A Meeting of the Minds • Spying on Wildlife • Bugged Treefrogs THIS ISSUE

A Meeting of the Minds • Spying on Wildlife • Bugged Treefrogs THIS ISSUE...

Winter 2 01 6 Issue No.83 SOCIETY BOARD

MONTY WHITE, JR. Chair Raleigh NICOLE A. CRAWFORD Vice Chair Greensboro MARJORIE M. RANKIN he Winter 2016 issue of your Alive of the research Mr. Shupp and other Zoo Secretary magazine delves more deeply than staff have initiated to protect North Asheboro ever into the Zoo’s ever expanding Carolina’s Official State Frog, the Pine BILL CURRENS, JR. presence in wildlife conservation and Barrens Treefrog. Treasurer Tanimal welfare. We have also set aside space in this Charlotte The magazine’s lead story introduces issue of Alive to give thanks, once again, RICHARD W. CARROLL Ms. Erin Ivory, the Zoo’s new Elephant to the generous businesses, artists and Cary Manager, to discuss her approach to train - other donors who helped make this year’s MICHAEL J. FISHER ing elephants and to explore her commit - Zoo To Do a roaring success. Zoo to Do Greensboro ment to improving the welfare of animals 2015 raised $128,665 that will be used to MINOR T. HINSON living in zoos around the world. Ms. upgrade several of the Zoo’s service Charlotte Ivory expresses her commitment by trav - buildings and spaces. JIM KLINGLER eling to developing countries, especially This Alive also announces the dates for Raleigh Vietnam, to offer training in behavioral our 2016’s Veterinary and Field SCOTT E. REED Conservation camps and lists the special Winston-Salem management to animal care providers. This training, which relies exclusively on backstage pass programs that we will JOHN RUFFIN Winston-Salem using positive reinforcement to communi - offer throughout the upcoming year. These programs make excellent holiday, KENT A. VARNER cate with animals, provides zoo personnel Charlotte with a sound background for working anniversary and birthday gifts for anyone CHARLES M. WINSTON, JR. humanely with their animals and empow - who cherishes wildlife. Raleigh ers keepers to provide enrichment activi - And, last but not least, the magazine Cheryl Turner ties to these animals. says “goodbye” to former Zoo Director Executive Director Regular contributor and Associate David Jones and says “welcome” to his Assistant Secretary Curator Corinne Kendall, Ph.D., provides replacement Mrs. Pat Simmons, the for - an interesting overview of some of the mer Director of the Akron Zoo. Dr. Jones EDITORIAL BOARD technology that she and other Zoo retired from his directorship after leading wildlife researchers use to track, study the Zoo for more than 20 years. Jayne Owen Parker , Ph .D. Managing Editor and protect free-ranging animals—ele - We wish all our readers and friends a De Potter phants, gorillas, vultures and more. A joyous holiday season and a very happy Design & Layout companion article by guest contributor and successful New Year. John D. Groves and keeper supervisor Chris Shupp brings We hope to see you at the Zoo soon. Corinne Kendall, P h. D. the magazine back home to explain some Jayne Owen Parker, Ph .D., Editor Michael Loomis, DVM Mark MacAllister

Tonya Miller The North Carolina Zoo is open every day of the year, except on Christmas Day. Ken Reininger Winter hours begin November 2 and extend from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.Summer hours begin on April 1 and extend from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Standard admission prices are Pat Simmons $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and $11 for children. Zoo Society members and Cheryl Turner registered North Carolina school groups are admitted free. The Zoo offers free Diane Villa parking, free tram and shuttle service, picnic areas, visitor rest areas, food serv - Financial information about the NC Zoo ice and gift shops. Society and a copy of its license are Russ Williams For information, call 1-800-488-0444. available from the Charitable Angie Kahn The Zoo is a program of the N.C. Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. The NC Zoo Solicitation Licensing Section at 888- Proofreader Society is the non-proﬁt organization that supports the North Carolina Zoological Park and its 830-4989. The license is not an programs. Society ofﬁces are open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, . endorsement by the State. Printed by Hickory Printing Solutions please call 336-879-7250 or logon to the Society’s Web page at nczoo.com TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 The Heart of Elephant Training A meeting of the minds ...... Erin Ivory, Guest Contributor 6 Changes at the Top New directions at the NC Zoo ...... Gavin Johnson , Guest Contributor 7 Year End Request: Can we talk? 8 Conservation Connection: Spying from the Sky— 7 and through the Radio ...... Corinne Kendall, Ph.D., Contributing Editor 10 Field Notes: Frogs in Politics and Conservation Regarding the Pine Barrens Tree Frog ...... Chris Shupp, Guest Contributor 11 Spotted Salamanders Some breed in winter ...... John Groves, Contributing Editor 12 Zoo To Do 2015: An Affair to Remember A huge “THANK YOU” for a huge success 14 Zoo Camps 15 Field camps, vet camps and “Shadow a Vet” 15 Holiday Gifting Chimp-mas fun, a zebra ornament and gift memberships 16 Kids’ Page: One Thing Is Not Like the Other Differences between seals and sea lions ...... Jayne Owen Parker, Ph.D., Editor BC Congrats!

NC Zoo wins AZA conservation award REGULAR FEATURES 13 Travel Programs 14 Thank Yous 17 Zoo Access T T O B B A

E I R E L A V ON THE COVER: 16 Tonga, Zoo Elephant C OVER INSET: Valerie Abbott VALERIE ABBOTT BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM ERIN IVORY, ZOO ELEPHANT MANAGER

