A New Hairdo for the Alpacas: An Article from the Wild Animal Sanctuary

Remember that post I did a few weeks back about the giant bears I saw at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado?  (If not, you can just click HERE to catch up).  Anyways, I thought it might be interesting to see if anyone at the sanctuary would be willing to do a guest post on the blog!  The person I corresponded with, however, said that all of the staff members are putting in 60-70 hours per week, and therefore are absolutely unavailable!  My correspondent did say that I could feel free to reprint some of the stories from the newsletters, and I thought that was a great idea!  In their last newsletter, they printed a story called "Summer's Here and It's Time for a New Hairdo," an article all about their fleet of shaved alpacas!  Since I thought these guys were totally awesome, I decided to reprint this story, as it is both interesting, educational, and really, really funny!  So please, enjoy, and make sure to check out the Wild Animal Sanctuary, and like their Facebook page by clicking HERE!  Also, be sure to check out their website by clicking HERE!  

It seems like everyone likes to observe the seasonal changes with some sort of personal change in their own life. It’s possible they are trying to mirror the change in landscape… or more likely, they’re trying to find a balance with nature. Sometimes this sort of thing can come in the form of a new wardrobe… and others might find balance by including more outdoor activities to get them in the groove.


Yet, whatever you like to do when the weather and daylight start to shift… there’s always one thing that pops up on an Alpaca’s springtime dance card – a trim and shave! Yep, that’s right, there’s nothing more refreshing than a late spring haircut to lift the spirits of an Alpaca - especially since wearing a winter coat in July or August can get a bit stuffy!

With this in mind, we started late last year trying to find a viable solution to our shearing needs for the 50+ Alpacas that live at the Sanctuary. Mind you, shearing one or two wouldn’t be so bad… but when you are looking at more than 200 fuzzy legs that happen to have big fuzzy bodies attached to them – one has to be realistic when it comes to planning how to get the shearing job done!

Luckily, through a myriad of connections talking with each other, we were able to find an Alpaca Ranch in Montana that routinely hires a professional shearer each spring to help lighten the load of their Alpacas. The Ranch owners offered to help the Sanctuary by paying for their shearer to come to the Sanctuary – along with the ranch’s own special team of Alpaca wranglers – in order to shear all of our Alpacas in the spring.

They were happy to share their expertise in the art of Alpaca wool management, and planned on taking the wool back to Montana to turn it into highdollar rugs. They then planned on sending some of the rugs down to us to sell in our gift shop… as well as retail the rest to clients that have been following their wool artistry for many years.

Well, April finally rolled around, and the out-of-state shearing party arrived as scheduled. However, the Sanctuary’s staff ended up having to jump in the middle of the Alpaca wrangling end of things when the ranch’s wranglers came up missing.

Actually, it turned out to be a good adaptation, since we were happy to participate in order to ensure our Alpaca’s visit with the barber turned out to be a positive one. Besides, they’re all so cute that it’s a pleasure to spend time amongst this curious flock!

We started early in the morning and worked with precision. We were able to have two areas where the Alpacas would be laid down to get shaved. As one would be getting his or her hair clipped… the other would be getting his or her hooves trimmed and teeth checked. 

The shearer spent the day swapping back and forth while the ranch owners and Sanctuary staff took care of all the oddities like wool collection and doing discretionary medical exams.

We ended up with some pretty slick-looking Alpacas… and they ended up feeling substantially lighter. Their final appearance was definitely charming, as most of them ended up looking more like “Pokey” – “Gumby’s” sidekick of a horse!

When it was all over, the ranchers were forced to spend some time trying to pack 50+ Alpaca’s worth of wool into a regular-sized Chevy van (which ended up being packed solid, floor to roof), while our dainty-looking heard of Alpacas trotted off into the sunset. It’s definitely a new season, and the Alpacas definitely have a new hairdo, so as far as we’re concerned… it feels like everything is in balance again! 

