Z Magazine Summer 2023

A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Support a Species program gets an upgrade p. 4

Dalia turns one!

Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve is helping rhinos in Cleveland and around the globe. p.6

First calf to call Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve home p. 6

Species Spotlight

White-faced Saki

The white-faced saki is a New World monkey found in rainforests throughout the northeast region of South America in northern Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. Only the males have the white-face — females are mostly brown and grey. They are incredible jumpers, having been known to jump over 30 feet in a single bound when escaping from danger. At the Zoo, our family of Saki monkeys has grown! Mom, Lopez, and dad, Luis (pictured below) just had their third baby this past April.

Fast facts

Species: White-faced Saki

Classification: Mammal

Weight: 4-5 pounds

Length: 12-16 inches long

Conservation Status: Least concern

ZOO news

Support a Species program update!

The Cleveland Zoological Society has partnered with Peppermint Narwhal and Wildlife Republic to bring you exclusive additions to our Support a Species program! Everyone who donates to the program will receive a downloadable Support a Species certificate and Fact Sheet of our featured animal, but now we've added additional giving levels with an option to receive a plush or a collectors' pin!

Your gift to Support a Species will enhance the Zoo’s annual animal care budget and operations – from providing healthy foods and habitat enrichments to funding innovative research that informs management and welfare practices. Your donation is a one-year (12 month) gift, and we ask that you choose to renew this gift annually to support the exceptional animal care programs at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

The featured animal is currently the sloth bear.

Gifts up to $100

Support a species certificate

Species fact sheet

$100-$249

All of the above plus:

Cell phone wallpaper or desktop background photo

Digital Subscription to Z Magazine

$250 - $499

All of the above plus:

Plush animal of featured species

$500 & up

All of the above plus:

Exclusive pin of featured species

To learn more and support a sloth bear today, visit ClevelandZooSociety.org/SupportaSpecies

MEMBER MATTERS

QUICK TIPS FOR THE SUMMER!

Members get in early! The Zoo opens at 9:30 a.m. for members only. Zoo buildings and The RainForest will still open at 10 a.m.

Member giveaways continue! Keep an eye on our social media pages for pop-up giveaways of vintage Zoo Society collectible t-shirts and other items. These are limited to the first 100 members who arrive in the Guest Resource Center.

Member & Donor Services are here for you seven days a week 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is a representative in the Membership Booth in the Welcome Plaza all summer PLUS in the Guest Resource Center (across from the main gift shop).

All rides and attractions are now open (however still weather dependent). Save with a Total Experience package: $89 for Family membership levels and $59 for Individuals and Senior level memberships.

ClevelandZooSociety.org/TotalExperience

T-shirts for Club Level members! If you are a member at the $300 level or higher and have not picked up your shirt, stop by the Guest Resources Center.

Member Gift Shop discount has increased. Now you can get 15% off at Zoo gift shops. Have your digital card ready to show at the register.

Check your inbox for our monthly member newsletter for up-to-date Zoo news.

BABY NEWS

Kayembe to be a big brother!

Kebi, the Zoo’s 30-year-old gorilla, is expecting her first baby in July. This will be the second gorilla birth in the Zoo's 140-year history. Kayembe was the first, born in 2021. We look forward to seeing the siblings together!

Bouncing baby bison

The Zoo welcomed a male bison calf! Mom “Blue” arrived from the Minnesota Zoo last fall, already bred. The calf joins mom and additional females, “Grun” and “Topaz” up in Wilderness Trek. The baby was standing and nursing within the first 30 minutes of birth, and mom and baby are currently bonding on exhibit. Guests can visit the new calf during normal hours of operation.

Club Member T-shirt for members at the $300 level and higher

Dalia turns one!

Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve is helping rhinos in Cleveland and around the globe.

When Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve opened in 2020, supporting the critically endangered Eastern black rhinos at the Zoo and around the world was a top priority. After several rhino births in 2018, it became evident that the herd needed more space – space for our females Kibibbi and Inge to roam, space for our male rhino Forrest to be alone, and space for moms and calves to have a yard separate from dad. Dalia is now the first rhino calf born since the opening of the new habitat. We asked rhino keeper Kevin Scotti how the Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve has made a difference for the rhinos, staff, and Zoo guests.

“The addition of the Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve has greatly benefited our crash on the whole by providing more space to explore, additional components to help promote natural behaviors (like the natural deadfall, the suspended push log, the mud wallow), which has allowed them to just be themselves in an expanded habitat,” says Kevin.