lephants are dynamic, When they are awake, they bus - complex, interesting and, tle with energy. They play. They often, delightfully funny explore. They run. They poke. animals. Each one has a unique And, despite their small (rela - personality, and this personality tively speaking) size, they can shapes the individual ways that it instigate mountains of drama. reacts to people, to other elephants, For one thing, calves love to to training and to changes in its play with elephant dung. They surroundings. Learning to recog - will roll in it, kick it and stomp nize and read an elephant’s indi- through it like a human toddler viduality adds a layer of social parading through mud puddles. complexity to elephant keeping that Training youngsters begins with makes the profession more chal - cultivating the patience to lenging, gratifying and satisfying calmly and positively help them than any other job I can imagine. learn to control these bursts of Over the years, I have had the energy so that they can focus good fortune to work with more their attention on the tasks at than 40 elephants in five different hand. facilities. My work has brought me in contact with all To add to the confusion, every member of a herd feels ages of elephants—from newborns to a 60-year-old— a sense of responsibility for the safety of the calves. So, and I have worked with both cows and bulls and with when a calf gets into trouble (a common occurrence members of both the African and the Asian species. among these curious, active youngsters), its alarm calls These experiences have brought me in contact with a can set a herd on edge. And, because young calves have multitude of different elephant personalities. so much to learn, they can find lots of ways to get into trouble. Even something as simple as stretching out to The Changing Nature of Elephant Training take a nap can culminate in a family uproar. Elephants live a long time and develop slowly, so their Because even young elephants can weigh 200 pounds needs, interests and, to some extent, their temperaments or more, rising from a prone position presents its diffi - change as they mature or as they face new challenges in culties. To rise, an elephant must draw its legs alongside their environments. As these changes take place, they its body and then roll its head up and over to gain can influence the way an elephant learns and the way enough momentum to push its body into a standing trainers need to structure their training regimes. position. While this sequence always requires strength, it fails entirely if an elephant makes the mistake of Training Calves–Baby Steps: The biggest challenge stretching out on an incline with the soles of its feet fac - with calves is that they have so much to learn—from ing the upside of the hill. the basic physics of coping with their body mass to the From that position, gravity holds the elephant’s back complex psychology of fitting into elephant society. The firmly against the ground. So, when an inexperienced need to master a multitude of skills infuses calves with calf finds itself with its head downhill, it will create a bountiful energy and an unrelenting drive to learn. clamor until its mom or an aunt rushes to the rescue and 2 | ALIVE tugs it into a standing position. It only takes one or two When they enter musth, though, their attention will of these dramas to teach a calf to pay attention to the waver. The tug that testosterone has on their attention lay of the land before it lies down. can mess up their memory and their focus. Sometimes a Young elephants also have to learn the rules that gov - training session will be going along just fine, until—out ern elephant society and the complex social hierarchy of the blue—a bull in musth will just seem to forget that determines one’s status inside the herd. Until a calf everything he ever knew. understands these rules, it will get trunk-tapped or chased when it pesters the adults just a bit too much as Training Cows–Social Steps: Elephant cows present it seeks attention or a playmate. a different set of issues. Female elephants focus on the social inter-workings of their herds. With them, the family Training Bulls–Giant Steps: Mature males present a and the herd and its hierarchy always take precedent. different set of training issues. They are huge, up to 13 The bonds that stretch between and among herd mem - feet high at the shoulder and 6 tons on the scales. They bers keep the group together and create complex social are strong, and they are smart. And, periodically, their interactions that must be considered when managing an testosterone levels skyrocket, sending them into a semi- individual cow or every cow in the herd. Herds have frenzied state called “musth.” Derived from the Hindi hierarchies, and the top cow rules, but herds also con - word for “drunk,” the term “musth” describes the inter - tain individuals who feel and react differently to differ - mittent goofiness that can seize a bull in this hormone-induced state. Musth will set a bull on edge. He may take offense at the smallest infrac - tions. He may get testy when things don’t go his way. But, because musth is easy to spot, a good trainer knows when to be careful. Bulls in musth do everything but wear billboards to advertise their condition. They dribble urine as they walk about. Secretions weep from the temporal glands behind their eyes, sending streaks of liquid down the back of their faces. They do goofy things to demonstrate their prowess—like the time that a musth ing Artie, the Zoo’s younger bull, tried to climb a wall with his back legs. Because of these attributes—size, power and the occasional state of musth— bull elephants command a lot of respect and are often ent members of the group. Just like the members of a considered “difficult to work with.” But, with the right human family, elephant herds include some cows that skills and a history rife with trust and positive interac - like each other, some cows that don’t. tions, elephant trainers often find that bulls make won - In the wild, herds normally consist of related females derful training partners. Personally, I enjoy working and their young. The bloodline includes mothers, with them. I admire their size and strength, and I am daughters and aunts. In zoos, herd members may or filled with delight when I hear them squeeze out the itty may not share this genetic history. The four females that bitty, little trumpet calls that signal excitement and make up the Zoo’s current herd include a mother and a pleasure. daughter and two unrelated females. For me, a bull’s best feature is its capacity to focus. Until recently, we kept the mother and her daughter Unlike cows, who concentrate much of their attention together but separate from the other two females. They on their herd’s social complexities, bulls are not part of all shared a barn, so they could see, hear and smell each the social hierarchy. Undistracted by its complexities, other. But, a wire mesh separated them, so they could bulls are free to focus on other matters, like training, not touch each other the way that herd members can. and can make excellent students. Since putting these groups together, they have begun Winter 2 01 6 | 3 coalescing into a herd. Their introductions went slowly On Being a Keeper and smoothly. One female, Rafiki, quickly, and without Good animal keepers develop strong bonds with the dissension, grabbed the role of matriarch or herd leader. animals in their care. Food rewards often lay the foun - The two younger elephants, Nekhunda and Batir, dation on which these bonds form, but over time, posi - became fast friends. They play often and frequently tive interactions can become rewarding, too, and can delight their keepers by trunk wrestling with each other. create a deep sense of trust between a trainer and an Tonga is a great mother to Batir, and we hope she will animal. Often, the sense of trust is strong enough to guide herd members who become first-time mothers in keep an animal attending and cooperating even when it the future. is sick and no longer motivated by food. When that level of trust exists, trainers can help animals get well by soliciting their cooperation in swallowing medicines or participating in physical therapy. The complex nature of elephant society and hierarchies predisposes elephants to recognize their keepers as individuals. Elephants can easily tell one keeper from the others and will form different opinions about different people, liking some and not liking others. That puts the onus on each keeper to keep his or her interactions posi - tive because, ultimately, each elephant decides how it will behave and who it likes. Just because an elephant will cooperate with one keeper does not mean that the ele - phant will take instructions from just any - one. And, elephants show definite social preferences, allowing some keepers greater levels of intimacy than other keepers. For example, I once had a special relationship Training Seniors –Slow Steps: Geriatric elephants with an elephant named Swazi. When I wanted to calm are probably the hardest age group to manage. Aging her, I could rest my hand on the side of her face and affects them much as it affects people, sometimes caus - gently rub her skin with my thumb. Once, when a co- ing arthritis or other age-related maladies. C’sar, our worker and I were working with Swazi and she grew oldest bull, for example, developed severe cataracts sev - restless, I told the co-worker to try my calming trick. eral years ago. When his vision became too clouded to When she did, Swazi immediately flicked my co- let him move about safely in the exhibit, we had to keep worker’s hand away, driving home the point that rela - him in the barn. tionships with elephants are not transferable. Everyone To remedy his confinement, the Zoo brought a team has to develop his or her own. of ophthalmic surgeons in from NC State’s Veterinary Besides, elephants are capable of building strong rela - School and purchased a set of artificial lenses for the tionships with many other elephants and with many team to insert in C’sar’s lens capsules once the cataracts keepers. An elephant’s capacity for bonding seems infi - were gone. Unfortunately, the cataracts had damaged nite. Forming a new relationship does not detract from the lens capsules so much that the artificial lenses could or diminish any existing relationships. not be used. As a plan B, the surgeons fitted C’sar with a contact lens—but he quickly plucked it out with his Elephants’ Impact on People dexterous trunk. Elephants are magnetic. They have the capacity to Even without the correctional lenses, the surgery attract and connect to people of all ages around the restored enough of his vision to allow C’sar to go back world. It is always incredible to witness the outpouring on exhibit. But, because he is quite farsighted, staff uses of love and admiration people feel for elephants. Once, verbal and other auditory cues during training and to I was in New Zealand so that I could train and transport help him navigate his environment. a circus elephant to a facility in the United States. While 4 | ALIVE I was working with the elephant, I watched an 85-year- which helps developing countries improve the welfare old man see an elephant for the first time. of animals living in zoos. Wild Welfare has invested in He was a dapper gentleman who made a habit of har - Vietnam’s animal welfare projects and has increased the vesting the banana plants on his property so that he scope of our elephant welfare work by helping us col - could leave browse—leaves and fruit—as a donation to laborate with many other organizations. feed the elephant, Mila. He never visited her, but he This past August, I spent two weeks working with the brought food to her. staff at Vietnam’s Elephant Conservation Center. I One day I invited him to come in to meet Mila and trained the staff to use positive reinforcement when watch one of her training sessions. He was overjoyed. managing their elephants and offered advice on provid - When I took him down to meet Mila, his eyes opened ing for the welfare of a juvenile bull, Jun, who was res - wide when she came into sight. His first words were cued by the Conservation Center. Jun was caught in a “Be still my beating heart. She is beautiful.” His eyes snare that permanently and severely damaged one of his twinkled with awe, wonder and appreciation for Mila. front legs. The damage will never heal sufficiently to let His joy reminded me of the impact that elephants can have on people. Their size, the intelligence in their eyes and their majesty can generate a profound sense of respect and wonder.