Did you like what you just read?  Well, make sure to check out the Wild Animal Sanctuary's newsletter page by clicking HERE!  Make sure to also like their Facebook page by clicking HERE, and to check out their website by clicking HERE!  

Bongo (to the tune of "Conga")

Number three!  Here we have another good one, entitled "Bongo," and sung to the tune of Gloria Estefan's "Conga!"

Here are the lyrics to the song:


Come on everybody lets learn about the bongo
With bright orange fur its really gonzo
It's tongue can move a lot and is really longo
To learn about the bongo just relax and take a seat

Come on everybody lets learn about the bongo
With bright orange fur its really gonzo
It's tongue can move a lot and is really longo
To learn about the bongo just relax and take a seat

Like the giraffe and the okapi
All have two hooves on their feet
All three have a prehensile tongue
Which is really pretty neat
Unlike the giraffe, the bongo lives
The jungle and not in the heat
To learn more a-bout the Bongo
Just relax and take a seat

Come on everybody lets learn about the bongo
With bright orange fur its really gonzo
It's tongue can move a lot and is really longo
To learn about the bongo just relax and take a seat

More mountain bongos live in zoos than
Live in the wild and far away
Estimates from 2007
Say 75 to 140
Better get ourselves together
And hold on to what we've got
If we don't help then decrease in the
Population will never stop

Come on everybody lets learn about the bongo
With bright orange fur its really gonzo
It's tongue can move a lot and is really longo
To learn about the bongo just relax and take a seat

Come on everybody lets learn about the bongo
With bright orange fur its really gonzo
It's tongue can move a lot and is really longo
To learn about the bongo just relax and take a seat
Come on everybody lets learn about the bongo
With bright orange fur its really gonzo
It's tongue can move a lot and is really longo
To learn about the bongo just relax and take a seat

Come on everybody lets learn about the bongo

Photo Credit: zooborns.typepad.com

Are you diggin' the songs?  Well, then check out our playlist below!

CLICK HERE TO BE DIRECTED TO A FUN-FILLED PLAYLIST OF AMAZING SONGS.

Zoo Babies: Bison

Today, in honor of the birthday of Kevyn Llewellyn, we are going to be looking at a few photos of a baby bison born about this time last year at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, Illinois.  Although frequently incorrectly referred to as buffalo, they are simply different animals, despite the outward similarities between the two groups.  If you see something that looks like it could be either a buffalo or a bison, there is a very, very good bet that you are looking at a bison.  Unless something very strange has happened, and in that case, you will be excused for looking foolish when it comes to your knowledge of the bovids.

Anyways, the bison, despite their once immense numbers (numbering in the tens of millions), were hunted almost to extinction in the 1800s, but have made a stunning comeback, with about 20,000 living in protected areas such as National Parks, and a further 500,000 living on tribal lands and ranches.  Nevertheless, their range is vastly reduced from what it once was.  Many people have come to the aid of the bison over the years, including Theodore Roosevelt and a man named William Hornaday, who together co-founded the American Bison Society at the Bronx Zoo in New York in 1905 in order to help protect these wild creatures. Today, they are labeled as "Near Threatened" by the IUCN due to these conservation efforts. 

Today, the bison is the largest North American mammal, but it wasn't always this way.  In fact, it wasn't always even the largest member of the genus Bison in North America!  Ancient ancestors of the North American bison have been traced by paleontologists to southern Asia to about 400,000 years ago, during the Pliocene Epoch.  Once the bison managed to make it across the land bridge into North America, it diversified and evolved.  One species, Bison latifrons, had a horn-span of a whopping nine feet!  Another species, Bison occidentalis (of which I have a scapula!) is thought to be the direct descendant of the modern bison, and evolved sometime during the late Pleistocene Epoch.

While talking bison with Dr. Robert Bakker and Matt Mossbrucker at the Morrison Natural History Museum, I learned that if you are looking at postcranial elements of a fossil bison (that is fossilized bones from behind the head), they are almost impossible to differentiate from each other.  Not only that, but they are extraordinarily difficult to differentiate from cows, too!  As a matter of fact, the species barrier is quite tentative between the bison and domestic cattle, resulting in the domestication of some bison, as well as hybrids, such as beefalo and cattalo.

