At the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center, we have been fortunate to engage the talents of a local artist, Kathleen Kam, who has painted two wonderful murals depicting conservation themes. The first mural depicts the lives of Hawaii’s small forest birds. The second mural portrays the natural history of the `alala, or Hawaiian crow. Both of these colorful murals tell a compelling conservation story and help students better understand the environmental crises facing Hawaii today.

Alan Lieberman is the program director for the San Diego Zoo’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

This kind of behavior signals the beginning of the end of the “denning phase.” Initially, the cub is confined in the den, safe and secure as mom makes her necessary trips out to forage. At about the 90-100 day mark, the denning phase comes to an end and the “lair phase” begins. In this stage, the females bring their cubs along for those foraging trips, temporarily stashing the cub in a bed of bamboo or grass in a spot nearby as they feed. This lair is a type of temporary shelter, hiding the cub and providing some comfort against the elements. Though not as robust or safe as a den, the use of lairs allows the female to range farther and farther in her feeding forays, bringing the cub along. Extending the range of her feeding forays can be important to a wild female if she has depleted much of the bamboo growth near her den site in the early postpartum period.

The cub isn’t terribly active yet, which makes the lair scenario a reasonable one. At this age, they are still doing an awful lot of resting, laying quietly for hours at a time while mom is off feeding. The cub stays put, so mom is able to find it when she returns, and with inactivity the cub isn’t making a lot of noise to draw attention to itself while mom is away.

Bai Yun has been bringing her baby with her more and more often, spending hours together outside the den. Those of you looking for them on the Panda Cam last night may have been disappointed not to have a peek at the cub. Blame Bai Yun! She took the youngster out into the sunroom with her. The cub slept out there, under the stars, for several hours, while Bai Yun first fed and then rested alongside her infant.

Those of you with youngsters of your own probably remember the day when they crawled out of their cribs for the first time: it’s bittersweet, signaling the end of your solitary slumber and the beginning of a new, active phase of your offspring’s life. Here is the panda version: apparently, last night was one of the first times the cub actually took HERSELF out of the den! She tumbled out onto the bedroom floor. At that point Bai Yun decided she would grab her and bring her along for her foray into the sunroom. It won’t be long before the cub will be insisting on following Bai Yun everywhere!

Suzanne Hall is the panda research technician for the San Diego Zoo’s Office of Giant Panda Conservation.

View pandas on Panda Cam.
Get the latest panda cub news, photos, and videos.

The pumpkin was made out of a large cardboard box with all of the staples and tape removed. We adhered strips of newspaper to the box with “glue” made from a flour and water mixture to make the pumpkin strong and harder to get into. We then painted it with orange and black non-toxic tempera paint. The result was a good half hour of fun for our tiger family!

In the past we have made other papier-maché enrichment items for our tigers. For Danai, our 12-year-old female, we constructed a Malayan tapir with a rabbit and a bone from her diet inside. This was a very big project, made with multiple large boxes and newspaper. It took her quite a while to get her rabbit out, and then when she did, she didn’t eat it right away. Instead, she continued to tear up the tapir boxes! For our 12-year-old male, Belang, we made a papier-maché camel, with meat inside and real camel hair from our Bactrian camels on the outside. This was fun because not only did it look like a small camel, it smelled like one too!

I am now in the process of coming up with a new papier-maché to make for the cubs’ dad, Awang. We haven’t given him one yet, and I’m planning to make his a little bit different than the others (actually, a bit easier to get into) because he only has 2 molars and a few incisor teeth (no canines!). But he still has all of his huge claws to tear it up with, so I’m not going to make it too easy!

Bridget Mulholland is a senior mammal keeper at the San Diego Zoo’s Tiger River exhibit.

We knew that many people would be visiting our great apes this weekend, so we decided to set up our stations near the orangutans. The students had a craft station for making great ape masks, a station related to the various types of food we feed our Zoo animals, and how their dental structure can lend insight on whether they’re herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores, and a station focusing on how we as Americans can help conserve great ape habitats by being more-informed, concerned consumers.

We set up near the orangutans not only to reach out to more visitors, but so we could also watch the Behavioral Enrichment session for the orangutans. All week keepers will be doing enrichment and Q&A sessions for public viewing at bonobos at 10 am, orangutans at 12:30 pm, and gorillas at 1:45. We watched as the orangutan keeper tossed in plastic drink bottles filled with sunflower seeds, raisins, and cereal, then stuffed with paper towels. The orangutans had to figure out how to get their treats out of the bottles. The keeper also tossed out pineapple chunks, celery (an orangutan favorite!), melon, and other fruits and veggies. We were all very entertained as we watched Josephine, an older female orangutan, gather up all the celery and horde it all for herself. When the baby siamang came over and tried to grab one away from her, she kept her grip – that was her celery! Clyde, the large male orangutan, was a crack-up too as he sat in one spot and held his hand out towards the keeper. He seemed to be saying “I don’t want to move around and collect my food, just toss it to me right here.”

