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Love is in the air! Yep, even in the winter. Male opossums go through physiological changes during the winter months that we call rut. As hormones surge through their bodies, their minds are focused on one thing, and only one thing. They lose interest in food and spend hours simply wandering around, noses in the … Continue reading "Keeper Stories – Thursday, January 12"

The Guatemalan beaded lizard lives only in an isolated pocket of desert in eastern Guatemala. Discovered by scientists in the mid-1980s, this distinctive lizard has been well known to local populations in Guatemala for millennia. This species is one of the five closely related species of venomous beaded lizards, including the Gila monster of the southwestern U.S. The venom is used entirely for self-defense and is not used in the capturing of prey.

Reticulated pythons, along with the green anaconda, are the largest snakes in the world. The distinction is that these pythons attain a greater length, with valid records of wild individuals over 20 feet in length. Green anacondas, on the other hand, are not as long but achieve a much more massive girth and mass.

Ring-tailed lemurs are named for the distinctive, alternating black-and-white bands along their tails. They reside in southern and southwestern Madagascar and are found in social groups called troops. This species uses both vocal and scent marking as tools of communication.

Guenons are a diverse group of Old World monkeys, characterized by enormous cheek pouches that they stuff with food opportunistically as they forage. They will then actually consume the bounty from their recent foraging bout in a secluded retreat, safe from predators. They mainly eat fruits and small animals such as insects or lizards. Like the other species of guenon, these are social animals living in family groups, with a single dominant male. Group size may reach 50 animals when resources are abundant, but groups may split into smaller units if resources become scarce.

Sumatran tigers are the smallest of the tigers. Unfortunately, all subspecies of tiger are endangered (and three already are extinct) because of the combined threats of habitat loss, fear-based persecution by humans, and wildlife trade for their skins, bones and other body parts.

Sidewinders get their name from their unique form of side-stepping locomotion that is an adaptation for moving across loosely packed desert sands. They are a type of rattlesnake and are venomous.

These highly arboreal bears have exceptionally long claws and tongues to help them forage for honey, insects, and other small creatures inside logs. The name “sun bear” comes from the distinctive golden colored patch of fur on their chests, and every individual sun bear has a different patch. Commercial production of palm oil, as well as heavy poaching pressure for traditional medicines, are significant threats to this species.

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.

Goats were among one of the very first domesticated animals and have been part of human life as companions and a source of hides and food for millennia. Many thousands of years of selective breeding have produced a large number of breeds specialized for different purposes and climates. Their particularly rich milk, small size, and easygoing manner make them popular as family pets and for small-scale dairy operations.