Woodland Park Zoo field trip by Hiu Nam (Tiger) Wong
I visited the Woodland Park Zoo with Gwen on Sunday, February 25th from about 10am-2pm. It was cloudy and cold in the morning, but the sun came out at noon and it started to get a little bit warmer. I chose to go to the zoo because I have been when I was small and wanted to recall some memories. Moreover, I enjoy seeing life animals and watch they do their thing, which is basically nothing. Anyways, that was a fun and great experience with the whole group!
Brown Bear
Figure 1. A brown bear sleeping during torpor inside a cave.
The most interesting thing for the brown bear exhibit is that both brown bears are in their torpor period, which means that they are basically sleeping most of the time. One very obvious characteristic of brown bear is their claws, which are usually long for them to dig up foods. During our visit, we were actually presented a skull of a brown bear. From the skull, we can see the canines at the front of the mouth, a complex nasal cavity for smelling, and a small sagittal crest for a powerful jaw. Winter or during cold times, bears usually go into the torpor phase which they become less active. At first the group saw one brown bear sleeping in the distant, but later we discovered a cave and a big brown bear was just sleeping behind the glass. Another bear species is sloth bears, which are evolved from brown bears. Both types of bears have relatively dark coloured fur and are carnivores. However, sloth bears are a lot smaller in size when compared to brown bears, sloth bears also have longer furs around their neck which makes them easier to identify. Brown bears are distributed across the whole Pacific North West and up to Canada. One possible and visible identification between male and female brown bears is their size, male adult brown bears can be over 1000 pounds while female adult brown bears are only about 175 to 400 pounds. A mother brown bear usually gives birth to two cubs at the same time, while the baby brown bears will be less than a pound when they are born. Although brown bears are classified as carnivores, they mainly include different plants, berries or insects in their diet.
My question is: What plants do brown bears use to line their dens?
River Otter
Figure 2. River otter swimming in the stream.
One interesting fact I learned when I was in the river otter exhibit is that, from one of the zoo worker, she said that the river otter is actually very sensitive and aware of things behind the glass. The river otter once freaked out when there was a service dog close to the glass, according to the worker. I learned that river otters spread a layer of natural oil to their fur as they groom their fur, which causes their fur to be waterproof, also, the interlocking hair traps air and keep river otters warm. In addition, river otters have a strong rudder-like tail, and a pair of big lungs to hold air. When looking at a river otter's skull, we should be able to see canines, flat molars at the back-end of mouth for them to crush hard shells, and a complex nasal cavity for them to smell. They also tend to have big orbits as they require good vision for predation. The river otter was swimming back and forth right behind the glass the day I visited. I walked by the Asian Small-clawed Otter exhibit later that day, they belong to the same family Mustelids and have very similar dark brown fur color. On top of that the two species are both carnivores. However, the most distinguish feature between a river otter and asian small-clawed otter is their feet. River otters have toes fully webbed for them to swim better, while asian small-clawed otters have nimble fingers for them to grasp food better. Accordingly, asian small-clawed otters catches food with their hands, while river otter catches food with their mouth directly. Another difference between them is their size, asian small-clawed otters are the smallest among the 13 otter species, they weigh about 11 pounds while river otters can be up to 35 pounds.
River otters distribute across the Pacific Northwest, especially in Taiga, which is the boreal forest that lie the Pacific Northwest temperate forests and the far northern tundra. Although river otters can be great swimmer later on in their lives, they are not born to be swimmers ironically. Young river otters even have to learn not to be afraid of waters too. River otters love to live in dens near rivers, lakes or ponds in the root of trees, under rocks and in burrows. These dens however, are usually built by other animals such as muskrat, woodchuck and beavers.
My question is: What organisms are included in river otters' diet?
Gray Wolf
Figure 3. Lonely gray wolf looking at it's friends or family.
The gray wolves were being fed at the time I saw them, it is pretty surprising to me that the zoo keeper just walked in and fed them without any protection, as I thought that gray wolves can be dangerous. I learned that Gray wolves travel in pack which gives them an advantage when hunting their preys. We should be able to see big canines in their skull, a very complex nasal cavity/turbinates, and they will have big auditory bullae for their great sense of hearing too. There were actually 4 gray wolves that day, and at the time we were there, the wolves were eating. Comparing gray wolves with dogs, which are both canines, they both are predators, carnivores, and have a great sense of smelling and hearing. However, dogs unlike gray wolves, are less likely to be in a group, while gray wolves will usually gather into pack of 6 to 12. Also, gray wolves are larger in size compared to dogs. Gray wolves can be found throughout the Pacific Northwest, and more specially in the northern Cascades, eastern Washington. Gray wolves howl for them to locate and find each other, to reinforce a close relationship within their pack, and to warn strangers not to come too close and invade their territory. An adult gray wolf will eat from 4 pounds up to 7 pounds of meat a day. According to biologist who studied predation of packs found out that the wolves were only able to eat 1 moose out of every 16 moose they go after.
