animals may be recommended to breed, reinforcing populations that may be dwindling.”

I was astounded!

Did somebody proofread this “fact”? Where does the Eurasian Lynx come into play? I felt that this was more of an ego trip on part of the zoo, claiming “superior” care.  Brushing off this flaw, I decided to give the lynx it’s fair share of fame by dedicating my observation to it.

So here goes with neat facts:

1.           Eurasian lynx’s, as beautiful as they are, are actually the third largest predator in Europe, after the brown bear and grey wolf.

2.           They are the largest species of lynx’s

3.           They have three main coat patterns: predominantly spotted, predominantly striped, or unpatterned

4.           It can prey on animals four times its size

5.           It has dense fur paws that allow it to trek through deep snow in the winter

6.           Located in Asia, Europe, Himalayas, and Russia

7.           Found in a range of habitats such as mountains, taiga, and temperate grassland

8.           It’s conservation status is under “Least Concern”, however the numbers have dwindled steadily in Western Europe

I also learned that deer are its main prey, and will eat smaller animals if necessary, such as rodents and hares. When it comes to reproduction, females have their first litter around 20-24 months, being independent at just 10 months. When females are around fourteen years old, they will endure their last reproductive stage (on average). 

In the wild

In conclusion, the Eurasian Lynx is definitely worthy of more legitimate cat facts in the Lion House. I hope this gets revised soon! - Michelle

Links: http://lynx.uio.no/jon/lynx/eulynx1.htm#02,  http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Eurasian_Lynx#p00btw4b

Observation 2: Aggressive Birds

During our time in the Lincoln Park Zoo last week, I spent my time in the birdhouse. There I noticed that no exhibit or enclosure had less than 2 species of birds kept together. Most of these were enclosures meant to simulate or represent their native habitats, so birds grouped together were species that might naturally live in close proximity to each other. There was one enclosure, much bigger than any of the others, the Free Flight Area, that housed dozens of species of birds, all living in close proximity to each other, that, as we had just learned, were from different ecosystems. While I was there I started to wonder how these different species could coexist with each other, and how this living situation was handled. As I've been harassed by my fair share of birds in Florida, and the Golden Breasted Starling darted pretty close to my face a couple times, I don't view these winged creatures, though beautiful, to be peace-lovers. (I don't care if its a Chocolate Breasted Starling, don't fly near my face.)

I did some preliminary research on bird aggression, to see what might draw out their more aggressive behavior, and what, if anything, would draw it out against other birds. My most obvious suspicions of territory were confirmed here, as "Nearly all birds will display aggressive behavior when they perceive a threat to their nest or young." I did gather one new bit of information on my Florida assailant, the blue jay, "Birds that nest in close proximity to people; the Northern Mockingbird, American Robin, Gray Catbird, and Blue Jay, are the most frequent assailants." Now I will stay up at night knowing I'm not their first target, will not be their last, and no one is safe. "...the mockingbird is without a doubt the most zealous, harassing, people, domestic animals, and other birds." Though, there's always someone worse off. Those someones are people who live next to mockingbirds. 

Anyway, while none of these birds were in the McCormick Bird House, "Birds are most aggressive towards humans during the nestling period (the interval between hatching and the young bird's departure from the nest), a span of about two weeks in common backyard nesters. Some birds (e.g., robins, mockingbirds, cardinals) can produce two or three broods a season; as a result, their defensive behavior may occur in the spring and again in mid- to late summer." Well, if it isn't mid- to late summer. The McCormick Bird House did inform us through signs that it was their nesting period, so their pools of water were drained much lower so no chicks would fall in and drown, they left out the part about them not wanting us around.

While this explains the admittedly minimal aggression shown to me, I was still surprised that the various bird species were not fighting with each other, nesting season or not. A little info from Bob and Liz Johnson, directors and caretakers of the Shyne Foundation, a Free Flight Natural Habitat Sanctuary in South Florida, which comprises more than 200 birds of 20 species, gave me some insight. “There are no absolutes, especially with birds,” said the Johnsons. “There are probably as many differences within the same species as there are between species. Whether they get along or not depends on the individuals. We have birds of the same species that cannot cohabit peacefully and many various species that do fine together.” 

While this is not the black-and-white specific answer I was hoping to find, it does make sense. I suppose that of the various birds of all these species the zoo has, they've tested and chosen which birds can live peacefully together or have removed any trouble-makers from this Free Flight Area. 

