Brandywine Zoo: Part 1

Embedded in a park, the zoo's entrance is inauspicious.

Likewise, the name, emblazoned on a stone wall in brass is easily missed.

Which somehow makes the actual entrance charming.  A portal to a magical experience.

You know I love the Brandywine Zoo in Wilmington, Delaware.  A two-hour drive from my home, it is my AZA home zoo.  I am a sustaining contributor and also purchase an annual membership to the tune of a modest annual support of around $500.00.  It is money well invested.

The impetus of my visit was the inauguration of their latest multi-species Habitat: "Hidden Falls".  The actual ceremony was yesterday.  With somewhat limited parking and previous commitments, it made more sense to plan a post-inaugural in conjunction with nice weather.

Knowing where we're going, let's just start at the beginning.  

A) are the ANDEAN CONDORS.  This is a new pair that arrived at the zoo in 2022 and 2025.  An older female, named Jennifer (age 43) and an adolescent male, Luca, who is just 4.  Luca still has two years before he will molt into his adult plumage.  The goal of the pairing is to produce fertilized eggs.  Jennifer intimidates Luca at this point.  While he will eventually grow larger that her, she is physically larger than him at this point.  

Andean Condors average a lifespan in the wild of 50 years.  However, in captivity they can easily live to be 70 - 75.  This is an example of the power of human intervention and the need to provide abundant artificial habitats that allow animals in captivity to thrive as much as is possible.  

Jennifer is quite the proud bird.  While she may tire on hot days in the afternoons, she is very curious a alert in the mornings as the show of humans parading past her begins!

It was later towards the end of my visit that Luca came down to the lower edge of the habitat.

He also chose to display and present the full width of wing-span: easily 6.5 feet to give you perspective.  As an adult, this will increase upwards to as much as 10 feet!  Condors are the "gliders" of the mega-bird species.  Like their Dinosaur relatives, they evolved to fly in the highest of heights by soaring on the winds and updrafts common to steep, rocky, mountainous regions.

B-C) are a pair of habitats that are also "tented" over the rise of the palisade.  B was the longtime home to a Brandywine favorite, a bobcat named Squeakers.  Squeakers lived to be 20.44 years old, while the average for a bobcat in captivity is 13.5 years.  She was born at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans in 2007.  In her elder years (though she was always active) she loved to nap on the little trampoline that remains in the habitat. 

Today, an African Caracal wildcat named, Blue, abides there.  She was born at the Little Rock Zoo and was transferred to Brandywine in 2023.  At to the trampoline?  Blue preferred to sleep underneath of it when nap-time comes!

Blue began the day pacing while she waited for the arrival of her morning meal.  Her amazing ears could no doubt hear the sounds she daily associated with the arrival of food.  Caracals are like Africa's Bobcats.

C) is home to a North American Porcupine.

D-F) are three habitats that were built back during the 1930's Work Projects Administration.  So many zoos that were in existence at that time benefited from this Federal Back to Work initiative.  They are formed to a large extent from large stone masonry, which was the fashion.  They are also woefully lacking when it comes to modern, state-of-the-Art, habitats.  They certainly are not appropriate for the types of large animals for which they were originally intended.  By upgrading them, the Brandywine Zoo has found a way to maintain their use and still meet AZA standards for accreditation.  In large part, this means selected species who don't require the largest areas in which to thrive.  

Today, they are home to the zoo's Red Pandas, American Bald Eagle and Binturongs.  Initially, Blue inhabited the center habitat, but Squeaker's demise permitted an up-grade in her digs.

And the Red Pandas were already in full morning nap mode.