ZOO CRITTERS - HONOLULU, HAWAII 2008

This is an African Spur Thigh Desert Tortoise.  Its scientific name is Geochelone sulcata.  It’s relatives are the Galapagos tortoise and Aldabra Giant Tortoise.  Their origin is Africa and they like to live in desert and bushland.  Their life-span can be up to 80 years and their size ranges from 130 to 220 lbs.  

We were at the Honolulu Zoo at Christmas 2008. The zoo had been home to Spur-thighed tortoises since 1990. In the following four years almost 200 babies hatched here.

African spur-thigh desert tortoises are known by many names.   They are commonly called the African spurred tortoise, grooved tortoise, sulcata, or simply the spur tortoise.  Their names refers to the large overlapping scales on their front legs.   More information can be found at this link.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day. 

CHEETAH AT THE HONOLULU ZOO IN DECEMBER 2008

 For the rest of the week I thought I would share animal and bird photos seen in various areas we have visited over the years.  These were taken at the Honolulu Zoo in December 2008.  I have shared before, but not for a while.

She had such incredible grace, the first thing I noticed when she half walked-half ran passed our viewing window.

She was beautiful!

And as quickly she disappeared out of sight.

We caught several glimpses of her during our time at the zoo, each one a gift.

Interesting facts about the Cheetah.

Scientific name: Acinonyx jubatus

It's name comes from the Sanskrit word chita, meaning spotted one.  A cheetah has a long streamline body, flexible spine, long legs, a long tail that acts as a rudder, an enlarged heart, large lungs and semi retractable blunt claws which aid the cats traction and turning ability at high speed.  Its eyes are physically adapted for speed, enabling it to spot distant prey and follow it with pinpoint precision before catching it.

The cheetah's body is specialized for speed and it is the fastest land animal.  The speed of a hunting cheetah averages 40 miles per hour during a chase.

The cheetah originated about 4 million years ago, long before other big cats, and was once common throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.

You can read a lot more information at this website.

BIRDS SEEN IN HAWAII, DECEMBER 2008

More good memories of our trip to Honolulu in December 2008.

This little bird is the Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus). It was introduced to Oahu in 1929 from Japan. It's a common small bird in the city as well as the forest.

It nests from February to November. The nest is a small cup of woven fibers and grass. The eggs incubate for 11 days and then fledge after 9 or 10 days.

The Warbling White-eye at a distance looks very similar to the native Amaki'i. It's easily distinguished however, by the white circle around the eye. The Amaki'i has a black circle.

Common Waxbill(Estrilda astrild)

The Common Waxbill is only found on Oahu. It was introduced from Africa sometime in the late 1970's. This bird is very shy. It travels in large groups of individuals that are most easily recognized by their call as they fly away. The easiest place to see them is in large open grass fields where they are found eating weed seeds.

 The Red-crested Cardinal (Paroaria coronata) Also known as the Brazilian Cardinal, it was introduced around 1930 from South America. It feeds on seeds, plant matter, insects and fruit.

Look for this bird traveling in family groups. If you see a bird with a brown crest and black bill, it's a juvenile. Observe the unique interaction of the juvenile with the parents. Often, the juveniles will wait for the adult to pick up the food and give it to them, even though they are the same size.

GIRAFFES AT THE HONOLULU ZOO IN HAWAII - DECEMBER 2009

Has anyone heard of Giraffe Manor in South Africa?  Has anyone actually been there?  It would be a fabulous experience to stay and see these beautiful animals as close as their guests do.  What a phenomenal experience that would be.  You can see what I am talking about at this link.  

The Giraffe is one of the most interesting animals.  I am sharing favorite photos taken of the ones we found at The Honolulu Zoo on our trip to Hawaii in December of 2009.

Interesting facts about the Giraffe:

A male can grow as high as 18 feet (5.5 meters), females up to 14 feet (4.3 meters).

Males can weigh up to 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms), females up to 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms). 

Their lifespan is between 15 to 20 years. 

Those bumps on its head are called ossicones, and both the male and the female have them.

Size at birth is 6 feet tall (1.8 meters), 100 to 150 pounds (45 to 68 kilograms). Gestation period is 14 months.  Age of maturity is 3 to 5 years.

A giraffe's foot is the size of a dinner plate - 12 inches across (30.5 centimeters).

They have the same number of vertebrae in their necks as we do, seven. Each one is just much bigger than ours and can be over 10 inches long (25.4 centimeters).

A giraffe's tongue is 18 to 20 inches long (46 to 50 centimeters), and is blue-black. Some people think the color is to keep it from getting sunburned.

Giraffes can moo, hiss, roar and whistle.

The record running speed of a giraffe is 34.7 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour).

