FIELD TRIP - WOODLAND PARK ZOO BY BISHOY GALIL

WOODLAND PARK ZOO BY BISHOY GALIL

          Figure 1: picture taken by me inside the zoo              Figure 2: picture taken by Tiger

I went to Woodland Park Zoo with Gwen on Sunday 25th of February. I was at the zoo from about 10am to 2pm. For the first part of my trip, I was with Gwen looking at the animals in the Northern Trail and the Australasia part of the zoo. However, I visited many other parts with my friends Tiger and Joss, like the African Savanna and the Tropical Rainforest animals. The weather was cold and cloudy throughout the morning, but changed to be little sunny through the day. Of course, the weather affected the behaviors of some animals, like the bear, which was very sleepy and lazy. I chose to go to Woodland Park Zoo because I enjoy watching animals living their easy daily life. Moreover, I wanted to learn more about how animals respond to our interactions.

   Gray wolf

Figure 3: picture of a wolf while eating

The most interesting thing in the grey wolf exhibit is that they were feeding on small animals that were given to them by their keeper. I was there while they were feeding, and it was amazing to see them eating like they are in their normal habitat without feeling any danger from them. I learned about grey wolves that they can eat anything from mice to moose. Moreover, it’s interesting to know that a single wolf can eat seven pounds of meat every day. We would expect to see very complex nasal cavity and turbinates, which they use to have good smelling, so they can find their preys. In addition, we would expect to find a sagittal crest because wolves are carnivorous, so they are expected to have strong mandibular muscles attached to their sagittal crest, so they can be able to tear meat. Finally, grey wolves are expected to have big canines in their jaws, so they can be able to kill their preys easily and tear meat. Yes, I saw the grey wolves. At the time I saw them they were eating some small animals given to them by their keeper. Dogs and wolves are the same species. Dogs have relatively smaller skulls with physically smaller brains and smaller teeth as compared to wolves. Dogs teeth have less complicated cusp patterns and a much smaller tympanic bulla as compared to wolves. Most domestic dogs are sexually mature by the age of 6 to 12 months, while wolves reach sexual maturity after two or three years. Finally, gray wolves are larger in size compared to dogs. Gray wolves’ distribution is much throughout the Pacific Northwest, but more especially in the north and the south Cascades. Gray wolves howl to find each other, to reinforce a close relationship within their pack, and to warn strangers to stay distant for their territory. An adult gray wolf eats from 4 pounds up to 7 pounds of meat every day. According to studies, wolves can only kill 1 moose out of every 16 moose they chase. 

How long does it take from a wolf pup to learn how to use its vocal cords to produce adult’s howls?

      Porcupine

                                     

Figure 4 (a,b): porcupine walking around the exhibit

The most interesting thing in the porcupine exhibit was that there was no different than normal smelling near the enclosure as opposed to what we know that the porcupine has a pungent smelling. Moreover, I was waiting to see the porcupine jumping the trees as written in the signs, but it didn’t. I learned that porcupines have needle-like quills that they use for self-defense against predators. Furthermore, I would expect to see on a skull of a porcupine large incisors to eat wood, complex nasal turbinates to increase their ability of smelling, and big auditory bullae for good hearing as they are preys. Yes, I saw the porcupine, but he was moving very fast back and forth towards the door, he was probably waiting for food. Porcupines closest relative is a Capybara, as both are rodents, having incisors, and not predators. No, the exhibit was not stinky, and that was weird as porcupine should have a pungent odor that indicates that their quills are spiked up to tell the predators that they are not afraid. We can find porcupines along the southern coastlines in forested areas. They mostly like to spend long time resting on trees. While they spend long time on ground at night to eat leaves and herbs. However, porcupines eat barks in winter as they can’t find leaves. Porcupine’s quills are different than needles, as their quills are modified from hairs which are tipped with microscopic barbs that can cause the quill to be driven into the muscle of predators.

Do porcupines shoot their quills?

 Great Gray Owl

                         
                                                           Figure 5 (a,b): great gray owl on a branch.

