Alligator Hatchlings!

We are excited to announce the birth of four alligator hatchlings at our Lowcountry Zoo.

If you remember, our female alligator laid 48 eggs in July of 2012.  The eggs were removed and incubated, but none were fertile.  Zookeepers watched her nest building this year, and we removed 49 eggs on August 1, 2013.

 She was not super happy with us!  We cannot allow the eggs to hatch on exhibit because the male may eat them, and they could escape through the fencing.  For the same reason, we can't release the hatchlings back to the exhibit.

 

The eggs were very carefully removed and labeled by our keeper Caleb and summer intern Dacota.  We can't allow the eggs to turn, or the egg will never develop.

Back at the office, the 49 eggs were candled.  The wide opaque band in the center means that the egg could be fertile.  We kept and incubated 23 fertile eggs at 30.5 degrees Celsius.

We also weighed each egg.  Most zoos use grams and kilograms instead of ounces and pounds.

On September 14th, we noticed chirping, and one of the eggs had a gator nose sticking out.

When they did not hatch on their own, our new zookeeper Heather helped two chirping alligators out of their shells.

The next day we assisted with another baby gator, and we hatched our fourth on the 18th.

We will be choosing one or two alligators to keep and use as animal ambassadors in our programs.  They will be an occasional guest at the Meet the Animals program.  The program and our two zoo tours are held daily, and they are free with garden admission.  We have arranged for another zoo to take any additional hatchlings.

Update on New Otters

We have been working very hard to introduce our two orphaned otters to their new social groups.  Smell is very important to North American River Otters.  In the wild, otters visit latrine areas and smell what is going on with other otter groups.  The first step in introducing two otters is often switching bedding and toys between the two otters.  The next step is visiting hours!  Zookeepers place the otters where they can see each other, but not interact too closely.  When they are ready, we place them in two adjacent areas that are seperated by small mesh.  This step often takes the longest, and sometimes the otters can only handle 15 minutes with their new acquaintance.  Next, we open the door for a "full introduction".

I'm pleased to announce that our new male has made good friends with our three young males.  They are currently on our outdoor tidal exhibit, and we hope to try him in River Basin Retreat next week.  If you see a group of four otters, he is the smallest!

Unrelated female otters are more difficult to introduce.  They take a lot more time, and sometimes the females never make friends.  Our new young female was unusually easy to mix with our older female, the mother of our otter triplets in 2011.  We think that she feels a bit motherly toward the young otter.  Now, we just need to introduce our older male to the two females!   If you see one otter in an exhibit, it is our older male.  We work on his introduction to the females at night, and we hope to have the three of them on exhibit very soon.

Otter Pile!  These pictures are from our last group of four otters

- our oldest female and her three triplets.

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