Talented Foxes

South Carolina does not get much snow, but we are certainly experiencing some cold weather this week.  

I wanted to share this wonderful article about our talented red foxes.  Robert Krulwich of NPR wrote a blog entitled 'You're Invisible but I'll Eat You Anyway.  Secrets of Snow-Diving Foxes' 

"Listening With A Compass"

"First, a fox hears something. She gets really quiet and tilts her ears. (You see this on the video — her head shifts, she concentrates.) She waits. There's another sound."

 

 "Think about this ... an ordinary fox can stalk a mole, mouse, vole or shrew from a distance of 25 feet, which means its food is making a barely audible rustling sound, hiding almost two car lengths away. And yet our fox hurls itself into the air — in an arc determined by the fox, the speed and trajectory of the scurrying mouse, any breezes, the thickness of the ground cover, the depth of the snow — and somehow (how? how?), it can land straight on top of the mouse, pinning it with its forepaws or grabbing the mouse's head with its teeth."

Blog:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2014/01/03/259136596/youre-invisible-but-ill-eat-you-anyway-secrets-of-snow-diving-foxes
 

YouTube video of fox diving:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2SoGHFM18I
 

 

Please visit our own red foxes at the Lowcountry Zoo.  They have not had the opportunity to learn snow-diving, but we like them anyway!

Into the Wild Lectures

The zoo staff is proud to announce our lecture series "Into the Wild" for 2014.  The lectures are open to the public and are free with garden admission.  Each lecture is held at the Lowcountry Center Auditorium.  Just enter the ticketing area of the Lowcountry Center, and you will see the auditorium entrance on your right.

The lectures are from 12:00 PM to 12:45 PM, so feel free to bring your lunch.  It is a carpeted area, so please be careful with drinks and young children.

February 25 - Wild Babies

April 22 - Butterfly Conservation

June 24 - Enrichment & Training

July 22 - Venomous Snakes

August 26 - Meet the Zookeepers

October 28 - Zoonotic Diseases

 You've found a wild baby animal.  Now what?  Is the mother coming back?
In our first lecture, Wild Babies, we will discuss some ways that you can help wild babies.

We will also show behind-the-scenes pictures of our baby zoo animals and discuss their care.

Animal Artists

When you join us for Nights of a Thousand Candles this year, make sure to visit the two indoor galleries.  The beautiful galleries are decorated by our Horticulture and Sculpture departments, but the zoo animals prepared a special decoration as well.

When we have enough time, the zookeepers allow some of the animals to create art by walking through the paint onto canvas or watercolor paper.  We use the same non-toxic paint that is used for finger painting with small children. The paint easily washes off with water.  

Our otter cleanup is super easy - we just let them go for a swim!

 Our baby alligators made some interesting abstract art.

The red/blue painting is otters, the red/green is opossum, the red is striped skunk, and the black is a ratsnake.  Our greenhouse supervisor made lovely frames and arranged the paintings in the gallery.

If you would like to own one of our animal paintings, we have some available for purchase in the Keepsakes gift shop.  Each painting is unique and original, so there is a limited supply!

Nights of a Thousand Candles

Our staff has worked very hard to transform Brookgreen Gardens into a spectacular holiday display. 

Most of our light displays are created or supervised by the Horticulture department, but all of our staff try to help out in some way.  Many departments prepare and test strands of lights.  Some people clean out our reusable luminaries or help decorate garden trees.  The zoo was responsible for decorating the garden gates.

Each light bulb is attached to the gate using a cable tie.

The zoo also decorated some of our new lighted animals.

Each light bulb was tied to a frame, and the cable ties were trimmed off.  

I named this one porcurabbit - watch out, he bites!

Daphne, our butterfly keeper, did an amazing job on the large crane.

Horticulture arranged the animals in the Children's Garden, and they look amazing!  

This fox was decorated by our butterfly admissions staff.

Our final three Nights of a Thousand Candles are December 19, 20, and 21st.  Tickets can be purchased at the gate or online at  https://www.tickets.brookgreen.org/public/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=10

Please join us as we celebrate the holiday season.

Baby Goat Video

Our baby Spanish Goats at Brookgreen Gardens are having a great time in their exhibit.  

Please enjoy the video at the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRPBC4NRYNs

Baby Alligator Update

Our five baby alligators are doing very well.  We started exercising them in a swimming tank this week, and these pictures are from their first experience.  It took them a while to realize they could put their feet down!

To visit the baby alligators, begin at the Lowcountry Center.  As you exit, turn left on the sidewalk (away from the river).  This leads down Magnolia Allee and straight to the Tarbox House.  The building is not accessible to the public, but take a look in the windows of the front porch!

Today I installed a swim tank in the viewing window.  You may only see three alligators.  Their two siblings are a little more picky with their food, and are in a tank right beside them.

Pictures from Harvest Home Weekend

We had a really great time at our Harvest Home Weekend!