The Greenville Zoo is working with the Birmingham Zoo and the Orangutan Species Survival Plan in an orangutan microbiome study. This study is creating data from AZA-accredited zoos on captive orangutan gut flora and digestive tract health. Continuing species-specific research helps improve the welfare of our primates and better understand their wild counterparts.
Two of our resident West African pygmy goats celebrated their birthdays this past week. Happy 6th birthday to Daisy and Pepper. Domestic farmyard animals are important to the Greenville Zoo. They educate guests on the differences between domesticated and exotic animals. They also facilitate connections between agriculture in our local community and the importance of farms.
Teen volunteer interviews for the Greenville Zoo’s summer season are well underway. The Greenville Zoo received 22 teen volunteer applications for students aged 14-17 years old to help work alongside children and animals during our popular summer zoo camp! 12 students have been accepted so far for these coveted volunteer positions.
The Greenville Zoo attended the South Carolina Native Plant Society’s annual native plant sale held at Conestee Nature Preserve. Plants were procured for the continuing development of the Greenville Zoo’s new self-guided program, ‘Nature Observation Stations’. This program will be available in May and will teach participants how to identify native and non-native plant species throughout the year.
Brushy Creek Baptist Church Weekday School got active with a Greenville Zoo mobile program. Students learned about animal locomotion seeing snakes that slither, birds that fly, chinchillas that jump, and Madagascar hissing cockroaches that crawl. This interactive education program gets kids to exercise their bodies and their brains while having the opportunity to encounter animals up close. For information on booking zoo mobile programs where we bring the zoo to you go to www.greenvillezoo.com.
This week 18 students from Clemson’s Wildlife and Fisheries program attended a behind-the-scenes tour for an up-close look at captive animal management. From training behaviors with our orangutans, how to feed an alligator, and the many mysteries of anteaters; students saw a direct comparison of how modern zoos replicate the wild aspects of captive life and provide the highest quality of welfare to our animals.