Male Snow Leopard is Leaving

By Harrison Edell, General Curator

Based on recommendations by the Snow leopard Species Survival Plan, our male Snow leopard, Ramir will be leaving us soon for the Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan. Ramir will be joining two other Snow leopards in Lansing and is a potential match for one of their females. We know he’ll make a good father and continue to contribute to the future survival of this critically endangered species. Be sure to stop by the exhibit to say “Goodbye!”

Animal Enrichment Day!

By Brooke Coe, Education Specialist & AAZK Member

Have you ever seen the tiger cub stalk a frozen shrimp pop or watched a giraffe use its 18 inch-long tongue to scoop fruit treats from an enrichment tube? How about ground hornbills chasing crickets? Now is your chance to take an active role in a zoo animal’s enrichment!

Why do we do this? Enrichment is an item or activity that is not part of the “routine” of an animal. It is something used to get them up and active, stimulate natural behaviors that you would see out in the wild, stretch their cognitive abilities, and simply to give the animals something new and fun to do! It is extremely beneficial for the livelihood and well-being of animals in captivity and contributes to longer, happy lives. Every animal in the Zoo is enriched, and zookeepers are constantly coming up with new, creative ideas for the zoo residents.

On Saturday, September 25th from 10 am to 2 pm, the Sacramento Zoo’s American Association of Zookeepers, Greater Sacramnto AAZK, will be hosting an enrichment day! It is an opportunity for the visitors to purchase pre-made enrichment items for animals throughout the zoo, and the guests get to watch as the animal eats, plays with, or destroys that item right then.

Visit our table a the front of the Zoo and see a wide range of enrichments to choose from, and also a variety of different animals to enrich! The proceeds from this event will be used to benefit your local AAZK chapter and also the Conservation Committee, which sponsors numerous local and world-wide conservation organizations such as Snow Leopard Trust and the Riparian Brush Rabbit Project. Come out and join us in enriching your favorite Zoo animal!

Pots for Plants - Thanks to Village Nurseries!

by Lauren Kraft, Zoo Blog Keeper

Now that is a lot of pots!!! The Sacramento Zoo asked you all to donate pots and you responded in droves. In fact we had so many pots for Village Nurseries that we had to end our Pots for Plants program at the end of the Summer.

For every pot donated the Zoo received a credit toward new plants and there are a lot of gardens around the Zoo to be planted. We hope to bring this very successful program back next spring!

Thank you Village Nurseries!

Village Nurseries plants as far as you can see.

Molly the Snow Leopard - Update

By Jaime Wilson, Zoo Blog Keeper

Recently our Membership Coordinator was visiting the Central Park Zoo and captured this picture of the Snow leopard Molly. Molly was born at the Sacramento Zoo back in 2006. Her mom Shanti is still on exhibit here in Sacramento.

Molly, Central Park Zoo, August 2010
Molly & Shanti, Sacramento Zoo, December 2006
Molly & Shanti, Sacramento Zoo, August 2006