Photo credit for all of the photos used in this post goes to the website for ZooBorns.  If you like what you are reading, please feel free to follow us here or via Facebook!  And remember, if you have a birthday coming up, just email me the date at cuyvaldar123946@gmail.com with the date and your favorite animal, and I will do my best to get a post in!

Animals of Yosemite National Park

As I talked about IN A PREVIOUS POST, the trip that my family and I took to Yosemite was simply fantastic.  Yosemite was just magical!  However, in the last post, you might have noticed that, with the exception of the odd, Snoopy-looking rock, I neglected to talk about any animals that we saw in Yosemite.  And, if you know anything about my family and this blog, then you know that we saw some animals!  So here are some of those animals that we saw! First off, a mule deer that I believe we saw on our hike up to Sentinel Dome.

Next, we have a scarlet kingsnake that my father and I saw when we walked over to the base of El Capitan.

 

We also saw this lizard at the base of El Capitan.  It looks to me like it might be a skink, but I really have no idea.  If you know what it is, make sure to shoot me an email!

We also saw a large Yosemite toad!  It was just kind of chilling in the middle of a pond, but then something startled it, and it lept into the water!

 

 

 

 

 

We also, of course, saw some bears, which were really super exciting!  Here are some pictures of some of the bears that we saw!

 

 

 

 

Bison: Up Close and Personal!

At one point on our Grand Teton/Yellowstone/Sun Valley driving trip in 2006, we went on a ranger-guided nature walk in Yellowstone.  As we were walking along the trail, the ranger told us a lot about the local wildlife, and mentioned at least a few times the dangers of confronting a bison.  The ranger led us into a small clearing surrounded by tree for a short break, when suddenly, a large bull bison wandered by right behind the ranger along the trail. 

A bison, right up close and personal on the path!  Photo Credit: Julie Neher

A bison, right up close and personal on the path!  Photo Credit: Julie Neher

Everyone froze, staring at the bison as it started blankly right back at us.  Fortunately, it was uninterested in us, and wandered on along the path, without increasing the "Bison Casualty Count" for that year!

Making Yourself Taller

In life, things often seem as if they are out of reach.  Sometimes, this is true, and you need a ladder or something to help you.  In the wild, however, animals don't have access to conventional ladders.  So what do they do to get there?  Some animals become adapted to climbing, like those that live in forests (arboreal animals).  Other animals don't want to sacrifice a ground-dwelling life style for an arboreal one.  These animals must somehow make themselves taller.

Lots of different animals make themselves taller, by many different means.  Some animals simply grow bigger, like the giraffe and the long-necked dinosaurs (sauropods).  With their long necks, these animals can reach vegetation that is a great deal higher than most animals can reach.  Other animals put special things on their feet to make themselves taller called shoes.  Some of these shoes, known to scientists as "high-heels," are apparently designed to put the girl at optimal kissing height (a fact that I learned about from a friend of mine just a few days ago).  And finally, some animals simply stand up.

Like the gerenuk.  This interesting African antelope is one of my favorites!  As you can see in the picture below, the gerenuk, in order to access vegetation on a higher plane than most animals can, will rear up so it is supported solely by its back two legs, and feed from there.  Many paleontologists hypothesize that the sauropods could also do something similar, as supported by the fact that Apatosaurus babies would run solely on their back feet to keep up with the rest of the herd.

Gerenuk standing on their back legs to access higher vegetation at the Animal Kingdom park at Walt Disney World in Florida.  Photo Credit: Julie Neher

Upcoming Lecture: Animal Adventures With Zack Neher Part 1

Hey everyone!  So I just wanted to let you know that I am going to be having a trio of lectures next calendar year, and the first one is rapidly approaching!  It is on Thursday, January 10th from 4:00 PM to around 5:15 PM.  It will be held in the main auditorium at Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado, and the address is 1515 Greenbriar Boulevard.  Admission will be free, but 90% of the proceeds will be going towards the Morrison Natural History Museum where I volunteer, while the other 10% will be going towards funding the Fairview Knowledge Bowl Team.  HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ZACK NEHER'S LECTURES PAGE ON FACEBOOK, WHICH YOU ALL SHOULD LIKE!

