Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Zookeeper Trapped!


Famous zookeeper Jack Hanna was recently trapped when traveling with several of his zoo companions.

Hanna was passing through a security turnstile at the Columbus Ohio airport while accompanied by a flamingo when both he and the flamingo became trapped.

Hanna freed himself from the turnstile, leaving behind flamingo Marty trapped in a crate.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and freed the majestic bird.

No word on whether this is an early indication that Hanna's role as one of the nation's top zookeepers may be coming to a close.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Answers to Quiz

Hey kids,
here are the answers to the quiz. See if you are a monkey master or are need of enrolling in macaque 101.

Answers.
1. d 2. b 3. c 4. e 5. a

Score
5 out of 5 = Dr. Zaius
4 out of 5 = Marcel from "Friends"


3 out of 5 = Michael Jackson's Bubbles



2 out of 5 = Abu from Disney's Aladdin
1 out of 5 = Gordo, also known as "Old Reliable." The squirrel monkey that survived space flight in the Jupiter 13 rocket flight of 1958, who died tragically when the parachute apparatus didn't open during re-entry. Gordo's body has never been recovered.


Back to Zookeeper School(*SPECIAL QUIZ*)


Dear zookeeping pupils,
welcome back to school. Although the summer was filled with zoo exploration and passive animal observation, it's time to get back to more serious zoo endeavors.

In the last week, Zookeeper Blanche and I took a trip to the Minnesota Zoo to enjoy the animals and prepare a special post-Labor day quiz.

The highlight of our zoogoing trip was the exhibit on Japanese macaques. Although they have small, difficult to spot tails, the macaques are monkeys and not apes. Macaques are known for being a gregarious bunch. They are quite intelligent and are seen in nature teaching each other human-like behavior, such as washing certain foods before eating them and cleaning one another's coats. They are also one of the few monkey species to tolerate a cold winter.

As a back to school exercise, feel free to take the macaque quiz below.

1. Which of the following behaviors is not included in a Buddhist adage inspired by Japanese macaques?
a) Speak no evil
b) Hear no evil
c) See no evil
d) People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

2. Which of the follow viruses is common among macaques but does not cause symptoms in the monkey?
a) Hepatitis A Virus
b) Hepatitis B Virus
c) Hantavirus
d) Rabies Virus
e) West Nile Virus

3. Macaques attack tourists and frequently steal cameras at which of the following historic sites?
a) The Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza
b) The Emperor's palace in Kyoto
c) The rock of Gibraltar
d) The Creation Museum near Cincinatti, Ohio

4. The macaque pictured at the right is in the midst of assembling which of the following snow structures?
a) Cave
b) Fort
c) Man
d) Reproduction of Jeff Koon's modern art masterpiece "Puppy"
e) Pagoda

5. Which of the following is not a staple of the Japanese macaque's diet?
a) Termites
b) Fruit
c) Nuts
d) Seeds
e) Flowers


See the Next post for the answers