Brookgreen Gardens, Lowcountry Zoo, and Center for American Sculpture

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Photos from the Festival

We had perfect weather for our Harvest Home Weekend!

Thank you to everyone who came out and made our event a success.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Fall is finally in the air at the Lowcountry Zoo. Please join us this weekend for our Fall Festival, Harvest Home Weekend. On October 15th and 16th, there will be events and activities throughout the gardens and zoo.

David Grant and the Marsh Tacky
Association gave wonderful horse
presentations last year. We are
fortunate to have them back again
this year. The Marsh Tacky
Demonstrations are beside the
Whispering Wings Butterfly Exhibit
at the zoo, and they are held at
11:45 AM and 2:45 PM each day.

We will have hayrides, scarecrow
decorating, street painting,
and more! Many events are free
with admission. There is a $4
charge for the hayride.

Wool spinning demonstrations and crafts will
be held near the zoo until 3 PM each day.
The wool was provided courtesy of our
Tunis sheep. Our sheep are sheared twice
a year by keeper staff.

For a full listing of activities,
see our website at
http://www.brookgreen.org/HarvestHome2010.cfm

Friday, September 2, 2011

International Vulture Awareness Day

September 3, 2011 is International Vulture Awareness Day. Zoos worldwide are sponsoring events and activities to educate their guests about the decline of several endangered species of vultures in the wild. Vultures are not the most glamorous of birds, though their soar through the sky is beautiful to watch. They serve an important purpose for us as the clean up squad for dead animal carcasses. Brookgreen Gardens is joining a long list of zoos that will be participating in this day by providing educational information and signage along the trail at the Lowcountry Zoo, including an artifact station in the Large Raptor Aviary, home to 3 rehabilitated Turkey Vultures. There will be volunteers circulating through the zoo to answer questions and direct you to the raptor exhibit.

For more information on International Vulture Awareness Day, or to find a zoo in your area that is participating, you can check out the website http://www.vultureday.org/2011/index.php . We hope you will come out and check out the zoo on Saturday and learn something about vultures.

Alligator Update

Our zookeepers and Curator of Animals have been working with our zoo alligators. The alligator exhibit holds one male alligator, and two new female alligators. The male is over 12 feet long, and the two females are each about 6 feet long. This is one of our females, and she is adapting to her new home very well.

Zoo staff are training her to touch her nose to the end of a target pole.

Look at those beautiful eyes!

Did you know...It is illegal to feed a wild alligator in South Carolina.

Male alligators can reach 15 or 16 feet long and have very large teeth! We certainly do not want them to associate people with free food. It is never a good idea to approach or try to touch a gator.