Hello from the Carnivore Team

Hello from the Carnivore Team! We miss seeing all of our wonderful guests and supporters and look forward to the day that we can share our beautiful Zoo with you all again. While life looks a little different for all of us, it also has taken a slightly different appearance for some of our animals. In an abundance of caution to protect some of our animals who may be a bit more sensitive during this time, certain animal areas have added extra PPE and social distancing to our daily routine. Animal care professionals are a creative bunch, and we have found fun and innovative ways to ensure that the added PPE and distance does not affect our care of the animals in any way. We’ve found ways to transition some of the animals to more distance training, where we can cue and reinforce from a safe distance and deliver reinforcement using longer feed chutes or feed sticks. Our male sun bear, Xander, has picked up on the distance training quite well, and seems to enjoy the new problem solving. Baloo, our binturong, has been using this quiet time to continue to adjust to his new home and environment, and we are enjoying seeing him come out of his shell. It really helps having an extra -long feed stick so that we can work on his training using social distancing while he is displaying his amazing arboreal acrobatics. 

Thank you all for your support both financially and through messages of encouragement and support. These are trying times for all of us, but coming to work every day to care for these wonderful animals and knowing that we have the support of the Zoo Atlanta community means the world to us. We can continue to ensure that these animals thrive and that we care for our natural world as we also care for one another because, even though we can’t be with you right now, we know you are there supporting us along the way. This would not be possible without you. Thank you!
Jenny E.
Lead Keeper, Carnivores