Giraffa cameloparadalis
RETICULATED GIRAFFE
HABITAT: savannah and dry shrubland RANGE: central, eastern, and southern Africa DIET: acacia leaves, shoots, fruits, other vegetation LIFESPAN: 10-15 years (wild), 20-25 years (captive) CE E V NT LC LEAST CONCERN
FAST FACTS: Giraffes are the tallest land animals reaching heights of 18 feet. Their tongue can be up to 18 inches long. When giraffes stand in an up, their 2ft long, 25 pound heart pumps blood upwards with great pressure to reach their brain. However, when they lower their heads to drink, one way valves will regulate the blood’s force and flow to prevent brain damage. The giraffe was once called “camel-leopard,” hence the species name, camelopardalis. Reticulated means “box like pattern.” Giraffes spend 16 to 20 hours a day eating and only need 5 to 30 minutes of sleep.
OUR RETICULATED GIRA FFE : We have two unrelated male giraffe. Our younger giraffe, Knox, was sent to us to learn how to be a great boy form our experienced older male, Casper. K.D. Knox was named here in Jackson after one of our zoo donors. Casper is named such because of his spooky birthday.
Name Sex Birth Year Individual History Casper Male Oct. 31, 2003 Born at Milwaukee Zoo; Wisconsin K.D. Knox Male Aug 15, 2014 Born at Caldwell Zoo; Texas
Picture Picture Picture Ailurus fulgens
RED PANDA
HABITAT: temperate forests in the foothills of the Himalayas RANGE: Nepal, Burma, and south-central China DIET: omnivore; bamboo, fruit, berries, acorns, young birds, rodents, insects
CE E V NT LC LIFESPAN: VULNERABLE 8-13 years
FAST FACTS: Lesser Pandas are known by many names: fire fox, red panda, and Himalayan raccoon. They have semi-retractable claws and an extra thumb. Red pandas are arboreal animals spending most of their time in the trees; they are also crepuscular, meaning they are active at dusk and dawn. Red pandas spend as much as 13 hours a day searching for and eating bamboo. Red pandas are solitary, except for the mating period and the time when a mother and its young are together. Red pandas mark their territories using urine, secretions from anal glands and glands on the pads of their feet.
OUR RED PANDA : Story coming soon.
Name Sex Birth Year Individual History Yoda Male Jul 3, 2006 National Zoo, Washington D.C.
Picture Picture Picture Panthera tigris sumtrae
SUMATRAN TIGER
HABITAT: evergreen forest, freshwater swamps RANGE: Indonesian Island of Sumatra DIET: carnivore; large mammals such as deer, cattle, boar, tapir LIFESPAN: CE E V NT LC 12-15 years CRITICALLY ENDANGERED FAST FACTS: Sumatran Tigers are the smallest tiger species weighing between 165-300 pounds. They are solitary, generally only coming together to mate. There are less than 400 Sumatran Tigers in the wild. TIGERS FACTS: Tigers are the largest living cat (250-600 pounds) and third largest land carnivore. We have lost 97% of wild tigers in just over the past century. There are now more tigers in captivity than there are in the wild; as few as 3,200.
OUR TIGERS : Currently, we have three tigers, however you will only see one on exhibit at a time. We have been instructed by the Species Survival Plan to prevent breeding and because our female is not on birth control we must keep all of our tigers separate. Our tigers eat almost everything they are given, including things like cardboard, challenging our keepers’ creativity with enrichment devices.
Name Sex Birth Year Individual History Emerson Male Nov. 24, 2006 Born at the Sacramento Zoo; California Sari Female Dec. 5, 2006 Born at the Topeka Zoo; Kansas Eko Male May 20, 2014 Born at the Jackson Zoo to Sari and Emerson
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