The most interesting thing about great gray owl exhibit is the inability to see the owl clearly due to camouflage. For the first time, I couldn’t recognize where the owl is, as I was looking for its head, but at that time it was turning its head as it can turn its head by 360°. On a great gray owl skull, I would expect to see big auditory bullae for as great gray owl has a very good hearing ability. Moreover, ear holes would not be symmetrical to each other, there should be one slightly higher than the other as Gwen told us. Furthermore, on the skull I would expect to see short beak and uncomplex nasal turbinates, as great gray owls are not using their smelling much to catch preys. Great gray owls would have bigger circular skulls compared to snowy owls. Yes, I saw the great gray owl and it was standing not moving at all except moving its head on a branch. Great gray owls are found in Eastern Washington and the Southern Cascade. The great gray owl’s dish-shaped face allows them to hear sounds that are far away from them, as sound are collected in their ear holes. They are about 2 feet length, with a weight of around 3 pounds, and their wings can span up to 5 feet. Great gray owls' plumage allow allows them to fly noiselessly to catch their preys.

How great gray owls hunt their preys in winter?

  Brown bear 

 Figure 6 (a,b): brown bear sleeping during torpor.

The most interesting thing in the brown bear exhibit is that the bear was in its torpor period, so that the bear was sleeping at the time we visited the zoo. The characteristics that I would expect to see on a skull of a brown bear are big canines to tear meat, flats molars for vegetation, complex nasal cavity for smelling, and a small sagittal crest for strong mandibular muscles attachment. Yes, I saw the brown bear, but it was sleeping most of the time except at some random movements. However, I was not surprised as during Winter bears usually go into the torpor period. Black bear and brown bear are large bears that usually reside in the forested area. Brown bears and black bears can be easily differentiated from each other. The front claws of a brown bear are about two to four inches long and black bears have curled claws typically shorter than two inches. Moreover, brown bears have a very distinctive shoulder hump that can be found right behind their ears, and black bear have no such hump. Finally, A brown bear’s ears are short and rounded, whereas black bears have taller, more pointed ears. Brown bears are distributed across the whole Pacific North West and up to Canada. Someone can identify the difference between an adult male/female brown bear by looking at their body size. Female adult brown bears are only about 175 to 400 pounds, while male adult brown bears can be over 1000 pounds. Moreover, the female’s legs appear to be shorter and thinner the male’s legs. A mother brown bear typically gives birth to two cubs at once, and they weigh less than a pound at birth. A brown bears diet mostly consists of plants, berries, insects, and animals.

What is the lifespan of brown bears?

  River otter

Figure 7 (a,b): river otter swimming

The most interesting thing in the river otter exhibit is the speed of movement of the river otter. The river otter was moving so fast from edge to edge with the same movement route. I learned that river otters get their fur waterproof when they groom themselves with natural oil, which helps them fur repel water. Moreover, river otters’ interlocking hairs trap air and insulate the otters from cold. Three characteristics I would expect on a skull of a river otter are big canines and flat molars because they eat fish and crush hard shells of turtles. River otter would also have complex nasal turbinates to be able to have good smelling ability. Finally, river otter's skull might have a mall sagittal crest to help them to have strong mandibular muscles to eat fish. Yes, I saw the river otter, and it was swimming in a fast speed back and forth in the same route right behind the glass almost touching, and that means that it interacts with people. Sea otters and river otters are both carnivorous otters from the family of Mustelid. Sea otters have many differences than river otters, as sea otters have adults body weigh between 50-100 pounds, while river otters have adults approximately 20-25 pounds. Moreover, sea otters have flattened tails, while river otters have rounded tails. Finally, sea otters live in the salty ocean, while river otters live in inland fresh water. That means that sea otters bodies are built to maintain heat and salinity better, while river otters are best suited for freshwater rivers. River otters distribute across the Pacific Northwest, especially in Taiga, temperate forests and the far northern tundra. River otters are not born swimmers, their parents teach them how to swim after they are born. River otters love to live in dens near rivers and lakes, under rocks and in burrows. The dens are usually built by other animals such as muskrat, woodchuck, or beavers.

