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Their name refers to their cute, teddy bear-like appearance and the fact that the breed was developed in the South Down region of Sussex in England. This breed of sheep has a luxuriant coat that makes them very popular for their wool, which can be woven into similarly fine garments. Sheep were among one of the very first domesticated animals, and they have been part of human life as companions and sources of wool and food for millennia. Many thousands of years of selective breeding have produced a large of number of breeds specialized for different purposes and climates.

The appearance and habits of the naked mole rat enthrall scientists and observers alike. Naked mole rats are eusocial mammals, with a social system structured in service of a queen, much like bees.

Kookaburras are the largest members of the kingfisher family. Made famous by the Australian folk song “Kookaburra” by Marion Sinclair, kookaburras perch in trees and vocalize loudly. The birds’ loud, raucous call has been used in hundreds of “jungle” movies set in Asia, Africa and the Americans, although the birds are found only in Australia.

These strikingly-patterned monkeys have very long tails that help them balance as they move quickly through trees. They feed primarily on leaves in a variety of forest types and live in social groups made up of a single dominant male and multiple females.

Passport to Adventure allows children in the household of Adventure Pack Levels and higher to collect passport stamps throughout the year to earn Zoo Atlanta prizes. Each passport is filled with fun facts, pictures, and mystery questions for your child to answer to facilitate learning and imagination. The passport offers a wonderful educational tool and … Continue reading "Passport to Adventure"

How did the zebra get its stripes?  How did the tiger get its stripes? These are age-old questions in natural history. Convincing arguments have variously put forward suggesting camouflage, to visually confuse and thus deter annoying biting insects, and a complex scenario to create cooling air movements directly around the animal. This latter scenario works … Continue reading "Zebras and tigers oh my!"

CSI at the Zoo! What happened to these animal bones, thousands of years ago? A research team at Emory University is taking advantage of the fact that we feed our animals natural diets. In other words, for example, owls naturally consume rodents as prey, so we feed rodents to our milky eagle owls. Komodo dragons … Continue reading "Rodent Bones"

Hot off the presses! How does one correct a scientific error that was made more than 150 years ago? That’s what our team recently did, in collaboration with researchers from The Natural History Museum, in London, U.K. In 1858, renowned herpetologist Albert Günther, who was born in Germany but spent his career at The Natural … Continue reading "Mesoamerican Toads"

The last several months have been very exciting for the Golden Lion Tamarin Association in Brazil. I was in Brazil in August working with the project and have some exciting updates to share! Golden lion tamarins are native to a small area outside of Rio de Janeiro state in the Brazilian Atlantic Coastal forest. Only … Continue reading "Golden Lion Tamarin in Brazil"

Elephants for Africa focuses its research on male African elephants in Botswana, home to the largest remaining populations of African elephant. The work done by Dr. Kate Evans and her team provides us with continued information about male African elephant society, population numbers, and the interactions between elephants and local Botswanan farming communities through continued … Continue reading "Elephants for Africa"