CRES and Wild Animal Park 11/02

Lilly and I went to CRES for a seminar on the endangered Tonkin snub-nosed monkies of northern Vietnam, presented by Burt Covert. It was our first time in the CRES building in Escondido, and we were both impressed! The talk was interesting, and it’s great to know there’s caring people doing such wonderful work with endangered species. I’ve never seen this particular monkey before; it’s forever in my head now as the makeup monkey.

We spent the rest of the day at the Wild Animal Park. We met Bayou, a ten year-old American alligator. If an alligator breaks or loses a tooth, they can completely regrow it in two days! I was surprised that he was not only soft on his belly but on his sides as well. They only need bony plating on their backs to protect them from falling debris. A close-up view will reveal small black dots all around the "lip" area. They actually help them to detect vibrations, which helps them hunt. Crocodiles have them as well, but over a much larger portion of their bodies.

There are several different kinds of hoof stock in the Petting Kraal. We pet a little Blackbuck antelope who was soaking in the sun. Everyone else was in the shade, including Bonnie, a 330-pound Barasingha deer. We spent a lot of time with her and her giant fuzzy ears, and I've since learned that she's a great calming influence on the rest of the residents there. She's also the only one that doesn't feel the need to take breaks from the hundreds of little hands petting her throughout the day. We love Bonnie!

We visited Lion Camp, where two of the young male lions were out, each about a year-and-a-half-old. Previously, they had been given a carved out pumpkin containing a beef heart as enrichment. The beef heart was long gone, but the pumpkin remained, barely scathed. The two boys were taking turns playing with it. They'd flop on their sides and roll it around, pull it toward them and curl up with it, and lick it carefully. It was amazing to see their giant paws and claws being so gentle with the pumpkin! While one was playing with the pumpkin, the other was rolling a big log back and forth, though his face made it clear it wasn't nearly as satisfying. I got a bit of video of them, which is on my site, but it's a little wobbly.

Before having the yummy picnic lunch that Lilly had packed for us, we decided to go on the Journey into Africa tour, which replaced the Wgasa Bush Line. We saw Ivan, the Park's tallest giraffe. He's missing the end of his tail. It was bitten off by a mother Grevy's zebra that he was "harassing". Ivan has five ossicones on his head, which act as a helmet when necking with other giraffes. Necking is how they fight, and ossicones are the horn-like things on giraffes and okapis. They're actually ossified (hardened/bony) cartilage. A lot of the hoof stock in Africa have reddish colored coats. We learned that this is a protective measure. Lions are, in a manner of speaking, red-green color blind, and the red coats blend in with the grass. As extra protection, some animals such as the eland are born without a scent.

We also learned that crowned cranes bond with a mate for life by the age of three. To eat, they stomp their feet on the ground, which brings up insects to feed on. Plus, we got some awesome closeup looks at a group (called a crash) of white rhinos! They were taking advantage of a nice shady spot. Finally, we found a terrific secluded spot to eat lunch- on a balcony overlooking a large pond near Okayango Outpost. We sat in the setting sun and talked and ate and laughed, rounding out our super afternoon.