Brevard Zoo Membership Newsletter Spring/Summer 2018 | Page 14

AN I MALS Cont. Babies, Babies and More Babies! O ur Nicobar pigeons welcomed their very first chick to the aviary. Three of our impala moms brought calves onto our African veldt. New spider and saki monkey babies joined the troops in La Selva. Mummichog fry populated the aquarium touch tank and new terrapin tank in our Restore Our Shores kiosk. Thirteen new meerkat pups appeared throughout the year. Dedicated staff helped to hand rear countless lory and cockatiel chicks. Lands of Change welcomed two kangaroo joeys and two scimitar-horned oryx calves joined the herd in the African train yard. A New Ambassador N ext time you are at the ...behaviors like hanging Zoo be on the lookout for a from one toe which allows flash of teal and orange flying past your head. You could get them to grab nuts and fruits the opportunity to meet our from vines and branches. newest ambassador, Beni, a blue-throated macaw. Beni is a two-year-old male who arrived at the Zoo last year. Blue-throated macaws are critically-endangered in the wild and Beni was hatched as part of AZA’s SSP. Beni and his trainers go for walks around the Zoo daily and make appearances at the Lands of Change theater for training demonstrations. Besides flying, Beni demonstrates other macaw behaviors like hanging from one toe, which allows him to grab nuts and fruits from vines and branches. Beni lives in a behind-the-scenes area in a large aviary with another blue-throated macaw named Blue. Hello Tamboro! T amboro, an 80-pound, nine-year-old Komodo dragon, is arriving at the Zoo soon! He will be housed separately from five-year-old Sha-Sha for the time being, but we plan to introduce the pair once she gains a little more weight. If they take a liking to each other, baby dragons could be in our future! 14