Woodland Park Zoo: Northwest Animal Diversity
by Janessa Wangadi
General Details:
I took the field trip to Woodland Park Zoo on Sunday, February 25th, at around 9:30 am. The weather was cold and some light showers during the day, so some of the animals were not as active as they could be. I chose to do this field trip because I do not know much about the Northwest animals. I also thought that I would be able to see more types of animals going to the zoo instead of the other field trip options. All picture were taken by me.
PART 1:
River Otter:
We saw one female river otter that was expecting four offspring this Spring. The most interesting thing in the river otter exhibit was how active the female otter at the time was because the rest of the animals that we saw that day were not interacting with the visitors. There were children visitors in the exhibit along with the group of students from Edmonds Community College and the otter was very aware of our presence and was swimming in the same direction as the children running in front of the glass window. One characteristic that I learned about river otters is how they are not born swimmers because I thought that it would come naturally since they are so dependent on being by the water. River otters are not born swimmers. According to the staff member that we met in the exhibit, the mother otter would grab on to their babies and swim with the babies until they start to learn. They essentially drown the babies enough for them to start learning on their own to hold their breath. Also, I would expect the skull of a river otter to have decent sized nasal turbinates because they also use scent to find their prey. I also saw some canine teeth present in their mouth to eat other animals around them. Due to this, I would also expect the sagittal crest to be present in the skull because they would need strong muscles to be able to kill, hold on, and eat their food. Additionally, since river otters belong to the mustelids family, alongside ferrets, badgers, and wolverines, their skulls will look elongated.
River otters are very well distributed in the Pacific Northwest because otters like to live near rivers, lakes, or ponds, where most of their food source are from. The nest under the roots of trees and rocks to keep themselves hidden. There used to be an abundance of them all across America, but overtime it lost much of its population in the South. I wonder if the climate change had more of an effect on the decrease of otters in the South that urbanization since they are still distributed in the Pacific Northwest.
Another type of otter that I know is sea otters. Other than the difference in the colors of their fur, sea otters usually stays in the water, while river otters prefer the land more. Because of this, sea otters usually float on their backs in water while otters swim regularly like other animals. Lastly, the size of sea otters are more than double the size of a river otter.
Gray Wolf:
We saw a pack of wolves at their feeding time and the volunteer was making sure that the meat was being dispersed to still let the wolves find it themselves. The most interesting thing from the gray wolf exhibit to me was how they walk on the trails of the front two legs. One adaptation of the gray wolves that I noticed was their thick fur to keep warm and blend in their usual snowy or cold environments. I also noticed how big the wolves are when the volunteer was feeding them. Compared to a regular dog, for example a Shiba Inu, the body size and height of a wolf is much larger. Wolves also eat more than a medium sized dog would because they need more energy to get their food. Due to this, one characteristic I would expect to see on a skull of a gray wolf are big nasal turbinates because they have a great sense of smell to detect food or other wolves. I would also expect to see big canines because they are carnivores. Also due to their eating habits, I would expect to see a decent sized sagittal crest because they need the strong muscles on the sides of the head to kill, hold on, and eat their prey. An adult wolf eats about four to seven pounds of meat a day. Usually, wolves hunt their food in packs to increase efficiency. One of the most common animals that they would hunt together is a moose, but their success rate is only one out of sixteen moose that they chase. So I wonder how much animals gray wolves are capable of killing in the wild everyday. Another interesting thing in the exhibit was how the zoo placed a metal sign on the gate telling visitors to refrain from howling at the wolves. This can cause some distress for the animals since we are disturbing them. Gray wolves howl as a communication tool between pack members to either locate each other or strengthen relationships in the pack. Their howling can also signal other non-members to stay away from their pack.
According to the informational posters available in front of the gray wolf exhibit, in 1790, wolves used to be abundant from Alaska until Mexico. However, in 1990 the population decreased significantly and mostly present in Canada. And more specifically, the distribution of gray wolves in the Pacific Northwest decreased so much over the course of 200 years due to urbanization of their habitats.
Great Gray Owl:
We saw the great gray owl just resting on one of the branches in the exhibit. The most interesting thing about the great gray owl was how relaxed the owl was when all of us were pulling our phones out to take a picture. We were pretty low compared to the branch it was on, but I was expecting it to fly away quickly. One adaptation that I learned was how their ear holes are not aligned like most animals, which gives them a bigger resonance chamber, therefore easier for them to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. I would also expect the skull to have big orbits because they have big eyes that allows them to see better. Also, their skulls would be smaller and flat in the front, except for the protruding beak. This allows them to be able to have a wider range of view to see any predators or prey incoming. One difference between the great gray owl skull and the snowy owl skull would be the color of their beaks because snowy owls have black beaks while the great gray owl has a light yellow color.