“The additional space has allowed us to create what we feel is a more natural and safer environment for the rhinos and for our breeding program. The new area has allowed staff to separate Forrest from the females during a pregnancy and following their calving. This helped in Kibibbi's most recent pregnancy with Dalia. For the first time in Cleveland Metroparks Zoo history, we were able to give an expectant mother her own space and time to bond with a new calf free from any potential stresses which may exist in the nearby presence of a male black rhino.”

“The additional space has allowed us to create what we feel is a more natural and safer environment for the rhinos and for our breeding program." —

KEVIN SCOTTI, ANIMAL KEEPER

Kevin also says the habitat has more than doubled the area committed to black rhinos at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. “It allows us to rotate the rhinos throughout the day, bringing them into varying habitats to explore and pursue more natural elements of behavior.” Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve allows guests an opportunity to observe our crash in a new environment with multiple viewing decks and angles. The educational signage helps to tell the story of rhinos in the wild, while highlighting what great ambassadors our black rhinos have been to the Cleveland community. Ultimately, says Kevin, the new habitat and the Walter Kalberer Bull Barn will allow for continued success in both the well-being of the crash and our black rhino breeding program.

“The keeper staff have said on several occasions that Dalia was born with a video game cheat code for life. She's very intelligent and has learned quickly about rhino life. When she was first born, she was on her feet and moving around more quickly than any calf we'd observed, at about 28 minutes after birth. She figured out how to nurse from Kibibbi withing 55 minutes. For context, most calves take a few hours

(Juba, Kibibbi's first calf, took 11.5 hours). Dalia's willingness to participate in her own husbandry care has been exceptional. She has already been worked into our training program and has voluntarily allowed vet staff to draw blood from her on multiple occasions along with most recently receiving her first annual voluntary vaccination injections, just like the adults.”

Cleveland rhinos and conservation

Building Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve was an important investment in our breeding program, and as a result, is helping with rhino conservation as a whole. Rhinos at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo are vital to the captive rhino population. Inge is the last wild born Eastern black rhino in an Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoo and she is a valuable link between rhinos in zoos and wild rhinos. In 1997, Inge arrived from Addo Elephant Park in South Africa, and her genetics play a very important role in strengthening the genetic diversity of rhinos – especially since there are less than 60 Eastern black rhinos in North American zoos.

Inge has had five calves since 2000. “The success

A view from the back of Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve. Kibibbi and Dalia are both under the shade structure.

Inge and Kibibbi have had 8 Eastern black rhino calves since 2000

that the Zoo has seen in breeding Eastern black rhinos has demonstrated its ability to be a sustainable program that is contributing to the rhino population in all AZA facilities,” says Animal Curator Travis Vineyard.

Rhinos are critically endangered. By 2012, due to poaching and habitat loss, the Eastern black rhino population dwindled to about 750. Fortunately, due to aggressive conservation efforts, the Eastern black rhino population has grown to over 6,100 individuals, according to the International Rhino Foundation. The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's rhino conservation program was one of the first in AZA zoos and ever since, has

been a leader in building strong partnerships with researchers, scientists and conservation agencies across the globe working to study and preserve the species.

Here at home, teaching visitors about the plight of the black rhino at Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve is an important step in getting people involved. Vineyard says that "part of our mission here at the Zoo is to inspire people to personal action to secure a future for wildlife." Learning about rhinos and connecting with their story is how people get inspired. Habitats like this are an important part of making our rhino conservation program a success.

Spike Inge

Azizi ('oo)

Kibibbi ('03)

Jimma Inge

Zuri ('o7) Johari ('10)

Jimma Kibibbi

Juba ('12)

Forrest Kibibbi

Lulu ('18)

Dalia ('22)

Forrest Inge

Nia ('18)

Dalia in the forefront and mom Kibibbi eating in the background.

Sound the Trumpets!

Swans making an epic comeback in Ohio

A Swan Story

Trumpeter swans were once abundant throughout North America numbering over 100,000 birds. By the early 1900s, there were only about 70 birds left in the contiguous United States and a small population in Alaska. This drastic decline was due to overhunting and habitat loss. Once trumpeter swans were protected, programs across

North America were created to help restore populations. Many states in the Midwest including Ohio jumped on board to bring back trumpeter swans to their state. Due to these collective efforts, including help from over 25 zoos, there are now an estimated 60,000 trumpeter swans in North America.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo,

in partnership with other organizations, was an integral part of the Ohio restoration program. Staff helped collect eggs from Alaska, hatched and raised the cygnets at the Zoo, and successfully released just over 100 trumpeter swans into different marsh areas throughout Ohio. In addition, an extensive, multi-faceted and interactive (award-winning) Zoo

education program was created and implemented to accompany the project. The Zoo has also participated in Iowa’s trumpeter swan restoration program by sending cygnets that were hatched at the Zoo for release in Iowa.