Part of the fun of Zoo Corps is the kids get to go behind the scenes somewhere in the Zoo at the end of their day. It was only fitting that we climbed the stairs up to the roof of the gorilla enclosure where we had an unobstructed view of the gorilla troop. Keepers Kim and Gale joined us on the roof and recounted some great stories and information about our gorilla troops.

Zoo Corps will be at the orangutan exhibit again next weekend both Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 12 and 13, to finish out Great Ape Awareness Week. We hope to see many more visitors and connect with them on how they can help preserve the habitats for the world’s awesome, hairy apes!

Sunni Robertson is an educator at the San Diego Zoo.

Teens! Zoo Corps is holding recruiting sessions on Nov. 8 and 9. Come and find out how to join the fun!

On Mondays we take walks with the two brother wolves and visit different locations throughout the Zoo. This Monday we decided to walk up to Polar Bear Plunge. There is a road adjacent to the main exhibit that is set aside for Horticulture to house large plants. The wolves love to smell, rub, and play with each other there. On this particular day we were climbing the hill next to the bird of prey aviaries and Keeli was spending some time nosing around in the bushes, a very normal behavior. However, this time he was a little too interested. The trainer leaned over the wolf, then bent over for an even closer look to see what he was sniffing, and then…the scream “It’s a snake!” Quickly, she pulled the animal to safety and other trainers rushed in to identify the fear. Yes, it was a snake, opened mouthed and owning a rattle. The reptile unit was called on the radio to help catch this dangerous animal. It was a very cold Monday morning, so we were all thankful that the snake didn’t have enough energy to strike neither the trainer nor the wolf. The species of snake was soon identified………a rubber snake made in China. Yes folks, we were all fooled by a toy! The joke was on us, but our cat-like reflexes never cease to be in place, safety first.

Maureen O. Duryee is an animal trainer at the San Diego Zoo’s Hunte Amphitheater.

Here’s information about the Zoo’s animal behavior shows.

I’ve seen firsthand much of what is happening to orangutans and their habitat in Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia. In addition to my work at the San Diego Zoo, I volunteer for the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI), taking photographs and writing stories for their Web site and publications. I have documented illegal loggers cutting down trees in Tanjung Puting National Park and have held the hand of a young male orangutan who had been severely beaten by workers as he tried to cross through a palm oil plantation from one patch of forest to another. That particular orangutan, named Majri, died several months after the beating but his death is a reminder to me that we all must work together to protect our closest living relatives.

Also, there are a shocking number of orangutan orphans, whose mothers have been killed by loggers, at the OFI Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine Facility in Borneo. Currently, more than 250 orangutans of varying ages are living there. Although many have been released in the Lamandau Nature Reserve, more keep coming in. When I was in Borneo in July, three orangutans were released at Lamandau but five more confiscated orangutans were brought to the Care Center.

I hope people will drop by the Zoo during Great Ape Awareness Week to learn more about the plight of these animals, what they can do to help, and how the Zoological Society of San Diego is involved in great ape conservation efforts.

Georgeanne Irvine is the communications manager for the Zoological Society of San Diego’s Development Department.

Here’s the story of Majri.

I grew up determined to work with animals someday. As a child, I didn’t know how many different options were available for achieving that goal. I was certain I would become a veterinarian, but not just for any creature… I wanted to play doctor to killer whales! No doubt this was due in part to living in San Diego, where the ocean was visible daily from the hilltop in my backyard… a great little spot to sit and have a daydream. Little did I know that when “someday” came, I would indeed be working with a (land-based) black and white creature!

I studied hard and got into a good university known for its excellent science curriculum. I took classes in physiology, ecology, behavior, physics, chemistry, molecular evolution: all the basics plus those required for my specialty. The study of ecology, combined with the atmosphere of a college campus, opened my eyes to the need for people to focus on the preservation of the precious resources of our planet.

Later, as a graduate student, I started looking to find ways to begin working in my field to gain experience. After my mammology class was called into the San Diego Zoo to help prepare an extremely rare rhino carcass for the university’s collection of biological specimens, I was sure the Zoo was my place to start. Here I could combine my love for animals with my concern for their future by working with CRES.

While still a student, I began to volunteer for a project involving behavioral observations of rhinos at the Wild Animal Park. After a stint working with polar bears, I started volunteering for the panda program. Finally, and fortunately for me, a position opened with the Office of Giant Panda Conservation that I was happy to be selected for.

