Lion Exams & New Arrivals

It's time for the 10 lions who call the KC zoo home to have their bi-yearly exams. Think of it as a check-up at the doc's office for a human, only without the air-conditioned office and with added anesthesia (we wouldn't have it any other way!). Last Thursday was Jabari's turn. He's six-years-old and gorgeous! Have I mentioned I LOVE big cats? I do. The big guy went down with the help of three different drugs which, Kirk explained to me, help reduce the possibility of over-dosing with any one drug and reduces stress to the animal's system since they're triggered to react at different times metabolically. It took 9 of us to lift his over 540 lb. body onto a stretcher so he could be weighed. Then the process of checking his teeth, taking blood, testing the pressure behind his cornea, taking a skin graft, and doing ultrasounds of his heart, liver, kidneys, gallbladder, pancreas and other vital organs began. He even got a colonoscopy! I think my favorite part was listening to his heart beat on the ultrasound machine and watching it on the screen. So cool! His fur was surprisingly really soft!

I got to witness the 5 boys being pretty aggressive. They don't like the vet staff and recognize their blue jumpsuits immediately. They like to snarl and stare and jump against the side of their cage. It's a little intimidating, but so beautiful to watch them react to us and one another. Meredith, the vet resident, said that made her sad because she went into a lot of debt to work with them. I got a kick out of that! It's so true and something to consider when looking at an extra few years of residencies and internship training to work with exotics. I fed the boys meatballs, which are raw hamburger balls, the other morning as they were coming out onto exhibit. They came running over and were busily hunting them out, so I think they enjoyed them!

Today, I got to witness the arrival of a herd of springbok, which look sort of like tiny antelope. Well, they sort of ARE tiny antelope. They can also jump pretty darn high! One of the keepers said he read somewhere they can clear 13 feet in the air. They were bouncing their heads on the top of the trailer they arrived in. They'll be in quarantine for a minimum of a month in order to make sure they aren't carrying diseases they could transmit to the other animals in the barn. I'm looking forward to working with them.

God Bless,

Liz

Zoo-rific Fact of the Day: Meerkats love Cheerios. Rhinos love peanut butter. And animal enrichment makes life entertaining for animals and keepers alike. Yesterday, we cooked sweet potatoes for the rhinos. One of them didn't know what to think, but the rest of them liked it. We also attached misters made of old hoses to their stalls. The little girl rhino loved it--a great way to cool down in the 100+ degree heat index!