After you leave the Big Cats, the pathway that makes the most sense leads you past a lesser primate habitat that appears to be flex, in that on any given day, a different species might be found there. On this rainy day it was not surprising to find it empty; however, to our surprise we spied a pair of Lesser Spotted-nosed Guenon, spying us from a window perch in their interior habitat.
From here you see the multi-pen habitat of the Eastern Black Rhinos, a mother/son pair. The young male, Kevin, who was born at the Little Rock Zoo (first and only...so far) was out and expressing all the lethargy of the gray day around him. His mother, Andazi, made a brief appearance in the lower yard and then retreated to the dry interior. Just below the Rhinos was a long multi-species yard with a quartet of Grant's Zebra, a duo of Blue Wildebeest, and the trio of Common Ostriches.
We learned from a couple of keepers who were too happy to entertain our questions that the Zebra are a sort of family unit. There is a mother who arrived at the zoo with her colt, Melvin. At the time she was pregnant and gave birth to a filly, and then later another colt...though, the circumstances of that impregnation weren't revealed. And they didn't name the little guy "Jesus," so I don't think it was a miracle. Melvin? The Wildebeest were a pair of unrelated males: Ernest and something starting with an "H" that was also folksy sounding. When I asked how the Zebra and Wildebeest got along, one of the keepers said, "Melvin thinks he is one of them."
Peek-a-Boo! I see you, too!
The collection of interconnected yards in the Eastern Black Rhinoceros habitat
Kevin, the young male Eastern Black Rhinoceros that was born at the Little Rock Zoo.
(Behind him are inflatable animals for a seasonal holiday display)
The large mixed species habitat. There is what appears to be a small giraffe feeding station, but presently the zoo doesn't appear to be home to any members of this species.
Grant's Zebra, a subspecies of the Plain's Zebra, one of three distinct species of Zebra alive today.
Melvin with one of the wildebeest. He is comfortable enough with Melvin to allow him to groom his forehead.
Blue Wildebeest and Ostriches
There are two species of Wildebeest: Blue and Black, and I do not think Black Wildebeest are part of any zoo in North America.
No comments:
Post a Comment