This is a continuation of our tour of Zoo
Miami… This zoo has over 100 exhibits, 327 acres of developed zoo
property, over 3 miles of walkways, more than 2,000 animals, (over 500 species
of which 40 species are endangered), and 70 species of birds in the Wings of
Asia Aviary. The good news is that I’m
not planning to show you every exhibit or animal that we saw during our tour…
The dromedary camel, aka the Arabian
camel or Indian camel, is a large, even-toed ungulate with one hump on its
back. The dromedary’s diet includes foliage and
desert vegetation, such as thorny plants, which their extremely tough mouths
allow them to eat. They have various
adaptations to help them exist in their desert habitat. Dromedaries have bushy eyebrows and two rows
of long eyelashes to protect their eyes, and can close their nostrils to face
sandstorms. When water is scarce, they
have specialized kidneys, which allow them to tolerate water loss of more than
30% of their body mass!
Almost 13 million dromedaries are
domesticated. They are beneficial as
beasts of burden, and their docility and toughness compared to cattle, provide additional
advantages. The hair is a highly
regarded source material for woven goods.
Their meat is eaten in many cultures and their dung is used as
fertilizer and for fuel.
Note: I remember Laurie pulling
hair from a friendly camel at Grant’s Farm in St. Louis and presenting it to my
elated mother for a weaving project. We
did have to throw away Laurie’s smelly hobo purse afterwards though…
The Bactrian camel is native to the
steppes of Central Asia. There are 2
species of camel and the Bactrian is by far the rarer. Its population of about two million exists
mainly as domesticated animals. Back in
2002, it was estimated that Wild Bactrian camels had dwindled to a population
estimated at only 800 individuals. Its range in the wild is limited to remote
regions of the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts of Mongolia and China. A small number of wild Bactrian camels still
roam Kazakhstan as well as the Kashmir valley in Pakistan and India. In addition, there are feral herds of Bactrian
camels in Australia.
Camels are members
of the biological family Camelidae.
Other members of this family are dromedary camels, llamas, alpacas,
vicuñas, and guanacos.
The domesticated Bactrian camel has
served as a pack animal in inner Asia since ancient times…serving as a critical
conveyance for caravans of the Silk Road.
To learn about the Silk Road, an ancient trade route, just go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road. As pack animals, these ungulates are
virtually unsurpassed, able to carry 370 to 550 lbs. for a distance of 30 miles
per day.
This is a sable antelope. They live on the wooded savannahs of East
Africa and in Southern Africa. Male sable antelopes are about 20% larger than
the females. Males can reach 55 inches
at the shoulder and they typically weigh around 520 lbs. Both sexes have ringed horns which arch
backward. In females these can reach 24
to 40 inches long, while in males they can reach 65 inches in length!
When sable antelopes are threatened by
predators, including lions, they will confront it, using their scimitar-shaped
horns. Many lions have died during such
fights. Unfortunately, the sable's horns
have contributed to their sharp decline, as they are a highly prized hunting
trophy.
The spotted hyena is also known as the
laughing hyena. It ranges widely across
Africa in numbers estimated between 27,000 and 47,000 individuals. This species may have originated in Asia, and
it once ranged throughout Europe. The spotted hyena is a highly successful
animal, being the most common large carnivore in Africa. Its success is due in
part to its adaptability. It’s primarily
a hunter but they may also scavenge…with the ability to eat and digest skin,
bone and other animal bits and pieces.
Unlike most dogs, the social system of
the spotted hyena is openly competitive rather than cooperative. Access to kills, mating opportunities and the
time of dispersal for males depend on a hyena’s ability to dominate other
clan-members. Females provide only for their own cubs and males display no
paternal care. Spotted hyena society is
matriarchal; females are larger than males, and they dominate them. On average, the top weight for female spotted
hyenas is 141 lbs. and for males its 121 lbs.
The gaur is native to South Asia and
Southeast Asia. The gaur is the tallest species of wild cattle, reaching up to
7.22 feet at the shoulder! An occasional
large bull can weigh up to 3,300 lbs...that’s a ton and a half! The gaur is the largest of all bovines.
Due to their size and power, gaur have
few natural enemies. Only the tiger and the saltwater crocodile have been
reported as having killed a full-grown adult. When confronted by a tiger, the adult members
of a gaur herd often form a circle surrounding the vulnerable young and calves,
shielding them from the big cat.
The Arabian or white oryx is a
medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and
a tufted tail. It is native to the desert
and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx was extinct in the wild by
the early 1970s, but it was saved in zoos and private preserves and was then
reintroduced into the wild starting in 1980.
