Zoo News The Great Bend Brit-Spaugh Zoo will celebrate World Bear Day on Saturday, March 25, with a special keeper chat at 1:30 p.m. at the Grizzly Bear Exhibit. Ashley Burdick, curator and zoo supervisor, said the zoo will also have a limited number of grab-and-go bear crafts available that day.
Zoo Society members can meet Ruby
Wednesday, March 1, was National Pig Day, recognizing the domesticated pig.
This Sunday, March 5, the Zoological Society will host a members-only meet and greet with the zoo’s new addition, Ruby the pot-bellied pig, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. The zoo acquired Ruby in January and she can also be seen in the Raptor Center most days; just look in the vet clinic window. Anyone who is not currently a member can purchase a membership at the zoo or online at www.greatbendzoo.com. The cost is $25 for an individual or family.
Last month, Ruby got to play with some paint and samples of her artwork are available in the zoo’s gift shop.
Burdick said pigs are incredibly smart and are said to have the intelligence of a 3-year-old human child. A video of Ruby on the zoo’s Facebook page shows her playing with her toys. There are also videos of the adult pot-bellied pig, Pearl. When Ruby is bigger, the zoo staff members hope she can become a companion to Pearl.
Solitary animals
This month, Burdick responded to a common question she receives, which is why some animals at the zoo are living alone.
“There are a number of reasons for this,” she noted, but the most common answer is that the animals in question are solitary by nature.
“In the wild, many animals only come together for breeding purposes and then go their separate ways. This is true for a lot of the big cats especially,” she said.
There are some species that do live in pairs or small groups. When you see a single animal that typically might live with others but is living alone at the zoo there is generally a good reason, she continued.
“Many of our animals are on the older side and introducing a younger conspecific (member of the same species) could be dangerous and cause injury. This is true of individuals like Toby the Leopard, Max the Grizzly Bear, and Geza the Sacred Ibis, for example. Some individuals just prefer to be alone and being around others of their species causes aggression; Mrs. B the Bald Eagle and the Capybaras for example.”
In 2021, the zoo acquired two capybaras – brothers Steve and Sam – from the Montgomery Zoo in Alabama. These mammals grow to be twice as big as beavers, making them the largest rodent species on earth.
Even though the zoo has two capys, they don’t hang out together. One is in the main exhibit yard and the other has its own yard off the backside of that building, adjacent to Main Street.