Now that the Midwest states have reached sustainable trumpeter swan numbers, Zoos are assisting with the Oregon restoration program where the population still needs help. Zoos participating in these programs not only provide cygnets for release, they also provide funding and resources to expand conservation outreach.

SSP in CLE

Animal Keeper Tiffany Mayo, who is the lead keeper in the Sarah Allison Steffee Center for Zoological

Medicine, is also the SSP (Species Survival Plan) Coordinator for Trumpeter Swans. Her main role with the SSP is to manage and maintain a sustainable, genetically diverse swan population within AZA Zoos. Tiffany said she also "supports, facilitates and promotes trumpeter swan and wetland conservation initiatives through restoration efforts, fundraisers, media, field work and creating educational resources."

"The big project that I am working on right now is creating two educational coloring and activity books that focus on trumpeter swan and wetland conservation. The books are a collaboration between The Trumpeter Swan Society and zoos, with the target audience being children between the ages of 5-11. [The coloring books] will have the

1.5 year old trumpeter swan, Lottie.

flexibility to meet the needs of parents, teachers, and educators at zoos, nature centers and other conservation-minded facilities. The books are designed to be interactive and engage children with activities, coloring and QR codes that lead to videos and additional information. The plan is to complete both books by the end of this year and make them available free to download on The Trumpeter Swan Society website along with distributing them to interested organizations."[see pages 12-13 for a sneak peak of the coloring book.]

Our Swans

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has two

pairs of swans. Duke and Sylvia are the older pair that live next to Wade Hall on the lake. Duke is 7 and Sylvia is 15 years old. Louie and Lottie are the younger pair on the lake across from the Andean Condors. Louie is 3 and Lottie is 1.5 years old.

“Trumpeter swans are usually not reproductively mature until around 4 years of age, so Duke and Sylvia are the pair to look out for in the egg-laying department,” says Mayo. "We are hoping they nest and lay eggs this year."

Trumpeter swans nest in April/ May and hatch cygnets in June/July. Their nests can be up to 6 feet in

diameter and are made of grasses, sticks, and leaves.

In the wild, adult trumpeter swans mainly eat underwater vegetation where they use their long necks to pull the plants from the bottom of shallow wetlands. At the Zoo, trumpeter swans eat a floating waterfowl pellet along with different kinds of greens. They also find and forage on naturally occurring plants in the Waterfowl Lake area.

Trumpeter swans are native to North America and can handle most winter temps if their water is not frozen. The Zoo places special

bubblers on the lake to prevent their water from freezing so you can see them outside all year round.

Tiffany says, "Swans are amazing to work with! They are known as symbols of healthy wetlands and their conservation success story is something we can share with guests." They are the largest waterfowl in North America and can weigh up to 30 lbs, making them an eye-catching species to have at the Zoo.

"Each swan has their own unique personality and they can live into their 30s. Swans generally are thought of as aggressive, but this is usually only true when they are protecting their nest or young. Some of our swans have even been trained to have ointment put on the bottoms of their feet as a preventative measure to keep their feet healthy."

As a local species that can be found right here in Ohio, Tiffany enjoys teaching people about trumpeter swans and how they can protect their habitat. At the Zoo's Party for the Planet event in April, she coordinated a craft table located right by the swans where kids could either color a light switch cover or make a swan hat. Kids were able to learn about trumpeter swans and remember to turn off their lightsso it was a win-win for all!

A future for trumpeter swans

The outlook for swans in Ohio is extremely positive. In just 25 years the population has gone from zero to over 800 and is steadily increasing. In 2022 the

TRACK TRUMPETER SWANS!

Transmitters are programmed to record a location every 15 minutes. Visit https://trumpeterswan.netlify. app/locations.html

SSP Coordinator and Cleveland Metroparks

Zoo Animal Keeper Tiffany Mayo was a project parter with this Interior Population Trumpeter Swan Migration Ecology and Conservation project.

Swans generally are thought of as aggressive, but this is usually only true when they are protecting their nest or young.

How can you help swans?

Kids

• Learn about trumpeter swans through books or other media and share what you learn!

• Visit swans at a zoo, nature center or observe them in the wild if possible.

• Do not litter or feed waterfowl bread, both can make them very sick.

• Reduce, reuse, and recycle your trash.

• With an adult, report marked or tagged swans to conservation organizations so they can be tracked.

• Report injured swans to your local wildlife agency or wildlife rehab center.

