Fall 2018 Safari: Food for Thought

SAFARI

FOOD FOR THOUGHT The Official Magazine of the Toledo Zoo

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Volume 27 |

Issue 3

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Fall 2018

MUSEUM Update

WELCOME LETTER

with Kent Bekker, director of conservation and research

It has been said that every thought we think is creating our future. We at the Zoo are living testaments to that statement.

While we not only want to provide an entertaining place for family fun, we also want to educate you about our animals and little steps you can take to make a big difference for the future of the entire natural world!

In this edition of Safari magazine, we are providing food for thought, literally and figuratively. On one hand, we are delving into the delicious diets (to them anyway) of our resident species, learning about the many feeder insects we produce on grounds and featuring the creativity and generosity of our award-winning executive chef. On the other hand, we are feeding your brain with some thought-provoking topics such as bird poop as fertilizer, the intricacies of the predator-prey relationship and an objective look at genetically modified organisms.

Cover photo: African elephant

Oak Forest exhibit rendering

The framework for the wetlands and oak forest exhibits is up. Now it is on to animal enclosures and graphics work.

The indoor theatre looks dramatically different. The seats have all been removed and the stage restored to its original glory. The space still has considerable work to be done before it debuts as a brand new event space, perfect for weddings and other large gatherings.

We hope you enjoy this enhanced digital issue of Safari packed with more insights into the ins and outs of the Zoo world.

Sincerely,

SECOND FLOOR

Safari is an exclusive benefit to Toledo Zoo members. Membership also includes free, unlimited, year-round admission and parking during regular Zoo hours; a subscription to the Zoo’s e-newsletter; early access to Summer Concert Series tickets; discounts on Zoo merchandise, classes, programs and more; and discounted admission to 150+ zoos and aquariums nationwide. toledozoo.org/membership

CONTACT INFORMATION

2 Hippo Way • P.O. Box 140130 Toledo, Ohio 43614-0130 419-385-5721 • fax 419-389-8670

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

Contact the editor at 419-385-5721, ext. 2145 or kim.haddix@toledozoo.org

CONNECT WITH US!

An accredited member of World Association of Zoos and Aquariums | W A Z A United for Conservation

®

PRINTER: HOT Graphics Safari is published quarterly by the Toledo Zoo, P.O. Box 140130, Toledo, OH 43614-0130.

Second-class postage paid at Toledo, Ohio and at additional mailing offices.

Printed on recycled paper. ©2018 by Toledo Zoo.

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Safari Magazine • Fall 2018

The cabinetry for the hands-on library / lab, Nature in Hand, has been completed and installed. We are in the process of moving in artifacts, samples, books, etc.

JEFF SAILER Executive Director

Fits of giggles, awe and wonder are common expressions among the thousands of children who visit the Toledo Zoo each year. Watching a polar bear jump into the chilly water is sure to elicit more than a few toothless grins!

learning are always in abundance at the Zoo! Companies for Kids sponsors annually help more than 4,000 underprivileged, at-risk and developmentally challenged youth experience a visit to the Zoo.

Toledo Zoo is committed to providing fun and educational opportunities to all of our region’s children. Thanks to the support of our Companies for Kids members, laughter and

We would like to thank our 2017 Companies for Kids donors for their continued generosity and support of this wonderful program.

HERD OF ELEPHANTS Owens-Illinois, Inc. SCHOOL OF HIPPOS Dana Foundation FAMILY OF GORILLAS AK Tube LLC John C. Bates Foundation La-Z-Boy Foundation The Snell Group at Morgan Stanley Toledo Refining Company PRIDE OF LIONS 1 Natural Way Art Iron Associated General Contractors of NWO, Inc. Betco Corporation Electronic Concepts & Engineering Inc

Ernst & Young Geo. Gradel Co. Hoover Wells, Inc. Kwest Group LLC Miller Bros. Construction, Inc. OCP Contractors Perrysburg Automall Proservice Machine, Ltd. Real Quality Services, Inc. Schultz & Williams Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP Signature Bank, N.A. Swint Consulting Services LLC Taylor Automotive Family The Collaborative, Inc. The Spieker Company Thermeq Co. TTI Maumee Equipment, Inc. Walmart

Walmart/Sam’s Club Welltower, Inc. Westfield Electric, Inc. PACK OF WOLVES Black & White Transportation CHS Group LLC Complete Refrigeration LLC Directions Credit Union Ebony Construction Co. Inc. Great Smiles Family Dentistry Hanna & Hanna Attorneys I.B.E.W. Local Union No. 8 Impact Products LLC Internet Payment Exchange Inc Jerl Machine, Inc. Jones & Henry Engineers, Ltd. Mail It Corporation Midland Title + Escrow Palmer Energy Company, Inc.