According to the informational poster in front of the exhibit, a small part of the Pacific Northwest does have some distribution of these owls, but it is more common in Canada and Russia. They are usually around 2 feet in body length, and about more than twice is their wingspan. Their wings and body are also covered with thick fur to not only give warmth, but also gives them the ability to filter the sound that they make when flying behind their prey. I wonder if the quietness that the feathers provide affect their speed when flying.
Porcupine:
The most interesting thing in the porcupine exhibit for me was learning about how they use their bad odor as a defense mechanism on top of the sharp sticks on their backs. We saw one porcupine pacing back and forth in front of the door where the volunteer usually comes to feed the porcupine. Talking about feeding, porcupines like to reside on branches and sleep during the day. They feed on leaves, inner bark, and other plants. When those are scarce in the winter, other animals usually do not eat inner barks of trees and it is not very nutritious. They do not hibernate like other animals however, so they do not save up the plants from summer or spring season. Also, the closest relatives to the porcupines are the beavers and they both have incisors. They are also well distributed in the Pacific Northwest and other parts where there are lots of forests, like a big part of eastern Canada. From this, I would expect to see big incisors on their skull because they are still a part of the rodentia order and mainly feed on barks or branches. Also, since they eat plant material, I would expect the back teeth to be molars to grind the leaves and other plants. I would also expect big nasal turbinates because they rely on scent to find their food.
The quills that porcupines have are special because they can dig into a predator’s muscle harsher than a needle due to the microscopic ridges that keeps the quill stuck in there. I wonder if there are toxins that came from the barks that can go to the porcupine’s quill and theoretically also poison the predator.
Snowy Owl:
We saw the snowy owl and the most interesting thing in the snowy owl exhibit to me was how the owl was resting on the ground instead of the branches available. I thought that all owls would prefer the branch instead of the ground so that they can see everything around them better. For example, the great gray owls mentioned previously prefers the branches, while the snowy owls prefer the ground and even keeps their nest on the ground as well. Similar to the great gray owl skulls, I expect to see big resonance chamber for better hearing, big orbitals for better vision, and flat facial features except for the beak. I would also notice that they would lack the abundance of nasal turbinates when compared to other animals. I would also expect the snowy owl skulls to be bigger in size because they are the biggest owls in terms of size, weight, and ability to hunt. According to the informational poster in the exhibit, the snowy owls are distributed more in the Pacific Northwest and can even come down to Western Washington. They are also distributed around Canada, Alaska, and Russia. The distribution of snowy owls is bigger than the great gray owls as well. Great gray owls and snowy owls are both a part of the Strigidae family and lives in similar locations. However, snowy owls cover more of the northern parts of the locations where the tundra are located, like mentioned previously, while great gray owls live in more forested areas. That is also why the color of the feathers are also different between the two owls. If we were to come across a completely white snowy owl, they would most likely to be an adult male according to the informational poster in the exhibit. I also learned that they usually hunt using their hearing because it is harder to see in the tundra and do not use their sense of smell primarily for hunting. I wonder if it is because of their use of hearing that they travel on land more than they fly.
PART 2:
The two animals I will compare and contrast are the brown bear and sloth bear which is from the same family of Ursidae. When I was visiting the brown bear exhibit with the group, the bear was not active because they are still at the late stages of hibernation. Then when I went on my own to the sloth bear, which resides in the Indian Tropical Forest exhibit, there was not much activity either. First, brown bears are more common in North America, Europe, and some parts of Asia. While Sloth Bears are more common in India. Both bears have a great sense of smell to detect for food. Both bears eat fruits, insects, and other plants edible to them in the environment. Some brown bears that live near the coast can feed on salmon as well. Both of them also are going through major dislocations due to urbanization in their environments. One ancestral trait that both bears have would be their big paws and the claws that they can use to dig up plants and insects or as a weapon. One derived trait from the sloth bears would be the teeth gap in their skull that allows them to eat insects easier. This teeth gap shows how their location affects adaptation because there are more insects available in tropical regions than colder ones. One derived trait from the brown bears would be the thick fur that allows them to live in more rigid environments and hibernate for a longer time during the winter. The thick fur shows how their location affects adaptation because the places that they live are usually where snow is abundant in the winter and stays pretty cool during the Summer compared to the tropical regions.