My question is: How long does it usually takes for wolf pup to learn how to howl?
Great Gray Owl
Figure 4. Picture of a great gray owl chilling on a branch.
On the day I visited the zoo, I walked by the great gray owl again before I left, and it was in the same position like I first time seeing it. Great gray owl unlike snowy owls, they hunt during the night time. Moreover, they have specialised feathers allow them to swoop down noiselessly behind unsuspecting preys. In a great gray owl skull, we should be able to see big auditory bullae for their great hearing ability, a short beak, and a forward facing large orbit. I felt lucky that I was able to see the great gray owl during the day, and it was simply standing on the branches, probably observing it's surrounding. Great gray owls are found in Eastern Washington and the Southern Cascade. The slightly "bowl" shaped face of a great gray owl allows more sound to be collected thus boost their hearing ability further more. Interestingly, the average size of a female great gray owl is bigger than an adult great gray owl, an average female owl weighs about 2.84 pounds while male owls weighs only 2.2 pounds. The plumage of a great gray owl serves as camouflages help owl to prevent predation as well.
My question is: How do great gray owls track their preys and what are their preys?
Porcupine
Figure 5. Porcupine walking around it's exhibit waiting for food.
The was I guess waiting for food the time I visited, so it was walking back and forth near where to zoo keeper will come in with food. I learned that they have needle-like quills for selfdefense against predators. These quills are modified hairs which can be shot into predators' muscles. In a porcupine skull, there will be very large incesors at the front of mouth, huge auditory bullae for listening, and a backward facing foramen magnum since porcupines have their spinal cord parallel to the ground while standing. Like mentioned earlier, the porcupine was wondering near the entrance of it's exhibit, possible waiting for food. One of the animal that is closely related to porcupines are Capybara, both species come from the rodent family and are not predators. The porcupine exhibit was not stinky at all, but one reason it might be stinky is that porcupine has a pungent odor that indicates that their quills are spiked up thus threats potential predators. In the Pacific Northwest region, we can find porcupines in forested areas, brushy wetlands of eastern Washington. Porcupines spend most of their time sleeping on trees. When their preferred high quality food like leaves and herbs are not available during winter, they will also eat bark. Porcupine quills are modified from their hairs, which has microscopic barbs that causes the quill to be driven into predators' muscles, while needles are shoot into the body.
My question is: Will porcupines shed?
Compare and Contrast of River Otters and Asian Small-clawed Otters
The two otter species look very alike, they have the same body form which is having a small head, tail and a smooth body adapted to swimming in water. Both river otters and asian small-clawed otters have dark brown fur color and sensitive whiskers for muddy waters. In terms of their living environment it is pretty similar as well, both species live near water streams, lakes, or ponds.
However, there is still some slight differences between their two habitats. Asian small-clawed otters prefer habitat that have dense vegetation while river otters do not have that high of a vegetation demand. In terms of some detail characteristics, the two otters have different legs and hands. River otters have fully webbed legs which allows them to swim better, while asian small-clawed otters have nimble fingers for the to grasp food better. This affects some of their behaviour as well, with nimble fingers asian small-clawed otters catch food with their hands while river otters catch food with their mouth. Moreover, asian small-clawed otters are smaller in weight or size which they weigh about 11 pounds, compared to river otters, weighing about 35 pounds. Lastly, asian small-clawed otters eat crabs, snails, fish and frogs, while river otters include mainly fish in their diet.
Reflection
In this field trip we are suppose to look at similar animals from different areas. By seeing how brown bears and sloth bears, or river otters and asian small-clawed otters, these closely related species have very distinctive characteristics, it allows me to understand how geological difference of animals' habitat can play a huge role on natural selection, thus shaping a species' phenotype. From class we talked about how the environment is a huge factor driving natural selection, where individuals with characteristics favoured by the environment will be able to survive and pass on that trait. From the field trip, I saw how different two types of bears can be due to their respective habitat. Also, we have learned that special features of an animals has to be beneficial to their survival. So in the zoo, we can see porcupine having quills to protect themselves, or brown bears having long claws for digging, which are some traits that are not universal or special to certain species.
This field trip shows me that when studying animals, their origin or habitat provides tremendous amount of information about that anima's features. We can possibly explain why an animal has that specific trait based on its habitat as well. This tells me that animal biology is not simply looking at animals and see what they do, but to understand how the environment causes them to have its characteristics.
Personally, the most important thing I learned from this field trip is that animals are way more complicated than we think. We could easily see the features of an animal, but to really know their function or why they are there, it requires more knowledge or background information about the organism.
Brown Bear
Figure 1. A brown bear sleeping during torpor inside a cave.