Sean Patrick Builders State Bank Tri-State Expedited Services UAW Local 2021 William Vaughan Company FLOCK OF PENGUINS 4 Star Service & Supply Anderson, Idczak & Konesky, Inc. Bennett Enterprises Binkelman Corporation Builder’s Steel Service Inc. Carpenters Local Union 351 Clamps Inc. Crum Manufacturing, Inc. dimech services inc.

Eastman & Smith Ltd. Findlay Publishing Company Franklin Park Lincoln, Inc. Heritage Planners

JDRM Engineering, Inc. Marathon Classic Midwest Church Construction Nephrology Associates of Toledo OmniSource Corporation Rachel Wixey & Associates Rayner, Foos, Kruse & Irwin CPAs Reineke Ford Lincoln, Inc. Rouen Chrysler Dodge Jeep, Inc. Rowmark Sam Okun Produce Company Savage Mortgage Services, Ltd. The Blade in Education The Florian Insurance Agency, Inc. Toledo Orthopaedic Surgeons UAW Local 12 - Johnson Controls Weber & Sterling, LLC Wilkinson FundRaising Imprinted Sportswear Wurtec, Inc.

The former Museum of Science is undergoing renovations to reopen as the ProMedica Museum of Natural History at the Toledo Zoo in the Spring of 2019. The new facility will focus on biodiversity, or the variety of life in a habitat or geographical location through the lens of local habitats.

While admittedly there isn’t much to see from the outside, the progress of the renovation to the inside is absolutely amazing! To feed your need for knowledge of all things Zoo, here is a quick update!

FIRST FLOOR

A native prairie greenhouse, just like the other 40 acres our conservation staff planted throughout northwest Ohio, was installed adjacent to the first floor. It was both seeded and planted with larger plants to help the guests experience the full growing process.

Nature in Hand exhibit rendering

The animal enclosures for the venom exhibit have been constructed and installed. Animals to be housed in these new displays, including king cobras, komodo dragons and stonefish, began arriving at the Zoo at the end of 2017.

They are currently being acclimated and cared for by our staff in off-exhibit holding areas.

The new two-story greenhouse on the front of the building now houses a 30 foot Banyan tree, several 25 foot coconut trees and a variety of tropical plants, shrubs, bushes and flowers.

Interior Greenhouse exhibit rendering

Exterior drawing of the new ProMedica Museum of Natural History

The taxidermy and models, including a model of a full-size American lion, for the Ohio 13,000 years ago exhibit have been completed and moved in.

Please stay tuned to our website and social media for more updates. In the meantime, check out this slideshow of renderings and photos of the renovation process to help you build a mental picture of what is to come!

Safari Magazine • Fall 2018

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COOKING FOR Life with Eloisa Beltran, executive chef

Food is the ingredient that binds us all together.

When most think of the Zoo and food, their mind goes right to animal diets or even favorite items from the concession stand. (Cup of our famous hot chocolate, yes please!)

However, as we hope you are continually learning from our publications, while animals are our passion, our business is people. And people come to the Zoo for a variety of reasons starting with seeing the animals, but also for business meetings, birthday parties, corporate retreats, holiday parties and even weddings. Did you know the Zoo hosts more than 300 parties, meetings and events with food and beverages each year? With all of these people passing through, comes the need for a lot of food. That is where our executive chef, Eloisa Beltran and her staff come in.

“

I still remember back to my very first day at the Zoo when I was told to make 50 gallons of cole slaw. When I asked for the recipe, they said just make it how you normally would and that has been the trend ever since.

Beltran started at the Zoo in 2003 as a part-time employee and over the course of the last 15 years has worked her way through the ranks and patiently waited for her chance to shine as the executive chef. “I was hired in as a part-time catering supervisor. It took me eight years to become full-time. My next step was part-time chef assistant and then after a couple tries, I was promoted to sous chef.

Then I became the executive senior sous chef and finally after years of keeping everything going, I was given the executive chef position. It may have taken a long time to earn my stripes, but I did it and I love it!”

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Safari Magazine • Fall 2018

That love of food came from an early age though. “I am from a family of 11 kids. I am number three and the oldest girl. (I have eight brothers!) I was always in the kitchen with my mom helping to prepare meals and learning how she did it all. Then I had my daughter at the age of 18 and have been cooking for her whole life. I have always told her I like to cook, America has to eat and so does Erica!

When she was younger I worked as a bartender and in kitchens. To me it just made sense to turn this skill into a career, so I went to Owens and got a culinary degree.

After that is when I got hired here at the Zoo and the craziness and fun of cooking for ZOOtoDO, Breakfast with the Bunny, wine tastings, employee events, corporate meetings and even making cakes for animal birthdays began. There is truly something all the time and we don’t

”

use much processed or packaged foods. Everything is homemade with lots of fresh produce and ingredients!

