My Zoo morning continued after the Sunrise Stroll was over. After each Stroll, the day's educator and I deliver muffins to the keepers that helped us out that day. Muffins are great schmooze! We're very appreciative of all that everyone does to help make the program spectacular each time, and we love to show it, even in little ways. We drove a cart back up to the hospital to drop off some muffiny goodness. Speaking with a vet who accepted the muffins, I asked if we could possibly get a closer look at the pangolins- and he said yes!
We did our best to contain ourselves as we followed him to the pangolins' room, which was extremely warm to keep them comfortable. The pair of pangolins were curled around each other like a pine cone yin yang. He picked up the male and brought him out for us to see. So cute! The pangolin's facial fur makes him look like he has mutton chop sideburns. We could see the little bare patch on the underside of the end of his tail; not only does it help themm to grip, the sensory pad on it actually helps them to find the best place to grip. We were able to pet him awhile. He was calm and sweet the entire time, and his smooth scales had a neat soft feeling to them as well. We love pangolins!
Afterwards, I accompanied the educator to the Children's Zoo where she was going to put in some animal handling time. Several animals still needed their walking time for the day. First she harnessed up Hobbs and Butterscotch, a pair of European ferrets. Being their normal ferrety selves, they spent the walk winding their leashes and the educator through the trees and bushes, going in completely opposite directions the entire time. After awhile, they decided to be done walking and kept flopping to the ground in their silly way. They ended up being carried back. Naturally curious, hyper, and funny, they must be so great to see in the wild!
Then it was time to walk Priscilla, a North American porcupine. She isn't particularly harnessable, so she goes leash-less with the educators on her walks. Her teeth are yellow-orange in color, which is thought to be an extra layer of iron. They eat tubers and tree bark in the wild, wearing their teeth quite a bit. The iron layer may help to slow that process down. Their eyesight is not very acute; in Priscilla's case, that means she will walk up to whatever pair of legs she sees, hoping that they're the legs with the treats. =) Of course, porcupines cannot shoot out their quills, but the barbed ends enable the quills to really hook into any offending animal that comes too close. Interestingly, as the offending animal's heart beats, the quill works itself further into its body, causing more problems, especially if it hits an organ or major artery. As such, most animals give porcupines a wide berth. Great horned owls may sometimes go for a climbing porcupine, and a type of large weasel called a fisher has been known to run around them until the porcupine is worn out. Priscilla generally walks on all fours, but she gets along quite well on her back legs, too, in what could be called a "porcupine Frankenstein" walk. I couldn't let her come all the way to me, but I loved watching her walk upright. She looks like she's coming over to hug your legs! On our way back we passed Agra, an Indian crested porcupine, out for his walk. He and Priscilla couldn't look more different.
Our final walk was with Kala the meerkat. She and her brother Hari were raised in the nursery and now reside in the front of the Children's Zoo with another female, Tripod. Kala isn't all that patient while getting into her harness; she's anxious to get going! She loves digging for grubs under the logs on the back path and munching sneakers when she can get to them. We walked around awhile, getting in as much digging as we could before it was time for Kala to go back. On the way out, I met a nice grounds attendant who was feeding the koi and goldfish. We talked for a bit, and he showed me one of the fish that had a close encounter with the pond's giant snapping turtle. He got through just fine and watches where he swims now!
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