ZOO FACT RWPZ is home to more than 160 species .

animals have noticed the absence of people .”

Willie is a total people donkey , trotting right up when we visit his enclosure and shoving his face in my hand so I can give his cheek a good scratch . His yard-mates , the alpacas , also seem pleased by our arrival ( though I keep my distance from the light brown one , Chloe , who is a spitter ) as are the three Shetland sheep and the eleven goats across the way . Petunia , a tough old Guinea Hog broad who survived cancer , is housed by herself , as is Moya the barn owl ; both seem quite content without the mayhem of roommates . As Fugate introduces me to each animal , sprinkling in facts about their backgrounds , personalities and diets , I ask if he learned all of this in school . “ I did get a bachelor ’ s degree in zoology , but

to be completely frank with you , on the job is really how you learn .”

We exit the barn and I follow him to an office where we read notes from previous shifts .

“ It helps us keep track of changes with the animals . I can see last Wednesday the vet tech came down and drew blood from the sheep . That kind of information is useful , less because we ’ re concerned with test results , but more if , let ’ s say , one of them develops an ulceration or an abscess ," Fugate says . “ These allow us to know everything going into a shift .”

He says it was especially useful when teams A and B needed to communicate . | | CONTINUED ON PAGE 137

Meet Beany

One of the few highlights of RWPZ ’ s shutdown due to COVID-19 was the birth of an adorable baby two-toed sloth in May . “ It was our first sloth birth here , and mom had a lot of difficulties giving birth , so we had to bring her down to the hospital . It was scary but they did a great job and both mom and the baby are thriving now . He ’ s like a little celebrity ,” says executive director Jeremy Goodman .

The zoo held a naming contest , asking for a small donation per entry . After combing through 1,000 suggestions and raising more than $ 15,000 for the emergency fund , RWPZ settled on Beany . But there ’ s more to the story : Beany is named after Brenton Gaudreault , a fifteen-year-old who died in June after a long-fought battle with osteosarcoma . Nicknamed Beany since birth , Brenton ’ s mother also often affectionately referred to him as “ her sloth .” When RWPZ announced the contest , Brenton ’ s mother knew it was a sign . She and her family and friends showed up in force . Now , they will always have another piece of Beany to visit at RWPZ .

To learn more about RWPZ ’ s current hours of operation and how you can support the zoo during this time , visit rwpzoo . org .