The Arabian oryx was the first animal to improve and revert to ‘Vulnerable’ status after previously being listed as extinct in the
wild. In 2011, populations were
estimated at over 1,000 individuals in the wild with another 6,000–7,000
individuals in captivity worldwide.
In the 1930s, Arabian princes and oil
company clerks started hunting Arabian oryx with automobiles and rifles. Hunts grew in size, and some were reported to
employ as many as 300 vehicles. The last
Arabian oryx in the wild, prior to reintroduction, was reported in 1972.
This is an addax. It lives in the Sahara desert. Its long twisted horns can reach to 33 inches
in length. The addax is a critically
endangered species of antelope. Although
extremely rare in its native habitat due to unregulated hunting, it is fairly common
in captivity. The addax was once
abundant in much of North Africa. It has
been reintroduced in Morocco and Tunisia.
Addax are amply suited to live in the
deep desert under extreme conditions. They can survive without free water
almost indefinitely. They get moisture
from their food and dew that condenses on plants. Scientists believe the addax
has a special lining in its stomach that stores water in pouches to use in
times of dehydration. They also produce highly concentrated urine to conserve
water. The pale color of their coat
reflects radiant heat, and the length and density of the coat helps in
thermoregulation.
Kind of cute, don’t you think!? The pygmy hippopotamus is native to the
forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia and small populations
in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast. They are reclusive and nocturnal. The pygmy hippopotamus is semi-aquatic and
relies on proximity to water to keep its skin moisturized and its body
temperature cool. Behaviors such as
mating and giving birth may occur in water or on land. The pygmy hippo is
herbivorous, feeding on ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses and fruits it finds
in the forests.
As a rare nocturnal forest animal, the
pygmy hippopotamus is difficult to study in the wild. Pygmy hippos were unknown outside of West
Africa until the 19th century. They were
introduced to zoos in the early 20th century and they breed well in captivity. While they thrive in zoos, there are less than
3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild.
The pygmy hippo is only half as tall as the hippopotamus and weighs less
than 1/4 as much as its larger cousin. Adult
pygmy hippos are only between 2.5 and 2.7 feet tall at the shoulder and they
only weigh from about 400 to 600 lbs.
Note: In 1927, Harvey Firestone
of Firestone Tires presented Billy the pygmy hippo to U.S. President Calvin
Coolidge. In turn, President Coolidge
donated Billy to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. According to the zoo, Billy is a common
ancestor to most pygmy hippos in U.S. zoos today.
The giant eland is an open-forest and
savanna antelope. It is the largest species of antelope in the world. A male
can weigh up to a half ton! This eland is native to Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, and South Sudan.
The giant eland is an herbivore, eating
grasses, foliage and branches. They
usually operate in small herds consisting of 15–25 members, both males and
females. Giant elands are not territorial, and have large home ranges. They are
naturally alert and wary, which makes them difficult to approach and observe. As big as they are, they can still run at up
to 43 mph and they use this speed as a defense against predators.
This strange looking little antelope is
the gerenuk or Waller’s gazelle. It is a
long-necked species of antelope found in dry thorn bush scrub and desert in
East Africa, including Somalia, Djibouti and eastern Ethiopia through northern
and eastern Kenya to northeastern Tanzania. The word gerenuk, (pronounced with a hard ‘g’),
comes from the Somali language, meaning "giraffe-necked".
Typically, these little antelopes are
only between 36 and 40 inches tall at the shoulder and they usually weigh
between 66 and 99 lbs. Gerenuks generally
browse on prickly bushes and trees, such as acacias. With their long necks, they can reach higher
branches and twigs than other gazelles and antelope. Gerenuks do not seem to drink water. Apparently they get enough water from the
plants they eat. This allows them to survive
in very dry habitats.
Note: Many breeders of gerenuks
and zoologists have described gerenuks as being extremely humble animals,
always helping fellow gerenuks. In
ancient African tribal tales, the gerenuk has often been crowned 'Queen of
Humbleness.'
The larger animal in this photo is the okapi. They are native to the Ituri Rainforest,
which is located in the northeast portion of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. Note the striped markings that
are reminiscent of zebras. However, it
is most closely related to the giraffe.