Its range is in pockets of Africa, south of the Sahara Desert and its habitat is the savanna.

They have a spotted coat similar to a leopard, and for a long time people called the giraffe a

'camel-leopard', because they believed it was a combination of a camel and a leopard. That's where the giraffe's species name came from, "camelopardalis".

I found all these interesting facts, and more, here.

Also here.

FLAMINGOS

First of all, Happy Canada Day to all my friends in the north.  May it be a very happy one for you all.

It's also National Zoo Day, and thank you Sandra from Madsnapper for letting me know that.  I didn't realize what day it was when I started posting my zoo posts.  I have one more coming up tomorrow.

More photos from another zoo.  We were in Honolulu at the end of 2008, beginning of 2009.  There was a flock of flamingos to greet us as we made our way through the entrance. Extraordinary birds don't you think, with their long legs and the most interesting looking beaks? They are equipped with a feeding system unlike any bird on earth, and their beaks have evolved to skim tiny algae from the water's surface.

I read there are six species of flamingos, all of which come from rather harsh, inhospitable environments. Some species live on frozen windswept saline lakes at high altitudes in the Andes mountains, while others nest on caustic alkaline mud flats that contain boiling mud pots erupting from volcanic fissures.

At the time of our visit and not sure if this is still the case obviously, the Honolulu Zoo had two species, the American (or Caribbean) from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, and the Lesser Flamingo from East Africa, the Middle East and India. The American Flamingo is certainly the most colorful and well known, and the kind that greeted us at the Zoo.

Their beautiful color is acquired from their diet. The small crustaceans and algae that the flamingos eat contain carotenoid and other natural pigments that are processed in the body and deposited in the growing feathers. (Carotene is one of the most common carotenoid pigments and is what makes Carrots and other vegetables orange in color.) Only specific red chemical compounds will color Flamingos. This means that you can't turn a Flamingo blue by feeding it blue colored food.

Flamingoes are very social birds and will not nest unless there are a number of other flamingos present. Usually there is a "critical mass" of birds that is needed to initiate breeding and smaller flocks tend not to breed as well as larger ones. During the breeding season, group behavior is very important to get the entire flock "in the mood" for breeding and synchronize the production of eggs.

Although Flamingos are extremely social, they spend quite a bit of time fighting with each other. These are usually only noisy squabbles and pecking skirmishes, and never cause any damage or harm. When nesting you can see that each nest is placed exactly one neck length away from its neighbor, just within arguing distance. The most disastrous consequence of all this fighting is broken or "scrambled eggs!"

Flamingos build a very interesting nest. Since they nest on barren mud flats, there is nothing else to build a nest from except the mud itself. The mud is piled up one mouthful at a time till it forms a tall 1 to 3 foot cone with a shallow indentation in the top for the single egg. The tall nest is a hedge against rising waters that may wash away the eggs and the height keeps the egg and chick off the hot searing alkaline floor of the mud flat. There can be a 20 to 30 degree temperature difference from the hot ground and the top of the nest!

At the time of writing, the Honolulu Zoo flock numbered 19 birds. Most of these birds were quite old and could be considered geriatric. All but 5 of the birds were adults in 1968 when they arrived at the Zoo. That makes most of the flock over 30 years old. That is not exceptional for a flamingo, but since these were adult birds when they arrived, they could have been 10 to 20 years old or older. Four of the five other birds were born at Sea World of California in 1989.

The youngest bird in the flock was Sherman, and was the only Flamingo to be born at the Honolulu Zoo.  Sherman's egg was laid in 1993 and his parents tried to take good care of it. Unfortunately, one of the Flamingos infamous squabbles ended with Sherman's egg being knocked from its nest and rolled into the pool. When the keepers found the egg the next morning it was cold and wet and it was thought that there would be little chance it would hatch. The determined keepers moved the egg to an incubator and hoped for the best. Miraculously, the egg hatched and the chick was named Sherman.  (I wonder how many more Sherman's have been born at the zoo since our visit back in 2008/2009?)

Raising Sherman was a struggle. Young Flamingos have a very specific diet and the food must be dribbled into their throats like the adult Flamingos do. Sherman also had several medical problems, but with round the clock keeper care, and medical help from the zoo's veterinarians, he pulled through. As he got a bit older, he was taken out to the Flamingo pond every day to mingle with the other birds. Sherman though, prefers to think he is a human. To this day he follows the keepers around and will often lay his head on their shoulder. If you notice a Flamingo marching up and down calling to the visitors with a band on his leg with the number #3 on it, that is Sherman.  (Hopefully Sherman is still entertaining everyone at the zoo.)

All this information was found at the zoo's website.

Thank you for stopping by and 

enjoy the rest of your week.