PRESENTED BY STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Mars the red panda & keeper Natalie
Jaguar cub Lulu & keeper Abigail
Keeper Morgan & Machu the capybara
Keeper Carl & Ariel the komodo dragon
Miraq the okapi & keeper Megan Marie Keeper David & reticulated python Inara P.04 P.07 CREATURE DOUBLE NEW TRAMS TAKE OVER FEATURE MEMPHIS ZOO Crocodile monitors may have crocodile Next time you visit Memphis Zoo, you in their name, but they are not ... may notice some new trams traveling ...
P.08 P.10 KEEPER FEATURE SAVING ORANGUTANS Rick Beck: I work in the Animal Care IS EASY: HERE’S HOW department, in the West Zone, at the I hold up my phone in front of Chickie. Aquarium, specifically with our ... She raises her arm to make sure ...
CONTENTS
3 / EXZOOBERANCE CREATURE DOUBLE FEATURE CROCODILE MONITOR
Crocodile monitors may have crocodile in their name, but they are not crocodiles. Monitors have a very broad head as far as monitor lizards go, and often they are referred to as “tree crocodiles.” These creatures can be found on the island of New Guinea, specifically near coastal mangrove swamps and lowland rain forests. They are arboreal which means they spend a lot of time in trees. Crocodile monitors can be anywhere from 6 to 8 feet long and weigh up to 20 pounds. Monitors usually eat carrion, mammals, small reptiles, and bird eggs. The pair of monitors you’ll find at Memphis Zoo Herpetarium are currently being used as a case study to eventually help save the Komodo dragon. Right now, there are around 5 thousand Komodo dragons left in the wild. You’re probably wondering where do crocodile monitors fit in to all of this? Even though crocodile monitors are a different species than Komodo dragons, the two are in the same genus Varanus. Researchers at Memphis Zoo will use the crocodile monitors for assisted reproduction techniques as a model for dragons. “You figure out how to collect semen, how to freeze it and store it and send it to other zoos using a crocodile monitor. The goal eventually would be to use those same techniques on a Komodo dragon,” said zookeeper David Billard. Next time you visit our herpetarium you may see the monitors climbing, basking in the light or hanging out in the water. Want to learn more? Come see us. Reptile chats run daily at 10 a.m.
4 / EXZOOBERANCE CREATURE DOUBLE FEATURE BEAR CUSCUS
Our next creature feature also has a somewhat misleading name. This is a bear cuscus. It is named for its dark, thick, bear-like fur, but it is not a true bear. Cuscus is a marsupial and is more closely related to kangaroos and koalas. Marsupials raise newborn offspring inside an external pouch. This creature is native to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and can be found spending a lot of time in trees. Cuscus have a prehensile tail which acts like an extra limb. Cuscus also have elongated claws that come in handy when climbing. Bear cuscus is an herbivore eating leaves, unripe fruit and flowers. Memphis Zoo happens to be the only zoo in North America to have a cuscus on exhibit. Shemp came to us from a zoo in the Czech Republic. His addition makes the Animals of The Night collection even more diverse. When you see Shemp’s exhibit you may notice two other animals in there with him. Shemp shares his space with a wombat and an agouti. “It’s quite funny because you’ll see him hanging upside down from his tail above them, kind of watching them in a “I’m not touching you” style. It’s very cute,” said nocturnal team lead Lauren Caskey. Next time you visit our animals of the night, come by first thing in the morning. Shemp will most likely come over to say “hello”.
5 / EXZOOBERANCE Contributions
The following friends are NEW CAPITAL GIFTS MEMORIALS gratefully acknowledged for their ($250 and above) Gifts Received in Memory of Jan Kirby thoughtful gifts made February Jon and Melissa Becker Marsha Barrom 16 through April 15, 2020 Nora Fernandez ANNUAL FUND GIFTS Dawn Golliher EMERGENCY ANIMAL ($250 and above) Mr. and Mrs. James Golliher Mr. and Mrs. Stephen C. Schadt Marsha Greiner SUPPORT FUND Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Kirby ($250 and above) Dr. and Mrs. Gordon Yukon Memphis Zoo Docents Anonymous Christy Nottingham Betsy Bird Sherrie Sims Kimberly Blake DOCENT PROGRAM Glenda Ward Michael Brueggeman ($250 and above) Ken and Melissa Carlton Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Kirby Cathy Chapman Michael Clark Becky Earl Barbara Edward Ashley Hendrix Sandra Kruse Simone Meeks Lisa Moffat Mona Parikh Rose in Autumn LLC Patricia Stow
6 / EXZOOBERANCE “NOT ONLY WILL THESE TRAMS HELP REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT, THEY WILL HELP CUT DOWN ON OUR OVERALL OPERATING COSTS” - Leah Jensen NEW TRAMS TAKEOVER MEMPHIS ZOO Next time you visit Memphis Zoo, you may notice some new trams traveling on our pathways.