Like the giraffe, its flexible tongue is used to strip leaves and buds
from trees… The okapi's tongue is also long enough for the animal to wash its
eyelids and clean its ears (inside and out). Okapis are quite solitary, coming together
only to breed,
This odd looking animal gained early
attention in Europe due to speculation on its existence found in popular press
reports covering Henry Morton Stanley's journeys in 1887. Roughly 10,000–20,000 okapi remain in the wild. As of 2011, 42 different zoos display them throughout
the world.
Note: Zoo Miami has
successfully bred Okapi’s…resulting in 2 offspring to date.
However, the small critter next to the
okapi is not a baby okapi… It is a very small antelope called a duiker. They are small to medium-sized antelopes that
are native to Sub-Saharan Africa. The
name ‘duiker’ comes from the Dutch or Boer word for diver, which refers to this
animal’s practice of diving into tangles of shrubbery. Because of their rarity and interspersed
population, there is not much known about duikers. They range in size from the 6.6 lb. blue
duiker to the 150+ lb. yellow-backed duiker.
Duikers are primarily browsers, eating
leaves, shoots, seeds, fruit, buds and bark, and often following flocks of
birds or troops of monkeys to take advantage of the fruit they drop. Interestingly, they supplement their diets
with meat. Duikers consume insects and
carrion from time to time and even manage to capture rodents or small birds.
Who could resist a face like this! The Masai Giraffe is the largest subspecies
of giraffe and it’s the tallest land mammal in the world. (It’s up to 20 feet
tall and can weigh 3,500 lbs.) The Masai
giraffe is found in Kenya and Tanzania. The giraffe's range extends from Chad in the north down
to South Africa, and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannas, grasslands,
and open woodlands. Their primary food source is acacia leaves, which they
browse at heights most other herbivores cannot reach.
The circulatory system of the giraffe has
several adaptations for its great height. Its heart, which can weigh more than 25 lbs. and
measures about 2 feet long, must generate approximately double the blood
pressure required for a human to maintain blood flow to the brain. As such, the wall of the giraffe’s heart can
be as thick as 3 inches. Giraffes also have
unusually high heart rates for their size, at 150 beats per minute.
Note: Visitors to Zoo Miami can
buy fresh produce and feed the giraffe’s from an elevated platform. Its lots of fun!
How cute is this little giraffe! Giraffe gestation lasts 400–460 days. The mother gives birth standing up…so a baby
giraffe enters the world the hard way… The calf emerges head and front legs
first and falls to the ground! A newborn
giraffe is about 6 feet tall. Mothers
with calves will gather in nursery herds, moving or browsing together.
This group of giraffes has their eyes on
a couple of their familiar zookeepers who entered the area. In the wild, while giraffes are usually found
in groups, the composition of these groups tends to be open and ever-changing. They have few strong social bonds, and
aggregations usually change members every few hours.
Giraffes have an unusually long lifespan,
up to 25 years in the wild. Because of
their size, eyesight and powerful kicks, adult giraffes are usually not subject
to predation. However, they can fall
prey to lions and are regular prey for them in Kruger National Park. Nile crocodiles can also be a threat to
giraffes when they bend down to drink.
The Grant's zebra is the smallest of six
subspecies of the plains zebra. There
are more Grant’s zebras in the wild than any other species or subspecies of
zebras. They are not endangered. Grant’s
zebras eat the coarse grasses that grow on the African plains, and they are
resistant to diseases that often kill cattle, so they do well in the African
savannas.
There are several species or sub-species
of Zebra. In addition to Grant’s, there
are Burchell’s, Selous’, Chapman’s, Crawshay’s, Cape Mountain, Hartmann’s
Mountain and Grevy’s zebras. Another
zebra, the quagga, is now extinct. To
learn more about zebras, to view their varying appearances and to see a picture
of a quagga, just go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra.
Zebras evolved among the Old World horses
within the last 4 million years. Although
zebra species may have overlapping ranges, they do not interbreed. Their stripes have several possible
advantages:
- The vertical striping may help the zebra hide in grass by disrupting its outline. In addition, even at moderate distances, the striking striping merges to an apparent gray.
- The stripes may help to confuse predators by motion dazzle—a group of zebras standing or moving close together may appear as one large mass of flickering stripes, making it more difficult for the lion to pick out a target.
- The stripes may serve as visual cues and identification. Although the striping pattern is unique to each individual, it is not known whether zebras can recognize one another by their stripes.
- Experiments indicate that the stripes are effective in attracting fewer flies, including blood-sucking tsetse flies and tabanid horseflies.
Thomson's gazelles are is one of the
best-known and most common gazelles. These
gazelles can be found in numbers that exceed 500 thousand in Africa.
