Field Trip to the Zoo

Field Trip to Woodland Park Zoo

On Sunday, February 25, I went to Woodland Park Zoo with a group of students from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm. It was very cold, and overcast with a little bit of sun. It was perfect weather to see the animals move around instead of watching them just sleep. I chose to go on this field trip because it is nice to go outside, get to know the other students better, and see actual animals, rather than sitting behind a desk and learn about them. 

During this field trip, we primarily visited the Northern Trail Animals. These are animals that live in Washington.

Gray Wolf

Photo of Gray Wolves by Thea 

When we visited the gray wolf exhibit, it was around feeding time, so the wolves were prancing around waiting for food. The most interesting thing I liked about this exhibit was when one of the wolves got their food (dead rabbit), the wolf was protecting its food from its siblings. I also found it very interesting to learn that wolves are actually are pretty large compared to a dog and can stand up on all four legs up to your waist. One adaptation I learned about wolves would be their ability to howl. According to the information board about the wolves at the zoo, howling is their way to communicate with each other (i.e. warn others of impending threats, create relationships, or find each other if lost). If you were to look at the skull of a wolf, you would see well developed nasal turbinates which help their amazing sense of smell. On their skull, you would also find a sagittal crest to help chew on their food and you will find forward facing orbits where their eyes are, and sharp canines implying they are carnivorous. Wolves look like their domesticated counterpart which are huskies. The main difference between the two is that wolves are larger than a husky. The distribution of these wolves have shrunk in size drastically since the 1700s. According to the information board in the zoo, they are mainly up north in Canada since the 90s. An adult wolf will eat 4-7 pounds a day. Wolves are also pretty unsuccessful when it comes to hunting moose because they are only able to kill and eat 1 moose for every 16 they hunt and chase down. A question I have would be: How much do young wolves eat?

Great Grey Owl

The most interesting thing bout this exhibit was that it was actually very hard to see the owl unless you were looking at this specific angle because the owl blended very well in its environment. One of its adaptations would be its color since it can be used to hide from predators. Their yellow eyes allow them to see very well at night. On their skull, you would expect to find large bullys for listening, no sagittal crest, and not very well developed nasal turbinates. The structure of their skull is important as well, because it is flat and creates what we call a resonance chamber that allows owls to pinpoint their prey. You can find these owls in some parts of Washington and in Canada. The owl was doing nothing but sitting on a branch. These owls can grow up to 35 inches. A question I have would be: What is the smallest prey they can hunt for?

Porcupine

It was feeding time when we visited the porcupine, so it was hanging around the door where it gets its food, so I unfortunately did not get to see much out of it. We learned that porcupines actually secrete a pheromone that is very smelly which keeps predators away. They also have sharp quills that can be launched at a predator as their main defense mechanism. On their skull, you would most likely find they have prominent front teeth used for grinding, a large auditory bully and a slight sagittal crest. you can find porcupines scattered all over the PNW. These animals love to reside in trees. They are most closely related to chinchillas and guinea pigs. When plant matter is scarce, they eat bark from trees. What makes quills different is that it does not have smooth texture, instead it has a "barbed" or hooked texture that is hard to remove when it hits its target. 1 question I have would be: how often do they shed their quills?

Snowy Owl

The most interesting thing about this exhibit was that in contrast to the Gray Owl, you can see it easily since it is white which is an adaptation for it to blend in snowy surroundings. When comparing it with the Gray Owl, their behaviors are very similar. They both have great hearing and eyesight. The Snowy Owl is slightly smaller than the Gray Owl. The snowy owl also hunts during the day while the gray owl hunts during nighttime. The snowy owl relies heavily on its hearing to hunt prey. You usually find snowy owls up north, but will sometimes migrate down south to western Washington if food is scarce. A male snowy owl is completely white. 1 question I would have is: How often do snowy owls come here?

Brown Bear

Both bears were sleeping, so I did not get to see much, but one of the volunteer programs brought out a skull and fur of a bear which was really cool to see. One adaptation would be their very thick fur in order to keep warm in very cold temperatures. They are also omnivorous so they will eat almost anything. These guys have well developed nasal turbinates, a sagittal crest, and orbits that face forward. Over time, the natural habitats for the brown bear in the PNW have diminished greatly due to human activity. In order to distinguish between a male and female, a male has a wider face and is larger than a female bear. The female bear also gives birth to around 2 at the same time. 1 question I would have: since they don't hibernate, what is that term called instead?

Part 2: Compare and Contrast

When comparing and contrasting the brown bear and the sloth bear, they come from different areas of the world. The sloth bear is found in tropical Asia while the brown bear is found in the PNW. Both of these animals are omnivorous indicating that they will eat almost everything from fruits, plants, to fish. Appearance wise, the brown bear is bigger than the sloth bear. The sloth bear also has longer,darker, and more hair than the brown bear. Both are able to walk on all 4 limbs but they carry the ability to stand on their two hind legs. They also have different habitats. The brown bear lived in a habitat with more water and the sloth bear lived in a more forested area. Brown bears usually eat salmon and the sloth bear eats insects from the ground. The ancestral traits that they share could be that they both have well developed nasal turbinates, fur to keep themselves warm, and small ears. Derived traits could be the type of fur that each have like for example, the sloth bear has longer hair then the brown bear. Their diets could be another example of a derived trait. 

Part 3: Reflection

Learning about evolution and adaptations in class really helped me critically think and be able to apply my knowledge to live animals at the zoo. It was very fun to learn about the different adaptations each individual animal has and why they have those different adaptations. This field trip really showed me how complex animals can be and that there is no such thing as "humans are more important than animals". Seeing the beauty of animals and that some of these are endangered makes it very sad that because of human activity over the years, it has driven a lot of the natural habitats out and has greatly reduced them. This trip was different because I got to learn more in depth about these animals and in a way has humbled me. The most important thing I learned was that we can help prevent the extinction of all these animals if we do something about it.