In addition to all those activities, Beltran also participates in the local chili-cookoff to support Mobile Meals of Toledo.

She has been competing as the Zoo in the restaurant category for 14 years. This past spring, she won second place in both the judges’ and peoples’ choice categories.

“The competition has been growing every year. To me it’s really fun to come up with a different recipe each year

and make 20 gallons of it for everyone to enjoy. I always stick to the same chili spices and mine always has beans, but other than that I switch it up. My philosophy is to always have spoons nearby to taste it. I always say you have to taste it all along the way and keep trying it until you like it!”

Throughout her career, Beltran has consistently averaged 50 hours a week but always has time to make a tasty meal.

“I learned from one of our chefs and now always tell my staff, we are food service professionals. There is always something to eat. Let’s clean out the cooler and cook something. I am constantly trying to train and teach my staff and now our ZooTeens that.” According to Beltran, some of the most requested items from the Zoo kitchen are quite easy yet delicious recipes. “Everyone loves our garlic cream cheese mashed potatoes and we will make more than 10,000 crab stuffed mushrooms just during the summer wedding season.”

This year, our volunteer manager who is in charge of our ZooTeen program approached Beltran about teaching a series of cooking classes for the Teens, to expose them to different career opportunities but also help build their life skill set. “The first class was all about vegetables.

Together we made fresh salsa, roasted zucchini and French fries. I made all 15 of them try everything and most of them actually said they liked it all! I told them I’m not Rachael Ray or anything and you don’t have to be either to make something tasty for yourself. Our next class will be about breakfast and then we will see where else this adventure takes us!”

Beltran doesn’t stop there though. “When I started in the food service industry I knew I had to give back. I know a lot of people in this area that have a lot of kids and don’t

eat. Because we do so many large events at the Zoo including weddings, proms, corporate parties and picnics, left-overs are a fact of life. When we would be cleaning up, the previous chefs would just say throw that out, but I couldn’t do it. So I looked around for places to take the left-overs as donations for the less fortunate and have been doing it ever since.”

“In my years of working at the Zoo I have donated food to Good Samaritan because it is close to the Zoo, La Bosada, Mama’s House and just last week I took food to the Cherry Street Mission. I take the leftovers, which over the years have included everything from hot dogs to flank steak and lamb chops to pasta, and make like big TV dinners. I freeze them until I have a lot and then I load them into the Zoo van and drive the meals over. It is really cool to see the people waiting for that Zoo van to show up. I get told all the time that they love to see me coming! So much food comes into and out of the Zoo’s kitchen, it just wasn’t right to throw it away when there are so many who can benefit from a good meal. It makes my soul feel good.”

While her career at the Zoo may not have always been baked goods and perfect plates, Beltran admits it has certainly been worth it to work her way up to executive chef. “I still love cooking as much as I ever have. I still enjoy creating tasty meals for Zoo patrons and my own family. I still remember back to my very first day at the Zoo when I was told to make 50 gallons of cole slaw. When I asked for the recipe, they said just make it how you normally would and that has been the trend ever since. I have been given the opportunity to do it as I wish and while I joke it can be both a Zoo and a circus around here, I love it!”

Did you know the Zoo hosts

MORE THAN 300

parties, meetings and events with food and beverages

EACH YEAR?

Safari Magazine • Fall 2018

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EATING eTIQUETTE IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM As children, we were taught not to act like wild animals at the table. We were told to chew with our mouth closed, keep our elbows off the table and to wait until everyone is served before digging in. The animal kingdom has slightly different rules for each of its species. To learn about the hierarchy of eating habits of our resident animals, we sat down with keepers from across the Zoo to get the full picture.

Perhaps the most well known animal hierarchy is the wolf pack. A pack generally consists of the dominate or alpha male and female, second in command beta male and female, subordinate offspring and an omega or bottom of the pack.

While the group works together to hunt, identifying an ailing, old or young prey animal and then separating it from its group and attacking, the eating is ritualized. The alpha pair will eat their fill first and then on down the hierarchy, with the omega eating last, if it is permitted to do so by the alpha pair.

African elephant

Ring-tailed lemur

Great apes have their own hierarchy too. While gorillas live in troops with a dominate male and a harem of females, orangutans are more solitary, but moms and offspring live together for quite a few years. Mothers will give food to their offspring and allow them to eat some of the “best” or favorite food, but under cautious watch, ensuring pieces are not too big and removing seeds or skins. Additionally, others in the group may steal food from one another, especially in the Zoo where our apes live in family units.

Babies, however, are exempt from having food stolen.

