Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo News 2018

I have very seldom seen the sloth, and I'm always looking. I know they're nocturnal to some degree, but if we never get to see them in visiting hours, it kind of defeats the purpose. I've come to abide by Amazonia very reluctantly; as Andrew may remember, I was a child when my beloved polar bear was sent packing and his exhibit demolished to make way for the new building. That sloth has the power to end nearly 50 years of bitterness--if I could ever see it!

 

I've seen him once in 5 years! Crazy.

 

This was done to prevent possible injury to new calf Kumari, whose death in 1995 led to the identification of EEHV by zoo scientists. I hadn't noticed at the time, but later--when the zoo world was wondering whether Kumari could have contracted the virus from Nancy--it was revealed that Nancy had adored the calf and had spent a lot of time with her. Nancy was in fact "blamed" by many for a few years unti official word came down that the virus couldn't be spread between the species. Now with the two recent African calf deaths in Indianapolis, albeit from a different EEHV strain, one has to wonder; it has long been assumed that the virus lay dormant in Africans, and these two deaths put into question the future of our second species. At any rate, I don't think it coincidental that the two species, EM and LA, started to be held separately in zoos from this point on.

 

Sorry, don't know how to excise individual questions from your post.

First, Swarna was spending a fair amount of time with the Ambika three before Spike's arrival. Kamala and Rani are prone to sudden hysteria over the smallest happenings in their environment--like a bird flying overhead or a branch snapping--that it didn't seem at all surprising that Swarna would want a break from these two. However, she immediately--and still does--make a beeline to physically challenge Ambika, but Bozie literally steps between them every time and fends Swarna off. I still see this playing out.

Spike is a very calm fellow, and he not only has spent a lot of time with Rani, but also with Swarna. Spike and Swarna demonstrate the same loving trunk intertwining and stroking of feet that one witnesses with Rani and Spike. It's not common for bulls to interact with others, but it makes for such more interesting elephant watching! I got to see Portland's Tusko playing with his children and three cows before he died, and it was great! If this continues, maybe we'll start to see even more interactions between Spike and the girls. The only configuration I don't see changing is the Ambika/Shanthi/Bozie group. Except when Ambika is being fed (with easier-to-chew foods) a bit apart from the other two in the Community Center, I think these three will always be together.

 

Sarus Crane, Do you know about all the prehistoric elephantidae friezes that still adorn the upper walls of the elephant house, albeit largely out of sight? The zoo was not allowed to destroy them in the renovation. In light of these and your knowledge on these, I wish you could tell us more about these prehistoric creatures and comparisons to their modern counterparts. At the very least, it could be branched off into a different thread. Learning about these ancient animals could well help us understand elephant characteristics and how they've evolved into current permutations. I bet you even see some idea as to why no Sri Lankan females or males have tusks. Please share what you know!

 

The zoo has its first river otter pups in 130 years. The three pups were born to mom Ashquii on 1/31 on American Trail and are thriving.