Zooper Kids - Spring 2023

SPRING ISSUE 2023 HEY KIDS! Check out our competition on the back page

M e et three new

LION CUBS

Make a

PAPER PLATE SNAKE

page 8

page 18

INSIDE »

• Saving a species

• Tortoise toast

• Make a bee bath

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GORILLA RAINFOREST

1. WHAT COLOUR IS THE COTTON-TOP

TAMARIN’S HEAD CREST?

walPLEkTING THIS

A.

HAVE FUN COM ACTIVITY THE NEXT TIME YOU VISIT MELBOURNE ZOO’S GORILLA RAINFOREST!

HOP TO IT!

I’m a Southern Bent-winged Bat. Let’s learn about the animals at Melbourne Zoo’s Gorilla Rainforest!

2. HOW MANY WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS LIVE AT MELBOURNE ZOO?

A.

3. IN WHICH CONTINENT WILL

YOU FIND BLACK-HANDED SPIDER MONKEYS IN THE WILD? A.

4. WHAT IS THE CONSERVATION STATUS OF THE WHITE-CHEEKED GIBBON?

For a digital guide to the animals and their habitats: Click here

A.

Answers on page 17

Zooper Kids is published for Zoos Victoria by Hardie Grant Media

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MANAGING DIRECTOR Nick Hardie-Grant ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Scott Elmslie EDITOR Jo Stewart DESIGN Dallas Budde and Kieran Medici

Printed on FSC® certified paper with vegetable-based inks. Zoos Victoria is a carbon-neutral organisation and powered by 100% renewable energy.

MELBOURNE ZOO

RAIL GATE

MELBOURNE ZOO GORILLA RAINFOREST

MAIN GATE

DID YOU KNOW? The black-and white Colobus are one of the only monkeys that don’t have thumbs

Tree-top Apes & Monkeys Cassowary

GORILLA RAINFOREST Lemurs Pygmy Hippopotamus

Gorilla Ranger Station

Gorillas

GET UP CLOSE DID YOU KNOW? The Pygmy Hippopotamus is half the size of their larger hippo relatives

DID YOU KNOW? Madagascar is the only place in the world where you can find Lemurs in the wild

GOR ILLA BEH IND THE SCE NES 9:15am daily $82 for Zoo Members

KEE PER TALK (PYGMY HIPP O) 4pm daily FREE

LEM UR ENC OUN TER 3:00pm daily $53 for Zoo Members

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COLOUR-ME-IN D BLACK-COCKATOO YELLOW-TAILE

ILLUSTRATION BY PRIYANKA KASHIB

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DID YOU KNOW? Lots of different native bird species build their nests in the hollows of big, old and dead trees. Here’s some Australian bird species that need tree hollows to survive.

YELLOW-TAILED BLACK-COCKATOO

SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO

BARN OWL

RED-TAILED BLACK-COCKATOO Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos build their nests in hollows of big, old trees. That’s why it’s important that we don’t cut down old trees to make toilet paper. Choosing recycled toilet paper helps native animals that need tree hollows to nest in.

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How to help save a species Zoos Victoria member Arabella is doing all that she can to support the Critically Endangered Leadbeater’s Possum

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Arabella is nine years old and lives in Melbourne. She wanted to support Australian threatened species, so she raised money for the Critically Endangered Leadbeater’s Possum. Here’s how Arabella did it, and you can too:

FIND YOUR FAVOURITE SPECIES First, Arabella looked on the Zoos Victoria website to see all the native species that need help. After thinking about it for a while, she chose the Critically Endangered Leadbeater’s Possum.

START RAISING MONEY

ASK FOR HELP

Arabella set a big target of raising $10,000 to donate to Zoos Victoria’s Leadbeater’s Possum program. She did many different things to encourage people to donate, like having fun events at school and asking people to donate money instead of giving her birthday gifts.

Arabella says that you don’t have to do it all alone. Ask your parents, grandparents, carers, neighbours, teachers or siblings for help organising events or coming up with ideas to raise money or awareness for your favourite species.

