Maryland Zoo: Children's Farm

First Sunday in weeks without snow...so it rained!  But unlike snow, the Maryland Zoo doesn't close when it rains.  Volunteered today for a single shift at the Donkey Barn.  With the rain and the temps in the upper 40'sF, it was a very quite place.  And still, it was so good to spend time with some of my favorite animals.

THE ALPACAS

The Maryland Zoo is home to a trio of Alpacas.  Here from Left to Right are Annabelle Lee, Aleluya, and Tagalong.  Anabelle Lee is the youngest (8 yo) and the most curious.  She will always approach to get a closer look, and maybe a smell; but she will not let you touch her!  No way, Jose!  Aleluya is the oldest (14 yo), the largest, and the least interactive.  Alpaca rarely live beyond 10 years in the wild.  In captivity, they do exponentially better with an average variability lifespan of 15 to 25 years.  In 2020, we lost the 4th member of our little herd, Gypsy.  At the time of her passing, she had reached the age of 22 years.  The third member, Tagalong, is the most diminutive, and always seems to be coiffed with a mop that obstructs her view!  She is a true Tag-along, too.  At 11 yo, she follows the others like the proverbial little sister.

Of the four South American members of the family Camelidae (Llama, Alpaca, Vicuna and Guanaco), the Alpaca are my favorites.  They are by far the most domesticatable.  They have dreamy, sweet eyes, amazing coats of fur, legs with joints that defy logic and toes with hoof-claws that look like something straight out of a sci-fi bestiary.  

KUNE KUNE PIGS

Welcome to the world of endangered domestic animals.  Kune Kune pigs. which trace their origins back to New Zealand, were once down to a mere 9 animals!  There extinction was blamed on a lack of interest.  Other breeds arrived, and farmers simply didn't realize that this unique breed had dwindled away.  From those nine animals in the mid 1970's, efforts have led to a world wide population in 2021 number in the mid-thousands.  While there are many wonderful traits to Kune Kune pigs, size and bulk are not among them.  It's a makin' bacon game when it comes to pig breeding.

Our boys are Orville (reddish coat) and Wilbur (white and black mottling).  When I first learned their names, Wil (White) Bur (Black) was my mnemonic trick!  These guys are brothers.  They were born in 2018, and came to the zoo not that long after they were weened.  Their live expectancy is 15 years, and they're mostly full grown.  

PEAFOWL

Both our cock and hen were doing their best to stay out of the rain!  Who could blame them?

TRUMPETER SWANS

We have an amazing pair of Trumpeter Swans.  Scuttle and Buttercup were born at the Houston Zoo in 2004.  In 2014, they came to us at the Maryland Zoo.  In 2016, they hatched there first clutch of cygnets.  Every year since then they have faithfully hatched and raised between 1 and 3 cygnets.  From their birth/s in early spring, to their maturation in mid-autumn, watching the young grow and become adult is a thrill.  Every autumn, the Maryland Zoo joins a coalition of other AZA zoos and transports out young swans to Iowa and the care of the Department of Natural Resources.  The Iowa DNR oversees the rest of the maturation until the following spring when they are released into the wild.  This project has reintroduced over 100 swan back into feral populations in the past 25 years.

MEDITERRANEAN DONKEYS

The name Mediterranean comes from their origins on the Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily.  The DNA goes even further back in time to animals domesticated in North Africa.  Today, the original breed is rare on these iconic islands, but the hybridized variant is doing well in the United States.  Once a beast of burden, now they are mostly a novelty pet.  

Our pair are males.  Lloyd is mottled, and Harry is brown.  Well cared for, they can live to be 35+ and even as old as 50.  These boys are both 15.

Harry is the more gregarious.  But it is clear that they enjoy one another's company.

As today was a very quite day, I noticed when they both into the inner stall of their barn.  I called to them, but they didn't respond.  Then I held up my red camera to snap a picture and they both became very interested.  Sorry, guys; it's a camera, not an apple!