What is the preferred living environment for river otters, including the preferred water speed and diet?

Compare and Contrast: Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) in Tropical Asia  vs. Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) in Northern Trail 

To start, sloth bears and brown bears both belong to the family Ursidae. Sloth bears and brown bears share some ancestral traits like massive appearance, bulky legs, and strong claws.  Sloth bear has Long, curved claws and a coat that is long, straight, and shaggy give this species a unique disheveled appearance. While brown bears have a dish-shaped face and a hump above their shoulders. Sloth bear adult males weigh from 175 to 310 pounds, while females weigh between 120 and 210 pounds. However, brown bear adult males may weigh between 300 and 900 pounds, and adult females weigh from 205 to 455 pounds. Therefore, we can notice that brown bears are larger in size than sloth bear. Sloth bears’ mobile snouts, lips, and gapped teeth are adapted for sucking up termites and ants, which are their primary food sources. They may also eat various kinds of vegetation, especially fruits in season. At early an age sloth bears lost their 2 front upper incisors, creating a very useful gap through which they can suck insects. We can say that losing the 2 front upper incisors is kind of derived trait, so sloth bears could have better ability to eat ants, which are their primary food sources. Brown bears’ diet varies as some have remained primarily herbivorous while others have become predators of moose, caribou, and elk. We can notice that both can eat vegetation, which is a sign that they are related to each other. Sloth bears are predominantly found in the lowland forests of India and Sri Lanka. It is thought that they prefer rocky areas and drier climates. However, Brown bears are found across the northern hemisphere: in Canada, Alaska, and the northwestern United States, in parts of eastern and western Europe, and throughout northern Asia, including Japan. The lifespan of both sloth bears and brown bears is kind of overlapping, as they have an average of 25 years in wildness and around 40 years in captivity.  Moreover, both sloth bears and brown bears reach maturity at 3 to 5 years. To add, the mating season for sloth bears usually occurs between April and August, and for brown bears, the mating season usually occurs between May and July. So, it’s visible that the mating season of both bears overlaps, and that strengths the idea that they are related to each other. Finally, both bears share many common traits, while they have different traits like their location and their diet which might be caused by derived traits.

Reflection

I really enjoyed this field trip. It was strongly related by many ways to the concepts we covered in our class. I was able to differentiate between animals by only looking at their size and their teeth. It was interesting to practically observe what we learned theoretically through the course. Of course, the skull lab and the animal diversity lab helped me a lot to understand how to differentiate between organisms and maybe putting them in a phylogenetic tree. I was able to differentiate between organism by looking at their physical structures like their teeth and the shape of their ears. As example, canines in wolves and auditory bullae in owls. What we learned throughout the quarter helped me to feel like a biologist who knows and can predict things related to animal structures.

The field tried changed my perspective on animal biology in a way related to protecting animals that are endangered. After visiting the zoo, I was thinking why animals became endangered, and then I was relating concepts like hunting and natural disasters to the problem of extinction. Animal biology is important, and it’s more important to know how to protect animals that are endangered. We are depending on many animals as a source of our food and for our stable ecosystem. Evolution of animals happened over a very long period of time as we know, so it’s not reasonable to keep animals endangered and on the way to extinct without any interference. This field tried affected my thoughts about animal biology in a way related to diversity and ecosystems. If we ignore the fact the there are some animal species endangered and those species might not be able to survive for the next generations, we should feel guilty. It’s our responsibility to take care of the resources we have now before blaming ourselves.

The most important/interesting thing that I learned was the fact that we can’t understand everything about animals. Animals are very complicated organisms that have much more body functions and characteristics than what I know at this point. It’s interesting to learn more about animals that you are interacting with each day, and it’s important too. The fact that each animal body has many complicated systems allowing it to function properly and to interact with the surroundings is very important. Animals are not just like any living organisms, but they have many different complicated characteristics enabling them to survive.