Thomson's gazelles are dependent on short
grass. Their numbers are highly
concentrated at the beginning of the rains since the grass grows quickly. These gazelles follow the larger grazing
animals such as plains zebras and blue wildebeests.
Thomson's gazelles major predators are
cheetahs, which as the fastest land based animal, are able to attain higher
speeds! However, these gazelles can
outlast them in long chases and are able to make quicker turns. This
small antelope-gazelles can run from 50 to 60 mph!
Laurie and I both love the big cats and
the jaguar is one of our favorites! The
jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and it’s the
largest in the Western Hemisphere. The
jaguar's present range extends from northern Mexico, (occasionally the
southwest corner of the USA), and then through much of Central America and
south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. Jaguars usually weigh between 124 and 210 lbs.
although larger males have been known to weigh as much as 350 lbs.!
This big spotted cat most closely resembles
the leopard, although it is usually larger and of sturdier build and it’s
behavioral and habitat characteristics are closer to those of the tiger. While dense rainforest is its preferred
habitat, the jaguar will range across a variety of forested and open terrains. It is strongly associated with the presence of
water and it is notable, along with the tiger, as a feline that enjoys
swimming. The jaguar is largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush
predator at the top of the food chain. The
jaguar has an exceptionally powerful bite and it uses an unusual killing method. It bites directly through the skull of prey
between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain.
These are giant otters, a South American carnivorous
mammal that lives mostly along the Amazon River. It is the longest member of the weasel family,
reaching up 5.6 feet in length. They weigh
between 49 and 71 lbs.
The giant otter is a social species, with
family groups typically supporting three to eight members. Although generally peaceful, the species is
territorial, and aggression has been observed between groups. It is the
noisiest otter species, and distinct vocalizations have been documented that
indicate alarm, aggressiveness, and reassurance.
Decades of poaching for its velvety pelt,
peaking in the 1950s and 1960s, considerably diminished the giant otter’s numbers.
Wild population estimates are typically
below 5,000 individuals. The giant otter
is also rare in captivity. As of 2003,
only 60 animals were on display in zoos.
The Northern Caiman Lizard is a species
of lizard found in northern South America.
This lizard has a large heavy-set body and short but powerful limbs.
Their jaws are heavily muscular to help aid in eating its normal prey of
snails, crawfish and fresh water clams. The
long flattened tail helps the Caiman Lizard successfully swim and dive. It also has a clear third eyelid which is
thought to act like a pair of goggles underwater.
The body of the caiman lizard is very
similar to that of a crocodile. These
lizards can grow up to 4 feet in length and weigh up to 10 lbs. This species was heavily hunted for their
leather. In 1970 they were provided
protection and the export of their hides dropped. Farms have been established to provide animals
for the leather trade.
The African bush elephant is the largest
living terrestrial animal… Their large ears enable heat loss. The upper lip and nose form a trunk. The trunk acts as a fifth limb, a sound
amplifier, and an important method of touch. I didn’t realize it but African elephants'
trunks end in two opposing lips…and the Asian elephants’ trunk ends in a single
lip. A big male African elephant can
stand 13 feet tall at the shoulder and they may weigh as much as 13,330 lbs.
(Over 6.5 tons!)
African elephant societies are arranged
around family units. Each family unit is made up of around ten closely related
females and their calves and is led by an old female known as the matriarch. When separate family units bond, they form kinship groups or bond groups. After
puberty, male elephants tend to form alliances with other males.
African elephants are amongst the world's
most intelligent species. With a mass of
just over 11 lbs., elephant brains are larger than those of any other land
animal. Elephants exhibit a wide variety
of behaviors, including those associated with grief, learning, mothering,
mimicry, art, play, a sense of humor, altruism, use of tools, compassion,
cooperation, self-awareness, memory and possibly language. All of this indicates a highly intelligent
species that is thought to be equal with dolphins and primates.
The Harpy Eagle is the largest and most
powerful raptor found in the Americas and it’s one of the largest eagles in the
world. It usually inhabits tropical
lowland rainforests in the upper canopy layer. Destruction of its natural habitat has seen it
vanish from many parts of its former range, and it is nearly extinct in Central
America.
While we were watching this eagle, 2
zookeepers were cleaning the eagles’ cage.
They had also placed a dead rabbit on a stump…and this eagle was
completely focused on her lunch! Female
harpy eagles can weigh as much as 20 lbs., with a wingspan of over 7 feet… Males are much smaller and they rarely weigh
more than 11 lbs.
