Africa Update
I f you spent time in Expedition
Africa this summer, you may
have noticed some new faces!
A five-year-old female rock hyrax
arrived at the Zoo in May as a mate for Fangs, our male.
In keeping with our vampire theme, she was named Buffy
by her keepers! Buffy has an international history—she was
born at Olomouc Zoo in the Czech Republic and imported to
Minnesota Zoo in 2014.
In June, resident west African
crowned crane Sarafina, a
female, was joined by male
Royal from San Antonio
Zoo. The pair immediately
“hit it off” and are rarely
seen more than a few feet
from one another.
Not to be outdone, the animals
on the veldt welcomed their fair
share of additions. Our impala
herd swelled to 13 individuals
after two females produced calves.
In April, Masai giraffe Johari gave
birth to her seventh calf, a male; of course, this little one
was fathered by the infamous Rafiki, who now has sired
10 offspring!
Things have been busy in the train yard, too. A male scimitar-
horned oryx calf, Moto, was born to Danika in early February
and Kicha birthed a female
later that month after a
very long and hard labor.
Perhaps because of this,
Kicha did not show any
interest in caring for her
newborn. Animal care staff made the decision
to rear the calf, known as Gracie, by hand. She spent the first
few weeks of life in a stall at the Animal Care Center, then
was moved to an enclosure next to the train yard where she
could see and smell the rest of the herd. Moto developed an
immense interest in Gracie and would visit through the fence!
The keepers took Gracie on “walks” in the train yard to
meet other members of her species. Although the adults
seemed a bit spooked at first, Moto’s familiarity with Gracie
put the herd at ease. She soon transitioned to full-time
residency in the herd. All in all, a success for the oryx and
animal care staff!
It’s not all fun and babies out
there! In July, rock python Saga
was anesthetized for a routine
checkup. Veterinary staff
examined his teeth, drew blood
and used a 3D scanner to look
at his heat-sensing organs.
They also captured X-ray images of his
entire body, which required 10 pictures per side! The meerkats
received exams, too. We looked at all 14 members of the mob
in one day; this is necessary because they may “gang up” on
an individual who returns after being away for a while!
Three Cheers for Lilly!
O ur little Lilly has grown up so quickly! You may have seen her on the news or social media as the kangaroo
joey who was abandoned by her mom when she was almost entirely hairless and weighed less than two
pounds. Lilly was kept in an artificial pouch and was completely dependent on us for warmth, comfort and
food; at the beginning, she had to be fed once every four hours, even in the middle of the night!
It was soon time to integrate Lilly with the rest of the mob. Many steps were taken to ensure this transition
was a smooth one. First, we let her hang out in a pouch in the kangaroo barn with her human caretakers.
Then we had a “sleepover,” which was more stressful for us than it was for Lilly as she slept soundly in the
pouch all night. While we were at first cautiously optimistic about Lilly’s survival, we’re happy to report that, after
five months of hard work, she is now a full-time resident of the Kangaroo Walkabout!
Lights, Camera, Research!
— Darby Proctor, Ph.D., Florida Institute of Technology
O ver the past few months, I’ve been working with one of the Zoo’s lemurs, Matilda, to study how she
makes decisions. To explore this, we trained Matilda how to use a touchscreen computer. We show
her images on the screen and she uses her nose to make a selection. Right now, we are working on
finding out whether she can tell the difference between numbers of objects.
In June, a film crew from Discovery Channel Canada came to check in on Matilda’s progress. While I was
nervous Matilda would be camera shy, she was more than happy to show the crew her touchscreen prowess and
get up close and personal with the cameras. The segment will air on the Science Channel in the US—look for it this fall!
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