They can take or steal any food they wish, provided they are still viewed as juveniles. Older gorillas recognize juveniles by a white tuft of fur on the baby’s rump, while young orangutans have a pink face. Once they grow out of those characteristics, all food is fair game for what our keepers refer to as the “swipe and run.”

Our lemur species, Ring-tailed and Mongoose, have yet another interesting take on food hierarchy. Lemurs live in female dominated groups, where the dominant female has complete control over daily life. She knows where and what all 11 troop members are doing and the group dynamics depend on her personality and leadership style.

The dominant female will go to their favorite fruits first while also monitoring all the subordinants food choices, in an effort to eye up their next course. If a subordinant has a piece the dominant desires next, it will be taken.

The hierarchy then flows down to the dominant females offspring but can change with the addition of new babies, new mates or an absence from a member of the troop.

To help illustrate the hierarchy- see the chart below.

Elephant herds are another female dominated society. The matriarch of the group will lead all of the offspring and other females to food, water and away from danger. As for food, this is where is gets very interesting. Young elephants are not born with the ability to digest solid foods. To get the gut bacteria to digest browse and other solid foods, young elephants eat their mother’s poop. Elephants also subscribe to the “it takes a village” philosophy, with all the females helping to raise and even nurse calves.

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While the rules and roles may differ in the animal kingdom, the goal of dinnertime remains the same among animals and humans…healthy nourishment!

RING-TAILED LEMUR Family tree

2

1

Fanta

LILA

3 Jolly

5 GASTON Mongoose lemur

So how do we ensure all of our animals receive proper diet and nutrition? This is where the relationship between the animals and their keepers comes in. In the case of the super smart orangutans, keepers are able to tell individuals animals no or get them to station (go to and stay in one spot) to keep one from hoarding all the high calorie food. The gorilla keepers on the other hand, separate the troop each morning and each gorilla is given a bucket of their own chow and fruit. Then, keepers scatter lower calorie treats and greens throughout the exhibit to allow for foraging and natural behaviors. Primate keepers sometimes intervene and sneakily hand-feed the subordinate group members to ensure proper nutrition.

However, they must be careful not to attract the attention of the leader or she will not allow it. If that happens, the animals can be separated and fed. Elephants are given a combination of all of these tactics; they are fed individually overnight, provided different feeding nets for the whole group throughout the exhibits during the day and hand-fed opportunistically or as needed by keepers.

6

6

DUKE

(twins)

BARRY

4

anja

5

Fresca

4 mimi

6 zarah

6

hubert

Mox is the father to Lila, Anja, Mimi, Gaston, Duke, Zarah, Hubert and Barry. The numbers listed next to each name indicate the current hierarchy of the families, Mox is last on the list.

Orangutan Safari Magazine • Fall 2018

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to be round-up ready, while fruits and vegetables have been changed to be larger or more flavor intense. In fact, consuming genetically modified organisms is virtually inescapable in today’s world.”

GENETIC MODIFICATIONS

with Ryan Walsh, Ph. D., conservation biologist Genetically modified organisms. This vocabulary term is controversial at best but not commonly well understood.

To shed a little light on a current hot topic, we sat down with conservation biologist, Ryan Walsh, Ph.D. to try to make sense of this scientific process.

According to Walsh, whether we realize it or not, most living things around us today are genetically modified.

“Flowers are altered to have specific color blooms.

Dogs have been bred for fur length, color and other characteristics for more than 10,000 years. Agriculture seeds and commercialized crops have been adapted

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Genetically modified organisms, (GMOs) also known as genetically engineered organisms, are any plant or animal whose genetic makeup has been altered. This can include the insertion, deletion or mutation of genes.

Some modifications are made within the same species to express or knockout a certain trait, while other times genes are transferred between species in a process known as transgenic modification, to combine traits. While the practice of gene selection dates back to well before Darwin’s famous experiments, the term GMO came to popularity in the 1980s after the practice was perfected in bacteria, mice, and even tobacco plants. Now that scientists have spent decades sequencing the DNA of thousands of species, they are able to insert the perfect gene to obtain a desired result.

“GMO is a complicated subject that many equate to science fiction weirdness. While it isn’t that, science can do stuff humanity doesn’t want to get on board with yet. I mean, literally one chromosome codes for the genetic difference between males and females. And while we may know an entire genome (species’ set of DNA), all of the secondary or cascading reactions to gene modifications are not known. Obviously we need to do thorough testing to ensure the safety of gene modifications, but we would be completely remiss to write the scientific advancement off all together on the basis of the fear of what if, because it can do a lot of good,” said Walsh.

One example of the good is golden rice. Research has shown that populations in poor Asian countries are deficient in vitamin A because of their rice-based diet.

