It Smells Like a Flower in a Brand New Crib!

One of the most memorable clips from the movie Bambi includes one of the cutest skunks you have ever seen. During this clip, the two meet for the very first time, and with her big eyelashes and sweet voice, the skunk allows Bambi to call her Flower.

We have a “Flower” here at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo as well, but her name is Tiger Lily. Some of you may have seen Lily up in the Loft where she has been living for the past couple of years. But, as our Loft animal collection grew, staff saw an opportunity to move Lily to a different enclosure at the zoo. This enclosure is located on the southeast side of the old Bird and Reptile House. It is an outdoor enclosure with dirt, logs, and plenty of space for Lily to exercise and dig. We hope this will provide her with more space to be a 'skunk', and continue to increase her physical fitness when she's not out being her cute little self and connecting with guests.

 Tiger Lily came to us in early 2008. She was two years old and had been a pet. When the owners moved to Colorado, they learned skunks are illegal to have as pets. In conjunction with the Division of Wildlife, they decided to place her here as a member of our Animal Ambassador program.

Over the last year, Lily has overcome some mobility challenges. Because of the diet she received early in life, her bones were quite deficient of calcium. In addition, she was overweight. As a result, her back legs suffered some stress fractures. The zoo's animal care and veterinary staff were very proactive with her treatments and did the best to ensure Lily would heal fully, lose weight, and someday walk normally again. Her daily diet is now complete with dog kibble, rodent chow, and yams. Crunchy crickets are Tiger Lily's favorite treats! With this new diet and physical therapy, we're pleased to say we have been successful with Lily. She continues to amaze her keepers with her sleeping habits. She snoozes while hanging from her log or with all four feet straight up in the air!

Stop by and see her the next time you're at the zoo!

Skunk Facts

- Skunks are primarily nocturnal and usually solitary, except when mothers are raising their babies.

- Skunks eat mostly insects, many of which are pests to humans.

- Skunk litters range from three to as many as 10 young.

- All skunks seem able to dig their own burrows, but will also use abandoned dens of other animals, hollow logs, wood, or rock piles. You may even find them living under buildings, stone walls and in hay or brush piles.

- The skunk’s main defense is a complex chemical substance, including sulfuric acid that can be fired from either one of two independently targetable anal glands.

- There are four different kinds of skunks found in the United States: spotted skunks, striped skunks, hooded skunks and hog-nosed skunks.

- Young skunks are referred to as kittens.

- Skunks have long claws, which are excellent for digging. However, these long claws are not useful in climbing and their short legs do not enable a skunk to run very fast.

Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Black-Footed Ferret’s Rediscovery - Part VII: Breeding Season

Black-footed ferret (BFF) kits grow very fast.  At birth they can weigh as little as 5 grams, the same weight of a US nickel! The nest box is cleaned once at 4 days old and then a daily cleaning of the nest box resumes when the kits are 9 days old. The dams are very reluctant to leave their kits, so we usually clean them right before feeding time. The meat ball sometimes entices the dam to go to the upper enclosure long enough to close the shift slider of the nest box. We quickly clean the latrine side of the nest box.  Take a quick peek at the kits on the nest side and then let the dams back to their kits.  This allows us the opportunity to check on the kits and make sure they are looking good.

Bunting’s litter at 4 days of age.

Bunting’s litter at 9 days of age.

While Bunting’s litter continues to grow, other expectant females are due.  Over the next several weeks more litters are born.  Of the 11 SSP females 7 whelped, including the female that was given hormones to ovulate. It is extremely rare for this to be successful.  We also had 2 additional litters that belong to two 5 year olds which is also not common.  In total we had 34 kits born! This is currently a record number of BFF births for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  For reasons unknown, we had 6 kits that did not make it past their first day (including two of Bunting’s litter).  However, the remaining 28 kits continue to thrive.

Bunting’s kits have reached the 21 day mark.  This is when we determine the sex of the kits and begin to weigh them weekly. All 4 of them are BOYS! Their weights range from 124-130 grams which is above average for 21 day old males.  At 23 days of age they are introduced to small carnivore meat.  Their eyes are still not opened, but they do have deciduous “baby” teeth.  They often do not eat the first few days, but are observed smelling the meat.

Bunting’s kits being introduced

to meat at 23 days of age.

Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Black-Footed Ferret’s Rediscovery - Part VI: Breeding Season

After 72 hours of being together, the black-footed ferret (BFF) female is separated from the male and she is returned to her enclosure.  Four days after separation, she is given her final vaginal flush for the year.  This check is to see if she has been induced to ovulate.  If she has, then her epithelial cells will look as they did at the beginning of her estrus cycle, obvious nuclei and very few cells with orange stain.  If she has not ovulated then they will look as they did before pairing, no nuclei and many orange keratinized cells. The female is re-paired immediately with a male if she has not ovulated and will sometimes be given hormones if she will not ovulate after a few pairings.  Once ovulation occurs, the females are disturbed as little as possible. 

           

The gestation or pregnancy period for BFFs is 42 days.  The diet is increased every two weeks and is almost doubled by the time she is due.  An infra-red video camera is installed on the nest box and we wait with anticipation for the kits to be born. BFF gestation period is almost like clockwork.  Most of our births occur right on the 42nd day and even near the time when the male and female were put together for breeding.  If we paired them in the morning, then the kits will usually be born in the morning.  If we paired them later in the day, then they will be born later that evening.  Since we have numerous female BFFs, a whelping calendar is created so we can keep track of all the due dates. 

