Zoo Report

Yena Han

Event name: National Zoo field trip

Event time and place: 3001 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008, May 05, 2024

ZOO BUILDINGS

Small mammal house

Northern Treeshrew: Milk of shrew is 25% fat which is almost 6x the amount of fat in human milk. They live in Southeast Asia in tropical rainforests and their diets consist mainly of insects, fruits, and plants. They are likely to be the closest living relatives to early primates. Tree Shrews also eat the fluids from pitcher plants and poop in the plant which the plant uses as food.

Golden headed Lion Tamarin: The Tamarins live mostly in tree holes and vines. They eat fruits, insects, eggs, and even other small animals. They live in tropical forests of South America. Because of constant deforestation, they are now classified as endangered. One way to help the Tamarins is to eat shade-grown chocolates as the tamarins are in the trees that provide shade for the cacao plantations. There were not any displays that go beyond simple identifying text on a panel. Overall, the education level for this hall is mostly for older kids and teens because kids kept on trying to tap the glass to get the animals attention which is not appropriate. Most of the older audiences took the time to read the information plaques for themselves and for their younger children, teaching them facts about the animal.

Naked Mole Rats: Naked mole rates are social rodents found in Eastern Africa. They are closer relatives to porcupines or chinchillas than rodents themselves. They are blind as they live underground, however they do not have a consistent sleep schedule- in fact they sleep whenever they want. They also sleep on their backs and upside down. Because they are blind, their other senses are heightened: this means their four front incisors are sensitive, move like chopsticks, and help them understand their surroundings. The zookeepers surveillance the mole rats by using a tunnel and chamber system. Next to the mole rat exhibit, there was a tunnel and chamber system that showed the audience how the staff can watch and access the colony. Overall, the education level for this hall is mostly for older kids and teens because kids kept on trying to tap the glass to get the animals attention which is not appropriate. Most of the older audiences took the time to read the information plaques for themselves and for their younger children, teaching them facts about the animal.

Slender-tailed Meerkat: Meerkats go on shifts where one will stand on its hind legs to watch the pack (called mob) while everyone else forages or moves around. They go by an education system where older meerkats teach the younger pups how to hunt. They have different calls: shift change, terrestrial call (jackal warning), aerial call (eagles/hawk warning), and recruitment calls (snakes or any trails left by possible predators.) They live in African Savannas and their diets are mostly insects, reptiles, and other small animals making them omnivores. There wasn't really an interactive display however there was a place where you could take a picture in place of the meerkats head. Overall, the education level for this hall is mostly for older kids and teens because kids kept on trying to tap the glass to get the animals attention which is not appropriate. Most of the older audiences took the time to read the information plaques for themselves and for their younger children, teaching them facts about the animal.

Amazonia

Arapaima: They are the last of few ancient fishes. Arapaima have two teeth in their mouth and tongue like the aliens in Aliens. They also have very small gills so they have a swim bladder that opens into the mouth acting like a lung so it can live almost 24 hours out of water which is why they live so well in the slow, oxygen-deficient Amazon river. They are also very large, being almost 10ft long. They mostly eat other fishes but also insects. There wasn't any interactive display. Overall, the education level for this hall is mostly for kids and teens. Most of the older audiences took the time to read the information plaques for themselves or for their kids.

Scarlet Ibis: They live in warm, humid climates such as South American and Caribbean rainforests. They feed on a carnivorous diet and use their long beaks to probe in the ground and muddy, shallow water for crustaceans. They travel in flocks (congregation) and they also coexist with other bird species. In the dome, they coexisted with the spoonbills. Overall, the education level for this hall is mostly for kids and teens. The birds are far away from the kids so they cannot touch them, but still visible for the kids to see. In the dome, there weren't too many non-SGCers who read the plaques, but that is because the plaques were awkwardly placed on the ground or there weren't any plaques in general.

Electric eel: Electric eels have the potential to deliver shocks for almost 8 hours after their death. They consume mostly fish, crustaceans, and even small mammals. Electric eels can also be used to check the water qua;ity in treatment facilities. They do this because the different water chemistry changes the signals the fish sends. They had a screen at the top that showed the voltage amplification over time from the eels showing the voltage levels of the electricity the eels emit. Overall, the education level for this hall is mostly for older kids and teens. There weren't many children in this exhibit. Most of the older audiences took the time to read the information plaques for themselves.

Dyeing poison dart frogs: The poison dart frogs get their name from the fact that indigenous people rubbered their arrows on the frogs back to make their arrows lethal. Despite them being almost 30 millimeters in length, their toxins can kill people and their bright colors signal to other predators that they are deadly so many other frogs evolved to adopt bright colors so that the predators would think they are deadly. It is likely that the frogs gain their poisonous traits from the food they consume, so theoretically, if they are fed non-poisonous insects then they themselves could be non-poisonous. In this exhibit, there were resin preservations of the frogs life cycle as well as tanks of the different stages of the frogs, so there were tanks of tadpoles of different stages and frogs themselves. Unrelated, but there was also a brain coral which people could touch nearby. Overall, the education level for this hall is mostly for older kids and teens. There weren't many children in this exhibit. Most of the older audiences took the time to read the information plaques for themselves.

EDUCATION

Two specific ways the zoo aids the public understanding of animals is feeding shows. The feeding shows demonstrate the public on what the animal eats, how it eats, and also gives information about the animals. Another example would be reptile week. May 5-11 was amphibian week so in the reptilian discovery center, there were lots of events that gave public understanding of animals. One of the tables had a wheel with numbers and each number corresponded with a number. If you get the question right, you get a prize (sticker.) I learned that amphibians have a thing called the nictitating membrane which acts as a third eyelid for them. I also learned that Maryland does not have an official state salamander.

ANIMAL MENTAL/EMOTIONAL WELFARE

One example of the physical setting being a more comfortable place for animals is that in the amazonia, there is a dome that has Scarlet Ibis and roseate spoonbill roaming around freely and the dome mimics a tropical forest. There are epiphytes and kapok trees that the birds can fly freely around, that way it feels less like a cage and more comfortable. Another example would be the Brush-Tailed Bettong. They are nocturnal animals, making them more active at night, however the zoo is closed at night and so people would not be able to see them. In order to maintain the bettongs schedule with the average persons, the zoo made that section of the exhibit pitch black and put red lights in the cage. They use red lights so that people can see the Bettong while still maintaining the sleep cycles for the nocturnal animal.