Meeting the African Penguins!

I also was just able to upload another one of the many videos that I took when me, my dad, my grandma and grandpa, and my friend Masaki Kleinkopf went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo a month or so ago and got to meet the African penguins there!  This video takes place before we actually enter the enclosure, while we are still looking in on the penguins at the entrance to the exhibit!  Enjoy, and be sure to check out some of the other videos on there while you are at it!

 Meeting the African Penguins!

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Teaching African Penguins to Bite!

Today I uploaded another video from our Cheyenne Mountain Zoo adventures!  This one also features the African penguins, but in this video, my father is essentially teaching the penguins to bite him if they want the toys!  He said it didn't hurt it, it was just a playful nip, but still!  So if the keepers at the zoo are wondering why some of the penguins have become super aggressive when it comes to getting what they want, then I think I know why.....Enjoy!

One African penguin contemplates another!

My Dad Teaches African Penguins To Bite For Toys!

And remember the Primos Truth Cam?  Don't worry about a thing, he is coming back, and hopefully soon!  I just need to order her a lock so that no one steal her when I set her up!  We will soon see some fox pictures, though, I guarantee!

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Behind The Scenes at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!

So, as promised, something especially exciting happened at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo this weekend!  My grandparents, Ted and Gail Neher, were able to get my dad (Mark Neher), friend (Masaki Kleinkopf), and I behind the scenes!  We got to play with the penguins, feed the grizzly bears, and check out the new elephant barn!  I am still trying to get all of my media files together (I took a LOT of video, not to mention the pictures!) but I thought that I could give you all a taste of the action right now!

Thanks again to Kelley Parker for showing us around, that was super awesome of you!  Thanks again!

First off, the penguins!  We actually got to go INSIDE OF THE ENCLOSURE and play with the penguins!  We were able to touch them, and I even got a feather or two!  (Off of the floor, of course, I wasn't just going in there and plucking the penguins!) 

 

Here, my dad and Masaki are scattering the toys for the penguins.  This way, they are able to stimulate their minds as they hunt around looking for the toys!

 

 

One of the penguins stops to admire my snazzy shoes!

 

 

Now, here are a few videos!

First, a comedic video that I made featuring penguins and Star Wars!  Enjoy!

Star Wars Penguins!

Here are the other three penguin clips that I have uploaded thus far:

African Penguin Grabs Donut Toy From My Hand
Playing With Penguins!
African Penguin Encounter!

Our next stop was at the grizzly bear enclosure!  We got to feed them!  Not by hand, of course, as that would be incredibly dangerous.  I only have one clip up so far, but it shows exactly how it is done!

Masaki Feeding The Grizzlies!

The so-called "Yoga Bear!"

 

 

 

Our third, and final, stop on the behind the scenes tour was a look at the new Elephant Barn!  We were unable to go on the ground floor due to the fact that the zoo's new rhinoceros had arrived within the last few days, but we were able to go up on the overhead viewing platform and check out the elephants, and we even got a glimpse of the rhino, too!  I took a lot of video here, and, again, I will post more soon when I have my wits about me!

The exterior of the elephant barn!

What will one day be (I believe) an elephant walkway.  Either that or a human walkway!

I promise, there will be more later!  Let me get my act together, and then you will be able to see more!  A WHOLE lot more!

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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Adventures and Island Lecture Thank You

First off, I would like to thank everyone who was able to come out for my "Island Living" lecture last Friday!  It was a ton of fun, and we were able to raise a significant amount of money for the Madagascar Ankizy Fund!  We put the "Fun" in "Fund."  Nothing like a terrible pun.

Anyways, if you missed it, here is the link to the youtube video.  Not the best quality, but still fairly interesting!  If you are interested in a specific section of the presentation, I have where each part starts and stops down below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-VkcirjWfU

Intro:  00:00-02:27
The Galápagos:  02:27-05:21
Penguins:  05:21-15:07
Flightless Birds:  15:07-20:30

NOTE:  SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE FLIGHTLESS BIRDS SECTION, MY MICROPHONE WENT OUT.  YOU CAN STILL HEAR ME TALKING, BUT YOU JUST HAVE TO TURN THE VOLUME UP REALLY LOUD.  IT IS NOT YOUR COMPUTER, IT IS THE MIKE RUNNING OUT OF BATTERIES.

Wallace's Line:  20:30-22:11
The Monotremes:  22:11-25:43
Herbivorous Australian Marsupials:  25:43-35:54
Carnivorous Australian Marsupials:  35:54-41:53
The Komodo Dragon and Other Insular Reptilian Megafauna:  41:53-45:59
The Dwarf Dinosaurs of Hațeg Island:  45:59-51:54
Island Dwarfism and the Origins of the Cyclops, Mermaid, Griffin, and Bigfoot:  51:54-59:37
The Aye-aye, Outro and Questions, and Two Funny Penguin Videos:  59:37-End 

Secondly, I would like to bring to your attention a few other youtube videos that I uploaded a month or so back.  A few months ago, my father, sister and I went to visit my grandparents in Colorado Springs, and, like we always do, we went up to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  They had given me their camera the night before, so I took many pictures, but I also took a few videos.  We can talk about the pictures some other time, but the videos I wanted to bring to your attention, as I will probably be making a few more this weekend, as my father and I, along with my friend Masaki Kleinkopf, are going down to visit.  This time, my grandparents have gotten a few behind the scenes experiences in store for us, but I'm not going to spoil the surprise!  

The videos are in the playlist labeled "Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Adventures With Zack Neher."  There are only four videos so far, but they are all pretty exciting, if I do say so myself.

Mountain lion feeding and training at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

The first two clips are easily the most interesting.  They both document part of a mountain lion feeding and training thing.  It is really interesting!  At the beginning of the ten or fifteen minute long demonstration, the puma in question seemed to not really know what to do at all.  However, at the end, it seemed quite familiar with the routine; attack the tire swing thingy, and then you get food!  I believe that a one paw attack received less of a food reward than a double-pronged attack, but I am not certain.   Anyways, so I have one really super cool clip of the training, as well as another cougar-themed clip.  In the second one, you get to see a mountain lion quickly clamber up a steep slope.  Before you watch the video, though, make sure you read the description!

Clip One: Mountain Lion Feeding Demonstration

Clip 2: Humor and Mountain Lions

Mountain lion feeding and training at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

The third clip is a short little video that I got of the Siamang gibbons vocalizing.  They are quite interesting creatures, in that they expand this large pouch underneath their throat when making some noise.  Watch for that in the video clip!

Siamangs Make Some Noise

The last clip was recorded shortly after the last one.  After looking at the Siamangs, we mosied on over to the orangutan enclosure, which is a very short distance away.  We, and you as well, can still hear the Siamangs vocalizing in the video.  The video starts off with a very cute baby orangutan playing with a large piece of cardboard.  After watching the baby for a little bit, it shows the mother orangutan climbing for a few seconds.  Then, I go back over to the Siamangs, as they are continuing to make a lot of noise.

Baby Orangutan and Siamang Song

The mother orangutan at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

The baby orangutan playing at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

An interesting feeding technique employed by one of the orangutans at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Penguin Party: The Korora and the Magellanic

Today's post is devoted to two of the seventeen (debatably a lower number) of the extant penguin species, the Korora (commonly known as the little blue penguin, the blue penguin, the little penguin, or the fairy penguin), and the Magellanic penguin.  What's the connection with these two penguins?  Well, not really anything, except for the fact that we had just talked about the Korora in a post a few weeks ago, and I had found a few funny videos of both the Korora and the Magellanic! 

The Korora is actually believed to be fairly closely related to the Magellanic penguin, compared to most of the rest of the penguins.  Despite the differences in their genus (the Magellanic belongs to the genus "Spheniscus" and the Korora to the genus "Eudyptula,") most scientists believe that the Eudyptula penguins (only one extant, but likely extinct ones) were the last ones to diverge from the Spheniscus genus. 

As we talked about a few weeks back, the Korora is labeled as "Least Concern" by the IUCN, and inhaibts Australia and New Zealand, as well as a few other random islands in the vicinity.  Interestingly enough, the Korora has also been reported in Chile and South Africa, although the probability of these animals being vagrants (essentially, lost) is quite high.  However, most penguinologists are certain that many populations of penguins started out as vagrants, so who knows!  It is how they would get from one place to another. 

The Penguin Parade (see below) is a major tourist attraction.

The penguin parade.  Photo Credit Mark and Julie Neher

HERE is a link to a clip talking a bit about the Penguin Parade.  The clip talks a bit about the work done by the rangers and scientists regarding the Korora, including ranger Ashley Belsar.  For over thirty years, since 1968, this research team has been recording information about the penguins as they come ashore.  An interesting statistic that I learned from this video is that the average penguin spends about 80% of its life in the ocean!

And for those of you who want something a bit more"cutesie," HERE is a video of Cookie, the Korora, being tickled by humans at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio!

Native to the South American countries of Chile, Argentina, and occasionally Brazil, the Magellanic penguin is one of four of the Spheniscus genus of penguins, including the African, Humboldt and Galápagos penguins.  Labeled as "Near Threatened" by the IUCN, somewhere in the neighborhood of 40,000 of these penguins are killed each year by oil spills, which has resulted in their decreased IUCN status.

Next, we have two amusing Magellanic penguin videos.  The FIRST is of a Magellanic on a plane, and the SECOND is a trio of Magellanics who accidentally knock over the camera that is filming them.  Enjoy!

Now, we have a few really cute pictures of some of the Magellanic penguins from Sea World: Orlando in Florida!  The second two photos are from a publicity thing where some people from Sea World: Orlando brought some Magellanics to the Star newsroom!  How cute!

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