Caring for Elepha nts The wonder and respect that I feel when I work with elephants has filled me with a deep sense of personal responsibility toward them. Their wel - fare—and the welfare of all animals—has become a driving force in my life. Over the last year and a half that drive has sent me back and forth to Vietnam to help elephant keepers there establish and practice high management standards when car - ing for their elephants. So far, I have spent four months in Vietnam working with the staff at the Hanoi Zoo and the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Facility. While there, I worked with directors and their staffs to help improve the environments where animals are housed and the techniques keepers use to manage the animals. him return to the wild. The training I provided will On one visit, I also met with staff from the Dak Lak allow the Center’s staff to care for Jun’s injury without Elephant Conservation Center to help them build a sedating him and has made it possible for him to live in facility where captive elephants could be humanely an expanded enclosure. held. I also spent time training the staff to properly This past November, I returned to Vietnam with Wild manage the health and welfare of the facility’s elephants Welfare to participate in a meeting to help create federal and helped lay out plans for protecting Vietnam’s legislation and standards for animal welfare and animal remaining population of wild elephants. care. This trip also allowed me another chance to work My connection to the Elephant Conservation Center with Jun and to offer additional training to his handlers. helped lead me to join the staff at the NC Zoo, because The support that the North Carolina Zoo offers to it was through the Elephant Conservation Center that I developing nations and to conservation programs on learned of the Zoo’s strong commitment to animal wel - foreign soils embodies all of what I believe a zoo fare. Through the work of former Zoo Director David should do. This commitment fills me with excitement Jones, the Zoo has earned an international reputation for and with hope about the effects that these programs will its commitment to researching and conserving wild ani - have on the future of animals here at home and in other mal populations and for its work to improve the welfare countries. These programs provide the NC Zoo and the of animals living in both domestic and foreign zoos. people of North Carolina with a powerful capacity to On the international front, Dr. Jones was instrumental improve the well-being of captive and free ranging ani - in creating the nonprofit organization, Wild Welfare, mals at many levels and in many countries. Winter 2 01 6 | 5 Saying “Welcome” to the Promise of More to Come Mrs. Pat Simmons joined the NC Zoo’s Changes staff in September 2014, after being selected to succeed Dr. Jones when he retired. The early hiring gave her Afteatr leadintgh thee NC TZooo for p plenty of time to learn the complex more than two decades, Director inner workings of the NC Zoo before David Jones began his retirement she took on the full responsibility of at the end of September 2015. leading the organization. On October 1, he welcomed Mrs. Before winning this spot, she worked Patricia (Pat) Simmons as the NC for 31 years at the Akron Zoo in Ohio. She served as its president and CEO Zoo’s new Director. for the last 29 years. After working with Dr. Jones, Mrs. Simmons said, “His leadership and Saying “Thank You” For a Job Well Done vision for this amazing Zoo speaks for When recognizing Dr. Jones, Governor same period, Dr. Jones and his staff itself. I am so fortunate to have had the Pat McCrory said, “The citizens of also worked with state and local offi - opportunity to learn about our great North Carolina owe a great debt of cials and the NC Zoo Society to Zoo from him and the entire Zoo staff.” gratitude to Dr. Jones for what he has increase the Zoo’s landholdings from Mrs. Simmons came to us after earn - accomplished in leading our iconic zoo approximately 1,400 to 2,200 acres. ing a sterling national reputation for her for all these years. Tens of millions of “These 22 wonderful years have sim - work with the professional Zoo com - visitors have walked the grounds in ply flown past,” said Dr. Jones, who munity, especially the Association of that time, immensely enjoying what he came to Asheboro from the Zoological Zoos and Aquariums. The Association, has helped build.” Society of London, where he had been also known as AZA, leads the world in During Director Jones’ tenure, the chief executive officer and had worked establishing animal welfare standards NC Zoo consistently earned praise as in six capacities over 25 years. “We for zoos and is an international leader one of the top zoos in the country. He have achieved a lot, but none of it in wildlife conservation. Mrs. Simmons arrived in Asheboro just in time to would have happened without the sup - has served on many AZA boards and oversee the final development of the port and hard work of an amazing staff committees and was elected as AZA’s Zoo’s North American region, includ - with such a varied range of talents and board chair in 2012. Currently, she is ing the opening of the RJR Rocky skills.” on the board of directors of the World Coast, which exhibits Polar Bears, Dr. Jones has been active in many Association of Zoos and Aquariums. seals, sea lions and arctic sea birds. international organizations. Among While at the Akron Zoo, Mrs. Under his direction, the Zoo later them, he is a former chair of the Simmons secured a stable funding expanded its exhibits for African world’s oldest international conserva - source for that zoo, developed a top- Elephants, White Rhinos, Polar Bears tion organization, Fauna and Flora rated conservation education program and other species and upgraded its chil - International, and served as the chair of and implemented a 14-year master plan dren’s section to a state-of-the-art play - the Brooke Hospital for Animals, the that added more than 30 new animal ground designed to entice children to world’s largest international equine exhibits to the facility. In 2013, the play outside and learn to love nature. welfare charity. He chaired the Akron Zoo set an attendance record, Under Dr. Jones’ leadership, the Zoo Conservation Committee of the World welcoming 389,000 visitors. gained international recognition for its Wildlife Fund, United Kingdom, and “I know that the NC Zoo is in great multi-million dollar public art collec - currently chairs Central Park NC, the hands,” Dr. Jones said. “Pat’s knowl - tion, themed around nature, and for its region’s most prominent non-govern - edge, enthusiasm and compassion for role in advancing animal welfare in ment rural development agency, and our animals and staff are evident every zoos. Under his leadership, Zoo staff the Environmental Defense Fund day.” also gained an international reputation (North Carolina). He recently founded We are pleased to welcome Mrs. for its conservation work with African and chairs Wild Welfare, the only zoo- Simmons to lead the NC Zoo, and we Elephants, Cross River Gorillas, North based international animal welfare are grateful to Dr. Jones for his past America’s Hellbenders and other ani - organization that focuses on improving leadership. We wish them both the best. GAVIN JOHNSON mal and plant species. During this substandard zoos around the world. 6 | ALIVE T T O B B A