To help fight starvation, scientists created golden rice that was genetically modified with beta-carotene, the source of vitamin A. Unfortunately, this rice has never made it to the impoverished nations, as fear of the GMO ground the production and sale of seeds to a halt.

GUANO...

GROSS OR GOOD?

One example of the what if is GMO salmon. Salmon have been farm-raised in nets on ocean coasts for years. In this case of genetic modification, a growth gene in the salmon is hyper-expressed making the fish grow well past normal

Feces. Scat. Excrement. Poo. Dung. Manure. Poop.

Whatever you call it, the definition is the same-- waste matter discharged from the bowels after food has been digested. While it may or may not be a favorite topic of discussion, the benefits of some of it are undeniable.

To learn all the positive yet not commonly known poop about penguin poo, we sat down with curator of birds, Chuck Cerbini.

“

GMO is a COMPLICATED subject that many equate to science fiction weirdness.

”

size. While this sounds positive, more salmon to consume, the actual results could be the exact opposite. The GMO salmon are raised in nets on coastal areas. Studies have shown some fish escape into the wild and reproduce, causing huge environmental problems similar to introducing an invasive species. What happens if this continues and the GMO salmon out compete wild salmon, even going so far as to wipe out the wild species?

with Chuck Cerbini, curator of birds

The poo created by seabirds such as penguins, cormorants, pelicans and gannets (and bats) is referred to as guano.

According to Cerbini, seabird guano is usually white and very runny; however, it as it dries it hardens. Thanks to fish being the birds’ diet staple, guano is rich in and smells like ammonia. With large populations of the birds breeding together, the amount of guano build up can be quite impressive in a short amount of time, making it a renewable resource.

“Genetically modified organisms have the possibility to increase our food crop yield to keep up with the growing human population but there are still a lot of ecological and ethical issues to sort out. Even with our research and knowledge, we cannot control all of what happens after transgenic modification. To me, there is no real answer. As a scientist, I am hopeful that the advancements will outweigh the fear and that we can find an advantageous middle ground.”

The benefits of this renewable resource had been known for generations in South America, dating back to the Inca.

In fact, the Inca were so dependent on the fertilizing qualities of guano for their crops that individual families were assigned specific areas to harvest their guano to allow for equal distribution. Guano was such a prized Incan possession, it was even used as currency! Additionally, the Inca also practiced some of the first conservation efforts by inflicting harm- up to death- on anyone who harmed a bird during the collection of guano.

Now that you know GMO, where do you stand?

The allure of guano spread worldwide during the age of exploration. In the early 1800s, samples of guano were shipped back to chemists in Europe by explorers mapping

South America. The chemists quickly discovered guano is full of potassium, nitrogen and phosphate making it the perfect fertilizer for tired soil. After the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) the guano, or white gold as it was sometimes referred, boom hit the United States. At the time, many American farmers were foundering from over-used soil and guano was a saving grace, as it was used as a soil cleanser/conditioner, natural fungicide, compost activator and to help control nematodes (worms). This new demand for guano caused dangerous worldwide trade routes to African Penguin

develop to and from islands off Peru where the best guano was located. Peruvian island guano was considered the best because those islands receive little rain to dilute or wash away the nutrients and are home to some of the largest seabird colonies in the world.

The high demand for guano also necessitated laws governing its collection and shipment. For example, Cerbini noted one species of penguin, Humboldt Penguins, have historically been negatively affected by the over-exploitation of guano in coastal areas of South America. “Humboldt Penguins burrow in layers of dried guano to lay their eggs and hatch chicks. Because of its benefits to humans, guano has been harvested down to bare rock in some areas, negatively impacting the ability of Humboldt Penguins to hatch chicks. In an effort to bolster the species, protected guano reserves have been established for the birds to nest and those mining the “white gold” in the reserves must sign a contract agreeing to protect the penguins.”

With the advent of chemical fertilizers in the 1900s, the demand for guano dropped significantly. From 1840-1880, the guano boom years, more than 13 million tons of guano were exported from Peru. However, it is thought that most guano harvested today is used domestically in Peru, not exported. In 2010, only 23,000 tons were collected. To this day, though, in a conscious effort to protect the sea birds, guano is still collected or harvested by hand. Eight months out of the year on 21 islands off the coast of Peru, laborers wear protective gear, begin before dawn and use shovels to fill 110 pounds bags. On some parts of the islands, the guano piles are more than six feet deep!

Because of the tough job conditions and the lucrative history of guano, laborers can make double Peruvian minimum wage.

However, the benefits of guano do not stop with farmers or the 20th century. In March of 2018, NASA satellite images detected massive amounts of guano on the Danger Islands off western Antarctica. Upon analysis, and confirmation from an off-shore drone, a new mega-colony of 1.5 million Adelie Penguins was discovered! Researchers indicated this new finding increased the known penguin population in Antarctica by nearly 70%!

