NEWS - BALD EAGLE NOW ON DISPLAY AT RIVERBANKS ZOO COLUMBIA, SC

Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012

Bald eagle now on display at Riverbanks

 

By JOEY HOLLEMAN 

 

 

Riverbanks Zoo decided to ship its two bald eagles to other zoos in 1998 and go with more exotic birds in its new Birdhouse.
Since then, people routinely asked Martin Vince, curator of birds, why the national bird wasn’t represented at Riverbanks. This week, the bald eagle finally returns to the Riverbanks collection.
The young female eagle now on display at Riverbanks was found injured in a ditch in December and taken to Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research in Delaware. Veterinarians nursed the bird back to health, but a shoulder injury makes her too poor of a flyer to survive in the wild. When the bird was offered to zoos, Riverbanks provided her a home. A new enclosure has been built next to the grizzly bear exhibit.


When the zoo’s two original bald eagles, donated by Sen. Strom Thurmond in 1979, were sent to other zoos, the species was in the midst of an amazing rebound in the wild. Populations had shrunk to endangered levels in the mid-1900s before the banning of the insecticide DDT, which not only killed bugs but weakened bird eggs. Bald eagles now are common sights soaring along the waterways of South Carolina, with an estimated 250 nesting pairs in the wild in the state and 10,000 nationwide.
“This bird’s survival story is really a metaphor for the species as a whole,” Vince said.
In the Midlands, nesting pairs have settled in recent years on the Saluda River near Saluda Shoals Park and at the confluence of the Broad and Saluda rivers near the zoo.
But zoo visitors missed seeing the majestic creatures up close. “We loved those bald eagles,” Vince said visitors often said to him. “When I got the email about this bird, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to reacquire the species.”
The bird is estimated to be a year old, and bald eagles can live up to 35 years in captivity. She will be allowed to acclimate slowly to her new enclosure and to the keepers, Vince said. The goal is to train the bird so she can be brought out perched on a gloved hand at the climax of the daily Wings of the South Bird Show.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/02/16/2154380/bald-eagle-now-on-display-at-riverbanks.html#storylink=Morning%20Newsletter#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/02/16/2154380/bald-eagle-now-on-display-at-riverbanks.html#storylink=Morning%20Newsletter#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/02/16/2154380/bald-eagle-now-on-display-at-riverbanks.html#storylink=Morning%20Newsletter#storylink=cpy

NEWS - 5 RARE TORTOISES BORN AT RIVERBANKS ZOO (South Carolina)

5 rare tortoises born at Riverbanks Zoo

 

By JOEY HOLLEMAN

It’s hard to imagine something as large, old and slow-moving as a Galapagos tortoise being stealthy, but one female at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden managed to bury a clutch of eggs several months ago without her keepers noticing.
Kathy Vause, a senior reptile keeper, got a surprise when she went into the tortoise exhibit early Tuesday and discovered four recently hatched babies in a buried nest. A more precocious fifth hatchling was found short while later, already having ventured out into the exhibit.
“It was early and no one else was around,” Vause said. “I called (curator of herpetology) Scott (Pfaff) on his cellphone, and he couldn’t tell what I was screaming about.”

