Showtime with KCOS TV

I recently shot three episodes for a local TV show called Blast Beyond.  The show's premise is that the leader of the spaceship Captain Rob (played by a local eccentric weatherman) travels through space with his space band and brings cadets (kids) to learn about all kinds of topics.  Guests are brought on to teach the cadets through educational entertainment. 

I filmed three shows that were about 1. Water (the importance of water and water conservation) 2. Endangered species (how many, what you can do to help and BFFs (Black Footed Ferrets) and 3. Insects (benefits of insects to humans and the food chain and brown recluse and black widow).

The shows are live to tape so at first it was a little nerve wracking but then it was just fine!  I actually wished I had more time then less for my segments.  It was fun to spread the message of conservation and the importance of wildlife to kids from around El Paso.

 

The Blast Beyond cast and me saluting! 

 

Showing a loooong list of endangered species.  

There are actually over 10,000 animal species on the list currently.  If you want to see an easy to view endangered species list visit here.  Including plant species there are over 20,000 species on the endangered list!  And the number one reason for the decline of species = Habitat destruction.  Over 70% of the world's forests are destroyed.  Now, the list has it's questions, politics and drama but when all is said and done, do you think a habitat is healthier with all it's parts or with parts missing?

 

Demonstrating a home made cloud machine!  Two El Paso Zoo volunteers, Ric (pictured above) and Ruby helped me out soo much that day!  Thank you!

I think the kids took home some good lessons.  The show is aired everyday at 5pm and the air dates for the zoo shows are coming up soon.  So if you are local watch and if you far away, try and find it online.  They are available online but I am not linking you!  Ha.

 We brought a European ferret to link to the local and endangered Black Footed Ferrets.

Black Footed ferrets (BFF) have an incredible story.  They once ranged from Mexico up to Canada in the central U.S.  Their main prey is prairie dogs and as prairie dogs were hunted, poisoned and otherwise removed by farmers BFF numbers declined.  Declined so much that in the 1980s they were thought to be extinct!  That's right as in no more left.  In 1987, one day a dog showed up on it's owners porch with a dead BFF!  The owner notified scientists and the search was out.  Scientists were able to find and capture 18 individuals and start a breeding program.  Today there is an estimated 700 individuals.  Re-introductions have been some what successful and we now have wild populations of BFFs.  If you want to learn more about BFFs read this awesome comprehensive report.  There are so many things you can do to help endangered species but one of the most important is to learn more!  Check out the Black Footed Ferret Recovery Program's website.  Cute pictures and video await your eyes.

I hope to film some more shows so keep your eyes out! 

Showtime.

It's about to get crazy up in here!

There are few things coming up this week that I am excited for and at the same time scrambling to be prepared for.  I can not wait to blog about them after the fact!

1. This Thursday I will be filming three live to tape educational entertainment TV shows for the local KCOS TV station.  The show is called Blast Beyond and their is a live studio kid audience as well as a band.  The show airs everyday at 5pm.  The three show topics I am doing are: Water (the importance of water and water conservation), Endangered species (what it means and how you can help - highlighting Black-footed ferrets), and insects (their importance in our ecosystem).  Now that I am more prepared for the shows I am excited to participate.  I love the idea of being able to reach a larger audience and encourage kids to learn about wildlife and conservation! 

2. Elephant Fest is this weekend September 24-25 at the El Paso Zoo!  I am often very excited about events at the zoo because it allows me the creativity to come up with an interactive learning tool for the public.  I built a home made interactive Elephant Time line hightlighting elephant populations from 1900 to today.  The time line ends with a take action section where people learn about ways they can help elephants in the wild. It is almost finished and can't wait for the reveal of my tent and my huge awesome banner that Paul Dumond (the zoo graphic's guy) made! Plus, there are Elephant Fest T-shirts that I can not wait to wear and I hope some elephant stickers or tattoos or something!

Also, other Education Specialists have put together some snazzy tents about Elephant Biology, The Palm Oil Crisis, The Flying Squad and Elephant Diets!  I am excited to see what they have put together and watch out because there will be a parade both days at 11:30am and Asian belly dancers! 

3. Breakfast with the Elephants.  On both Saturday and Sunday the zoo will be hosting a program about elephants while participants dine on a hot breakfast and Savannah and Juno eat their breakfast close by as well! I am excited to speak to the group as well as listen to what their keepers that work with them every day have to share.

I hope to take lots of pictures so I can post them here for you all to view!


Excited yet nervous.

Honoring Wzui.

Ok it is time to be brave and tackle this issue.  I have left it alone for a while, but just because I am tentative to write about it and share my opinion should not stop me from posting about it.

 I'm pretty sure this is the only picture of Wzui that I have. Although the keepers will have to confirm for me that this is Wzui and not Seri. 

A male Malayan tiger died at the zoo on Thursday, September 8, 2011.  Malayan tigers were only recently (2004) classified as a separate subspecies to the Indochinese tiger that inhabits six Asian countries.  There are an estimated 500 individuals of Malayan tigers left in the wild and they only inhabit the Malay peninsula.  They are an endangered species threatened by human-wildlife conflict and habitat destruction due to agricultural products.