For 2011, 11 SSP females were paired and 4 additional females that were non-releasable but over the age of four.  The additional 4 older females are not included in our primary breeding numbers as they are not as likely to produce kits.   One of our SSP females did not ovulate after 2 breeding attempts so she was given a hormone injection which did cause her to finally ovulate.   The remaining females that were bred and ovulated had no other issues during their gestation periods.

           

Bunting’s 4 healthy kits on camera while 

she is away getting a drink of water. 

Our first due date was on May 21st and our last was on June 22nd. On May 21st a litter of 6 kits were born!!!  Bunting Studbook #6376 is the dam (mother).  She came to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in 2009 as a one year old and unfortunately did not produce kits in 2010.  This year, however she proved otherwise.  For reasons unknown, only 4 of the kits visible on the camera were moving.  As we do not want to jeopardize the well being of the entire litter, we generally do not interfere and let the dams take care of the deceased kits as nature would intend. The four remaining kits looked as healthy as ever and now Bunting has a lot of work ahead of her as a new mom. 

“Otterly” Amazing Animals!

This past week, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was fortunate enough to welcome, to the Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit, two new otters from the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, MN. These two newbies helped increase our otter family to four meowters (aka males; females are called queens). A lot of zoo goers don’t know much about otters, so in honor of our new otter family members, we thought it would be a good time for us to share some of our otter knowledge. Plus “Otters” could be the subject of the final question on the next episode of Jeopardy and now you’ll know the answer…

According to early fossil remains, otters have been around for at least 30 million years. They can be found in very diverse locations close to bodies of water all over the world. “For $100 Alex – What animal lives all over the world, except in Australia and Antarctica?” Otters are considered a marine mammal, average about four feet in length, and can weigh up to 30 pounds. “For $200 Alex – What is the smallest marine mammal in the world?” Their tail can be up to a foot long and makes up about 40% of their body. An otter’s anatomy allows them to live both on land and in water. The little swimmers can remain under water for up to four minutes and they can dive up to 250 feet in search of food. Otters have the thickest fur of all fur animals, which means they are the only known marine animal that doesn’t have blubber and uses their fur to keep them warm. “For $300 Alex – What animal has at least 250,000 hairs per square inch?”

Here at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, we are home to North American otters, but there are over 10 identified species of otters in the wild. In the wild, otters live for an average of 12 years. “For $400 Alex – What animal doubles their life span when in captivity?” They eat anything from fish to birds, and some people argue they also eat berries and leaves. Up to 25% of their body weight can be consumed in food on a daily basis. When female otters are nursing, they can eat even more than that. The families spend up to five hours a day hunting and consuming food. Like many otters, our otters here at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo are VERY playful and spend the majority of the day in the water or climbing the trees inside their exhibit. Otters love to sunbathe during the day and are very active at night as well. “For $500 Alex – What animal is considered to be one of the most intelligent animals in the world?”

  

Our four otters have become friends in a very short amount of time. We have Pahapi and Kuuyi who are four years old and have lived at our Zoo for the majority of their lives. The two new family members who were born just last year are Enapay, which means brave in Sioux, and Pivane, which means weasel in Hopi. The new additions are very dark in color and have been given the nickname dark chocolate. The older otters have been dubbed milk chocolate. We are so excited to have these two new additions!

Come up and visit them soon!   

Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Black-Footed Ferret’s Rediscovery - Part V: Breeding Season

The female black-footed ferrets (BFFs) come into estrus starting around March. They are checked weekly for signs of vulvar swelling. Once they are at a certain size, then vaginal washes are conducted. This allows for us to look at the epithelial cells to determine when she is at peak estrus. Samples are collected twice per week until she is ready for breeding.

The slides are stained using the Pap staining technique, which causes the cells to be different colors according to the level of estrus. In the early stages, the cells are round and have a very apparent nucleus. When she is near peak estrus, then the cells become more jagged, turn orange, and don’t have a nucleus. Once the female has 90% of the orange keratinized cells, then she is almost ready for breeding.

Peak Estrus

Early Estrus

An average years number of slides

The female is usually given 5-7 days to allow her to be at full estrus and then she is paired with a male. The males are selected using a Mate Suitability Index 1-6 (1 being excellent and 6 being very bad). This number comes from the inbreeding coefficient, mean kinship, and other genetic values of both animals. It is at this time when things start to get a little tricky. Our female is now ready, but what about the male? Is his sperm count above the 250 million per milliliter? Is he currently paired with a different female? Luckily our studbook keeper and genetic advisor have given optional backup pairing suggestions for when problems like this may occur, or if the male is busy being paired with a different female.

Once all is ready, the female is placed in the male’s enclosure. A camera is placed on the nest box to watch for breeding activity. These are normally solitary animals and if they are placed together at the wrong time, then one of them might be very aggressive toward the other. Usually our science has led us to the correct timing and the breeding goes smoothly. After about 30 minutes, the female is removed to do a vaginal wash. She is placed back quickly and the breeding continues. This wash is to check and see if there is sperm present. The challenge of this check is that there are often only a few sperm that are usually missing tails and there are a lot of other cells on the slide. It is almost like playing Where’s Waldo, but looking for a single sperm head. This can sometimes take over an hour of constant searching on the microscope. If there is no sperm found, then the female is re-paired but with a different male.

Power 10

Power 40

Digital Picture zoomed: a single sperm head

This step is important because BFFs females are induced ovulators. This means that the process of breeding will cause her to ovulate regardless of if there are sperm present. BFFs only come into estrus one time per year so if she ovulates and there are no sperm, then she may become pseudo pregnant. The female will then show all the signs of pregnancy and can even have a false birth and lactate, but no litter is produced. If this happens, then we have to wait an entire year before she can be bred again. BFFs are reproductive from the age of 1-4 for females. They only have 4 chances to reproduce, so we must make each year count.