What will be at the lecture?  Well, just like last time, we will have a fossil table down in front, with tons of fossils, ranging from whale and bison bones to spiders preserved in amber, red fox skulls to mosasaur jaws, and much, much more! 

And, most importantly, what will we be talking about at the lecture?  Well, I am just so glad you asked!  This lecture is going to be covering a very wide variety of seemingly-unrelated topics.  But never fear, for I have artfully woven them into an intricate tapestry of fun.  Here are some of the topics and animals that we will be learning about!

• Creatures of Madagascar, including lemurs, chameleons, moths, and the fossa
• Animal names in Harry Potter
• Triceratops and its relatives
• Showy and beautiful birds, including hummingbirds and birds of paradise
• Gigantic carnivorous dinosaurs, including Tyrannosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, Acrocanthosaurus, Spinosaurus, and Giganotosaurus
• Bird mimics, including the lyrebird, myna bird, mockingbird and catbird
• Even-Toed Ungulates (Artiodactyls), including entelodonts, camels, hippos, pronghorn, and cows
• Odd-Toed Ungulates (Perissodactyls), including horses, tapirs, and rhinos
• Why Does My Cat Do That?
• Intelligence in birds, including the African gray parrot, shrike, and crows
• And much, much more!

I guarantee that it will be a fun-filled and entertaining evening chock-full of awesome animals, amazing video, and more than a fair share of Psych references!  So please, join us if you can!  Hope to see you all there!

And please, if you like what you're reading, make sure you click the subscribe button off to the right!  

Antlers Vs. Horns, Part 1: Antlers

Antlers and horns often look the same, but underneath, they are actually quite different!  Today we are going to look at not only what defines both antlers and horns, but also take a look at some of the animals that have each of them!  All aboard!

Let's start off with antlers.  As defined by the Google dictionary thing, an antler is "One of the branched horns on the head of an adult (usually male) deer, which are made of bone and are grown and cast off annually."  Something that I would like to add is that antlers are unique to the family Cervidae, which includes:

• Deer
• Elk
• Moose
• Caribou (Reindeer)

The only member of the family Cervidae that has horns on both the males and the females is the caribou, frequently referred to as the "reindeer."  However, it has been documented, on numerous occasions, for fertile females from other species of the cervids to occasionally grow antlers, but this is typically due to unusually high testosterone levels. 

The family Cervidae is one of the many families in the order Artiodactyla, frequently referred to as the "Even-Toed Ungulates" (so called because they either stand on two or four toes).  There are around 220 extant (still living, as opposed to extinct) species of artiodactyl, and included within this order are many familiar groups.  These groups, broken down by family, include:

• Camelidae (Camels and llamas)
• Suidae (Pigs)
• Tayassuidae (Peccaries, a close relative of pigs)
• Hippopotamidae (Hippopotamus)
• Tragulidae (Chevrotains, a type of small deer)
• Antilocapridae (Pronghorn)
• Giraffidae (Giraffe and okapi)
• Moschidae (Musk deer)
• Cervidae (Deer)
• Bovidae (Cattle, sheep, goats, antelope)

(Interestingly, the whales, dolphins, and porpoises should be included within the order Artiodactyla, but instead they have been placed within their own, separate order, Cetacea.  This area of the family tree is still messy, and a possible merging of the two orders, Artiodactyla and Cetacea, is being considered, which would create the order Cetartiodactyla.)

Also included within the order Artiodactyla is the extinct family Entelodontidae.  Later today, we will finally be getting around to what was supposed to be the monthly "What Is It?" challenge, but has turned into more of a quarterly or tri-monthly event!  Anyways, we will be announcing the winners of THE LAST CHALLENGE later this evening, after we look at horns!