New at the zoo

Roosevelt Park Zoo has a lot of new residents

By DAVE CALDWELL, Staff Writer dcaldwell@minotdailynews.com
Minot’s Roosevelt Park Zoo is heralding the arrival of a new baby this season – a very tall new baby.


Luna, a female giraffe, was born Dec. 22 at the zoo, according to Becky Dewitz, education coordinator at the zoo. Until recently, Luna spent all her time indoors, in a calm, safe environment, and she is developing well, Dewitz said.


“We waited until the weather was nice so she could go outside,” she said. “She’s doing very well.”


Giraffe calves are a very sensitive situation, Dewitz said. Even in captivity, breeding success is not frequent. If giraffes fall, their brains will send a signal to their bodies to accelerate the speed of death, a naturally developed defense against predators in the wild, according to Dewitz.


Luna is the mother’s second calf. The first died tragically after falling and injuring its neck.


Dewitz said Luna will probably be moved as soon as she is old enough, and the zoo will hope for another calf from the young breeding couple. Gestation is tricky with giraffes, taking 14 months and showing few obvious signs until about a month before birth.


“You can’t do a pregnancy test on a giraffe,” Dewitz laughed.


Kumari, the snow leopard, is 4 years old. She came to the zoo from Racine, Wis.


“We are working on a male,” Dewitz said, “but obviously we don’t have him yet. We like to always have a pair, if possible.”


Dewitz said snow leopards are extremely endangered animals.


“There are less than 500 in the wild,” she said. “It’s an important animal for us to have available for the public, for conservation educational purposes.”


The new lioness came to the zoo in November.


“Her name is Jasira,” Dewitz said. “She’s about a year-and-a-half old. She came to us from the Pueblo (Colo.) Zoo.”


Dewitz said that Jasira would not be bred with the zoo’s male because they are related. The zoo is Association of Zoos and Aquariums certified, so it has to follow AZA guidelines when it comes to animal husbandry and breeding practices, Dewitz said.


“Any animal that we are allowed to breed is actually recommended for breeding,” she said. Genetics are researched in order to avoid any possible inbreeding situation.


Also new to the zoo are five new penguins.


Three of them came from Memphis, Tenn., and two from Omaha, Neb. All five are currently in 30-day quarantine before they can be introduced to the 11 existing members of the troop.


A new chameleon has also arrived from Milwaukee. Dewitz said even the staff is really interested in her right now due to her ability to move her eyes independently.


“She’s gravid right now, which means she wouldn’t be able to take on a mate,” Dewitz said. Dewitz said the chameleon changes colors with moods, but not necessarily with their surroundings.


Another addition is a pair of Japanese serow, a sort of goat-antelope species native to Japan.


More new birds also arrived from Omaha and are under quarantine. One shy new fellow not too hard to spot is Nigel, the pelican.


Nigel was a rehabilitation case, injured in the wild and can no longer fly. Thus he can’t be released because he will not survive. Nigel hangs out by the duck pond near the entrance to the zoo.