Scooping Poop for Science

This week, I went out to collect a fecal sample from the otter exhibit. I looked up and realized that a visitor and her daughter were watching me through the viewing window.  They had identical expressions of "What in the world is she doing!"

Zookeepers are collecting samples from our three female otters to begin testing whether they are pregnant. Samples are collected every day in October, November, and December.  The frozen samples will be shipped to CREW, the Center for Research of Endangered Wildlife, in Ohio.

North American river otters are not endangered, but scientists are studying their strange reproduction process.  It is called delayed implantation, and otters usually take a whole year to give birth!

The scientists at CREW track the levels of two hormones to determine whether an otter is pregnant.  They will also use this data to help other zoos with their breeding programs. 

Collecting daily samples and doing paperwork is a lot of work for the zookeepers, but we are excited to support CREW's research.  We are also excited to find out if our otters are pregnant!

                             This photo is our youngest otter when he was still a baby. 
                                       He was found orphaned on our property.

A Day in the Life...

We had a busy day today!
We recently received three more Spanish goats, and a few days ago, twin goats were born! (We now have seven goats.)




This morning, the two babies needed a bath. They made the voyage to the zoo kitchen where they got a scrub in the sink.









The brown baby is a girl and the black one is a boy. In these pictures, they are two days old.








After that, our curator used a measure tape to estimate the weight of our newest Marsh Tacky, Drifter. Our Marsh Tacky horses are loaned to us until they are needed by the breeder. You can visit Drifter at the Plantation Barn.




Three new birds were ready to move into our Cypress Aviary. We released a White Ibis, a Snowy Egret, and a Great Egret (pictured below on the right).

New Fawns and Foxes

We have several new animals at the zoo!

We are hoping that these two cuties are the last of the new deer fawns. They are still on one bottle each day.








This Red Fox and the Grey Fox below are from a local rehabilitator. They will join the other foxes on exhibit soon, but zookeepers need to make some minor changes to the exhibit first. The changes will help us to work with all the foxes more easily. As you can see, the Grey Fox is missing one of his rear legs, but he gets around very well.

Fall Festival

Join us on Saturday and Sunday, October 16 and 17, for our Harvest Home Festival at Brookgreen Gardens. In addition to the scarecrow decorating, pumpkins, and hay rides, we also have events at the zoo this year!


David Grant from Carolina Marsh Tacky Outdoors will display Marsh Tacky horses and talk about how and why they were recently named the State Heritage Horse of South Carolina. Demonstrations are at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. in the field next to the new Butterfly House.

Wool spinning demonstrations will be outside the Campbell Center (next to the zoo) from 10:30 -12:30p.m. and 1:30 - 4p.m. Our Tunis sheep graciously provided most of the wool for the demonstrations. We will also have some wool craft activities for children in this area.


Colonial Camp demonstrations will allow visitors to experience daily life during the early 18th century.

Schedule of Colonial Activities:

10 a.m.- Candle Making, Block Printing and Colonial Games
11a.m. - Knot Tying, Punch and Judy (interactive puppet show), and Colonial Games
12 p.m. - Candle Making, Bracelet Making, and Colonial Games
1 p.m. - Cord Making, Doll Making, and Colonial Games
2 p.m. - Candle Making, Punch and Judy, and Colonial Games
3 p.m. - Block Printing, Knot Tying, and Colonial Games
4 p.m. - Candle Making, Doll Making, and Colonial Games

We look forward to seeing you at our Fall Festival!

Update on Baby Cow

Our baby Red Devon Cow is about three months old now, and he is doing very well. He is much larger, and his horns are starting to come in. He loves to eat hay. I have not seen him nursing for a while now, so he is probably weaned from his mother. She is still very protective - see the look she's giving me in the photo below!











Closeup of
Momma Cow

New Mule at the Plantation Barn

We have a new white mule at the Lowcountry Zoo. She can be seen at the Plantation Barn. Some of you may remember Polly, our white mule that has retired to a grass pasture (and is lovingly spoiled by vet technicians).

Mules are a cross between a male donkey and a female horse. Mules generally cannot have babies of their own because they are a mix of two different species.

Mules were used as labor animals when this property was a rice plantation. They are hard-working, but will not overwork themselves or put themselves in a dangerous situation. This has led to the belief that all mules are stubborn.

Spanish Goats

The Lowcountry Zoo now has two Spanish Goats, and we are expecting up to eight more in the future. These goats were living on an island in South Carolina, and conservation scientists were concerned about their survival. Brookgreen Gardens has a similar landscape to their original home, and the goats seem to have adjusted very well.

Spanish Goats are recognized by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Using DNA, scientists proved that this breed originally came over with the Spanish explorers 500 years ago. There are only about 8,000 goats left. Brookgreen Gardens is excited to be a part of this conservation effort.

For more information, please visit http://www.spanishgoats.org/.