Baby Bird Boomlet at the Zoo

We received the following announcement from the National Zoo, which included a link to a slideshow of an amazing variety of chicks, all guaranteed to make you say "Awwwww."

As Washington, D.C.'s unseasonably warm winter turns into spring, a baby boom is underway at the Zoo. Three rheas, two Guam rails, a wattled crane chick, and a second kiwi chick all hatched at the Bird House in March. Come meet them (and more feathered friends) during your next visit!

News from the Zoo

If you haven't been to the Zoo lately, here's a reminder that during this mild winter, it's a great time to catch up on our furry and feathered neighbors, minus the crowds and sometimes oppressive summer heat. The Friends of the National Zoo has some updates on so you'll know some things before you go.

About the lion cubs:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GreatCats/LionUpdates/growingup.cfm?hpout=homepage

About the giant pandas, who may be making another attempt to produce offspring:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/default.cfm?hpout=zn&xtr=#update
(Be sure to scroll down the page to find out about red pandas, too.)

About the maned wolves:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Amazonia/News/manedwolfpups201201.cfm?hpout=zn&xtr=
(The incredibly cute pups shown in the photos are still at the Zoo's Front Royal (Virginia) Facility, but there are two adult maned wolves in the Cheetah Conservation Station:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AfricanSavanna/default.cfm

To time your visit to any particular programs, exhibits, or events: click here.

Zoo Animals in the Earthquake

We hope none of you were shaken too badly by Tuesday's earthquake.

Cleveland Park's tallest structure, the Washington Cathedral, (as we're sure you've all heard by now) lost the tips of three of its four spires.

Just to our south, at the National Zoo in Woodley Park, nothing fell down but quite a few feathers were ruffled -- and fur fluffed, as well -- as our animal neighbors reacted to the unexpected rattling and rolling ground. Well, maybe not unexpected by all inhabitants: According to the National Zoo's media release, a few of the animals seemed to react a few minutes before the earthquake started. The howler monkeys began making their alarm calls as much as 15 minutes in advance of the earthquake. Some of the great apes (orangutans and lowland gorillas) stopped what they were doing and climbed to the top of their tree habitats three to four seconds before the quake began.

The Zoo report has accounts of other similar pre-earthquake behavior from the flamingoes, and from a number of small mammals and reptiles.

You can also learn how many of the animals reacted during the earthquake itself. The most famous of the Zoo's inhabitants, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, did absolutely nothing.

We're happy to hear that no animals were injured, and all quickly returned to normal behavior.

Benefit to Save the Zoo Farm on Sunday, April 17

Parents, kids, and some great kids' entertainers are teaming up to put on a benefit show to raise funds to help save the Kids' Petting Farm and Pizza Playground at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo. Due to budget cuts these section of the National Zoo are threatened with closure this summer.

The Great Zucchini, John Henry the Guitar Playing Man, Marsha Goodman-Wood, and Bingo the Magic Clown will be headlining the show.  They invite you and your family to attend and help support their efforts.are teaming up to help

Here are the details about this unforgettable show:

Date:  Sunday, April 17th
Time: 10:30 a.m. (doors will open at 10:00 a.m.)
Place: Horace Mann Elementary School, 4430 Newark Street, NW, Washington, DC 20016

Every child who attends will receive a farm coloring book!

Visit the Save the Kids' Petting Zoo website for more information and to find out how you can help.

Lion Cubs...So Cute

Awww. And more awww. While photos of the National Zoo's lion cubs are wonderful, seeing them in person is even better. So what are you waiting for? Log off and walk over the Zoo! (And you can view more photos on the Zoo's website.

View Animals in the Wild through the Zoo's New Global Camera-Traps

The Smithsonian National Zoo has unveiled a new website that will display more than 200,000 "camera trap" photos taken from all over the world. Camera traps are motion-activated, and the photos you see are exactly as seen by the scientists when retrieved from the camera in its location out in the wild.  Sometimes you may even see poachers.

The camera trap website displays both still photos and video clips of more than 200 species of mammals and birds, and provides links through social media such as Flickr, Twitter and Facebook to allow the public to share and comment on the photos. The site also provides reference links from each photo to corresponding species pages at the Encyclopedia of Life, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History's own North American Mammals page.