DID YOU KNOW? The Leadbeater’s Possum is the state of Victoria’s faunal emblem

SPEAK UP If you don’t want to raise money, there are other things you can do to support threatened species. Create a classroom presentation on your favourite species, share your knowledge with your friends and family, or write a letter to your local newspaper to raise community awareness for your chosen species.

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AFRICAN LIONS

CUTE CUBS Since three lion cubs have joined the pride at Werribee Open Range Zoo, Let’s have fun learning all about lions!

In very exciting news, mother Nilo and father Sheru recently welcomed three lion cubs (a girl and two boys) to the pride at Werribee Open Range Zoo. After spending some quiet time bonding with their parents, this terrific trio are now exploring their habitat a bit more so can be seen wandering and playing at their home on the African River Trail.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

African Lions are vulnerable

African lions are listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. This means that their wild population is shrinking, mostly due to threats like habitat loss and poaching.

Because of this, breeding and conservation programs are really important to the future of this species.

Extinct EX

Threatened EW

CR

Extinct in the wild

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EN

Least Concern VU

NT

LC

Near Threatened

Feline

Fact file

VULNERABLE SPECIES

Only around 39,000 lions remain in the wild in sub-Saharan Africa.

SLEEPY TIME

NAME GAME Lion cubs are sometimes also called lionets.

Newborn cubs like to snooze! They spend up to 20 hours of the day sleeping or resting.

GREAT GAINS Newborn cubs weigh around 1.5 kilograms but will weigh about 34 kilograms by the time they’re six months old.

VIP ZONE Visit zoo.org.au/member-vip-zone to find out when you can see the lion cubs and what fun VISIT THE PRIDE activities you can do at See the lion cubs along Werribee Open Range Zoo Werribee Open Range Zoo’s this school holidays.

African River Trail!

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ZOOPER KITCHEN

TORTOISE TOAST

Make the most of your toast and turn it into a tasty tortoise!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED Half an avocado Cucumber Slice of bread or half an English muffin Spreadable cream cheese Sultanas

DID YOU KNOW?

Don’t forget to compost your veggie scraps!

Remember to always ask an adult for help when using a knife.

STEPS

1 Toast your bread (or English muffin) in the toaster.

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4

Ask an adult to help you cut an avocado in half. Remove the seed and skin, then carefully put the avocado half cut side down on top of the cream cheese toast.

Carefully slice a few lines into the back of the avocado running up and down, side to side.

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Cut a round slice of cucumber off, then cut that slice into four equal pieces.

Put those pieces under the four corners of the avocado to make the tortoise’s front and back feet.

Aldabra Giant Tortoises can live up to 200 years!

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See Wilbur and the other Aldabra Giant Tortoises at Melbourne Zoo

LET’S COOK!

CHIA PUDDING WHAT YOU’LL NEED

2 Spread some cream cheese over the toast.

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2 tbs chia seeds 1/2 cup almond or oat milk 1 tsp sweetener, e.g. honey or maple syrup Favourite fruit toppings, e.g. blueberries, strawberries, bananas, mango

1

Pour the chia seeds, milk and sweetener into a glass jar or small dessert dish.

2

Stir the ingredients with a spoon until well combined. Cover with a lid and put in the fridge for 2 hours (or more).

3

Take it out of the fridge, top with your favourite fruits and enjoy eating it with a spoon.

Cut the end off the cucumber, then place it at one end of the avocado to make the tortoise’s head.

8 Put two small blobs of cream cheese on the tortoise’s cucumber head to make the eyes. Finish the eyes by adding a sultana chopped in half over each eye.

TOP TIP Reuse glass jars by cleaning them with hot, soapy water, then use them to make chia puddings and other recipes.

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AUSTRALIAN NATIVE SPECIES

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

ILLUSTRATION BY GREGORY ROBERTS

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September 7th is National Threatened Species Day, a special day to celebrate some of our rarest animals. Can you spot the 11 differences between these two pictures highlighting some Australian threatened species?

Answers on Page 17

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ZOOPER KIDS

GARDENING CLUB

BEE BATH Make a

Did you know that just like birds, bees get thirsty too?

