Video of New Otters

Please follow the link below for some video footage of our new otters.  The video was filmed by one of our zookeepers while the otter twins were still in quarantine.

 

 http://youtu.be/tKA_BiEEbPY

 

 

Camp Brookgreen

The zoo had a good time assisting Camp Brookgreen this year!  The campers made enrichment for our otters.  We designed an enrichment activity that engages the senses of the otters.  Our second and third grade campers decorated a paper bag and chose a spice to add.  Then, they added meat and fish from the otters' diet.

  

Zookeepers shifted the otters off their exhibit and placed the enrichment bags.

The campers lined up and looked for their decorated bag.  When the keepers released the otters, the campers watched the otters destroy and drown their handiwork.  Both otters and kids had a great time.

The fourth and fifth graders made paper mache balls with their art instructor.  They decorated them with non-toxic markers, and the zookeepers helped them add spices and food for the otters.

For more information on Camp Brookgreen, please call 843-235-6049.

New Brookgreen Otters

In the blog entry "Special Otter Visit" in April 2013, we introduced two baby otters who were raised by a local veterinary technician.  We have exciting news!  Brookgreen has decided to provide a home for the orphaned twin otters.

The North American river otters are being quarantined for 30 days before joining our otters on exhibit.  The quarantine helps insure that they are healthy and parasite-free.  Here, our intern Dacota feeds them a lunch of fish and meat.  They have grown quite a bit, but they are still safe for keepers to enter their enclosure.

The male otter will be added to our group of three young males, and the female will be introduced to our breeding pair.  Introductions will take a little time, and they will be done very carefully!

We will post more pictures and videos soon...

Magnolias

Brookgreen Gardens smells fantastic right now.

The Southern Magnolias, Magnolia grandiflora, are blooming!

Zookeeper Updates

Good Morning! We have some exciting news in the Brookgreen Gardens zoo department. First off, we are sad to say one of our very own is leaving, but he is moving on to bigger and better things. Matt got a job offer at the Duke University Lemur Center. He will be helping with husbandry and research done to help these endangered mammals. Matt began his zoo career at the Chahinkapa Zoo, and interned with the big cats at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species.  We are very proud of him and sad to see him go.

 Matt feeding four baby deer at once

The second bit of news is that Kevin, one of our zookeepers, has a chance to be part of a new web based TV show! He entered the Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Wild Guide contest. There were over 180 two minute videos sent in that explained why they should be chosen. His was picked along with eleven other semi-finalist by a panel of judges!

The next phase in the competition is the voting stage. It is free and easy. If you would like to help him out, just click the link  http://www.wildkingdom.com/nextwildguide and find Kevin’s video. If you click on it, on the lower left hand side of the video it says vote. Just give that a click and your done! You can even vote once a day until the 24^th of May if you like the video! If he scores well in the voting stage, then he can be selected as the top three winners and will be flown to Omaha, Nebraska to compete for the final prize of being part of a Wild Kingdom webseries and a cash prize of $10,000.

 Kevin relocating a wild copperhead

Brookgreen is happy to support Matt’s exciting new career and Kevin’s creative talents!

 

Kevin and Matt defending our intern from our male alligator

Elvira's Visit to the Dentist

I would like to introduce you to our large animal vet, Dr. Bolton. 

She monitors the health of our horses, mule, sheep, cows, and goats.  We call her in for medical care and also for routine health checks.  You may remember that she did an ultrasound on one of our goats last year.

 

 

On April 16th, Dr. Bolton visited to give Elvira the mule some routine dental work.

Even though the procedure does not hurt Elvira, we sedate her a bit in order to work in her mouth safely.  The first step is a mouth cleaning.

 

 

Dr. Bolton examined her teeth.  Older mules and horses get rough places on the outside of their teeth that rub against the inside of their mouth.  This can be uncomfortable or even painful.

 

 

The vet needed to grind her teeth smooth.  This process is called "floating her teeth."

 

 

The tool does not hurt Elvira.  It just grinds away the extra growth on the outside of her teeth.

Elvira discovered that she was awake enough to snort and sneeze on the vet.  She did it five or six times, and I imagine she found it very funny!

 

 

Dr. Bolton cleaned her front teeth, and then admired her work!

 

 

Our mule and Marsh Tacky horses can be found at our Domestic Animals of the Plantation area of the Lowcountry Zoo.

 

 

 

 

 



Special Otter Visit

In early March, a veterinary technician from Ark Animal Hospital accepted two orphaned baby otters.  She has donated her time to rehabilitate many birds and mammals.  North American river otters require a lot of special care, time, patience, cleanup, special formula, and did I mention patience?

 

The vet tech brought the otters to Brookgreen to visit the zookeepers and some very lucky visitors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vet tech also brought her baby otters to our Otter Celebration the next weekend.  They were very popular!  Did you know that the mother otter has to teach the babies how to swim?  This means that the tech will have to introduce them to water and encourage them to swim.

 

To learn more about otters, visit our otter exhibits at the Lowcountry Zoo!  We have five North American river otters that rotate between two exhibits.  Brookgreen Gardens is open every day except for Christmas Day, and the zoo is free with garden admission.