Thanks in part to this discovery and the popularity of organic farming, the demand for guano is on the rise.

Both seabird and bat varieties are readily available online at reasonable rates. The only downsides to guano are it can harbor dangerous pathogens (as it is still poop from a wild animal) and the somewhat strong ammonia smell.

However, both of those are manageable, and the benefits are undeniable.

While the term guano might not sound like much, its history, usefulness and opportunities are certainly worth noting.

So there you have it, the whole scoop on penguin poop!

Safari Magazine • Fall 2018

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Both predators and prey utilize camouflage to assist in their survival; prey, like a herd of zebra utilize their stripes to blur or blend together, making it hard to pick out just

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Both are crucial to the health of an ecosystem and food chain.

For our predator species we build their exhibits to permit surveying of the landscape and promote natural eating behaviors through enrichment and carcass feeds.

So why don’t some predators, like the sharks in the Reef tank, prey upon the fish that live with them? While it does happen occasionally, our sharks are kept well fed on a tight schedule, and in a specific manner with non-living items. We try to limit any other triggers to their natural feeding instincts too.

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A PREDATOR is an organism that eats another organism. PREY is the creature that gets eaten.

one individual or predators like tigers use their stripes to blend into their surroundings until it attacks.

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For our prey species, we provide them with places to escape threats, whether they be real (predator) or perceived (thunder), as well as proper social groups to maintain the natural instinct of safety in numbers.

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IN A ZOO SETTING, WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE BOTH PREDATOR AND PREY BEHAVIORS

Our Volunteer of the Year is the kind of person who sneaks up on you. It’s not about any one shift, program or conversation, but over the years many have come to truly appreciate her attitude, sense of humor, passion for animals and nature and willingness to fill in. It is our pleasure to recognize and congratulate Judy Snyder as our Volunteer of the Year.

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THE HAWK IS EATEN BY A FOX

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Along the way, each animal assumes both the predator and the prey role, except the apex or top predator, the mountain lion.

Our Volunteer of the Year has served as an officer in the Zoo Ed Program. She has delivered programs on and off Zoo grounds. She steps in to help cover animal watches, feed and enrichment demonstration, whatever is necessary to help out the Zoo. Daytime, evening, weekend, scheduled in advance or last minute asks… she always says she will see what she can do. More often than not, what she can do is critically helpful and absolutely appreciated.

YEAR (2017) at the Toledo Zoo guests consumed: o em

REPEAT!

An EXAMPLE of predator prey relationship throughout the food chain

In ONE

rs de

START HERE!

A HAWK EATS THE BIRD

Our Zoo Ed Volunteer of the Year joined the Zoo Ed Program in the fall of 1995 and over the past 22 years has forged an incredible career, donating over 4,200 hours of service to the Toledo Zoo.

7,565

SPIDER EATS A FLY

199,

BIRD EATS THE SPIDER

with Beth Posta, curator of behavior and enrichment

ZOO CONSUMPTION NUMBERS: CONCESSIONS

33

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR JUDY SNYDER

7,936

PREDATOR PREY RELATIONSHIP

Now that you know the facts, remember the name of the game is eat, don’t be eaten!

Snow leopard

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Safari Magazine • Fall 2018

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INSECT PRODUCTION

with John Chastain, associate curator of herpetology and invertebrates

Did you know the Toledo Zoo has an insect production facility? John Chastain, the associate curator of herpetology and invertebrates, fills us in on all the fun facts about the Zoo’s “feeder insects!”

Our Kihansi Spray Toad population eats BETWEEN

20-60,000 CRICKETS a day!

Feeder insects

To purchase that many crickets would cost $200 – 600 a day, as each cricket costs one cent!

are insects raised at the Zoo to be given to our resident insectivores as part of their regular diet.

In one month:

the Zoo feeds out

55,000 MEALWORMS

Black Tree Monitor

with the majority going to birds in the Aviary.

In one year:

In 32-ounce deli containers, we raise fruit flies to be fed to hummingbirds, spiders, dart frogs and small lizards.

We also produce springtails, a microscopic insect, to feed to the poisonous dart frogs and baby Kihansi Spray toads.

Zoo residents consume nearly

24 MILLION CRICKETS

Raising this many insects is quite a labor intensive and warm job (the rooms are kept at 85-90 degrees) that requires the daily assistance of two part-time employees!

Not many, if any, other zoos produce their own feeder insects. Most simply buy the insects in bulk. However, producing our own saves the Zoo hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. In fact, the savings to feed the KST population alone is $200,000-$250,000 a year!

WE BREED

BLACK SOLDIER FLIES to help compost commissary waste, as these flies will eat almost anything!

