Welcome to Zoo Tails! The internet resource for zoos around the world including pictures, video, reviews, news, construction updates, and more. If you're an animal lover then you've come to the right place! Unofficial guide to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
Baby elephants are born big, standing approximately three feet (one meter) tall and weighing 200 pounds (91 kilograms) at birth. They nurse for two to three years, and are fully mature at 9 (females) to 15 (males) years of age.
A big thank you to all of you who entered our Giraffe Baby Naming Contest.
The contest closed on January 15 and we went to work to compile the more than 650 names sent in. There were some very creative and thought-provoking names. Many of you also took the time to do research to find the perfect name for our little “big” guy. We appreciate your attention to detail!
You can now vote for the Top 5 names as selected by a panel of judges from our animal care department. Please vote once from January 20-29, after which the polls will close. The winning name will be announced on or about February 1.
The Top 5 names met the contest criteria that included use of a name that included a special meaning related to the reticulated giraffe's native range of northeast Africa, Somalia and northern Kenya. These included words in Swahilli, other languages, or based on a cultural or historical reference.
Please note that the rules indicate that the duplicate submissions of the winning name will be picked randomly for the final grand prize. If your name is selected, like submissions will be placed together and the final winner will be randomly pulled from a hat.
Behind the Thrills recently visited SeaWorld Orlando to check out the latest goings on. They've got a small photo update from Sea World Orlando including loads of pictures of Atlantis, Manta, and Omaka Rocka. Check it out!
I got a new Nikon camera for my birthday so we decided to put it to good use by visiting the Detroit Zoo. It was a little on the cold side so we thought it was going to be a crappy day but it turned out even more enjoyable than our visit last summer. Animals of note that were a treat to see were the baby red panda, arctic foxes, wolverine and, of course, feeding the giraffes. Enjoy the pictures!
SeaWorld San Diego welcomes Sully, a new young male pilot whale, to the park this week. Sully had beached himself on Curacao last July, an island in the Caribbean, and was nursed back to health. The local rescue teams made several attempts to re-introduce Sully back into the wild but each time Sully would follow the boat back to shore, showing no sign of wanting to return to the ocean. With no long term care facility to take care of Sully, it was determined that SeaWorld San Diego was the most suitable new home for him, as the park has a long history of care and experience in taking care of pilot whales for over 20 years.
Today is our first Park Map Spotlight! Similar to the Brochure Spotlight feature, I will be displaying old park maps of zoos that I have collected over the years. Our first trip takes us to the Alligator Farm of St. Augustine, Florida. This park map is from the mid-nineties and according to Wikipedia: The park began in 1893 on St. Augustine Beach as a minor attraction at the end of a railway running through neighboring Anastasia Island. The alligators were added at first to get visitors to buy souvernirs and see the museum there. Soon, though, the reptiles themselves became the point of interest. Growing in popularity, the park moved to its current location in the early 1920s. The park changed owners in the 1930s, and after a devastating fire, they started reconstruction and expansion of the facilities.
The highlight of the trip to the Alligator Farm back then was Gomek, one of the largest crocodiles to ever be put on display. Gomek even has his very own Wikipedia page:
Gomek was a large Saltwater Crocodile captured by George Craig in Papua New Guinea. He was purchased by Terri and Arthur Jones in 1985 and was kept in Ocala, Florida for five years before being sold to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in Florida. For 8 years he wowed spectators with both his amazing nutria-tossing abilities and his even more amazing tolerance of people. Feeders of the large croc were allowed to go into the enclosure and get as close as 1 meter from the large animal (a normally suicidal proximity) without any fear of attack. While feeders still used long tongs to feed Gomek, he was generally considered to be a "tame" crocodile and was the favorite of the Alligator farm and people around the nation.
After many years, Gomek died of heart disease on March 6, 1997. By then, he was a very old crocodile, and one of the largest and tamest captive crocodile in existence. When he died, he was 17 feet 8 inches (5.5 m) long, and weighed nearly 2,000 pounds - as confirmed by St. Augustine Alligator Farm - and probably between 80 and 90 years old. There is a tribute to Gomek in St. Augustine.
I’ll have to dig up some of my pictures of Gomek from our visit but for now enjoy this feeding video courtesy of YoutTube:
are born big, standing approximately three feet (one meter) tall and weighing 200 pounds (91 kilograms) at birth. They nurse for two to three years, and are fully mature at 9 (females) to 15 (males) years of age.
use golden eagles to hunt wolves and foxes. Check out this video:
to check out the latest goings on. They've got a small photo update from Sea World Orlando
including loads of pictures of Atlantis
, Manta, and Omaka Rocka. Check it out!
for my birthday so we decided to put it to good use by visiting the Detroit Zoo
. It was a little on the cold side so we thought it was going to be a crappy day but it turned out even more enjoyable than our visit last summer. Animals of note that were a treat to see were the baby red panda, arctic foxes, wolverine and, of course, feeding the giraffes. Enjoy the pictures!
-introduce Sully back into the wild but each time Sully would follow the boat back to shore, showing no sign of wanting to return to the ocean. With no long term care facility to take care of Sully, it was determined that SeaWorld San Diego was the most suitable new home for him, as the park has a long history of care and experience in taking care of pilot whales for over 20 years.
. This park map is from the mid-nineties and according to Wikipedia: The park began in 1893 on St. Augustine Beach as a minor attraction at the end of a railway running through neighboring Anastasia Island. The alligators were added at first to get visitors to buy souvernirs and see the museum there. Soon, though, the reptiles themselves became the point of interest. Growing in popularity, the park moved to its current location in the early 1920s. The park changed owners in the 1930s, and after a devastating fire, they started reconstruction and expansion of the facilities.
even has his very own Wikipedia page:
