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The animals here celebrated the holidays this past weekend with some extra-special enrichment. The adult giant pandas know what happens when they see all these surprises, so they tore in right away. The cubs, on the other hand, are a bit less experienced with this type of enrichment. They quickly explored their themed cardboard cutouts, … Continue reading "Panda Updates – Wednesday, December 20"

A historic transformation is underway at Zoo Atlanta! Construction has begun on Grand New View, opening in 2019. Through this transformative project, the historic Cyclorama building will be revitalized and reborn as Savanna Hall, a one-of-a-kind event destination overlooking an all-new African savanna, where African elephants and other African species will roam new and expanded … Continue reading "Grand New View project underway"

If you’ve been to the Zoo in the last month or two, you may have noticed some construction fencing around the old Cyclorama building. However, if you’ve visited us in the last few weeks, you may have noticed that the construction fencing has recently also appeared in some areas in our African Plains section of … Continue reading "Behind-the-scenes in prep for a Grand New View"

Necropsy results for Emerson, the 10-year-old male Sumatran tiger who died at Zoo Atlanta on November 8, 2017, have shown that he had cholangiocarcinoma, or cancer of the bile duct. Results further showed that the cancer had metastasized to his abdomen, causing the symptoms the Zoo’s Veterinary Team had been treating prior to his death. … Continue reading "Update on Emerson the Sumatran tiger"

Necropsy results for Emerson, the 10-year-old male Sumatran tiger who died at Zoo Atlanta on November 8, 2017, have shown that he had cholangiocarcinoma, or cancer of the bile duct. Results further showed that the cancer had metastasized to his abdomen, causing the symptoms the Zoo’s Veterinary Team had been treating prior to his death. … Continue reading "Update on Emerson the Sumatran tiger"

I know we have all been talking about the cubs eating bamboo quite a bit lately, but it’s really the only new thing that is happening right now. They are eating more and more bamboo each day. This past week, they have started eating the culm (or the stem) of the bamboo instead of only … Continue reading "Panda Updates – Friday, December 15"

Hi! My name is Sam, and I am a Herpetology Keeper here at Zoo Atlanta! Today I’d like to take you south of Atlanta to the humid lowlands and premontane forests of Central America where a very special, tiny creature lives. It is called Oophaga pumilio, commonly known as the strawberry poison frog! What makes … Continue reading "Strawberry poison frog parenting"

A few years ago, when I was the Zoo’s Curator of Herpetology, I walked into the old World of Reptiles and the keepers told me that we had a newborn cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus). This was strange, I thought, because we had only a single female cottonmouth in the population. Female snakes are known to sometimes … Continue reading "Who’s your daddy?"

The cubs are acting more and more like adult giant pandas each day. They’re eating bamboo more frequently, interacting with their enrichment, and have been working on simple training behaviors. As the girls get older we are able to see their individuality and preferences show more often, too. They have really gotten into self-anointing, which … Continue reading "Panda Updates – Wednesday, December 13"

Over the past two months, I have transitioned from working in the Herpetology Department to working with the feathered relatives of reptiles in the Bird Department. Shifting from one department to another is exciting in that you get to share your unique perspective with a whole new group of people and animals. Each day is … Continue reading "Endotherms vs. ectotherms and their care"