Adults

• Participate in citizen science! Report trumpeter swan sightings to conservatoin organizations, for example ebird or The Trumpeter Swan Society.

• Get involved in local community projects like pulling invasive plant species or cleaning up litter from wetland areas along with helping restore wetland areas.

• Plant trees, shrubs and flowers that are native to where you live.

• Support legislation that protects swans and their habitat.

• Donate to organizations that protect swans and their habitat.

• Buy non-lead fishing tackle and ammunition. Swans can ingest lead left behind from these activities and it is often fatal.

• Reduce, reuse, and recycle your trash.

Ohio restoration program came full circle when trumpeter swans were observed nesting and successfully raising young for the first time ever in Cleveland Metroparks. This success is due to citizens and organizations, including Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, coming together to bring this majestic species back to Ohio.

With populations doing well in the Midwest and Canada, biologists are trying to learn more about what is now called the “Interior Population” of trumpeter swans. A study to look at how swans are moving and what habitat they are using is being conducted where GSM/GPS collars were placed on

swans that document their location every 15 minutes. As part of the study, 20 swans were collared in Ohio in 2020 and 2021. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo along with the

Greater Cleveland Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) supported the project by funding some of the collars, and staff members were able to go out in the field and help collar the swans with the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

Even though trumpeter swans are doing well in Ohio and other parts of North America, they are still susceptible to threats such as habitat loss, illegal hunting, lead poisoning and power line collisions.

Children creating swan crafts at the Zoo on Earth Day.

Animal Keeper and SSP Coordinator Tiffany Mayo (with trumpeter swans in the background)

Which Bird Is A Trumpeter Swan?

Circle the trumpeter swan.

Trumpeter swans have a long neck

Trumpeter swans have a long black bill

SCAN

ME

to listen to the sound of trumpeter swans to hear where they get their name.

Trumpeter swans have very big feet

Trumpeter swan’s wingspan is up to 8 feet wide.

How wide can you spread your arms? Can you find something in your house that is 8 feet long?

4 ft

Trumpeter swans weigh up to 30 pounds. How much do you weigh? Do you weigh more than a swan?

Trumpeter Swans Are Big!

3 ft

Trumpeter swan’s neck can be up to 22 inches long. What can you find in your house that is 22 inches? 1 ft

Trumpeter swans are 4 feet tall. How tall are you?

2 ft

What’s up with cats making a “stink face” during my Zoo visit?

Not to worry! This is a completely normal thing for cats to do and there’s nothing “stinky” about it!

Jen DeGroot, Associate Animal Curator, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Many mammals (such as cats, horses and goats) and reptiles (like snakes and lizards) are olfactory animals, meaning their sense of smell is extremely important. Let’s focus on the Zoo’s big cats.

Did you know cats have an extra special sense of smell thanks to an auxiliary organ called the vomeronasal organ (VNO)? "This special organ can be found at the base of the nasal cavity and it acts as a sixth sense. When a cat utilizes their VNO, it sends signals directly to their brain about what they’re smelling. It’s high-tech smell-o-vision!" says Jen.

The animal world calls this behavior the flehmen response. “Flehmen” comes from the German language and means to curl the upper lip. When a cat uses their VNO, you might see one or several things happen: curled upper lip, tongue stuck out, mouth opened, teeth exposed.

Jen says these are all actions that allow a cat to use their special organ to diagnose a smell. At the Zoo, there are so many smells! From a breeze bringing pollen into a new area to tigers swapping yards at Rosebrough Tiger Passage, there are ample opportunities for the Zoo’s cats to show their flehmen response.

So that “stink face” you might see is Anya the tiger analyzing a particular smell! Keep an eye out on the Zoo’s big cats during your next visit and see if you can find any of these smelling behaviors.

Bonus Fact: According to Jen, Animal Care staff pay attention to the flehmen response during breeding introductions with animals like tigers. Both the male and female smell each other’s hormones during estrus, which is a period when the female is ready to accept a male and to mate. It’s one of the ways Zoo staff determine when the cats are ready to be introduced for breeding.

Truth Tail? or

GIRAFFE SPOTS ARE LIKE FINGERPRINTS

TRUTH! All giraffe do have different coloration patterns. In fact, their spot patterns are similar to our fingerprints because they are unique to every individual animal! Another cool detail about giraffe spots is that they act as “thermal windows” that regulate giraffes’ body temperatures. There is actually a complex network of blood vessels underneath each spot that helps dissipate or reduce body heat in hot climates. The brown spots against the tan colored hairs also provide the giraffe with camouflage in their savanna habitat.