The most interesting thing for the brown bear exhibit is that both brown bears are in their torpor period, which means that they are basically sleeping most of the time. One very obvious characteristic of brown bear is their claws, which are usually long for them to dig up foods. During our visit, we were actually presented a skull of a brown bear. From the skull, we can see the canines at the front of the mouth, a complex nasal cavity for smelling, and a small sagittal crest for a powerful jaw. Winter or during cold times, bears usually go into the torpor phase which they become less active. At first the group saw one brown bear sleeping in the distant, but later we discovered a cave and a big brown bear was just sleeping behind the glass. Another bear species is sloth bears, which are evolved from brown bears. Both types of bears have relatively dark coloured fur and are carnivores. However, sloth bears are a lot smaller in size when compared to brown bears, sloth bears also have longer furs around their neck which makes them easier to identify. Brown bears are distributed across the whole Pacific North West and up to Canada. One possible and visible identification between male and female brown bears is their size, male adult brown bears can be over 1000 pounds while female adult brown bears are only about 175 to 400 pounds. A mother brown bear usually gives birth to two cubs at the same time, while the baby brown bears will be less than a pound when they are born. Although brown bears are classified as carnivores, they mainly include different plants, berries or insects in their diet.
My question is: What plants do brown bears use to line their dens?
River Otter
Figure 2. River otter swimming in the stream.
One interesting fact I learned when I was in the river otter exhibit is that, from one of the zoo worker, she said that the river otter is actually very sensitive and aware of things behind the glass. The river otter once freaked out when there was a service dog close to the glass, according to the worker. I learned that river otters spread a layer of natural oil to their fur as they groom their fur, which causes their fur to be waterproof, also, the interlocking hair traps air and keep river otters warm. In addition, river otters have a strong rudder-like tail, and a pair of big lungs to hold air. When looking at a river otter's skull, we should be able to see canines, flat molars at the back-end of mouth for them to crush hard shells, and a complex nasal cavity for them to smell. They also tend to have big orbits as they require good vision for predation. The river otter was swimming back and forth right behind the glass the day I visited. I walked by the Asian Small-clawed Otter exhibit later that day, they belong to the same family Mustelids and have very similar dark brown fur color. On top of that the two species are both carnivores. However, the most distinguish feature between a river otter and asian small-clawed otter is their feet. River otters have toes fully webbed for them to swim better, while asian small-clawed otters have nimble fingers for them to grasp food better. Accordingly, asian small-clawed otters catches food with their hands, while river otter catches food with their mouth directly. Another difference between them is their size, asian small-clawed otters are the smallest among the 13 otter species, they weigh about 11 pounds while river otters can be up to 35 pounds.
River otters distribute across the Pacific Northwest, especially in Taiga, which is the boreal forest that lie the Pacific Northwest temperate forests and the far northern tundra. Although river otters can be great swimmer later on in their lives, they are not born to be swimmers ironically. Young river otters even have to learn not to be afraid of waters too. River otters love to live in dens near rivers, lakes or ponds in the root of trees, under rocks and in burrows. These dens however, are usually built by other animals such as muskrat, woodchuck and beavers.
My question is: What organisms are included in river otters' diet?
Gray Wolf
Figure 3. Lonely gray wolf looking at it's friends or family.
The gray wolves were being fed at the time I saw them, it is pretty surprising to me that the zoo keeper just walked in and fed them without any protection, as I thought that gray wolves can be dangerous. I learned that Gray wolves travel in pack which gives them an advantage when hunting their preys. We should be able to see big canines in their skull, a very complex nasal cavity/turbinates, and they will have big auditory bullae for their great sense of hearing too. There were actually 4 gray wolves that day, and at the time we were there, the wolves were eating. Comparing gray wolves with dogs, which are both canines, they both are predators, carnivores, and have a great sense of smelling and hearing. However, dogs unlike gray wolves, are less likely to be in a group, while gray wolves will usually gather into pack of 6 to 12. Also, gray wolves are larger in size compared to dogs. Gray wolves can be found throughout the Pacific Northwest, and more specially in the northern Cascades, eastern Washington. Gray wolves howl for them to locate and find each other, to reinforce a close relationship within their pack, and to warn strangers not to come too close and invade their territory. An adult gray wolf will eat from 4 pounds up to 7 pounds of meat a day. According to biologist who studied predation of packs found out that the wolves were only able to eat 1 moose out of every 16 moose they go after.
My question is: How long does it usually takes for wolf pup to learn how to howl?
Great Gray Owl
Figure 4. Picture of a great gray owl chilling on a branch.
