March/April 2018
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EXZOOBERANCE is a bimonthly Memphis Zoological Society publication providing information for friends of the Memphis Zoo. Send comments to MZS, 2000 Prentiss Place, Memphis, TN 38112, or call (901) 333-6500 or log onto memphiszoo.org VOL. XXVIII, No. 1 Our Mission Connecting people with wildlife MARCH/APRIL 2018 Memphis Zoo, Ya Ya and Le Le are trademarks of the Memphis Zoo. Memphis Zoological Society Board of Directors as of June 2016 Officers THOMAS C. FARNSWORTH III, Chair RICHARD W. SMITH, Vice Chair DOROTHY KIRSCH, Secretary RUSSELL T. WIGGINTON, JR., Treasurer DIANE SMITH, Past Co-Chair GENE HOLCOMB, Past Co-Chair Directors LYDIA BORS-KOEFOED CHANCE CARLISLE W. LYNN CARSON SAMANTHA BOGGS DEAN JOSEPH C. DEWANE DELISA EDDINGS MARY LOU GARDNER DAVID HOPKINS HENRY A. HUTTON MARIA LEGGETT JASON MAYKOWSKI SCOTT MCCORMICK JOYCE A. MOLLERUP BRANDON GARROTT MORRISON CAROL W. PRENTISS JERRY SHORE KELLY H. TRUITT MARIO L. WALKER BYRNE WHITEHEAD Honorary Lifetime Directors DONNA K. FISHER ROGER T. KNOX SCOTT P. LEDBETTER SENATOR JAMES R. SASSER REBECCA WEBB WILSON Growing Up Ex Officio DR. CHUCK BRADY, Zoo President and CEO Winnie! BILL MORRISON, City Council Representative 4 Slow Credits KAREN MCDEVITT and Steady Editor-in-Chief Creature 13 LAURA DOTY FALLS Feature Managing Editor/Writer 6 Q&A with MANGAN HOLCOMB PARTNERS Art Director Matt Thompson BRITNEY BOSWELL MOORE 14 Contributing Artist Special Events JENNIFER COLEMAN 8 Kid’s Copy Editor Page TOOF AMERICAN DIGITAL PRINTING Printer Edzoocation 16 ZOO ADMISSION HOURS Feature March – October 15 • 9 a.m. – 5p.m. 10 October 16 – February • 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Grounds close one hour after last admission Zoo closed: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Don’t forget, membership cards are The Memphis Zoo is accredited by the now printed at the Zoo Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is a member when you arrive. These Wanna talk? Give us a buzz. of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. will no longer be mailed. Membership © 2017 Memphis Zoo [email protected] Goes Green! Photo courtesy of Darla Todd 2 MEMPHISZOO.ORG EXZOOBERANCE 3 Winnie’s st birthday 1 celebration March 23-25 10 am-2 pm GROWING UP WINNIE! Stories from her keepers Nothing in the world could have prepared “ me for the absolute happiness that I would feel when I saw Winnie for the first time. I have a habit of being in airports when huge events are happening, and this time I was flying to my brother’s wedding. I got the first picture right before I boarded the plane. I, of course, started crying tears of joy at the cute little bundle. Passengers around me probably assumed I was sad to leave loved n March 23rd, 2017 at 6:15 in the morning, our little peanut Winnie ones in Memphis as I boarded the plane, was born. To say we were excited is an understatement. It was love little did they know that in a few months Oat first sight for the entire Zambezi team. Winnie has proven to be a they would have another great reason to natural at all things hippo. Binti has also proven to be an amazing mother and be proud of their city! Knowing that I had has been very loving, playful and protective of her first daughter. Over the past our little peanut to come home to after the 10 months, Winnie has stayed very close to Binti’s side. Although Winnie is wedding was the best present ever, and I curious about new things, she can be shy and cautious like her Dad, Uzazi. still to this day am glad to see her everyday I That’s why each new milestone she makes as we work with her is so exciting. come to work. – Jamie McTyre ” – Rebecca Koller 4 MEMPHISZOO.ORG I have been a keeper at the Memphis My favorite aspect of the job is being able In the beginning, she would only come all “ Zoo nearly six years and I have hands-on “ to build relationships with all of the animals “the way up to keeper staff if we pretended baby experience, but this is my first large under our care. I have been able to work we were not looking at her. So, after months mammal birth. It has been a life-changing with the hippos my entire time here, and of patience and gentle encouragement, experience watching Winnie grow and it it has been a joy to see the personalities of the first day she decided to walk up to her continues to make me a better keeper. I our hippos and how the dynamic between stall door and touch my hand with her nose GROWING UP WINNIE! remember