Tiny Tikes

Juli and I did a show in San Diego for a preschool on Wednesday. The kids were adorable and very young. The first program was for toddlers age 12 months to 2 years! I’m not sure if children this young realize how special it is to get to see and touch these animals up close. They did have a great time though! The kids were really well behaved for their age; it was a nice surprise. We brought Sandy the Boa, Timmy the tortoise, Latte the hedgehog, Dulce the alligator, Sleepy the opossum, and Armando the armadillo. I held all the animals while Juli gave a wonderful presentation.

Casai holding Dulce the baby gator.

One of Juli’s favorite animals are armadillos. She is so happy to get to work with them and hold them!

Juli holding Armando the armadillo

Armadillos are difficult to hold. They’re very wiggly, and have sharp nails. You have to hold them by their plates. A lot of our animals don’t stay still, and we have to hold them in one spot long enough to let the kids touch. It’s trickier than it sounds, but we manage to do it without stressing the animals.

~Casai

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Taking a bath

On hot days we give our birds baths by misting them with the hose. Some of them get really into it. It keeps them cool and helps maintain healthy feathers and skin. Here you can see Kodi enjoying his bath. Kodi is a hybrid between a Military Macaw and a Hyacinth Macaw. He loves attention.

Stripe, one of the kookaburras, is trying to take a bath in his water bowl while he’s being misted. He’s a little clumsy. He got totally soaked!

They’re so cute when they’re happy and splashing around!

-Casai

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Fox Leisure Time

It’s a quiet day at the facility as most of the animals are restless. I decided to see what some of our furry friends were up to and this is what I found….

Acacia are Bat-Eared Fox

Flick the Fennec Fox stretching

Meadow the Grey Fox playing through the fence

Sitka the Arctic Fox perfecting the art of sleeping

Sitka on one of his never ending burying tangents

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Just Like a Puppy

This adventurous little guy is a fennec fox. He arrived at Wild Wonders early this morning.

He is playful and full of life, except of course when he is passed out from exhaustion.

He is going to be a great addition to the family.

We will be sure to update you when his name is chosen.

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Playing Around!

When its warmer outside, especially in the summer months, we try and give the animals a lot of sun and exercise. On days like today, we hose down the enclosures to keep the animals cool. When doing this the water often creates mud and the animals can’t seem to get enough of it. For instance take Annie, one of our Armadillos, she was head to tail covered in mud when we brought her in today. Though, she is a messy girl, she is quite a site to see. Nothing could be cuter than a nose covered in mud! Luckily, she never stays dirty for long and there is always another day to start the entire process all over again.

This is Annie before the mud……  

Annie after the mud

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Trip to Mammoth Lakes

This weekend Wild Wonders and their crew took a drive up the mountains to the beautiful Mammoth Lakes area. The event called “Famarama”, included all sorts of family events along with our Wild Wonders who put on a handful of mini presentations, that went great.

Since the event was throughout the weekend. The animals and trainers stayed in a gorgeous cabin overnight. Well since the trip up was through the “Mojave Desert” which was near 110 degrees, the cool  47 degree night temps was too cold for sleepy our little oppossum. Check him out in the pic reading “how to start a fire” to warm himself up.

Over all the trip was a great success and very entertaining for the animals and trainers as well as the families in Mammoth Lakes. We hope to have a similar event next years and if you are in the area, please come check us out. 

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Hot Days Continued…

The hot days continue as summer draws on causing the animals to take a carefree attitude. As I walk around the facility I see animal after animal sprawled out trying the bare the heat. Most tend to take the sleeping route and in the process give us a great opportunity to catch them at their cutest.

Baloo one of our Binturongs

Addy and Bindy are Wallabies relaxing in the shade

Chloe hanging out in her hammock

On days like today we try and keep them cooled down by offering them exciting treats such as Popsicles. Here’s two of our Kinkajous Maya and Kiki enjoying their Popsicles.

Here’s a cute video to check out too.

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Scorching Hot Days!

When it gets hot during the summer, we have to keep the animals here at Zoofari/Wild Wonders cool. We mist them with cool water, make sure they have shade and plenty of water to drink. For the cooler climate animals we give them ice bottles and ice cubes. Luckily, most of our animals can tolerate the heat pretty well. As I walk around the compound, a lot of the animals are sprawled out in the shade to stay cool.

The armadillos often lie on their backs to let the heat from their warm tummies dissipate. Armando was sleeping upside down with his hand on his face, looking adorable!

Armando sleeping on his back!

Another animal that knows how to stay cool is Princess Pea, a porcupine. She loves frozen water bottles! I put one next to her, and she went over and gave it a hug! She held it for hours. She is so cute cuddling with her bottle!

Princess Pea loves her ice bottles!

On a hot day like today it’s even harder to take care of the animals because it involves a lot of physical work out in the sun. We have to drink lots of cold water to stay cool and hydrated. This was a nice break being inside for a bit, but now it’s time to get back to work in the sun!

~Casai

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Chloe the Coati

Chloe is one of our Coatimundi, Coati for short, that we have at the facility.

Coati are a member of the Raccoon family but unlike Raccoons they are diurnal. Coati are omnivores who’s diets mainly consist of invertebrates and fruits. They are located in Central and South America and are found in the rain forests. Their long, sharp claws help them to climb trees and they have very strong legs to support themselves. Coati have flexible noses to help them find food underneath objects such as logs. They live in social groups that are made up of mostly females and their young. These groups can consist of up to 30 Coati!

Our Coati Chloe is such a sweet girl and a great animal ambassador.

Here is a video of her attempting to open her behavioral enrichment for the day. It looks like she’s opening a present. She is adorable!

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Prey-beating Birds!

I hope you’re not tired of hearing about kookaburras! As you saw in yesterday’s blog, kookaburras eat small animals. If a kookaburra catches a prey item, like a lizard or mouse, it will smack it against the ground or tree branch to kill it and break it up if possible. They usually swallow food (even as big as a mouse)whole! Tucker, the Kookaburra in the last blog, was showing some great behaviors today as I walked by his enclosure. He was playing with his red Kong toy, treating it just like he would a prey item. He was throwing it around and smacking it on the ground! A lot of birds without sharp beaks will kill prey in this way. For example, gnatcatchers will beat a larger insect on a branch in the same manner in order to kill them and break off their wings.

Another bird that does this is the roadrunner, one of our native wildlife species in southern California, where Zoofari is. It eats small animals, similar to the kookaburra, including small rattlesnakes and lizards! We often see them on the compound, catching lizards and smacking them on the ground. I managed to get one on camera, before it ran away from me. They are pretty birds, with a black crest and a green tail.

Roadrunner about to run down the stairs

~Casai

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