E I R E L A V y b s o t o h P

DOCID:2015-304 ID#ID# Winter 2 01 6 | 7 Spying from the Sky and through the Radio

onservation is like real estate. It is all about location, Frequency radio signals emit - location and location. ted by these collars travel in C To understand a species’ conservation needs, a straight line that cannot go researchers must first understand the complexities of its over or around hills or moun - address: where its members live, where they travel and when tains. So, a researcher has to and why they make their moves. By following animals as they be in the field, close to—and come and go, researchers can tease out details about the in a direct “line of sight” with resources a species depends on to survive and can look at fac - —a radio collar to pick up its transmissions. tors that could potentially threaten these resources. The blue - Space scientists offered a remedy to this shortcoming by pro - print for any effective conservation plan always begins with a viding satellites that could be periodically and predictably over - reliable map of a species’ real estate claims. head to communicate with tracking collars via radio waves from the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The collars Studying Movements transmit their location data, often GPS coordinates, up to the Early naturalists and researchers relied on spoor—tracks, scat, satellites once or several times a day, and the satellites transmit feathers, kills, trails, drag marks, sounds, scents and marking the data to computer terminals that send it racing around the posts—to speculate about the movements of wild animals. world via the Internet. Researchers on one continent can use These researchers invested days and weeks searching for any this technology to follow an animal on another continent without residue of an animal’s activities to use in puzzling out where it breaking a sweat. lived, what it did with its time and when and why it shuffled from one place to the next. Following Wildlife in Africa Over the years, though, emerging technologies have made it In fact, NC Zoo researchers began following Cameroon ele - easier to track after wild animals and to gather more precise phants this way more than two decades ago and recently added data about their movements and activities. One of the early some Nigerian elephants to this satellite-tracking program. This leaps in these technologies incorporated radio waves into biolog - technology adds depth and breadth to biological research ical research by coupling radio transmitters with collars. Bulky at because it can track animals moving through rugged, wet, dark, first, these transmitters could each be tuned to a narrow arid, freezing or sweltering conditions on land, at the water’s sur - frequency and then fitted onto collars that could be secured face or in the air—places where people cannot easily follow. around an animal’s neck during well planned catch and release While satellite telemetry is amazing, it also comes with major operations. costs, both to buy satellite time and to buy and maintain satellite- Researchers would grab an animal—often by anesthetizing it tracking collars. Fortunately, though, the ever-expanding cell first—fit it with a radio collar set to a specific frequency and then phone industry has recently begun offering a cheaper alterna - send the animal racing back into the wild. For the next several tive. New tracking collars communicate with the GSM networks months—until the transmitter’s batteries failed—researchers that carry cell phone signals and provide location data through could tune their receivers to a specific transmitter’s frequency their GPS systems. The costs for downloading GSM-GPS trans - and search for an animal by waving the receiver around until it missions compare favorably with the costs of streaming a game picked up a telltale “beep,” “beep,” “beep” from the transmitter. or movie on a smartphone, and cell coverage is already avail - By pointing their receivers in the direction that produced the able in a surprising number of places around the world. In fact, loudest beeps, researchers could follow a pretty direct trail to, we have used this technology to track vultures flying around eventually, see the subject animal or at least get close enough to Kenya. These vultures wear transmitters that use the GSM sys - estimate where it was hiding. tem to send out a text message once a day. Each text provides precise information on the transmitter’s (and, consequently, its Field Research and Technology vulture’s) longitude, latitude and flying altitude. Over a relatively short time, engineers have found ways to pack By mapping this longitude and latitude data over several transmitters into smaller and smaller packages, making some months, we can draw extremely accurate pictures of the land modern models tiny enough to fit on a frog’s back or, even, to requirements different species have. For example, our vulture glue onto a dragonfly or butterfly for a few hours. study revealed, for the first time, vultures’ extensive land use re- Radio collaring gave researchers a powerful tool for tracking quirements. Frequently, these birds fly more than 125 miles in a wildlife, but it came with a major drawback. The Very High day. One particularly active vulture logged a yearlong flight path 8 | ALIVE that encompassed more than 54,000 square miles. It sailed over a larger land area than North Carolina holds inside its borders. Surveillance on Land and in the Air The Zoo began tracking elephants in Cameroon more than 15 years ago and recently added some Nigerian elephants to this study. Dr. Mike Loomis, the Zoo’s Chief Veterinarian, anes - thetizes the elephants and, working with a team of local biolo - gists, fits the elephants with satellite-tracking collars. Both the ing carcasses, vultures neutralize deadly bacteria, preventing Zoo staff and the local park rangers follow the elephants to debilitating diseases from spreading to people as well as to record critical information on the herd’s land requirements and to wildlife. And, vultures play a key role in recycling the nutrients let park rangers know where the herd is so that they can protect and minerals that keep habitats healthy and food webs strong. it from ivory poachers. Of equal importance, the tracking data Vultures’ contributions to ecosystem and human health under - alerts rangers when herds are migrating away from protected lie our commitment to monitor their populations and, eventually, lands and toward farms or villages. These warnings give rangers set out plans to protect them. Our early findings suggest that the time and the direction they need to intercept and deter these southern Tanzania is an important area for this species, but it is herds before they can damage crops or come into conflicts with likely that they travel to other countries, too, quite possibly to angry farmers. Mozambique and Zambia. By using satellite telemetry, we hope This year, Zoo staff is moving into southern Tanzania to begin to confirm the extent of their movements and begin to build up studying a new species—the White-backed Vulture. People an understanding of the resources they need to survive and have inadvertently pushed White-backed Vultures onto the what threats may be affecting these resources—information that endangered species list. Many die from eating poison-tainted is critical to know if we are going to protect these important carcasses set out to kill large predators. Others die when they scavengers. collide with power lines or wind turbines. And, a few, are killed to Whether it is frogs, supply feathers and other remains to the witchcraft trade. elephants or vultures, the NC The populations’ rapid declines pose a serious threat to public Zoo is using telemetry to spy on and save wildlife. CORINNE KENDALL, PH.D., ZOO ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF CONSERVATION health as well as to the health of local ecosystems. By consum - Winter 2 01 6 | 9 Winter 2 01 6 | FIELD