So here I am. I didn’t wind up a veterinarian, and I don’t work with killer whales. But I don’t think I could have imagined, sitting atop that hill in my backyard, that this place was an option for me. Back then, we didn’t have the Internet, there were no blogs, no Panda Cam. I didn’t even realize that so many animals (and plants!) faced a bleak future due to human encroachment and lack of conservation resources. I feel fortunate to be able to be working on a project, with an organization, so dedicated to conservation principles.

To all those youngsters out there who sit atop their hillsides: dream big! There are so many ways in which you can be a part of making a difference: being a keeper, a researcher, a veterinarian, a field researcher, an educator. Study hard, take the tough classes, and put yourself out there. You never know where you may end up!

Suzanne Hall is the panda research technician for the San Diego Zoo’s Office of Giant Panda Conservation.

Read about a variety of jobs that help wildlife.
View pandas on Panda Cam.

We have started late night and early morning spot checks to keep a closer eye on her. She is checked at 10 PM and 2AM , and frequently observed during normal shift hours. Luckily we have the camera system, so we don’t have to disturb her.

M’bari, her mate, is housed next to the maternity area, with a mesh divider so they can visit. In the wild, female lions separate themselves from the males to give birth, going off into the bush to find a secluded spot. We want Etosha to have enough privacy to feel comfortable.

We are all hoping that Etosha takes good care of her litter, but we are prepared in case the cubs need to be hand raised. The Animal Care Center at the Wild Animal Park is on alert, and is all set up just in case. Although Etosha is very young and this is her first litter, we are hopeful that her instincts will kick in and she will be a good mom.

I will post more info as soon as something happens! Watch this space!

Marcia Redding is a senior mammal keeper at the Wild Animal Park.

Pamela also asked how we prepare for a calf, and whether or not we will be able to record the birth. As Ayana approaches her due date, we will fix a maternity stall for her. This consists of two 12 x 12 barn stalls, with a divider between them that has an opening large enough for a calf to pass through, but small enough that Ayana cannot. This is called a creep. She will still be able to see the calf next door, and he will be able to escape Mom if necessary. The reason for this is explained by their natural history. Typically in the wild, okapi females will leave their calf in a well hidden nest, and will return periodically to nurse it. It is normal for the calf to be alone many hours each day. At the Wild Animal Park, we have occasionally had problems with females that over groom their calves, to the point of making the little one sore. This is probably due to the fact that the females are with their calves all day, having no need to forage. The sight and smell of the baby triggers the grooming response. Having a place where the calf can escape Mom’s over-zealous tongue has solved this problem. Another advantage of a creep is the ability to feed the calf separately from Mom, so she doesn’t devour all the food while the baby is learning to eat solids.

This year one of our donors gave us a closed-circuit camera and monitor with a digital recorder. With luck, we may be able to catch this birth on tape. This will also let us do spot checks at night without disturbing the animals.

Hopefully all will go well for Ayana and her first calf!

Marcia Redding is a senior mammal keeper at the Wild Animal Park.

It’s heartbreaking to say the least, but also eye-opening, because I have learned that I myself, like so many other Americans, may be inadvertently contributing to the great apes’ demise without even knowing it! Everyday food products we buy at the grocery store, or furniture we purchase, or the cell phones we buy and discard could leave a gorilla or orangutan homeless or worse. This realization split my heart in half, but has made raising awareness about their plight so important and imperative. Scientists predict great apes may be extinct in our lifetime! But there are ways we can help save them. There isn’t any time to lose…

That’s why the San Diego Zoo is hosting Great Ape Awareness Week (from Saturday, Nov. 5 to Sun., Nov. 13): to help educate the public and raise awareness about factors that are affecting great apes. These issues include the illegal bushmeat crisis, logging, and habitat destruction. Although these issues seem a world away, our personal consumer choices right here in America can affect these factors. Most people don’t know that the increased demand for cell phones is linked to the demise of gorillas, or that common household food products containing palm oil are impacting orangutans in Indonesia. According to the experts, it’s true. By making visitors aware of these issues and letting them know what to look for on food labels and what to do with old cell phones (coltan is an ore used in cell phones which is mined in Central Africa), we can help great apes.

There are several ways we Americans can help save great apes very simply in our day-to-day consumer choices. Information is so powerful, I truly believe if people know the facts, it will make all the difference. That is why I am so excited and so proud to be a part of the planning committee for Great Ape Awareness Week at the Zoo.

Sharon Dewar is a public relations representative for the Zoological Society of San Diego.

Watch orangutans and siamangs on Ape Cam.