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Hey everyone! My name is Courtney, and I’m a member of the Orangutan Care Team here at Zoo Atlanta. Orangutans are my favorite animal, so I love to talk about them and teach our guests fun facts. One of my favorite orangutan facts to share is that they have the second-longest infant dependency in the … Continue reading "THE LONGEST CHILDHOOD"

Howdy y’all, this is Noah from the Herpetology Department! There are some seriously awesome reptile and amphibian adaptations, and the “hot” topic of recent research has been their behavioral and physiological responses to a warming climate. The annual average temperature on our planet has been warming for a while now – in fact, for about … Continue reading "How do reptiles adapt to a warming climate?"

When I was very young, I used to think that when a bird molted its feathers, that meant it dropped every feather at once and was running about looking like a plucked chicken. Thankfully, I quickly figured out that this was not the case, and that feather molting in birds is in fact a complicated … Continue reading "Feather molting … what does it mean?"

Halloween is coming up, and we’re all excited for this spooky time of year! For many of us it’s a time to don costumes, get silly or scary, and go to gatherings with friends or get candy from neighbors. At the Zoo, we celebrate the last two weekends of October with Boo at the Zoo! … Continue reading "Who’s calling who creepy?"

Zoo Atlanta is excited to welcome Kiazi, our first female white rhinoceros, to the Zoo. Kiazi traveled from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance in California. You may ask, how does one transport a rhino?  When over land, the safest method of transport is in a travel crate built to hold a rhino, which is … Continue reading "An exciting welcome to Kiazi!"

Today we’re going to take a closer lick – sorry, I mean look – at giant panda tongues! The tongue of each species is specialized to its needs. It determines the taste profile the animals experience, grooming abilities, and is an important part of how they manipulate their food. For example, cat species have large … Continue reading "Panda Updates – Monday, October 4"

Every few years there is a frenzy in the media about efforts to use modern genomic technology to recreate long-extinct or recently extinct species. Often referred to as de-extinction, it first became heavily discussed after a series of TED talks were posted in 2013; see links below. Extinct species getting all the attention are, unsurprisingly, … Continue reading "Protecting the critically endangered species still with us"

Hello everyone! Kyle here from the Bird Team! A lot of you who have gotten to visit our Zoo have probably noticed that we have quite a variety of bird species to care for. One of the joys I get from being a Bird Keeper is being able to observe how the different species relate … Continue reading "Managing birds in mixed-species aviaries"

Vaccines. At times it seems like that is one of the most common words we are all hearing these days; however, a lot of people are not accustomed to hearing it regarding animals in zoos. Well, to animal care professionals, this medical procedure is nothing new. In fact, it is something that we begin planning … Continue reading "Training big cats for vaccines"

Why DO zoos matter? Why is it important, not only for humans, but also for the animals, to continue to have zoos? Over the decades, zoos have shifted from just showing off exotic animals to scientific institutions geared toward conservation and education. These types of facilities do not have “animals on display,” but rather animal … Continue reading "Why zoos matter: Educate and take action! "