To see bugs, bugs and more bugs for yourself, please visit the insect production facility located behind the Reptile House!

Kihansi Spray Toad

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Safari Magazine • Fall 2018

Poison Dart Frogs

Chameleon Safari Magazine • Fall 2018

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reaction creates a simple sugar that the coral or clam use as food energy. The algae gets a safe place to live and the coral or clam receives the majority of its diet from the reaction. According to Hemdal, other nutrients are gained through the water that passes through the invertebrate.

Sea nettle

ANIMAL DIETS First we eat, then we do everything else. This often repeated quote is especially true in the animal world, where many species spend the majority of their day looking for and consuming food. With that in mind, how does the Zoo keep all of our resident animals fed in a natural, species-appropriate way? Well, just like humans, different animals have different dietary needs and preferences, so think of the Zoo like a full service restaurant that caters to the wild!

“Animals in the Zoo are 100% reliant on their keepers for nutrition, which includes type and quality of food but also the amount. Most of the time animal diets are well known, however, that was not the case with sea nettles. We knew what they ate in the wild, but not how that would translate into the Zoo setting. This caused aquarists to take a shotgun approach to sea nettle food and just throw a little bit of everything to them to see what worked,” detailed

Aquarium and general curator, Jay Hemdal. While Hemdal jokes, feeding sea nettles should be food without thought as they do not have brains, it is actually much more complicated than an outsider would ever expect.

“In the wild, sea nettles feed on other jellies. At the Zoo, they are fed cut up pieces of moon jellies that are bred here for exhibit and as food, along with small crustaceans, krill and brine shrimp. We also hatch our own brine shrimp here at the Zoo. These shrimp are not nutritionally complete by themselves, so we feed the shrimp a supplement to help balance the lacking essential fatty acids, in a process called gut-loading. Thankfully, sea nettles tell us how we are doing, as their size changes based on nutrition status. When their nutritional needs are not met, they will shrink and that tells us we need to adjust their diet,” explained Hemdal. It seems the age-old adage is true… you are what you eat!

So then what about the coral and other marine invertebrates that “eat” sunlight? Simple one-celled organisms, algae called zooxanthellae, live in the tissues of coral and clams, creating a symbiotic relationship between the two. The algae “eat” sunlight through photosynthesis and the

Unfortunately, sunlight is not enough to sustain many species. Many of our animals require meat in their diet.

In the wild, some will kill their own prey, while others feed opportunistically on the remains of someone else’s kill.

Roadkill is also a source of food for some scavengers.

According to Michael Frushour, curator of mammals, many people think of the Zoo when they hit a large animal in our area. “The Zoo will sometimes be called by local hunters, county sheriffs or Toledo PD to let us know that there is a deceased deer and ask if we would like it. Our protocol dictates that we must inquire as to the cause and approximate time of death. If the deer was hit by a car or killed by a hunter and is recently deceased, then we usually will tell them to bring it as long as we have room in our freezers to store the meat. All deer that come to the Zoo for processing, no matter the cause of death or the source, must come with a harvest tag issued. These tags are provided by local and state law enforcement. Once the deer arrives, we evaluate the carcass thoroughly. If it is deemed usable by staff, then the animal is butchered and the meat is frozen. Depending on what animal the meat will be fed to, we can butcher it many different ways.

Larger pieces, like the legs, are usually kept whole for use with the larger carnivores. The ribs can be left whole or portioned into smaller racks for a variety of animals. The skin or “hide” is often portioned into long strips and then rolled up and frozen to make what we call “hide burritos,” which are a favorite of the Gray wolves. The carcass can even be left whole and then fed out. Whenever you can provide entire portions of a carcass that includes bone, skin, connective tissue and organs, it is beneficial to carnivores in many ways. It has been scientifically shown to improve oral and digestive health while also stimulating social feeding behaviors.”

our animals. Guests can sometimes see carcass feeds for our Gray wolves, Maned wolves, Polar bears, tigers and brown bears. While we understand it may not be the most aesthetically pleasing activity to watch, it is a great educational moment for our visitors to learn about the wild habits of their favorite species.

One of the fascinating aspects of creating well-rounded diets for exotic animals is attempting to re-create nourishment as close as possible to its natural diet.

In the wild, animals work hard and expend energy to gather food for various reasons, whether for survival, reproductive preparation or preparation for extremes. Our animal care staff must consider all of those factors when balancing the diets of our animals.