Frogs in Politics and Conservation in North Carolina

Herpetological Society, Ms. Hopkins lobbied successfully to have the state legislature confirm her choice. The title became official in June 2013, when Governor McCrory signed the bill that added the Pine Barrens Treefrog to the list of other official state organisms (i.e., the Dogwood as the State Flower, the Cardinal as the State Bird, the Eastern Box Turtle as the State Reptile, and the Plott Hound as the State Dog). So, What’s So Special About the Pine Barrens Treefrog? This little treefrog bears the name of the habitat that it occupies in the most northern part of its range, the pine barrens of south - ern New Jersey (another state that has named it as its state frog). Smallish and slender, the Pine Barrens Treefrog bears a s it rambles from the Smokies to the Outer Banks, North striking resemblance to the larger and more common Green ACarolina’s changing landscape supports a high level of Treefrog. But, unlike the widely distributed Green Treefrog, the amphibian diversity. Consider that, within its borders, the Pine Barrens Treefrog lives only in three widely separated are - state boasts around 30 species of frogs and toads as well as nas. The first is in New Jersey. A second begins at the shoreline another 60 or so species of salamanders. (These numbers will of Florida’s western panhandle and stretches into southeastern vary from time to time, depending on whom you ask.) But, with Alabama. The third, and probably the largest, covers a swath of so many frog options to choose from, it is not surprising that, land that begins in North Carolina’s southern coastal plains and when the legislature finally decided to name an official “state arches into the Sandhills of both North and South Carolina. frog,” it chose a truly spectacular species. This disjointed distribution results from this amphibian’s spe - Confirming this species did not come without some political cialized adaptations, which predispose it to thrive in habitats that discontent. It began when someone nominated the American are too acidic for most other amphibians to tolerate. In the Bullfrog to become the state frog. Its nomination drew loud calls Carolinas, Pine Barrens Treefrogs live in the acidic drains and of protest from the state’s herpetologists (people who study rep - seeps that pool inside Longleaf Pine forests. These shrubby tiles and amphibians), because they could not bear the thought wetlands grow sphagnum moss, carnivorous plants, cane and of elevating bullfrogs to such prestigious heights. ferns (as well as many, many chiggers) and these wetlands tend It was not that herpetologists wanted to slight our native bull - to be too acidic and, often, too ephemeral to accommodate the frog. They, better than anyone, knew its strengths: it holds the physical needs and maturation times of many species of tadpoles. record as the state’s biggest frog, and it is likely the best known Belting Frogs! of the state’s frog species. People in every North Carolina county grow up thinking that its “jug-o-rum” calls are the signa - Over the past decades, the state’s population of Pine Barrens ture sound of a hot and humid summer night in the South. Treefrogs has declined as individuals have disappeared from But, on the other hand, herpetologists see the bullfrog as, for different parts of its range. But, because so little is known about lack of a better word, just so “ordinary.” It is one of the world’s this species’ habits and needs, conservationists have been at a most common frogs and, in many places, it has become a loss to explain these declines and what might be done to destructive, invasive species. Besides, because herpetologists develop a conservation plan. Currently, we cannot answer ques - understand the rich diversity of the state’s frogs, they were pre - tions as simple as: How do these frogs behave before and after pared to champion less well-known, but rarer and more spectac - they breed? How does fire, which is key to maintaining healthy ular species. Longleaf Pine habitat, affect this treefrog’s survival? Which Budding herpetologist Rachel Hopkins, a teenage student types of vegetation do these treefrogs prefer? from Raleigh, agreed, and led the charge to make the Pine Until we can answer these and other questions, we will not be Barrens Treefrog our state frog. With help from the NC able to protect this species. And, that is why, in the spring of 10 | ALIVE 2014, zookeepers from the NC Zoo and biologists from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission decided to pool their resources and talents to study the needs of this disappear - ing species. Spotted Salamanders : In our initial meetings, we agreed that we would need to Some Breed in Winter track treefrogs to begin to understand them, and we decided to use radio telemetry to allow us to get an intimate picture By late fall, your typical salamander of the behaviors of a few individuals. Without this or some has crept into a rotting log or under - similar technologies, we would have to stumble around in the ground burrow to shelter, insulated and G dark, depending on luck to help us find and observe shifting warm, until spring’s warm rains return. R O . A groups of the frogs. Within some species, though, southern I D E M We were fortunate to have this option. Technology has I

salamanders take shorter winter naps than K I W . only recently produced transmitters that are light enough to their northern counterparts. S N load onto a 4 to 5 gram frog (i.e., the weight of a nickel) and O Up North, salamanders reliably sleep through the winter. M M still have batteries that last long enough to make a study. O C

Down South, the members of several species will wake up E N

Before we bought any transmitters, though, we struggled I

early if a brief stretch of mild temperatures and gentle rain Z A with ﬁnding the best way to attach a 0.3 gram (about the M settles in long enough to masquerade as spring. One of A C

weight of an aspirin) transmitter to a frog without harming it. Y B

these early breeders, the Spotted Salamander, is also one of ” R

After much research and brainstorming, we created a pro - E North America’s most striking amphibians. Its bands con - D N totype belt that we were pretty sure would be strong enough A M

gregate in moist forest habitats throughout most of eastern A L

to hold a transmitter in place. We modiﬁed it with a pressure- A S North America, avoiding only the southern ends of D sensitive mechanism that would release the belt if it snagged E T T

