Sunrise Surprise 1/19

The morning was very chilly, and the Zoo bunnies were once again snuggled in their burrows. The red Zoo squirrels are always out, though, and each morning that I pass them, they seem to be questioning my audacity at doing so. :)

Once again, we headed down into the canyon, which can be a lovely ten to fifteen degrees cooler in the mornings and evenings. But everyone is generally too excited to mind, and no one was disappointed this morning! This time two Keepers were inside of the enclosure with the New Guinea singing dogs. There was certainly no lack of singing today, or in female Samber's case, begging. :) Singing dogs do not bark like domestic dogs. Their "singing" can sound a lot like whining, but unlike other dogs, they can widely vary the tone and pitch, and their "songs" can be very diverse. Choosing to ignore the Keeper's back as a sign that she wasn't going to be rewarded for begging, Samber squeezed behind the Keeper and begged at her back. At one point, she stood up and put her front paws on the Keeper's shoulders, which made everyone laugh. Keepers say that it's sometimes difficult to not just give the dogs all the treats they have, just because they're so adorable. After some more singing demonstrations, we moved down to the striped hyenas.

The two hyenas were very active again today and gave the guests some wonderful photo opportunities. A less desirable photo moment was Malia's up close and detailed demonstration of scent marking, also called pasting. Squatting down, the hyena will extend its scent gland and rub it across a rock, a blade of grass, or I've been told, even a Keeper's leg. The thick, light-colored (and extremely smelly) paste that is excreted lets other hyenas know whose territory they're in. Hyenas are actually more closely related to cats than dogs, and they're very curious and extremely strong. Male Jipenzi gave everyone a bright white closeup of his teeth when he began to chew on part of the fencing. Apparently another keeper had pushed some food through previously, and Jipenzi was getting those last tasty molecules. Building enclosures for hyenas is very challenging due to their combined strength and curiosity. Currently, there are spotted hyenas in quarantine at the Zoo hospital that will be on exhibit soon! Preparations are currently being made.

Now it was panda time, and the guests hurried down into the classroom exhibit. Baby Zhen Zhen had been outside in her tree for almost two days and had fortunately come down the night before, enabling this morning's guests to see her come out. The short two weeks had shown huge progress in little Z's climbing skills, and as soon as she came out, she made her way right up the tree. She had been going steadily higher, and today she went into a new part of the tree she had never been to before. It's amazing, and a little nerve-racking, to see her up so high. But pandas, like all arboreal creatures, are built to fall out of trees. Keepers say that Zhen Zhen is so padded on her bottom that she almost feels diapered. Mom Bai Yun came outside and resumed her place at the comfy bamboo eating spot. I've been told that Z is more rambunctious than Bai's previous three cubs, and that she "bugs" Bai quite a bit more. For example, when Bai Yun needs to move a cub, she will use her front paw to pick the cub up by the scruff of the neck. Instinctively, the cub will go limp, letting the mother transport them. Zhen Zhen apparently didn't read that part in the "How to Be a Panda Cub" manual, and she squirms and wriggles and tries to get Bai's paws off of her. One day Bai Yun was so tired of Z's wriggling that she set Z down and sat on her! Not that it has made much of a difference. :)

As thrilled as everyone was to see the pandas, we were all happy to get to our muffins and hot drinks. The Educator and I delivered muffins to all of the wonderful Keepers that had helped us for the morning, and we wrapped things up. As always, an awesome Stroll!