On the day I visited the zoo, I walked by the great gray owl again before I left, and it was in the same position like I first time seeing it. Great gray owl unlike snowy owls, they hunt during the night time. Moreover, they have specialised feathers allow them to swoop down noiselessly behind unsuspecting preys. In a great gray owl skull, we should be able to see big auditory bullae for their great hearing ability, a short beak, and a forward facing large orbit. I felt lucky that I was able to see the great gray owl during the day, and it was simply standing on the branches, probably observing it's surrounding. Great gray owls are found in Eastern Washington and the Southern Cascade. The slightly "bowl" shaped face of a great gray owl allows more sound to be collected thus boost their hearing ability further more. Interestingly, the average size of a female great gray owl is bigger than an adult great gray owl, an average female owl weighs about 2.84 pounds while male owls weighs only 2.2 pounds. The plumage of a great gray owl serves as camouflages help owl to prevent predation as well.
My question is: How do great gray owls track their preys and what are their preys?
Porcupine
Figure 5. Porcupine walking around it's exhibit waiting for food.
The was I guess waiting for food the time I visited, so it was walking back and forth near where to zoo keeper will come in with food. I learned that they have needle-like quills for selfdefense against predators. These quills are modified hairs which can be shot into predators' muscles. In a porcupine skull, there will be very large incesors at the front of mouth, huge auditory bullae for listening, and a backward facing foramen magnum since porcupines have their spinal cord parallel to the ground while standing. Like mentioned earlier, the porcupine was wondering near the entrance of it's exhibit, possible waiting for food. One of the animal that is closely related to porcupines are Capybara, both species come from the rodent family and are not predators. The porcupine exhibit was not stinky at all, but one reason it might be stinky is that porcupine has a pungent odor that indicates that their quills are spiked up thus threats potential predators. In the Pacific Northwest region, we can find porcupines in forested areas, brushy wetlands of eastern Washington. Porcupines spend most of their time sleeping on trees. When their preferred high quality food like leaves and herbs are not available during winter, they will also eat bark. Porcupine quills are modified from their hairs, which has microscopic barbs that causes the quill to be driven into predators' muscles, while needles are shoot into the body.
My question is: Will porcupines shed?
Compare and Contrast of River Otters and Asian Small-clawed Otters
The two otter species look very alike, they have the same body form which is having a small head, tail and a smooth body adapted to swimming in water. Both river otters and asian small-clawed otters have dark brown fur color and sensitive whiskers for muddy waters. In terms of their living environment it is pretty similar as well, both species live near water streams, lakes, or ponds.
However, there is still some slight differences between their two habitats. Asian small-clawed otters prefer habitat that have dense vegetation while river otters do not have that high of a vegetation demand. In terms of some detail characteristics, the two otters have different legs and hands. River otters have fully webbed legs which allows them to swim better, while asian small-clawed otters have nimble fingers for the to grasp food better. This affects some of their behaviour as well, with nimble fingers asian small-clawed otters catch food with their hands while river otters catch food with their mouth. Moreover, asian small-clawed otters are smaller in weight or size which they weigh about 11 pounds, compared to river otters, weighing about 35 pounds. Lastly, asian small-clawed otters eat crabs, snails, fish and frogs, while river otters include mainly fish in their diet.
Reflection
In this field trip we are suppose to look at similar animals from different areas. By seeing how brown bears and sloth bears, or river otters and asian small-clawed otters, these closely related species have very distinctive characteristics, it allows me to understand how geological difference of animals' habitat can play a huge role on natural selection, thus shaping a species' phenotype. From class we talked about how the environment is a huge factor driving natural selection, where individuals with characteristics favoured by the environment will be able to survive and pass on that trait. From the field trip, I saw how different two types of bears can be due to their respective habitat. Also, we have learned that special features of an animals has to be beneficial to their survival. So in the zoo, we can see porcupine having quills to protect themselves, or brown bears having long claws for digging, which are some traits that are not universal or special to certain species.
This field trip shows me that when studying animals, their origin or habitat provides tremendous amount of information about that anima's features. We can possibly explain why an animal has that specific trait based on its habitat as well. This tells me that animal biology is not simply looking at animals and see what they do, but to understand how the environment causes them to have its characteristics.
Personally, the most important thing I learned from this field trip is that animals are way more complicated than we think. We could easily see the features of an animal, but to really know their function or why they are there, it requires more knowledge or background information about the organism.
This is a great and thorough post, Tiger! I like how you related each animal to the skull lab and that you actually were able to look at a bear skull the day you visited too. I never knew that male brown bears were so much larger than female bears! What was that term for when the male species is much larger than the females...was it sexual dimorphism? They mentioned the term on our tour at the aquarium today when we were near the seal exhibit.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post Tiger. I enjoyed reading it. Thank god you guys had the sun coming out finally to all of warm. Interesting that the zoo keeper didn't seek protection when he approached the gray wolf. I also agree with you that the sea otter are sensitive. As I remember from my previous visit with my family to the zoo, the see otter was very interactive with us and we sat down next to the glass waving to him and would come closer. Thank god we didn't scared him away or irritated him the service dog. Nice post!
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