The zoo recently added several electric trams to its The trams are ADA compliant and have luggage vehicle fleet. racks to store wheelchairs and strollers. The new trams are also smaller in size and will take up less “Not only will these trams help reduce our carbon room on zoo pathways, making it safer for guests footprint, they will help cut down on our overall operating who are walking nearby. costs,” said Memphis Zoo Chief Operations Officer Leah Jensen. Each tram is wrapped in colorful animal print, so you won’t miss them. “We pride ourselves on our green initiatives and these new trams will help continue the Zoo’s goal of being All-day tram passes are $4 per person. There are more environmentally friendly,” said Jim Dean, CEO and a number of different tram stops located President of Memphis Zoo. throughout the zoo.
7 / EXZOOBERANCE KEEPER FEATURE RICK BECK
Where are you from originally? I was born in St. Pete Beach, Florida. My family returned to Memphis when I was 3. When I was in the 1st grade my father, Charles Beck, accepted the curator position for the Memphis Zoo Aquarium. It was the best job that a little boy's dad could have. I grew-up at this aquarium. Coming to work here just 3 years ago was a bit of a "homecoming" for me. Where did you work before the Memphis Zoo? I worked for a faith based non-profit organization in Memphis, then in Honduras for 15 years. What department do you work in? I work in the Animal Care department, in the West Zone, at the Aquarium, specifically with our "saltwater systems". Have you always wanted to work with animals? I cannot remember a time when I was not interested in working with animals. Even though I am relatively new to this career in "animal care", I have always kept a home collection of fish and reptiles. Where did you go to college and what was RICK your major? I graduated from Memphis State University in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and an BECK emphasis in Vertebrate Zoology. What is your favorite species to work with at the zoo?
I may be the only zookeeper that has a lower What do you like to do in your free time? invertebrate as a favorite animal. My favorite species is our Queen Angelfish, which is no I love anything outdoors, especially camping. doubt the most beautiful fish in the world. I also volunteer time at my church teaching Another favorite is our live sponge because it is ESL (English as a Second Language) to such a challenge to keep it alive, much less see internationals in our Memphis community. it thrive. My favorite is the yellow encrusting Do you have any pets? variety from the genus "Clathrinid". In 2 years, it has grown from a small patch about the size of I keep fish by day (at our aquarium), and I a dime to be about the size of your hand. It is in keep reptiles by night (at my house). I have our 1,100-gallon Indo-Pacific display that Day Geckos, Rainbow Boas, and a variety of features our large Lionfish. King Snakes and Rat Snakes.
8 / EXZOOBERANCE STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Keeper Sarah & Howard the mandarin duck
Animal Interpreter Bill & legless lizard Lt. Dan
Keeper Emily & sea lion Teva
Asali the African elephant with keeper Jenny
Poppy the binturong & Animal Interpreter Liz Keeper Lexi & Frankie the African-crested porcupine
9 / EXZOOBERANCE Saving Orangutans is Easy: Here’s How By Lexi Yang, Primate Keeper
I hold up my phone in front of Chickie. She raises her arm to make sure she’s the orangutan in the phone before parting her long red bangs down the middle. She then pats her belly and watches her reflection do the same. Chickie is a 42-year-old Sumatran orangutan at the Memphis Zoo. Her wild relatives are critically endangered and can only be found on Sumatra, an island off the coast of Indonesia. There are less than 14,000 Sumatran orangutans left in the wild today and they are quickly disappearing off of this planet. This is mainly due to palm oil and everyday shoppers like you and I. Have you ever heard of palm oil? It is in over 50% of products sold in grocery stores. You can find it in cookies, crackers, frozen dinners, killed and their babies are kidnapped, only to be shampoo, and even makeup. Palm oil is the most sold as pets and chained up in people's yards. widely used vegetable oil in the world. It comes More than 100,000 o rangutans have died from the fruits of the African oil palm and is because of palm oil harvesting. Orangutans are planted as a crop all over Sumatra and Borneo. not the only animals to be harmed by palm oil. Millions of acres of rainforest are being cut and There are less than 400 Sumatran tigers left in burnt down every year to make room for palm the wild. 90 Sumatran rhinos. 