Bring pollinating bees to your backyard this spring by making a bee bath.

STEPS

WHAT YOU’LL NEED A saucer or shallow dish A few handfuls of pebbles or rocks of different sizes Water

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1

2

Find a saucer or shallow dish.

If you don’t have one at home, op shops are a great place to find things to reuse and upcycle.

Add the pebbles and rocks to the bath so that the bottom is completely covered.

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4

Fill the bath with water.

Reposition rocks at different heights so that bees have a place to land.

Place your bee bath in an area of your garden close to flowering plants. Check the water height and refill daily.

NATIVE PLANTS guessing game You’ll see more bees and butterflies flying around flowers and plants in spring.

Can you guess the names of these Australian native plants?

1 B_ _ K_ _ A

3 WA _ T _ E

4 B_ T_ _ E B_ U_ H 2 _ ANG _ R _ _ P_ W 5 GR _ V _ _ L _ A DID YOU KNOW? Bees and butterflies are good for your garden because they help to pollinate plants Answers on page 17

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CONGRATULATIONS to our winners!

WOW! THANKS FOR YOUR ENTRIES To enter our next competition, send your picture to: zooperkids@zoo.org.au

OR

ARIYA AGED 8

STICK INSECT PRIZE PACK

Zooper Kids Magazine PO Box 74, Parkville VIC 3052

See back page for all the competition details

EDITH AGED 5

16

ZOO KEEPER PRIZE PACK

17

Puzzle

PANDA PRIZE PACK

ANSWERS

AGED 6

LAWTON

GORILLA RAINFOREST WALK (pgs 2–3) 1 White 2 3 (Kimya, Otana, and Kanzi) 3 South America 4 Critically Endangered

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE (pgs 12-13)

AGED 8

AMITY

AQUATIC PRIZE PACK NATIVE PLANTS GUESSING GAME (pg 15) 1 Banksia 2 Kangaroo Paw

3 Wattle 4 Bottlebrush 5 Grevillia

We love getting your pictures and letters.

Make your own

PAPER PLATE snake

DID YOU KNOW?

Snakes use their tongue to smell. When they flick their tongue they are collecting scents from the air!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED Paper plate Green paint Red paper Paintbrush Scissors Glue Googly eyes String or twine

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STEPS

1

2

3

Use green paint to paint the surface of the paper plate.

Once the paint is totally dry, cut a spiral from the outside to the centre of the paper plate.

Carefully cut a tongue out of red paper and glue it to the back of the centre spiral.

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5

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Glue two googly eyes on the centre of the snake to complete its face.

With the tip of the scissors, poke a small hole above the snake’s eyes.

Thread your twine or yarn through the hole, then double knot it at the back of the snake’s head.

Visit Kyabram Fauna Park’s new Reptile Habitat to see snake species like the Tiger Snake, Common Death Adder and the world’s most venomous snake, the Inland Taipan.

7 Lift up the twine to make the snake slither and move.

DON’T FORGET TO GIVE YOUR SNAKE A NAME!

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COMPETITION TIME! REPTILE PRIZE PACK

MONKEY PRIZE PACK

$81 VALUE

JUNGLE PRIZE PACK

$69 VALUE

Good LUCK!

Rememberr to add you s res name & adydso that to your entrcontact we may you !

$75 VALUE

GIVEAWAY!

WE HAVE FOUR FANTASTIC PRIZE PACKS TO GIVE AWAY THIS ISSUE…

If you’d like a chance to win, send a letter or drawing to enter.

Send yours to: zooperkids@zoo.org.au

OR Zooper Kids Magazine PO Box 74, Parkville VIC 3052

ENtries close Sunday 22 October, 2023 This competition is open to Zoos Victoria Members under the age of 18 with consent of a parent/guardian.

Entries will be judged on individual merit and winners notified by phone or email. All entries become the property of Zoos Victoria and will not be returned to the entrants. Prizes are subject to change and cannot be transferred or redeemed for cash. Winners will be announced in the next edition of Zooper Kids.

GIRAFFE PRIZE PACK $85 VALUE