These are the first successful Galapagos hatches ever at Riverbanks and the first babies from two Santa Cruz tortoise parents ever in a U.S. zoo.
The tortoises on each of the islands in the Galapagos chain — including the island of Santa Cruz — are considered separate species. Until about 15 years ago, the various island species were mingled in U.S. zoos, creating many hybrid babies. Both the Riverbanks mother, Alberta, and the father, Abrazzo, have had offspring with non-Santa Cruz tortoises at other zoos before coming to Riverbanks in 1995.
“We had been hoping for this for some time but knew the tortoise’s age could definitely be a factor with fertility,” Pfaff said. “These hatchlings are of great importance, representing a significant addition to the captive population of Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises.”
The species is considered to be endangered, with about 10,000 to 15,000 tortoises living on the Galapagos.
The hatchlings look much like their giant parents, only they’re small enough to fit in the palm of a human hand. The babies aren’t yet on public display. They’re being kept in a nursery while zoo officials discuss plans for a public display.
The tortoises can live up to 200 years and reach up to 900 pounds. Alberta, who arrived in the U.S. in 1951, and Abrazzo, who was brought to the U.S. in 1928, are thought to be more than 100 years old.
Keepers can’t be 100 percent sure of the parentage of the hatchlings, but the zoo’s other female, Conchita, hasn’t laid eggs in recent years, The other Riverbanks male, Bravo, seldom mates with Alberta. Frequent visitors to the zoo probably have seen Alberta and Abrazzo mate. They aren’t exactly shy about it.
Alberta had dug out a nest and laid eggs several times in recent years, but they all had been infertile. Her routine was to lay the eggs on a hill in the exhibit, usually in late afternoon during the spring. That’s when keepers kept an eye out for nest-building, Vause said.
Vause theorizes that this time Alberta laid the eggs later in the year, when the tortoises are allowed to roam their enclosure after dark. She covered up the nest well and did a good job of keeping it secret during the incubation period of three to six months. Only recently had Alberta started hinting something had happened.
“She started acting like she wanted to lay eggs this past week,” Vause said. “We’d have to urge her into the house at night.”
Vause decided to check Tuesday to see if Alberta recently had laid eggs. Instead of eggs, she found hatchlings ready to roll.
“She snuck them in on us,” Vause said.

NEWS - MEET THE COLUMBIA, SC ZOOS NEWEST GIRAFFE CALF

Tuesday, Aug. 09, 2011
Meet the zoo’s newest giraffe calf

Riverbanks Zoo is introducing its newest arrival – a giraffe calf born on July 11.
This is the second calf born to giraffes Charlie and Ginger. It weighed 105 pounds and stood 5 feet tall at birth.
“We are very excited about this latest addition to our giraffe herd,” said John Davis, curator of mammals, said in a news release. “The calf is doing very well and growing at a steady pace, but he won’t be full grown until about 5 years old.”

A giraffe calf, shown here at about a month old, is now on exhibit at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. The giraffe was born July 11.

Today's news video

This is the sixth giraffe born at the zoo since February 2009; the last one arrived on Labor Day 2010.
Adult giraffes can reach heights of up to 18 feet tall (record is 20 feet) and can weigh as much as 2,600 pounds.

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2011/08/09/1927760/meet-the-zoos-newest-giraffe-calf.html#storylink=Afternoon%20Newsletter#ixzz1Uph4ONI3

NEWS - BABY OWL LATEST YOUNGSTER AT COLUMBIA SC ZOO

Friday, Jul. 01, 2011

Baby owl latest youngster at the zoo

The Riverbanks Zoo and Garden has put its newest baby on exhibit.
A young spectacled owl – the first born at the zoo since 2002 – will be on display in the Bird Garden across from the Bird Conservation Center near the Kangaroo Walkabout, the zoo said.
The 8-weeek-old bird hatched May 5. It is already as large as its parents but has white instead of brown feathers the adults have.

Spectacled owls have been on display at the zoo for 20 years. They are native to Central America through northern Argentina, although they are scarce in the wild, the zoo said.

NEWS - BABY KOALA, OWEN, ON EXIBIT AT SOUTH CAROLINAS RIVERBANKS ZOO & GARDEN

 AWWWWWWWWWWWW, isnt he adorable?? my mom loved Koalas! shed have wanted to visit this exhibit and see them.

 Baby koala, Owen, now on exhibit

Baby koala Owen with his mother, Lottie, at the Koala Knockabout exhibit at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia. Owen is now on exhibit after his birth as a jellybean-sized "joey" in May. He spent his first seven months growing in Lottie's pouch, not even seen by zookeepers until November. Now too large for the pouch, Owen spends most of his time on his mom's back or tucked around her belly. Owen's father, Jimmie, came to Riverbanks from the Los Angeles Zoo in December 2008. Lottie, who now has given birth four times, came from South Carolina's sister Australian state of Queensland in October 2003.

Photo courtesy of Richard Rokes via Riverbanks Zoo and Garden