Louisiana and Georgia and almost all of Florida. O on something and the frog tugged to get free. When we P S were satisfied with our design, we ordered four transmitters Though dainty to look at, Spotted Salamanders are con - “ using grant money from the local chapter of the American sidered large and robust for terrestrial salamanders. Adults Association of Zoo Keepers. reach lengths of 6 to 9 inches. They spend most of their We started our pilot study in August 2014 and, after time on land and in forests, feeding on a vast menu of bugs, adjusting to the challenges it uncovered, we confirmed that spiders and other invertebrates. Spurring sunlight and arid - the belt and tracking equipment worked and our methodol - ity, Spotted Salamanders pass the daylight hours inside bur - ogy was sound enough to expand the study into 2015’s rows or under leaves or other debris. Only at night do they breeding season. venture out of hiding. Of course, it turned out that finding sites with frogs, captur - Throughout their southern range Spotted Salamanders ing a few to study and then actually tracking them was a lot will rise, often in great numbers, to breed from December harder than we thought it would be. We had to work mostly to March, when the weather suits their needs. Often, they in the dark. (These frogs usually call after sunset on warm— migrate in large bands, marching from their winter resting sticky—summer nights.) We had to pick through dense places to fish-less breeding ponds, pools, swamps or other brush. (Greenbriar snaked around all the pools and occa - small and calm bodies of water. sionally reached out to trip us, especially when one of our Males arrive first, gathering at the water’s edge to wait hands was busy waving an antenna around.) And, then there for females. When one steps into the pool, several males were those aforementioned chiggers—everywhere! (The itch will commence courtship by nuzzling her and, eventually, they left behind kept their memory alive for weeks.) dropping their spermatophores—neat little packages stuffed But, despite these challenges, the experience of working with sperm—under the water, near her feet. Eventually, she for the frogs and for conservation built memories that will last. Forever etched in my mind is one particular night this sum - will find a packet and pick it up using a maneuver that mer. We were caught in a downpour that left us drenched to looks rather like egg-laying in reverse. She squats over the the bone for several hours. It was later that night (while cold spermatophore, pushes it into her cloaca, rises and walks and uncomfortably wet) that I was able to squat in a wetland away with all she needs to fertilize her eggs internally. and immerse myself into the world of the Pine Barrens Within a few days, she will lay her eggs and depart. Four Treefrog. Surrounded by a cacophony of the calling frogs, it to six weeks later, the eggs will hatch into larvae that have was one of those rare moments when I felt truly privileged to front feet, feathery gills and a lizard-like tail. Over the next be experiencing something that few people ever will. nine to 16 weeks, each larva undergoes a metamorphosis We finished collecting data on our frogs in August. While that trades its gills in for lungs, tacks on two hind legs, our vegetation surveys are not yet complete, we recorded adds eyelids and a tongue and makes other adjustments that data on 20 frogs from four different sites. Eventually, what turn the fully aquatic youngster into a four-legged creature we learned will help us plan conservation programs that will fit to live in a forest. help secure a future for this species in North Carolina. JOHN D. GROVES, CURATOR EMERITUS OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES CHRIS SHUPP, KEEPER SUPERVISOR Winter 2 01 6 | 11 Gilmore Plant & Bulb Co. Jimmy John’s Lori Lanier Photography Jimmy Leonard III Lowe’s Home Improvement Center of Asheboro Monroe’s Music – Tony Hoover The NC Zoo Society would like to thank our Signature Sponsor Randolph The Plant Shop Communications, as well as our other Zoo To Do sponsors, donors, volun - Pepsi Bottling Ventures teers and guests for making Zoo To Do 2015—An Affair to Remember—a PIP Printing R.H. Barringer Distributing, Co. success. This year’s event raised $128,665 that will be used to help the Zoo Reddy Ice, Inc. upgrade some of its service buildings and work areas. Tanya Rivera Tarheel Generator Signature Sponsor: Live Auction Bill & Ann Hoover Becky Tarlton Randolph Communications Alabama Theatre – Myrtle Beach Insurance Associates of the Triad United Country – Rogers Alligator Adventure $10,000 Klaussner Home Furnishings Auctioneers, Inc. Art of Solomon W. Jagwe “Ann Onymous” Mid State Toyota Villa Photography Asheboro Auto Mall MOM Brands Bill Walden Sound System, LLC $5,000 Biltmore Estate Adam & Liz Orvos Hickory Printing Solutions Children’s Museum of South “Freeze Frame” Pam Potter $1,000 Cash Giveaway Sponsor $2,500 Carolina Pugh Funeral Home Vickie Comer Superior Mechanical NeoNova/NRTC/Telispire Missy & Sam Rankin Incorporated Technimark, LLC Camille & Tim Cunnup Scott & Pam Reed Mike Durham Food, Fun & $1,500 John & Fowler Ruffin Mike Ferree Entertainment Sir Pizza of Asheboro Asheboro Elastics Corporation Four Saints Brewing Company AAA Vacations – Greensboro Bank of North Carolina StarPet, Inc. From the Ground Up – Michael Wendover Place BB&T Thomas Tire & Automotive Mahan & Levi Mahan BAM! Books-A-Million Carolina Bank of Asheboro Charles & Jenny Winston Grandfather Mountain Beauti-Control/Bridget Ashley- Clapp’s Convalescent Nursing Zhone Technologies Stewardship Foundation Harris Home, Inc. Judy Younts Jimmy John’s Bermuda Run Country Club CommunityOne $500 Dr. & Mrs. David Jones Biltmore Estate Diversified Trust Company – Acme – McCrary and Sapona Earl & Margery Johnson Black Lady Sews Michael Fisher Foundation Longhorn Steakhouse – Myrtle Bojangles’ Energizer, Inc. Plants 1 & 2 Burge Flower Shop Beach Terri Britt Richard & Susan Garkalns Charlie’s Heating & Cooling Eck McCanless Pottery Cakes by Cindy Ink n’ Stitches, LLC East Coast Lumber Phil Morgan Pottery Carolina Brewery Mr. Scott Lea Elastic Therapy NC Zoo Animal Division Carolina Panthers McDowell Lumber Company The Fresh Market Pottery by Frank Neef Charlotte Hornets Danny & Wendy Mull Willy & Brooke Garrou Ben Owen Pottery The Cheesecake Factory Randolph Hospital Minor & Tiffany Hinson Palace Theatre – Myrtle Beach Chick-fil-A of Asheboro Randolph Medical Associates It’s Leather, Inc. Patchwork Possibilities – Dr. Scott Cycle Center Rheem Heating & Cooling JD Contractors, LLC Murkin Tommy Davis The Timken Company – Asheboro Liberty Tax Service Pinehurst Resort & Country Club Deb Wise Creations Plant Walker & Joanne Moffitt Precision Art Putters Discovery Place Triad Corrugated Metal Dan & Connie Mull Joseph Sand Pottery di’lishi Tri-City Mechanical Contractors, Oliver Rubber Company Lenton Slack Dollywood Inc. Sodexo Catering Turlington & Company, LLC Pointe South Dance & Tumble Ennobra Bloom Boutique Mr. J.M. Ramsay, Jr. STARworks NC The Exchange Banquet & Meeting $1,000 Randolph Electric Membership The Star Bed & Breakfast Hall Bojangles’ Corporation Tot Hill Farm Golf Club Kathy Fernandez Mr. & Mrs. Howard Burkart RE/MAX Central Realty/ H.R. & Juan & Diane Villa – Villa Margaret Giles Care ‘N Motion Physical Vickie Gallimore Photography Green Hill Center for NC Art – Therapy/RLJ Transport, Inc. Riazzi Rhyne & Swaim Investment Michael & Paige Wilhoit ArtQuest Chili’s – Asheboro Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, Anna Hinson Nicole Crawford LLC Special Th anks Bill & Ann Hoover Able Custom Signs Bill & Sarah Currens Ridge Funeral Home & Cremation Jimmy John’s American Premium Beverage Duke Energy Services LaRose Candles Beane Signs First Bank – Asheboro Dave & Gretchen Sawicki Magnolia 23 The Courier Tribune Heart of North Carolina Visitor’s Jay & Leslie Smith Marbles Kids Museum Four Saints Brewing Company Bureau Wells Fargo Archie McGee 12 | ALIVE NC Zoo Education Division Humble Mill Pottery NC Zoo Red Wolf Keepers In His Image Photography by TRAVEL SAFARI Nantahala Outdoor Center Carolyn Olive Garden – Greensboro William Ivey Outback Steakhouse John Ireland Photography P.F. Chang’s – Chinese Bistro Mary Beth Kidd Pinewood Country Club Klaussner Home Furnishings Playmakers Repertory Company Kovack Pottery 2016 Destination Alaska in Summer: Under the Midnight Sun the preppy possum Latham’s Pottery Primitive Knife Artworks & George Lentz June 15 – 25 $7,689 Includes air travel inside Alaska Jewelry Les III An intimate exploration of some of Alaska’s most dra - Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants Lonesome Joe’s Wood Shop matic landscapes and the opportunity to experience & Hotels John Lopienski first-hand the richness of her wildlife. The itinerary Queens Landing, Lake Norman Lori Lanier Photography includes an extensive Park Service guided tour of Denali R.H. Barringer Distributing Co. Luck’s Ware National Park, a riverboat ride down the Chena and Randolph-Asheboro YMCA Lufkin Pottery Tanama rivers, a hike into Talkeetna to look for wildlife, Richland Creek Zip Line Bill Lunsford Santosha Yoga Kim Luther excursions to Anchorage, Seward, Kenai Fjords and more. Soulshine Artistry Mama Shabs Designs See the full itinerary at NCZoo.com. Sports Attic Christy McKenzie Tot Hill Farm Golf Club McNeill’s Pottery Total Fitness Terrance Meadows Toys & Co. Mimi Tinkles 2017 Destination Zoo City Drug Pam Myers A Luxury Safari to Tanzania Art & Décor and NC Zoo Animal Division February 28 – March 11 $8,995 per person * Pottery NC Zoo – Baboon Keepers Tour the mysterious wonderland of Hemingway’s Africa NC Zoo – Lemur Keepers Valerie Abbott with our most renowned tour leader and wildlife conser - NC Zoo – Lion Keepers Eric Abernathy vation expert, former Zoo Director Dr. David Jones, and NC Zoo – Rocky Coast Keepers Amish Trading Post his wife Janet. This 10-day luxury trip explores Tanzania’s NC Zoo – Rhino Keepers Arc of High Point NC Zoo – Sonora Desert Keepers most iconic parks and conservation areas, including Art from the Heart NCR Photography Tarangire and Lake Manyara national parks, Ngorongoro Asheboro Dodge, Asheboro Conservation Area and Africa’s most renowned wildlife Honda & Asheboro Nissan Fred Nance Ashley Interiors Nichols Pottery area, Serengeti National Park. Enjoy top-tier accommoda - Rich Bergl & Amy Hanson O’Quinn Pottery tions in luxury tented safari camps all along the route. An Black Lady Pots Ken and Diane Powell optional post-extension trip to Zanzibar is available for Blue Rhino R.H. Barringer Distributing Co. an additional fee of $2,265 per person, including flight Buck’s Ridge Sam Ramsey from Arusha to Zanzibar and Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam. Cori Cagle Rockhouse Pottery Linda Ronsick * Based on double-occupancy - International airfare is not Cagle Road Pottery included. Estimated airfare from Raleigh Durham $2,590. Carl King Art Jack Winfield Ross Carolina Girl Furniture Seagrove Stoneware – Alexa Modderno Nikki Cherry Sherwin Williams Chrisco’s Pottery Mike Shinn Creative Glass & Crafts Lori Shoenfeld & Scott Shoenfeld Andy Crofoot Southern Belle Decorative Paint Martha Crotty Melissa Southern Photography Custom Creations by MM Jim Spires Steve & Rhonda Eblin Teague’s Frogtown Pottery John Fogarty Thomas Pottery Four Paw Pottery Danny Townsend Freeman Pottery Triple C Pottery Susan Garkalns Turn & Burn Pottery Gingerbread House Pottery Uwharrie Crystalline Candace Hammond Vinny Colucci Photography Hardin’s Furniture Conrad Weiser Michele Hastings & Jeff Brown Pottery Donna Wellington Westmoore Pottery Visit the NC Zoo Society’s Web site, nczoo.com , to learn more Heart Shine Studios about these trips and to review the other travel options through Hickory Hill Pottery Tiffany Wheless William Mangum Fine Art the Zoo Society. Or, give us a call to speak to someone about High Point Furniture any of our travel expeditions. Winter 2 01 6 | 13

