The second question that Ms Bragg’s class asked had to do with what the animals here at the zoo eat. They wanted to know who decides what eats what and how we decide what eats what. The answer is remarkably similar to how we decide about their exhibits: we look to what their wild counterparts eat. Certain animals eat certain things. The three big categories are herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore. Herbivores eat only plants, carnivores eat mostly meat, and omnivores eat both. There are other smaller categories, though. Insectivores eat insects; frugivores eat fruit; foliovores eat leaves. I could go on and on but you get the point. So, we look at what different foods they would eat in the wild. If they eat mostly insects and some plants, we give them a lot of crickets and a little bit of herp salad (salad for reptiles!). If they eat a lot of plants and a few insects in the wild, we give them a lot of herp salad and a few crickets. If they eat mostly fruit and some leaves and insects in the wild, we copy that here. Again, I could go on and on but I think you see what I’m saying.
One of our vets oversees the nutrition of our animals here at the zoo. He takes the information that we know from the wild animals to decide what types of food we will give them, but he also looks at how active they are here to decide how much to give them. It’s kind of a constant battle to not let the animals get overweight. After all, in the wild they have to hunt or forage for their food and here we deliver it to them. Each animal is given a specific diet each day. That diet is prepared especially for that animal by our commissary staff (think of them as kind of like the people who make school lunch!) and picked up by the keepers to be given to the animals every day.
But where does the food come from? Very good question! There is a company that makes food for many of our animals – just like cat and dog food! And all of our fish and produce (fruits and vegetables) are restaurant quality – which means they are as good as the stuff we eat when we go to a restaurant. And let’s not forget the hay. Lots and lots and lots of hay. Tractor trailers full of hay!
I will sign off today with a new segment: “Crazy things kids say…”. I’m always amazed at some of the things I hear kids say or that are said to me by kids. It is absolutely all I can do to keep a straight face sometimes! So, I will start sharing some of these with you guys – so you can laugh along with me. Here are two from this week:
I do a lot of afterschool programs where I see the same kids week after week. I’ve been going to this one school for afterschools for 3 years and know the kids pretty well. In turn this means they feel very comfortable and familiar with me. This week as I started I said, “So, this week we’ll be talking about…” and one of the boys in the class said “Your new hairdo?!” (I was wearing my hair differently, but I still almost laughed out loud)
During a preschool class at a school one little boy said, “Alligators have legs and can swim? Wow, my brain needs a little rest!”
Have a great week everyone!
