ZOO TAILS 45
Beverly Burge
Section Head – Hospital/Quarantine

The High Holy days are here again and it's a great time to visit the zoo, the weather is cooling off and the kids seem to have more energy than ever. There are many new things to see, so take advantage of the vacation and visit the zoo…The giraffe herd has again expanded with the birth of another baby, this time a male. He has been named "Anton". A very exciting happing in the herbivore section was the long awaited birth of a baby Tapir. The little female named "Jean d'Arc" is doing well, other than an occasional tiff with the capybaras. Mother "Babette" keeps a close eye on her to prevent any serious fighting. The Squirrel monkeys have started their birthing season; the first was born a couple of weeks ago, with several more to follow. You have to look closely to see the adorable babies clinging to their mother's tummy, but it's worth the effort. "Na'ama", the baby chimp hand raised by the staff of the primate section is being introduced to the chimp group and is already spending time with three of the younger females and their offspring. If you look at one of the night house doors, you will see the solid door has been replaced with fencing so "Na'ama" can meet the rest of the chimp gang safely. "Na'ama" is quickly learning how to be a chimp, and even more important, since she is female, she is learning how to be a good chimp mom. Like human beings, motherhood is a learned behavior and hand raised chimps frequently have problems when it comes to caring for their offspring. The Small Animal Building has three new exhibits, the Northern Palm Squirrels, Horned Desert Viper and Spiney Mice, so there is lots of activity there. The Cotton-top Tamarins have been moved to where the Meerkats used to live, and are enjoying their new larger exhibit. If you remember the Meerkats moved to the Underground world, but a problem with possible predation has led to their being housed in the hospital unit until the roof can be closed. A very hard announcement, for all of us here in the zoo as well as our visitors, the young hand raised Persian leopard, "Roo", died a few weeks ago. Due to an unknown genetic problem, a part of his skull was thickening and putting pressure on his brain, causing intermittent neurological problems. We hoped the problem would clear up, but sadly he died quietly in his sleep. We will all miss him.
The zoo has big plans for the holidays, check out our website for details and I hope you all have a happy and safe season. Shana Tova and Gamar Hatima Tova!
Check out the full edition of the newsletter (in Hebrew)  - September 2007