Veterinary and Field Thank yous go out to the very generous donors who provided gifts of $1,000 or more to the Camps for 2016 Society, 6/12/2015 –9/16/15 .

NC Zoo and Zoo Society Ace/Avant Concrete B. Parks & Jane Freeze J Pearsall “Wild and Wonderful” Learning Alderman Company The Fresh Market Francis & Abbie Pepper Experiences for Young People Beverly & Jimmy Allman Genie Frick Pepsi Bottling Ventures American Premium Karyl Gabriel Perth Zoo NC Zoo and Zoo Society Veterinary Camps Beverage Russell & Geordana Phil Morgan Pottery These hands-on camps explore zoo veterinary Amick’s Superstore Gantman Carl & Mary Porchey medicine. Sessions are held in the Zoo’s veteri - Mable Anderson & A. P. Alisha & Samuel Gilliland Ms. Pam Potter Anderson, Jr. nary hospital and are taught by Zoo veterinary Graphik Dimensions Ltd. Diane & Ken Powell Anonymous Gregory Poole Equipment staff. Final admission into the camps is deter - Randolph Electric Asheboro Auto Mall Company Membership Corporation mined by a lottery, which will take place on Ashley Interiors Häfele America Company Randolph Hospital March 15. Learn more at nczoo.COM. Cynthia & Troy Barger James Harper & Patricia Sam & Missy Rankin JUNIOR VETERINARY CAMPS Ed & Vivien Bauman O’Leary Mr. & Mrs. Scott E. Reed May 14 Coeducational Beane Signs Michael & Virginia Hearne Joan Reid & John August 20 Coeducational Mr. & Mrs. E. S. Bessette Leonard G. Herring Family Montgomery Birmingham Zoo Foundation Ms. Jennifer Rozycki & Mr. SENIOR VETERINARY CAMPS Biscuitville, Inc. High Point Bank & Trust Andrew McCabe June 17, 18, 19 Girls only Blumenthal Foundation Company John & Fowler Ruffin July 15, 16, 17 Coeducational Bojangles’ Mr. Brent Hoover & Ms. Safe-T-Works, Inc The Borden Fund, Inc. Lindsay Harris Robert A. Sebrosky Bill & Ann Hoover Sheetz NC Zoo and Zoo Society Field Camps Burlington Animal Hospital Ron & Cathy Butler IBM Matching Grants Talmadge and Ian These hands-on camps explore careers related Program C & J Crosspieces, LLC Silversides to protecting and conserving rare and endan - Ideacom Carolina Bank Mr. & Mrs. C. Hamilton gered species and studying free-ranging ani - William & Rebecca Sloan Carolina Farmers Mutual Johnson mals in the wild. Campers spend one night Insurance Company Richard C. Sloan Dr. & Mrs. David M. Jones camping inside the park. Classes are taught by Steve & Patti Carson Ms. Sally Snodgrass Ms. Sherry A. Kellett Zoo Conservation Biolgists and Society Carter’s Family Pharmacy Sodexo Mr. Thomas S. Kenan III Education Staff. Applicants are accepted as Chili’s Asheboro Southern Industrial Ms. Pamela L. Kopp soon as their applications are completed and Dennis Clements & Martha Constructors Mr. Scott C. Lea approved. Learn more at nczoo.COM. Ann Keels Southland Electrical Supply Charles & Martha Lewis Fred & Alice Stanback All field camps are coeducational. Ginger & Kelly Coble The Courier-Tribune Ms. Doris Lin & Mr. Jason State Employees Combined Leonard May 21, 22 Junior Field Camp Ms. Nicole Crawford Campaign Lowe’s Flatbed D.C.-0989 June 25, 26 Senior Field Camp John Crosland III John H. Stelling & Victoria August 6, 7 Senior Field Camp Lowe’s Millwork DC - Herring Camille & Tim Cunnup 973/3174 Mr. William E. Currens, Jr. Strategic Alliance Group Lowe’s Statesville LLC/FotoFX! Davis Furniture Industries, Distribution Center #960 Shadow a Veterinarian Inc. SunGard Public Sector Lowes Foods, LLC. Therapeutic Alternatives Once a month, the Zoo offers the opportunity for Diversified Trust Company Alan & Jacqueline Luria The Timken Company two people to shadow Senior Veterinarian, Dr. Keith & Barbara Drum Martin Marietta Aggregates Mr. Mike Durham Toms Creek Nursery & Jb Minter, for an entire morning while he makes Bob & Bonnie Meeker Landscaping Durham Academy rounds inside the Zoo. When rounds are com - Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Tot Hill Farm Golf Club East Coast Trailer & pleted, join Dr. Minter and his staff for lunch and Inc. Equipment Co. Inc Triad Corrugated Metal, Mr. & Mrs. Hayes Murdoch Inc. then enjoy a golf cart tour of the Zoo. Dates are Eck McCanless Pottery Scott & Mary Murkin Leonard & Joyce B. Tufts flexible and are arranged on mutually agreed Ecoquest Travel, Inc. upon Saturdays. Visit nczoo.COM to learn more. NC Touchstone Energy Monty & Nancy White Edward Jones – Cooperatives Greensboro Wildlife Conservation NC Zoological Park – Society – New York Visit the NC Zoo Society’s Webpage, nczoo.COM, to Edward Jones – High Point FOR MORE INFORMATION: Animal Division Russ Williams & Ann learn more about these experiences. Candace & Robert Elder Teresa & Daniel Newton Lynch We begin accepting applications for all of our 2016 Energizer North Carolina Troopers Charles & Jenny Winston camps on December 15, 2015. Applications are ESRI Association World Wide Fund for accepted over the Internet and by mail. All Junior Charlene & Steve Ewing Martha Noyes Nature Camps are for rising 7th through 9th graders. Senior Fidelity Bank Mr. & Mrs. Perry E. Mrs. Frances D. Young camps are for rising 10th graders through college William H. and Muriel J. Nystrom Ms. Judy Younts freshmen. Nearly all tuition costs are tax-deductible as Fox Endowment Fund Mr. Adam Orvos a donation to the NC Zoo Society. 14 | ALIVE As the Holiday Season nears, we hope that our readers and Zoo supporters will consider celebrating the season with gifts from the Zoo Society.