The site is part of the Smithsonian's Web 2.0 initiative to make Smithsonian science and resources more accessible to the public.

Zoo Gorillas Get Birthday Cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes

Two of the National Zoo's lowland gorillas will be the stars of the February 25 episode of DC Cupcakes, a TLC network show centered around the Georgetown Cupcake store at 3301 M Street NW.  The gorillas, Kojo and Kwame, who turned 9 and 11 respectively, were feted with an original, life-size gorilla sculpture made from hundreds of cupcakes. The cupcakes were served to human guests and zoogoers at the birthday party, while the gorillas dined on special cupcakes made from bananas, primate biscuits, and other ingredients, prepared by the Zoo's commissary staff.

The show, which airs on Friday night at 10:30pm, is the premiere of season two of the popular series.

In honor of the Zoo episode, Georgetown Cupcake has created a honey-banana cupcake

named Gone Bananas! and is donating the entire proceeds of sales to benefit the Zoo's conservation programs. The promotion will run from February 18 to March 4 at both locations of Georgetown Cupcake, the M Street store and the Bethesda store.

Seven New Lion Cubs Are Out and About

Following the birth of seven cubs to two lionesses late in summer, the National Zoo now has a pride of ten lions. Now that the cubs are old enough, zookeepers have been allowing them outside where you can see them. The Zoo has this advice for your visit to the pride's enclosure:

The best time to view the cubs is between 12:30 -1:30 on sunny days when temperatures are above freezing, although some circumstances may require us to put them out and bring them in a little earlier. Also, be sure to check out the pride on our web cams. Cams are placed in the three indoors enclosures where the cubs spend most of their time. Sometimes the cubs are in one of the many other enclosures throughout the building and the cameras are turned off while we take care of the lion enclosures.

You can see pictures of all seven cubs, identified by name, on the Zoo's Lion Update: Cubs Get Names.

ZooLights Now Has Train Display, Rides, and Special Events

If you haven't yet seen the free ZooLights display at the National Zoo -- or if you have and want to return to see even more fun stuff -- here's a schedule of special events over the next week. There's a new train display and a train ride, too.

Stuff a Hippo Crate - Ongoing

This year the Zoo is helping to brighten the holidays for many in this area by stuffing a hippo crate with canned goods. Contribute by bringing canned goods to the hippo crate in front of the Great Cat Giftshop. Donations will go to the Capital Area Food Bank.

Special Themed Nights

ZooLights offers a variety of entertainment groups and themed evenings.

Send Your Kids on a Snow Safari at the Zoo over Winter Break

This year Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) is offering parents of kids in grades K-5 a brilliant solution to the down-time between Christmas and New Year: a day camp called "Snow Safari" from Monday, Dec. 27 through Friday, Dec. 31.

Snow Safari campers at the Zoo will explore the lives, habitats, and conservation of animals around the world. Each five-day session includes exciting hands-on activities, craft projects, and science experiments. Participants will also meet Zoo experts, go on exclusive tours, and experience private animal encounters. (Please note: There is never direct contact with the animals.)

Camp sessions are grouped into two grade levels: K-1 and 2-5.  Hours each day are from 9am to 3pm; after-camp care is offered in the Visitor Center classrooms from 3 to 6 p.m.  Families must be members of FONZ to participate.  To learn more or to register for the camp, click here.

Zoo Semi-Apologizes for Loud Party

Last Friday, the National Zoo hosted a party that so loud it could be heard for blocks. Neighbors complained on the Cleveland Park Listserv and to the Zoo director, pointing out that not only was the noise bad for the neighbors, but it must have been disturbing for the animals.  The Zoo sent a letter to the neighbors, a semi-apology, claiming that the incredibly loud event did "not stress our animals," and that the Zoo won't hold any events past 11pm every again "except in rare and extraordinary circumstances" because "the Zoo must seek revenue generating events."

The Zoo noted that it gave "our outdoor animals the option of staying outside or choosing their indoor shelter." I wonder how the option to stay indoors was presented to the animals. Before the party started?  Once the loud noise began?  Not that it really mattered because this party was so loud that it penetrated homes blocks away.

