If you’ve visited the cows at the San Diego Zoo recently, you probably have seen a cloned cow and just didn’t know it. Through this cloned cow (Javan banteng) and the other cows, the Zoo InternQuest interns once again had an opportunity to connect with the animals through a first-hand experience. Feeding the Javan bantengs and being so close to them allowed me to recognize the distinctive features in such a common animal. I was most surprised by their speckled tongues which they used to pull leaves of the branches we were feeding them.

The cows, like all hoof ed stock at the Zoo, have special ear notches enabling keepers to keep track of and identify every animal individually. That way, if an animal needs special attention, keepers like Gaylene Thomas, team area lead, are able to recognize and isolate the correct one. The animals are notched the day after they are born when the skin is still soft. Being able to identify individual animals via the ear-notch pattern helps keepers to ensure that mothers are caring for their babies, nursing them and spending sufficient time with them. The locations of the notches on the animals’ ears represent different numbers. One ear is multiples of ten, and the other, numbers between one and nine. With this system, the keepers can make combinations of numbers up to 99. After exceeding that number, ear tags that look like big plastic earrings are used to identify animals.

Across the path in front of the hoofed stock lays one of the Zoo’s main attractions: Polar Bear Plunge. There is much more, however, to the exhibit than what the public can see. I can honestly say that I had never been so close to a polar bear before in my life, being only about two feet from the extremely large, furry bear. This four-year-old sub-adult male, Kalluk, took notice of us as soon as we entered the large carnivore set up of the polar bear exhibit. Because the females at the Zoo are currently in their estrus stages, Kalluk exhibited his pacing behavior, demonstrating his powerful sense of smell and desire to see the females.

In order to ensure the safety of the animals, Polar Bear Plunge has a video monitor, allowing keepers to have 24-hour coverage of the bears. To keep the bears mentally and physically stimulated, keepers use different forms of enrichment. They give the bears various choices, hoping some of them will have positive effects. Keepers have learned that the bears have favorite toys and colors, which exemplifies the intelligence and awareness of their environment exhibited by the bears.

Ms. Thomas, who has worked at the Zoo for the past 18 years, informed us of the importance of introducing new situations and toys slowly to the animals. This is for the safety of both the keepers and the animals. It creates a less stressful environment making things go more smoothly and efficiently.

Along with enrichment, to keep the bears’ experiences upbeat, keepers only use positive reinforcement. This requires a lot of patience, as the keepers have to wait until the bears stop their undesired behavior to reward them. Many methods and tactics have been learned by the keepers from simply watching and reacting to the bears’ behaviors. From their gathered information, keepers are able to develop ways to make “bad” behaviors harder for the bears to do. On exhibit, there is a patch of sticks and logs making Kalluk’s pacing behavior more difficult. As a result, he has to watch and concentrate when he tries to walk there.

Last year, the San Diego Zoo took part in a polar bear reproductive study. In this, they charted vaginal swabs of the females daily to determine when and for how long the bears are in estrus. I was amazed at senior keeper Kelly Murphy’s comment that no restraint or sedation was used to do this. And because of that, I agree with her that the Zoo should be proud of not only the hormonal information that they gathered, but the positive behavior modification techniques they used to safely get it.

Overall, the day was filled with numerous hands-on experiences allowing us to connect with both the polar bears and the hoofed stock. I don’t think I will forget feeding a cloned cow anytime soon.

Contributed by Shelby - Zoo InternQuest Conservation Team

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