Adopt one-year-old chimp, Gus, for the holidays. Being an adoptive parent makes zoo visits that much 2015 more fun! Each $45 pack - age includes a 12" plush Chimp, an Adoption Certiﬁcate and a photo/fact sheet about chimps. We’ll also include a gift card with your special message. Another collector’s ornament from local artist Proceeds support the Zoo’s Animal Enrichment Program. Chris Gabriel. This limited edition piece can be purchased at nczoo.com for $24.95. This price includes shipping. HOLIDAY ADOPTION FORM Adoptions will be mailed December 9th unless stated here ______Buyer’s Name: ______Zoo Memberships and Programs stay fresh and fun Address: ______for 12 months (or even a lifetime) and give families City: ______State: _____ Zip: ______an incentive, and a place, to come together to enjoy Home Phone: ______nature and wildlife. And, the gift of a Zoo Society Email Address: ______Backstage Pass to feed an elephant, a puffin or Recipient’s Name: ______another favorite animal can build memories that Address: ______last forever. City: ______State: _____ Zip: ______Home Phone: ______ Zoo Honorariums will warm the hearts of loved ones Email Address: ______who already have all they need, including a generous Personal Message: ______spirit, and will provide the Zoo with the annual ______support it needs to help care for its most precious ______assets, its animals, its plants and its visitors. Send adoption: ______to me ______to recipient (The above price includes standard shipping.) Credit Card: ___Visa ___ MasterCard ___ AmEx ___Discover Because the NC Zoo has raised its ticket prices, Zoo Society mem - Number: ______Exp.:______bership prices will go up in 2016. Buy your gift memberships now Three or four digit security code from the back of credit card______(or think about renewing early) to lock in 2015’s prices. (Rates will rise between $6 and $15 depending on the membership level.) Signature: ______

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wo of the Zoo’s newest exhibit ani - mals are the California Sea Lions, Diesel and Owen. Both came to the NC Zoo from a California wildlife rehabilita - tTion facility that rescues stranded marine mammals. Both animals were rehabilitated and released after a first stranding. But, when they turned up stranded a second time, officials decided to place them in a good home—the NC Zoo—where they would be taken care of. Since then, Diesel and Owen have joined Ronan and Paco, the Zoo’s two Harbor Seals, in the Rocky Coast Exhibit. Now, at first glance, these two animals probably look pretty similar to most of our readers. Both Harbor Seals and Sea Lions share a torpedo-shaped body plan. But, once you get past this sleek silhouette, Harbor Seals and Sea Lions actually look quite different. Look carefully at the pictures to see if you can find at least four ways that Sea Lions look different from Harbor Seals. Then check the list on the opposite page to see what differences you might not have noticed. If you watch them swim or move about on land, you will see even more differ - ences. A seal uses its hind-flippers to push T T

forward in the water and steers with its O B B A

front-flippers. A sea lion does the opposite. E I R E L

It powers forward with its fore-flippers and A V

y b

steers by using its hind-flippers as a rudder. s o t o h

On land, seals move around like cater - P pillars because they cannot draw their hind flippers under them to walk around. Sea Lions can tuck their hind-flippers under their bodies and rise up to walk around on all fours. 16 | ALIVE Backstage P asses 2016 These Close Encounters Make Magniﬁcent , Memorable Gifts for Any Occasion

Tickets go on sale November 30. Group sizes are kept small, so programs often fill up quickly. Please note the age requirements for attending programs. Prices quoted are for NC Zoo Society members. Add $10 for non-members and be aware that prices do not include General Admission to the Zoo. Meet & Feed the Otters - 11 a.m. Must be at least 7 years old* $95 March 12 May 7 July 9 Sept. 3, Oct. 15 Meet & Feed the Giraffes - 5:30 p.m. Must be at least 6 years old* $99 April 16 Aug. 27 Oct .1 Meet the Grizzly - 1:30 p.m. Must be at least 10 years old* Not ADA accessible $95 March 19 July 23 Oct. 15 Bison & Elk Safari - 1:30 p.m. Must be at least 8 years old* $95 June 11 Meet & Feed the Gorilla - 1:15 p.m. Must be at least 6 years old* & 5 feet tall $99 April 2 July 30 Aug. 13 Sept. 3 Oct. 29 Meet & Feed the Puffin - 1:30 p.m. Must be at least 8 years old* Not ADA accessible $79 April 9 Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Oct. 29 Meet & Feed the Elephant - 2:30 p.m. Must be at least 10 years old* $100 April 16 June 11 July 30 Oct. 8 Meet & Feed the Aviary Birds - 8:15 a.m. Must be at least 6 years old* $85; March 5 April 2 June 11 Oct. 1 Schooling Seals and Polar Bears - 1:30 p.m. Must be at least 12 years old* Not ADA accessible $85 May 7 July 9 Sept. 17 How to Entertain a Cougar - 1:30 p.m. Must be at least 12 years old* $75 April 9 June 4 Backstage with Lions See How They’re Trained - 3 p.m. Must be at least 12 years old* $100 June 4 Sept. 24 Backstage with Chimps See How They’re Trained - 3 p.m. Must be at least 12 years old* $100 March 12 May 7 July 30 VIP Encounter with a Rhino 10:30 a.m. Must be at least 8 years old $99 March 19 July 9 Sept. 10 *Children younger than 15 must be accompanied by a paying adult. To sign up online, click on EVENTS at nczoo.com, or call us during regular business hours (336-879-7250). Add $10 to purchase tickets for non- members. Prices are ‘per person .’ All or most of the cost of an event is tax- deductible as a donation to the NC Zoo’s Conservation Programs. Got questions? Call or send an email to [email protected] . Winter 2 01 6 | 17 NO N-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID HICKORY, NC PERMIT #104

4403 Zoo Parkway Asheboro, NC 27205 www.nczoo.com

The NC Zoo Society is your bridge to more than a Zoo visit. We make you a partner in the Zoo’s global efforts to support • Animal well-being • Conservation • Education • Field Work • Research And we welcome you into a family that cares about nature.

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Congratulations to the NC Zoo for Winning AZA ’s 2015 Significant Achievement in International Conservation Award

Recently, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums recognized the NC Zoo and its partner, New York’s Wildlife Conservation Society, for their success in protecting the critically endangered Cross River Gorilla. Dr. Richard Bergl, the NC Zoo’s Curator of Conservation and Research, accepted the 2015 Significant Achievement in International Conservation Award at the Association’s national conference this past September. Dr. Bergl has led this conservation project since 2008, when it was established to protect Cross River Gorillas from poaching, mostly for the bushmeat trade, and from habitat destruction. Restricted to a small range inside parts of Nigeria and Cameroon, the world’s population of Cross River Gorillas totals around 300. Dr. Bergl’s program won national recognition by providing wildlife and law enforcement ofﬁcials with hand-held, mobile computer systems to use in tracking the gorillas, assessing the activities of poachers and evaluating the successes of different intervention efforts. Long-term statistical analyses of these inter - ventions have documented the program’s success in signiﬁcantly increasing protection levels for the gorillas while reducing threats to their survival and maintaining the stability of their population. “The long-term collaboration between our Zoo and the Wildlife Conser- vation Society is an excellent example of how zoos work together to save species from extinction,” said NC Zoo Director Pat Simmons. “By bringing together a broad range of expertise and resources, our partnership has helped to preserve not only Cross River Gorillas but also the other plant and animal species that share this forest home.” ANDREW DUNN/WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY