Third Friday Update – December Edition
Remember to check in on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month for Volunteer Updates!
Warm winter Wishes to all of you over the Holidays! I hope that all of you are able to take it easy and enjoy time with friends and family this season. To help get everyone feeling a little festive, the Zoo has been sharing some wonderful photos – Here are my Favorites!
Zoo Update:
Thank You for Voting
The PNC Festival of Lights was just named Best Zoo Lights in the Country by USA Today for the 4th year in a row! Thank you again for all your votes!
ZooTales Podcast
Hear from one of the Zoo’s greatest storytellers, Gary Denzler in this episode! From close encounters with elephants to starting the world-renowned Bird Experience in 1978, Gary has inspired so many throughout his 50-year career at the Cincinnati Zoo!
Click Here to Listen
Plant & Animal Information:
Vernon
On December 13th, we said goodbye to 50-year-old bonobo Vernon. He will be greatly missed by all whose lives he touched, especially his care team. Vernon sired his first of 17 offspring in 1978 and his last in 2020. He was a great role model to all of the youngsters – tickling and gently playing with the babies and then wrestling and playing chase with them when they grew older. His bright eyes and famous head wiggle warmed many hearts and inspired many to care about this endangered species.
Juanita
Juanita the armadillo enjoys lots of different types of enrichment because she is a clever lady. Here she has to figure out how to get the mealworms out of the brush. Click on the image above to watch the video.
Juanita has been busy, she even found some time to check out a Christmas Tree here at the Zoo.
Click Here to Watch the Video
New Penguins in Town
Welcome to Cincinnati! This is Nicole, one of our new African penguins. African penguins have a number of dot-like markings flecked across their white chests. These flecks help to individualize each penguin, as each penguin’s feather pattern is as individual as a human’s fingerprints.
Cincinnati Children’s Zoom Call Highlight
During a Zoom call this week with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, patients learned more about bonobos including watching a training session with matriarch Zanga and seeing two very playful half-brothers, Bo and Vim romp around! Visit the bonobos on your next adventure at the Zoo!
Click Here to Watch the Video
Unexpected Visitor
After Nagini the Burmese python’s annual physical exam the keepers let her explore the Manatee Springs building before the Zoo was open for the public. The manatees were surprisingly interested in their scaly visitor.
Snow!
We had our first snow fall of the year…no matter how light it was our team was excited to let our animals in on the fun!
Zip the wallaby having a ball, a snowball! Click on the photo to watch the video.
Kris and Remus playing in the yard.
Mimi is 5-months-old today! She got to experience her first snowfall last week and like all red pandas, she was a fan! Red pandas love the cold and snow! They have a soft, dense woolly undercoat covered by a second layer of long coarse hair. Their long, bushy tails help them maintain balance and they wrap it around themselves like a blanket when they sleep. Dense fur completely covers their feet to protect them from the cold.
Winsol Update!
Remember Winsol? He recently had an issue and our friends at the Nashville Zoo have been taking care of him. Here is what they shared recently:
“Our nap-loving, dirt-digging male aardvark began having some sinus problems earlier this fall. Our keepers noticed he was pawing at his nose and there was some swelling about halfway up his snout.
After some investigation by our veterinary staff, they discovered one of Winsol’s teeth had gone rogue and traveled into his sinuses! (ouch.) The team located the tooth with a CT scan of his head and a veterinary dentist performed the surgery to remove the tooth via an incision over his left nostril.
The surgery was a success and Winosl is now in recovery, receiving extraordinary care from our veterinary staff and keepers. As you may have guessed, this was quite an unusual situation and we are so glad Winsol will be back to his wacky ways soon!
In these photos, you see:
1. Winsol post-surgery with a cool bandage
2. Pre-surgery snout pic, you can see where the tooth was causing swelling
3. Winsol getting his CT scan
4. Image of Winsol’s CT scan from the perspective of looking up his snout.
Special thanks to the veterinary team at UTCVM for their assistance and Dr. Lathamer, the veterinary dentist who performed the surgery!”
Kookaburra
Have you ever wondered why they’re called a laughing Kookaburra? Make sure you have your sound on when you are listening to the video.
Click Here to Listen
International Cheetah Day
December 4th was International Cheetah Day! Cheetahs are not only the fastest land animal on earth they are also Africa’s most endangered big cat, with fewer than 7,500 cheetahs left in the wild. Over the years, the Cincinnati Zoo has supported and participated in many cheetah conservation projects in Africa to help save this amazing species. Did you see the blog from the ambassador team about a day in the life of one of our cheetah ambassadors?
Click Here to Read the Article
Nia was playing with a water polo ball for her enrichment and it was caught on tape!
Click Here to Watch the Video
DYK: cheetah’s fur is covered in solid black spots & so is their skin! The black fur actually grows out of the black spots on their skin. Willow pictured Below
The cheetah has a long, muscular tail that has a flat shape. The tail almost functions like a rudder on a boat because they use it to help control their steering and keep their balance when running very fast – up to 70 miles per hour over short distances.
Red Panda
Some call it fire fox, shining cat, cloud bear, or Himalayan raccoon. Though similar in character and appearance to raccoons and bears, the tree-dwelling, bamboo-munching red panda is in a family of its own. Click on the photo to watch a video.
Giraffes
Giraffe use their extended reach to forage on leaves inaccessible to all other savanna dwellers except elephants! A foot-and-a-half long tongue can strip leaves from a branch & thick saliva protects their tongue from the thorns of its favorite food source, the acacia tree.
Click Here to watch the Video
Poison Dart Frog
Ranging from yellow to blue to red, poison dart frogs are brightly colored to warn hungry predators that they harbor numerous poison glands in their skin. Not only does the toxin defend the frog against predators, it also prevents bacteria and fungi from growing on its skin.
Zoo Birthdays:
Chester
December 7th was Chester’s 27th Birthday!
According to the zoo, the Andean bear is the only bear native to South America. You may have heard the Andean bear called the spectacled bear. This is because the Andean bear has rings of white or light fur around its eyes, which can look like spectacles, zoo officials said.
Chester and other Andean bears are the most vegetarian members of the bear family, other than the giant panda. Their diet consists of only about 5% meat.
Cincinnati Zoo officials said Chester’s favorite foods are watermelon, grapes, raisins, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, mealworms, and papayas.
Schottzie
Schottzie turned 46 on December 15th!! Since they don’t sweat, elephants flap their large, thin ears to cool down the blood vessels across the ear, which then circulates throughout the body.
Opportunities:
Perfect North Slopes:
Perfect North is offering a discount code for all Zoo employees & volunteers!
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| Dear Perfect North Affiliate Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden,
Congratulations! Perfect North Affiliate Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is now signed up for fun! Just log into your own Perfect North site to buy tickets. This online benefit program allows you to “print and go” so you have your ticket in hand when you get to Perfect North with no waiting in line to purchase tickets. To access your exclusive tickets, click the link below, then log into the site with the username and password provided. Click Here for the Special Ticket Link
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Gifts for our Animals:
Ori the milky eagle owl delivered his Christmas wish list to the big man himself! 
If you want to send gifts for our animals you can find lots to choose from on our enrichment wish list here – https://shopcincinnatizoo.com/collections/enrichment
Rain Barrels
Calling all artists! Get your applications in if you’d like to participate in the 2022 Rain Barrel Art Project. Click the link below to apply.
Click Here for the Application
Oak and Beech Leaves
Hi volunteers, want to help salamanders? Give us your oak and beech leaves. They tend to last longer than some species’ leaves and thus make for good habitat. Please bring them to either Bowyer Farm 2210 Mason-Montgomery Rd, Lebanon, Ohio 45036 or to the Zoo. Please contact [email protected] for further instruction on exact location where to drop off. We will then scatter them at select sites at Bowyer Farm and Wetland to help any resident or future amphibians.
Community Science – Join the Christmas Bird Count
Audubon’s 122nd Christmas Bird Count will take place now through Wednesday, January 5, 2022.
Click Here for more Information
Friendly Faces:
Hercules Beetles
One of our beautiful Hercules beetles (Dynastes hercules).
Willow
Willow is a ringtail. They are members of the raccoon family. Ringtails are excellent climbers, with several behavioral and physical adaptations: ringtails can maneuver along cliffs and ledges by ricocheting from wall to wall. They can also climb in small crevices by pressing all four feet on one wall and their back against the other. Rapid, headfirst, vertical descents are accomplished by rotating the hind foot 180 degrees, allowing the pads of the feet and the claws to retain contact with the surface. Pretty cool creatures!!!
Amali
At 16 months old, Amali is a typical messy eater. Here she is eating raspberries.
Tanzi
Say hello to Tanzi the African pygmy falcon. Though it is the smallest raptor in Africa, the African pygmy falcon is a powerful predator. Preferring to hunt early and late in the day to avoid the midday heat, the falcon perches and searches the ground for insects, lizards and other small animals. With a swoop, it snatches up prey in its talons.
Nadine
Say hello to Nadine, the black-footed cat.
Upcoming Zoo Events:
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November19th-January 9th – PNC Festival of Lights
Click Here for more information on FOL
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December 31st – Happy Zoo Year
Don’t forget to Log your Hours in MVP. Do you need a quick refresher course on logging your hours? Click Here
Contact Information:
Brittany Garera-Stapleton
Volunteer Relations Coordinator
(513)559-7768
[email protected]
**My in-office hours have been varying week to week to accommodate staff meetings. The best way to reach me day-to-day is through e-mail.