Let’s take our bears for example. According to curatorial fellow, Erik Regazzoni, first, we look at what diet does a bear typically consume in the wild. “The answer is an opportunistic omnivorous diet, meaning their nutrition can range from plants, roots, tubers and berries to insects, rodents, fish and small and large mammals. With our Brown and Polar bears, a good amount of their diet is carnivorous, so we offer them several types of smaller animals such as rats, rabbits and fish. However, in order for us to match the nutritional value of a deer or seal we have to look elsewhere. Surprisingly, we can find a lot of the healthy fats and high proteins in the food we provide our own canine companions. We give our bears one to two pounds of dog food a day to provide the much-needed protein to their diet. The amount of dog food

Safari Magazine • Fall 2018

Maned wolves have another interesting diet, as curator of mammals, Michael Frushour, detailed: “The Maned wolf will hunt for small rodents, lizards and birds but over half of their diet consists of fruit, particularly the fruit of the Lobeira plant (Solanum lycocarpum). Lobeira is related to the deadly Nightshade (Solanaceae) plant and produces a tomato-sized berry known as the “fruta do lobo” or wolf’s fruit. The fruit is so bitter that most animals avoid it, but it contains compounds that have therapeutic properties

“

Whenever you can provide entire portions of a carcass that includes bone, skin, connective tissue and organs, it is beneficial to carnivores in many ways. It has been scientifically shown to improve oral and digestive health while also stimulating social feeding behaviors.

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against giant kidney worms that often plague Maned wolves. As it turns out, Lobeira seeds will not germinate unless eaten and passed through a digestive tract of an animal. The Maned wolf then distributes the seeds when defecating to mark its territory. It is through this symbiotic relationship that both species continue to persist in the

wild. Wolves in captivity are not plagued by the kidney worms like their wild counterparts, so the diet of the maned wolves here at the Zoo is quite different. They get a specially formulated kibble diet along with fruits and vegetables like apples, bananas, yams and carrots. They will also get a frozen rat and an egg once a week each along with trout and other fish as an occasional treat.

Of the many mammals at the Zoo, perhaps the strangest and most fascinating diets that we had to recreate was for one of our insectivores, the Tamandua or Lesser anteater. According to Regazzoni, it can be a great challenge to formulate a diet comprised mostly of insects.

“Tamanduas are capable of consuming up to 9,000 ants a day. This presents a daunting task for any zoo to replicate. Providing that many ants is not only difficult to manage but also costly. To combat both factors, our animal care staff created our very own recipe for a ‘Tamandua Smoothie.’ We start with warm water, add a few waxworms, a pinch of black soldier fly larvae, a scoop of cat food, a dash of grapeseed oil for healthy skin and blend it all together. We then top it with additional crickets and mealworms. All kidding aside, the ingredients involved provide a powerful protein punch to help match a 9,000 ant per day feast.”

As you can see, our animal care staff double as short order cooks, but after all… first we eat, then we do everything else!

Carcass feeds are the most natural way for an animal to eat, and our goal is always to elicit natural behaviors from Brown bear

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can vary depending on the time of the year or if a female is pregnant.”

Polar bear

Maned wolf Safari Magazine • Fall 2018

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P.O. Box 140130 • Toledo, OH 43614-0130 HOURS: Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | January through April 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Memorial Day to Labor Day 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | Monday-Friday • May & September 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Weekends • May & September 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | October 1 - November 22 (pre-Lights Before Christmas) Lights Before Christmas Hours: November 23 - December 31 10 a.m. - 2:59 p.m. | Zoo Daytime hours

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The Zoo remains open for one additional hour after gates close to allow visitors to complete their visit. However, many animals may be off exhibit during the last hour.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS AUGUST 24

4-5 Buckeye Broadband Wild about Art Fair toledozoo.org/wildaboutart 10 Zoo Friends’ Night 11 Garden Tour toledozoo.org/garden-tours 14 Garden Tour toledozoo.org/garden-tours

25 28

Feast with the Beasts presented by PNC toledozoo.org/feast BUGFest Garden Tour toledozoo.org/garden-tours

18 19 22 25 28

Senior Safari toledozoo.org/seniors Homeschool Open House Enrichment Day: Prowl and Play Garden Tour toledozoo.org/garden-tours Luminous Nights begins toledozoo.org/luminous

SEPTEMBER 4, 11, 18, 25 Senior Discovery Days presented by Welltower, Inc. toledozoo.org/seniors 9 Day of Honor & Grandparents’ Day toledozoo.org/honor 11 Garden Tour toledozoo.org/garden-tours

OCTOBER

SEPTEMBER 28 - NOVEMBER 4

2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Senior Discovery Days presented by Welltower, Inc. toledozoo.org/seniors 5 Zoo Brew toledozoo.org/zoobrew 18-19 Little Boo presented by Meijer toledozoo.org/boo

20-21 Pumpkin Path toledozoo.org/pumpkin Garden Tour toledozoo.org/garden-tours 23 Pumpkin Stomp & Chomp 27

For more information about these and other events, visit toledozoo.org/events