the first day she went on exhibit them has changed over the years. One of while I was looking and talking to her was Stories from her keepers with Binti, swimming amongst the tilapia my fondest memories of working with the super exciting. As she gets older, we have fish and bobbing up in front of the viewing hippos was when our adult hippos, Splish continued to build on that relationship of glass in underwater viewing. and Uzazi saw Winnie for the first time, trust, just like we have with the adult hippos. – Sierra” Tranum shortly after she was born. Splish and Uzazi The journey we’ve had so far taking care were aware that something was different but of Winnie has been truly an unforgettable had not been able to see the new addition. one. And I cannot wait to see what new After a couple weeks, Splish and Uzazi were favorite memories she has in store for us in shifting onto exhibit, but took a detour to the the future. front of Binti and Winnie’s room. Binti and ” – Jamie McTyre Winnie were standing at the door to their room, when Splish and Uzazi individually got to see and check out Winnie for the first time. All hippos just stood at the door for several minutes. Winnie kept inching forward towards the door, but still at a distance trying to smell the other hippos. Splish and Uzazi rested their noses against the door and I have been a zookeeper at the Memphis Zoo continued to stare at her trying to figure out “ for many years and had the opportunity to what they were looking at. This was the first work with Julie and Splish at the old Hippo time either hippo had seen a baby before. It was a precious moment seeing all of them building. There I learned just how fun and It has been a great experience to get to interacting for the first time and how gentle intelligent hippos can be, and now having “ work with a baby hippo such as Winnie! and cautious they were in the beginning. the chance to work with them again and My most memorable moment was when Over the last 10 months, the relationships be a part of the new Zambezi River Hippo she was about six months old and was between Winnie and the other adults has Camp and see them in such an extraordinary attempting to crush melons on her own. One continued to grow. We can now see them exhibit has been a real milestone in my night while feeding Binti and Winnie their touching noses, licking each other, spending career. I have to say the biggest joy has been produce I noticed one of the cantaloupes time and playing with one another through meeting ‘Winnie’, and watching her grow was especially small. I tossed Binti a normal the door on a regular basis. and learn how to be a hippo. [From] her sized one and gave Winnie the small one. nightly swims in the pool, [to] porpoising – ”Kristin Vinisky After playing with it for a few minutes, she and interacting with her mother, Binti, finally gave it enough power and bit down [everything] makes you smile. She has on the melon. She had crushed her first blossomed into herself. melon and she was so excited! She flipped ” – Tammy Hill her head back so the melon juice would go down her throat and then drug the rest of the melon around her stall! ”– MJ Foletta EXZOOBERANCE 5 CREATURE FEATURE TWO SPECIES OF RUFFED LEMURS NOW CALL MEMPHIS ZOO HOME by LAURA DOTY FALLS, Communications Manager hat’s black, white and along with everyone. Penelope is chestnut, colored fur that covers red all over? Two different larger and has a longer tail. Carmé most of their body. Their forehead, Wtypes of lemurs! A group is sassy, and has a white stripe on stomach, tail and inside of their of five-year-old triplet red-ruffed and her left foot. Puck has white stripes limbs, however, are black. They also two black and white ruffed lemurs on both feet, while Titan doesn’t have a white patch on the back of have called Memphis Zoo home since have any white stripes. their heads. Red ruffed lemurs are September 2017. Like all lemur species, ruffed the most vocal of all primates – “We’re thrilled to be able to share lemurs are found in the wild on the they have been known to use these amazing animals with the tiny African nation of Madagascar. 12 different vocalizations. Memphis Zoo family,” said Courtney They are prosimians, or a group Black and white ruffed lemurs Janney, Area Curator. “Lemurs of primates that include lemurs also get their name from their have a long and storied history at and lorises. They evolved before coloration. Their fur tends to Memphis Zoo, and we look forward to apes and monkeys.