Animals that are under human care in zoos and aquariums are overall managed by a Species Survival Program (SSP).  For each species of animal a different person manages their "stud book".  This stud book has all the genetic information and from that resource, scientists decide what animals they will match up across the country and sometimes world in an attempt to breed.  The tigers at the El Paso Zoo are part of the Malayan tiger species survival plan and the male and female were placed together in hopes that they would breed.  The introductions of animals under human care is an extremely long and careful process.  Animals are first introduced by smell, sight, controlled contact (a barrier between them) and then full contact.  The process takes months and sometimes even longer depending on the species. 

The male and female tigers at the El Paso Zoo were introduced to each other earlier this year and were enjoying their daily interactions in the main exhibit for the past few months.  Visitors watched them play and enjoy their pool and other enrichments keepers placed in their exhibit.  One of my first days at the zoo, I was intriguid by their interactions and I blogged about them.  I even caught a picture of Seri (the female, 4 years old now) stalking Wzui (male, 6 years old).  Click here to see the past blog pictures.

Being a past keeper I know the love, dedication, hard work and enthusiasm that goes into their work everyday.  Even just acquiring a zoo keeper job is incredibly hard.  It is an extremely competitive field and most keepers have a bachelors degree in a related field (zoology, biology, wildlife sciences, etc) or equal related experience.  Keepers must monitor all aspects of their animals and get to know each animal's personality to be able to monitor their health on a daily basis.  When things are a little out of the norm for an individual animal, the vet is notified and the animals are monitored even more diligently and treated if necessary.  Being a zoo keeper is not an easy job.  You must always be on point and make sure that all of your tasks have been completed with a clear mind.

The keepers that interact with the tigers grew a strong bond with those animals.  They say Wzui was a down to Earth tiger and very relaxed.  I feel for them during their loss as well as I know they feel for the female's loss of her friend and hopeful future mate.

Both the male and female were on exhibit together when the male died.  They were seen earlier that day playing.  The news reports that the female "killed" the male.  I don't know.  I don't think anyone will ever know.  We can only speculate what happened. Was it malicious? I don't think so but again I don't know.  Was it an accident?  Maybe.  It is a reminder that these animals are by no means tamed or domesticated.

Animals in zoos are ambassadors for their counterparts in the wild.  They share the same genes and in some cases (some species) are re-introduced into the wild.  For example, without the re-introduction of the Mexican wolf, that species would be extinct in the wild.  The population is now hanging around 50 individuals in the wild.

Nothing can compare to a face to face interaction with a live wild animal.  That connection creates an emotional attachment and hopefully people learn and understand the importance of preserving these species in the wild.  Then, you learn that little things you can do at home and in your community can help preserve those species. 

This is a very sad event at the El Paso Zoo.  I propose that we honor Wzui as the ambassador he was.  Let's protect his species in the wild.  The best part is, the Malayan tiger is an umbrella species.  Which means, if we can protect the Malayan tiger's habitat we are also protecting habitat for hundreds of other species of both plants and animals that live in the same area.  What can you do to protect Malayan tiger populations from declining?

One program that currently helps tigers in the wild is
"The WWF-Malaysia Tigers Alive! project focuses on reducing human-tiger conflict and raising awareness through educational programs, addressing tiger landscape connectivity as well as monitoring of tigers and their prey.  Each component forms an important part of a broader approach to addressing tiger conservation in Malaysia."
You can support them by adopting a tiger.

Another program is
Citizen Action for Tigers.  This is a more extreme volunteer project but sounds awesome!  If you can't commit to something like that, just support their work.  Remember "liking" organizations on Facebook and other social media, and signing petitions can help the non profits.  When they write for a grant and can show the number of supporters their organization has, it can greatly affect their chances of being awarded the grant funds to pursue their invaluable work.  So like MYCAT on Facebook.

An easy to do one at home is avoid palm oil.  Farmers are cutting down huge areas of the forest and replacing the high biodiversity forest with a monoculture of palm oil.  It is devastating to the environment and to species habitats.  Palm oil is found in so many products from milk to lotion to soaps.  The El Paso Zoo made an easy to read and follow Palm Oil Shopping Guide with products you should avoid.  So click here to download it and print it out!  You can also just read the back of products and avoid anything with palm oil (also called palmitate, palminite, etc). 

And lastly -

Thank you for your continued support of the El Paso Zoo.  Especially in hard times like these.  The staff of over 100 work very hard every day to care for every individual animal.


Care.

I heart and hate bags.

I have an obsession with reusable recycled shopping bags.  I love acquiring new bags either for very cheap but more often for free.  It is hard to pass up another bag because you can leave them in your car, office, backpacks and have no excuse to not use them.  Plus they are usually colorful and cute! The problem lies in the resources used to make the bag, and the transportation of that bag from most likely China to my possession.  At some point collecting too many reusable bags becomes harmful for the environment.  It just goes to show you "every little bit helps".  I don't think I am quite at the detrimental point yet but it is looming close in the distance. 

