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Have you ever watched a giant panda eat? If so,  you are aware that their ears move when they chew. This is because their jaw muscles are attached to the top of their head, at the sagittal crest, which is a part of their skull. This gives them incredible jaw strength allowing them to crush through … Continue reading "Panda updates – Wednesday, November 17"

If you’re an avid birder, like me, or even just a general bird enthusiast, you have probably heard of the California condor. As the largest living North American land bird, it is the only surviving member of the Gymnogyps genus of New World Vultures. While we do not have California condors here at the Zoo, … Continue reading "Parthenogenesis in California condors"

Hey, Zoo Atlanta fans! My name is Samantha, and I have been a Seasonal Primate Keeper here for over a month. For the majority of that time I have been helping the Orangutan Care Team with feeding, cleaning, diets, and enrichment. One of my favorite things so far has been creating enrichment for the orangutan … Continue reading "Orangutan enrichment: pinecones, smear boards and more!"

We scientists don’t have much patience for myths, science fiction, or pseudo-science. Legends of Bigfoot irritate our rational sensibilities. But sometimes it is really fun to dive into myths and tall tales and try to discover a factual basis for these wild ideas. Let’s consider my favorite one: the mighty, some would say creepy, jackalope! … Continue reading "Are jackalopes real?"

If you’ve visited Zoo Atlanta or watched PandaCam, you’ve likely noticed that the Zoo’s giant panda habitats have several structures in them – what we call “furniture” for the animals around the Zoo. The outdoor giant panda habitats feature a lot of rocks in various conformations and wooden climbing structures. The variety of “furniture” offers the giant pandas choice in how … Continue reading "Panda Updates – Friday, November 5"

Hello, I’m Alexis and I am a Swing Keeper in the Ambassador Animals Department. Here at the Zoo, I work with a variety of animals. This includes reptiles, small mammals, alpacas, Kunekune pigs, sheep and my favorite … goats. In the petting zoo, guests are always asking, “Is that a Billy goat?” or “Is that … Continue reading "Goat myths and facts!"

While on the surface it may seem like biology would be the only background you need to work at a zoo, you may be surprised to learn that diverse careers across multiple disciplines are represented. When it comes to STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, Zoo Atlanta has it all, and in some very … Continue reading "STEM Careers at Zoo Atlanta"

*Achoo!* We have all been there, sitting on a bus, in a classroom, office, or at the grocery store and someone nearby sneezes or coughs and doesn’t cover their mouth and nose. In the past we might’ve thought “Oh no, gross.” During COVID it’s a much more intense feeling of “I hope I don’t get … Continue reading "One Health, One World"

As the cold weather settles in across the state, we are firmly reminded that winter is coming and will be here before we know it. While preparations for the colder weather started weeks ago across the Bird Department, some plans started months ago. One such being training the blue-throated macaws to shift inside their indoor … Continue reading "Winterizing with the blue-throated macaws"

For today’s panda update, I thought I’d share a little bamboo ASMR. You may have seen us post about leafeater biscuit feedings before. Essentially, we can use training to encourage the pandas to eat more bamboo if what we offer them is not quite to their liking. These sessions also give us the rare opportunity … Continue reading "Panda Updates – Wednesday, October 27"