The literature that I read states that
both the male and female harpy eagles have exactly the same striking plumage. I found a couple of photos on line that
indicate that when they’re hunting or focused on something, they look like the
eagle in the first photo…
The Harpy Eagle is an active hunting
carnivore and is an apex predator… They are at the top of the food chain and
have no natural predators. Its primary prey
is tree-dwelling mammals, with the majority of its diet being sloths and
monkeys. The Harpy Eagle routinely hunts
prey weighing more than 15 lbs.! Harpy
eagles possess the largest talons of any living eagle…
The red river hog is a wild member of the
pig family living in Africa, with most of its distribution in the Guinean and
Congolian forests. It is rarely seen
away from rainforests, and they generally prefer areas near rivers or swamps.
Red river hogs eat grasses, berries,
roots, insects, mollusks, small vertebrates and carrion, and are capable of
causing damage to plantations. They typically live in herds of 6 to 20 members
led by a dominant boar, with sows rearing three to six piglets at a time. Adults may weigh up to 254 lbs.
The New Guinea singing dog, (also known
as the New Guinea dingo), is a wild dog once found throughout New Guinea. New Guinea singing dogs are named for their
unique vocalization. Little is known
about New Guinea singing dogs in their native habitat. There are only two confirmed photographs of
wild singing dogs. Captive-bred New
Guinea dingoes serve as companion dogs.
The New Guinea singing dog is relatively
short-legged and broad-headed. These
dogs have an average shoulder height of 12 to 18 inches and weigh no more than
about 30 lbs. Curiously, they don’t have
rear dewclaws. The limbs and spine of
Singers are very flexible, and they can spread their legs sideways to 90°! They can also rotate their front and hind
paws more than domestic dogs, which enables them to climb trees with thick bark
or branches that can be reached from the ground.
New Guinea singing dogs are named for their
distinctive and melodious howl, which is characterized by a sharp increase in
pitch at the start and very high frequencies at the end. At the start, the frequency rises and
stabilizes for the rest of the howling, but normally shows abrupt changes in
frequency. A trill, with a distinctly
"bird-like" character, is emitted during high arousal. It is a high-frequency pulsed signal that has
never been known to be made by any other canid.
This saddle-billed stork is a large
wading bird. It’s a widespread species that
is a resident breeder throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa. When they aren't sitting on their knees...or is it their elbows...like this one, these very large birds can reach a height of 59
inches, weigh up to 17 lbs. and have a wingspan of up to 8.9 feet! Its bill can measure up to 14.2 inches.
The saddle-billed stork breeds in watery forests
and other flood lands in tropical lowlands. It builds a large, deep stick nest in a tree,
laying one or two white eggs. It doesn’t
form breeding colonies, and is usually found alone or in pairs. Like most of its relatives, these storks feed mainly
on fish, frogs and crabs, but also on small birds and reptiles.
This of course is a koala, a tree
dwelling herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. Its closest living relatives are wombats. Koalas are found in coastal areas of Australia’s
eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria
and South Australia. A large koala may
weigh as much as 33 lbs. They typically live
in open eucalypt woodlands. The leaves
of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this eucalypt diet has limited
nutritional and caloric content, koalas are largely sedentary and sleep for up
to 20 hours a day.
Koalas were hunted by indigenous
Australians and depicted in myths and cave art for millennia. The animal was also hunted heavily in the
early 20th century for its fur. Because
they get so little energy from their diet, koalas typically spend only 4
minutes a day in active movement!
Koalas are mostly active at night and spend most of their waking hours
feeding. They typically eat and sleep in
the same tree…possibly for as long as a day before moving on to the next tree…
I just took this photo of a waterfall near the entrance/exit because I liked it...love waterfalls!
Well…that’s about the end of our
tour. We definitely enjoyed our tour of
Zoo Miami. It did take the greater part
of a full day for us to walk around the complete zoo, check out all of the animals,
take photos and eat lunch. We would
recommend Zoo Miami for families and animal lovers alike. It’s nicely organized and the exhibits are
quite people friendly. We were a little
let down by the limited Australian exhibit but overall, this zoological park is
hard to surpass!
Zoo Miami is located at 12400 Southwest
152nd Street in Miami Florida.
Phone: 305-251-0400. The Zoo
Miami website may be found at www.zoomiami.org.
I really found that the interactive map of the exhibits on the website
was very helpful.
Just click on any of the photos to
enlarge them…
Thanks for going with us on our
tour!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