The way we, as Americans view and treat plastic bags and bags in general is also an issue.  A bag should not be a one time use item.  Really, if something has a one time use value, it is wasteful. 

And WOW do we use a lot of plastic bags:

• Over 1 trillion plastic bags are used every year worldwide
• About 1 million plastic bags are used every minute.
• A single plastic bag can take up to 1,000 years to degrade.
• The U.S. goes through 100 billion single-use plastic bags. This costs retailers about $4 billion a year.
• Plastic bags are the second-most common type of ocean refuse, after cigarette butts (2008)
• Plastic bags remain toxic even after they break down.
• Every square mile of ocean has about 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in it.

My concern lies in everyone's ease of using a bag and then throwing it away.  It starts at the store.  It is now custom that store owners almost push a plastic bag on you asking, "Are you SURE you don't need a bag".  Also it is the customer that requests a bag for something that does not require a bag.  Most plastic bags are thrown away to end up in a landfill, river, or ocean where when they break down still contaminate the environment and then our drinking water. 

There are many options and solutions to our one time use throw away society.  Many stores now have recycle bins at the entrances to collect used plastic bags.  They then recycle them into more bags, saving them from going into a landfill.  But as of now less than 1% of bags are recycled!!

Also use a reusable bag!  They are stylish and can be used over and over and you can wash them!  What many cashiers don't understand is that if the package of chicken leaks onto my bag, it can be washed!  Many times cashiers insist that some items need a bag, but they misunderstand the purpose of reusable bags.  It's not their fault, it's our culture, we just need to open up each others eyes to what is happening and the small things we can do to change and improve.

Check this out from Reuseit.com : 
Plastic Tax: In 2001, Ireland implemented a plastic tax (or PlasTax); the first of its kind, this route acknowledges the fact that people will still occasionally use plastic bags. This market-based solution discourages daily, thoughtless use of plastic bags by charging a nominal fee per bag at checkout. In a study by the Irish Department of the Environment it was found that plastic bag usage had dropped 93.5%. This breaks down to a drop from 328 to 21 bags per person each year.

Watch this 40 second video from Bring Your Own Bag.
Take a look at this picture filled slide show on plastic bag usage around the world from the University of Florida.

At the El Paso Zoo everyday we encourage people to keep our land and ocean clean especially during our California Sea Lion presentations.  Educators link the sea lion's playground in the wild (the ocean) to trying to play on the swings at a trash filled playground.  Everyone wants a clean area so do your part and keep it clean! We all live downstream.

Do something Drastic, Cut the Plastic! 


Reusable.

Enrich your Life!

At the zoo an enrichment is something given to the animals to "enrich" their lives.  That is, it engages their mind and body.  It can be food, a treat, a puzzle, a scent, or something different placed in their exhibit or even just a changing of perches or structures in their exhibit.  Keepers must be very creative to constantly think of new enrichments for each animal that are also safe for the animals and the keepers.  Some examples of enrichments are cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, puzzle food finders, plastic containers, old tires, wood and rope structures, cat nip, perfumes, body sprays, spices and food treats. 

Behavioral enrichment is training of the animals to bring out natural behaviors of each species.  Behavioral enrichment training is very important to be able to monitor the health of the animals everyday with very little anxiety to the animals and keeper.  For example, the keepers train the California sea lions everyday to be able to check over their overall body and teeth health by asking them to perform certain behaviors.  While training they are able to apply a daily medicine to our older male's eyes that helps with cataracts.  Without this training it would be impossible to apply the medicine to a 500 pound sea lion.  The training is done with positive reinforcement.  Basically, they get a treat if they do the behavior that was asked of them. 

This past weekend it was the female orangutan Ibu and the Malayan sun bear Heliana's birthdays.  They were treated to a decorated festive exhibit, cake of their liking and lots of enrichment presents to open.  I was only able to catch Heliana's birthday celebration.  She was excited and curious about her presents and exhibit and did not know where to begin.  Although, her nose led her to what she wanted first, some fresh watermelon! 

 The keepers setting up Heliana's exhibit for her birthday party!

 Heliana begins opening all her presents.

A cake made for a sun bear = jello and fresh fruit.  She picked out the fresh fruit first!

Enrich your own life. 
We as humans need some enrichment as well.  Yummy foods, puzzles to make us think, and exercise all increase our quality of life.  For me, enrichments need to be constantly changing.  I would be a tough zoo animal as I would get bored with items very quickly and my keepers would have to constantly be thinking of new ways to keep me happy.  For today my enrichments will be home made cinnamon rolls (trying out a new recipe), some exercise by riding my bike to the store, reading a book, and studying spanish. 

My other enrichments, the animals at the zoo and in particular, these 3 crazy ladies below.  In November they will turn 4 and are still young and full of energy.  They stalk visitors and sometimes try to pounce on visitors through the glass.  So playful and happy.  The other day I was rolling a cart by their exhibit and it was like a kid seeing one of their favorite toys just out of their reach. 

Silly silly ladies.  Take some time each and every day to enrich your life and make you smile.  These girls do, and they even do it in 100 degree heat. 


Enrich!