-guillermo

Sarah Weber Observation 2

The Gray Seal at Lincoln Park Zoo revealed information relating to all animals at the zoo. Through observation the solitude seal seemed, like many animals at the zoo, to pace back and forth. By talking with one of the zoo-keepers I learned that the seal had a companion that recently passed. The zoo-keeper said the two seals didn't interact too often and were independent. The remaining seal's behavior did not changed noticeably the zoo-keeper reported. When I began to research online I found that she was right that gray seals do often live solitarily but often when living amongst other gray seals will form groups. During the 'Enrichment', an interactive time between the zoo-keeper and seal, the most positive behavior of the seal was witnessed. I saw the seal's respond happily to touch and feeding. The commentary during the 'Enrichment' was that this is entirely a positive rewarding time for the seal that is voluntary based on the seal, and is mainly to help train the seal for times of medical check ups not intended for crowd entertainment. The zoo-keeper also revealed that this zoo is essentially a retirement home for animals to be kept comfortable while entering the next stage of life. The Lincoln Park Zoo's website has a page specifically for their remaining Gray Seal. The zoo-keeper also shared an anecdote of the seal trying to break into the kitchen. Although, a cute story it somewhat reminded me of zoo animals being over weight compared to when found in the wild. Overall, I felt the Gray Seal was happy and the zoo-keeper honest and nice. Can't wait for my second interview!

-Sarah W

(TB) Observation 2:

THE SCARLET IBIS

While Guillermo and I were roaming through the birdhouse at the Lincoln Park Zoo, we were intrigued by all the different species of birds in the "collection." We marveled at the Snowy Egret with it's pure white feathers and lanky black legs and were intrigued by the Tawny Frogmouth that was slapping a dead mouse against a branch to "soften" it before swallowing its pray whole. While there were many birds that piqued my curiosity, there was one bird in particular that struck me: the Scarlet Ibis. I was intrigued because at first I could not find the bird in the cage at all. The placard showed a vibrant red bird with a strange red beak to match; yet I could not spot a single shade of scarlet in the cage. I finally looked up into the enclosure's branches and spotted the beauty. I set out to understand this hidden creature. 

The Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) can be found in it natural habitat of northern South America (Brazil to Venezuela). It gets its red color just like flamingoes do; the pigment comes from the crustaceans that are a part of their diet. As the Ibis grows older, the red becomes more and more intense. Their long beak allows the to probe the mud in the tropical areas that they inhabit to find food. They use their feet which are only partially webbed to grab onto branches and climb high into trees. They fly in flocks up to 30, but never migrate to North America. They are not endangered, but could become at risk if the hunting for their beautiful feathers does not stop.

They are the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago and appear on the country’s coat of arms. Fossils of the ibis have been found that date back to sixty million years old. The Ibis is a very “Sacred” bird and has even been found mummified in Egyptian tombs. There is also a very famous short story called “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst.

Here Is a peaceful video that demonstrates how the Ibis flys and clings to trees. Aren't they gorgeous? 

     

Sources: 

http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/scarlet-ibis

http://whozoo.org/Intro98/tonytown/tontow2.htm

http://rosamondgiffordzoo.org/assets/uploads/animals/pdf/ScarletIbis.pdf

Observation: Lookout Meerkat Looks Out for What? -IR

Observation: Lookout Meerkat Looks Out for What?

My favorite exhibit at the Lincoln Park Zoo is, and has always been, the Meercats.

They are simply adorable. They are fat, playful, and always interacting with each other and occasionally, you. They are one of the few animals in the zoo that actually look happy to me. Don’t get me wrong, I like zoo’s but so often the animals look kind of sad. Like they are bored, would rather be elsewhere. This is not the case with the meerkats. They are bright eyes and bushy tailed. Fat and happy. Or at least that’s how they appear.

Wild Meerkat

Lincoln Park Zoo Meerkats

In the wild, meerkats live in family groups. They form close knit societies of up to fifty members. They have a very cooperative system. One example of this is the ‘sentinal role’. This is a fancy phrase for ‘lookout’. The sentinel meerkat is a non-breeder, a member of the colony not directly related to reproduction. This meerkat has the job of ‘looking out’ for potential predators. The sentinal meerkat will usually sit on an elevated object in the ‘raised guarding position’, keeping an eye out for any potential threats to other meerkats foraging away from the burrow. Upon sighting such a threat, the sentinel will sound an alarm with a distinct bark.

'Raised Guard Position' of the sentinel Meerkat 

This behavior has been used many times to illustrate altruism among animals, specifically in the case of theories on kin selection and reciprocal altruism. I’m not going to get into that though. What interested me was that every time I have been to the Lincoln Park zoo, I have noticed a meerkat diligently on lookout. There he will stand, proud and tall at the top of the fake ceramic log, looking out over his domain, ready to sound the alarm.

Meerkat on lookout at the Lincoln Park Zoo

I thought this was interesting. These animals are in an enclosed space. Instead of hawks circling above, there is a ceiling. Instead of snakes slithering through the grass, there are people with camera phones oohing and aweing over the cuteness. What are they looking out for? The only way I could interpret this was a show of instinct. These animals don’t have any predators to look out for, but they still do the natural actions of group living that would help them survive in the wild. This is not unique to Lincoln Park Zoo either. One study even reports that captive born meerkats still “use the same alarm call repertoire and respond correctly to predatory cues.”

These little guys may look fat and lazy, but they are always ready.

-Isabella Rotman

SOURCES: http://academic.reed.edu/biology/professors/srenn/pages/teaching/web_2010/ABMM/index.html

http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/meerkat

http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/zoostaff/larg/pages/Micothesis.pdf