Here is the text of the Zoo director's letter:

Dear Neighbor,

On behalf of the Smithsonian's National Zoo, I would like to apologize for any disturbance caused to you or your household stemming from our Halloween event, Night of the Living Zoo, held on Friday, October 29, 2010. We pride ourselves on our good standing in the community and regret any inconvenience we may have caused.

I assure you that the event did not stress our animals. Their safety and well-being are our primary concern, and our professional staff and experienced interpreters were present during the event to provide ongoing assessments. As a follow-up, I have requested a specific animal care report to address the neighbor concerns raised this weekend. This report indicated that our animals displayed no signs of stress throughout the weekend. Our diurnal animals remained asleep and nocturnal animals seemed unconcerned by the noise outside. We give our outdoor animals the option of staying outside or choosing their indoor shelter.

Noise at the Zoo: Neighbors Complain About Loud Party Friday Night

Last night's Night of the Living Zoo Halloween party prompted several neighbors to complain about the event's very loud noise. At around 10pm Friday the event's noise reached intolerable levels, according to some Woodley Park residents. Here is what some people reported on the Cleveland Park Listserv:

At the risk of seeming like a killjoy, the music from tonight's Halloween party at the zoo is making our house shake and our heads hurt.

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I was really surprised when the person I spoke to said, "It's out of our hands. This is the Director's party" I was told there was absolutely nothing they could do, that I should speak to the Director's office or his Public Affairs office, both of which are obviously closed. I have lived on this street for about 10 years and have never had this kind of noise from the zoo. If anyone knows who I can write to on Monday - or call tomorrow - I will!

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Agreeing with the neighbors, this is unbearable. It's never been like this before. I can't imagine that the animals like it either.

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I can't believe that the Zoo leadership and vets condoned that level of noise. To me, it's animal torture and inexcusable. I just sent an email to the head of FONZ saying I thought the neighbors were owed an abject apology and a promise that it'll never happen again.

The Zoo's Anteater Is Expecting

Photo by James Strain

This just in from one of the National Zoo's staff, Marie Magunson. We may soon see a baby anteater. Thanks to Sue Ruff in Cleveland Park for alerting us to this soon-to-be exciting news.

Well, Maripi is still pregnant! The earliest possible due date of October 2 has come and gone. We are continuing to do weekly ultrasounds on her, and the baby is active with a strong heartbeat of about 100 beats per minute. We can clearly see its bones as they become more mineralized with the tiny vertebrae looking like a string of pearls. Last week we even got a pretty good look at the very distinctive skull. You can't confuse an anteater's skull with any other animal's skull!

You might be wondering: if we can ultrasound Maripi, why can't we say when the baby will be born? An obstetrician knows when a human baby will be born. Why isn't it the same with anteaters?

Camouflaged Tiger at the National Zoo

Camouflaged tiger at the National Zoo. This is one pile of leaves you shouldn't jump into.

Snap a fun or interesting photo in the Washington, DC area? Email your photo to alilinfo at ftml dott net (or use the email address to the right) and it may appear on All Life Is Local along with a credit to you.

A Cheetah in Your DC Home: Coolest Thing Ever

What's it like to have a cheetah in your home? Judy and Gary Kopff found out when they hosted a party for Dr. Laurie Marker, Founder and Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund last Saturday.

The honored guest was Reh, a young cheetah brought in a large van to the Kopff's home on Newark Street, NW for a couple of hours from the Columbus, Ohio, Zoo by three handlers. Reh has a leather harness with straps held by two handlers at all times.  Judy Kopff described having a cheetah in her home: "He was somewhat tame and purred loudly. Reh had an intense experience with one of our backyard bronze lion statues. Although cheetahs' eyesight is not good, Reh recognized the lion sculpture lying down about five feet from where he was standing on the patio. So Reh became agitated and curious, and the handlers needed to reassure Reh constantly that the bronze lion posed no threat! Party guests were allowed to scratch Reh's head and pose with him for photos."

Enjoy the photos and feel envious. I did.