800 Tapanuli oil farms. orangutans. This species was not discovered until 2017 and will most likely be the first great Rowan opens his mouth and lets me brush his ape to go extinct if nothing is done. teeth before trying to steal the toothbrush so he can savor his Pinky Fruity flavored children's When palm oil is farmed unsustainably, millions toothpaste. He is 4 years old and a tiny orange of acres of rainforest are cut down yearly and bundle of energy, dangling from firehose ropes burned. This uncontrolled burning has by his toes and continuously coming up with disastrous results. In 1997-1998 a devastating new antics to make his keepers laugh. Rowan is fire killed almost 8,000 Bornean orangutans. still nursing from his mother Jahe, and will Workers often deal with abusive labor depend on her for at least 6-10 years before conditions. Native people are kicked off of the being able to live on his own. Orangutans have land, losing their homes and ways of life. There the longest childhood of any mammal other than are thousands of acres of already cleared land humans, and rely on their mothers to teach them that could be used for the palm oil farms, but what foods to eat and where to find them, how instead they choose to cut down high to make nests, and how to avoid predators. An conservation value forests so they can also orangutan mother only has 4-5 children in her make money off of the timber. lifetime, which is not enough to keep up with the Are you thinking right now that palm oil is awful quickly disappearing species. and you need to stay away from it? Here's a Starving and homeless orangutan mothers enter plot twist. Not all palm oil is bad. If farmed palm oil farms in search of food. Palm oil SUSTAINABLY, it can be good! When done workers seek revenge on them for raiding their sustainably, palm oil is the best option for a crops, beating and shooting them. Mothers are vegetable oil. This is because it requires less
10 / EXZOOBERANCE land, fertilizers, and pesticides than other alternatives. Sustainable palm oil farms do not use high conservation value forests and they cannot harm endangered animals that wander onto their farms. Their workers have decent housing and wages and have access to schools and health clinics. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was created in 2004 and certifies sustainable palm oil companies. Today, there are more than 4,000 members worldwide.
There are over 50 different names for palm oil. Some of the common ones are palm kernel oil, palmitate, and palmitic acid. It can be very confusing, but there is an app for that! The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo made a free phone app called the Sustainable Palm Oil Shopping Guide. All you have to do is scan a product and it tells you which products have sustainable palm oil or bad palm oil. You can also look for the RSPO label on products. If there is a product that you love that does not use sustainable palm oil, you can make a difference by writing to that company and demanding sustainable, deforestation-free palm oil. Our adult male orangutan is 37-year-old Tombak who weighs about 300 pounds. His favorite spot in the yard is a tall platform where he can keep watch over the zoo. He stores plastic coffee containers up there as a way to collect water when it rains. I will never forget the time there was thunder and lightning and he was sitting on his platform holding a metal bowl up in the air to collect the rainwater. I admired his determination but pleaded with him to come get dry inside and to not get struck by lightning! Working with orangutans is a dream come true. These red-headed apes are so intelligent, curious, and humanlike and they are relying on us to help save them from extinction. Their future is in the palm of your hands.
11 / EXZOOBERANCE KIDS CORNER
12 / EXZOOBERANCE GREEN TEAM
EASY WAYS TO HAVE A MORE SUSTAINABLE SUMMER 4 KEEP YOUR HOME COOL Summer is right around the corner and the Memphis If you must have the AC, pick a unit that is energy Zoo Green Team is excited to share 7 easy ways for you efficient and no bigger than the area you’re in. to make this season more sustainable. Turn up the thermostat when you leave the house for 1 BUY A REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE the day. Local utility companies recommend setting your thermostat at 78. Closing your window shades is It’s important to stay hydrated, especially during the also helpful. warmer months. Avoid single use plastic. If you use plastic water bottles, recycle them when you’re finished. 5 SPLASH SUSTAINABLY 2 THINK ABOUT YOUR SUNSCREEN The only way to make Mid-South summer days more bearable is to get wet. Don’t run the water hose all day If you have a beach, lake or river trip planned, keep in for those slip and slides. Instead, add sponges or mind some sunscreens contain chemicals harmful to washcloths to a kiddie pool. aquatic life. Choose a sunscreen that is good for your skin and the environment. 6 UNPLUG Avoid sunscreens that have oxybenzone, octinoxate, Relax and find time to disconnect from your electronic titanium dioxide and petrolatum (mineral oil). devices. Unplug your power cords when you’re not using them to conserve energy. This is also a great time 3 GREEN GRILLING to get outside and get some fresh air. Ride your bike or Who doesn’t love to have a cookout during the go for a walk around the neighborhood. summertime? Propane grills are better for the 7 PLANT A GARDEN OR TREES environment, but if you’re fan of charcoal try using a more natural version. Temple University recommends This a great family activity. It’s also really rewarding if Cowboy Charcoal. you can eat or use the plants you grow yourself. It’s best to choose plants that are native to your area and are adapted to our climate.
1513 / EXZOOBERANCE