PART 3:
During this field trip I noticed so many ways that animals are able to adapt to their environments. For example, the mutation of having a type of quill that allows the “needle” to have ridges that lodges it deeper and sticks to the muscle have evolved over time due to natural selection and other factors to become what porcupines have now. My perspective on animal biology changed after this field trip because of the kind staff that helped us throughout the day. I used to think that zoos and aquariums are unfair for the animals because we are keeping them captive. But after the field trip, I realize that most zoos probably take really good care of the animals for their well being and also the lessons that they are teaching to the public. The most interesting thing that I learned during this field trip was how hippopotamuses are one of the deadliest animals on the planet when kept in captive or being agitated because they are fast runners despite their size and they can kill they prey very easily with their enormous jaw muscles.
General Details:
I took the field trip to Woodland Park Zoo on Sunday, February 25th, at around 9:30 am. The weather was cold and some light showers during the day, so some of the animals were not as active as they could be. I chose to do this field trip because I do not know much about the Northwest animals. I also thought that I would be able to see more types of animals going to the zoo instead of the other field trip options. All picture were taken by me.
Figure 1. Betty Berhanu and I in the bird sanctuary.
River Otter:
Figure 2. Female river otter swimming in her exhibit.
We saw one female river otter that was expecting four offspring this Spring. The most interesting thing in the river otter exhibit was how active the female otter at the time was because the rest of the animals that we saw that day were not interacting with the visitors. There were children visitors in the exhibit along with the group of students from Edmonds Community College and the otter was very aware of our presence and was swimming in the same direction as the children running in front of the glass window. One characteristic that I learned about river otters is how they are not born swimmers because I thought that it would come naturally since they are so dependent on being by the water. River otters are not born swimmers. According to the staff member that we met in the exhibit, the mother otter would grab on to their babies and swim with the babies until they start to learn. They essentially drown the babies enough for them to start learning on their own to hold their breath. Also, I would expect the skull of a river otter to have decent sized nasal turbinates because they also use scent to find their prey. I also saw some canine teeth present in their mouth to eat other animals around them. Due to this, I would also expect the sagittal crest to be present in the skull because they would need strong muscles to be able to kill, hold on, and eat their food. Additionally, since river otters belong to the mustelids family, alongside ferrets, badgers, and wolverines, their skulls will look elongated.
River otters are very well distributed in the Pacific Northwest because otters like to live near rivers, lakes, or ponds, where most of their food source are from. The nest under the roots of trees and rocks to keep themselves hidden. There used to be an abundance of them all across America, but overtime it lost much of its population in the South. I wonder if the climate change had more of an effect on the decrease of otters in the South that urbanization since they are still distributed in the Pacific Northwest.
Another type of otter that I know is sea otters. Other than the difference in the colors of their fur, sea otters usually stays in the water, while river otters prefer the land more. Because of this, sea otters usually float on their backs in water while otters swim regularly like other animals. Lastly, the size of sea otters are more than double the size of a river otter.
Gray Wolf:
Figure 3. Gray Wolf eating a small rabbit in its exhibit.
We saw a pack of wolves at their feeding time and the volunteer was making sure that the meat was being dispersed to still let the wolves find it themselves. The most interesting thing from the gray wolf exhibit to me was how they walk on the trails of the front two legs. One adaptation of the gray wolves that I noticed was their thick fur to keep warm and blend in their usual snowy or cold environments. I also noticed how big the wolves are when the volunteer was feeding them. Compared to a regular dog, for example a Shiba Inu, the body size and height of a wolf is much larger. Wolves also eat more than a medium sized dog would because they need more energy to get their food. Due to this, one characteristic I would expect to see on a skull of a gray wolf are big nasal turbinates because they have a great sense of smell to detect food or other wolves. I would also expect to see big canines because they are carnivores. Also due to their eating habits, I would expect to see a decent sized sagittal crest because they need the strong muscles on the sides of the head to kill, hold on, and eat their prey. An adult wolf eats about four to seven pounds of meat a day. Usually, wolves hunt their food in packs to increase efficiency. One of the most common animals that they would hunt together is a moose, but their success rate is only one out of sixteen moose that they chase. So I wonder how much animals gray wolves are capable of killing in the wild everyday. Another interesting thing in the exhibit was how the zoo placed a metal sign on the gate telling visitors to refrain from howling at the wolves. This can cause some distress for the animals since we are disturbing them. Gray wolves howl as a communication tool between pack members to either locate each other or strengthen relationships in the pack. Their howling can also signal other non-members to stay away from their pack.
According to the informational posters available in front of the gray wolf exhibit, in 1790, wolves used to be abundant from Alaska until Mexico. However, in 1990 the population decreased significantly and mostly present in Canada. And more specifically, the distribution of gray wolves in the Pacific Northwest decreased so much over the course of 200 years due to urbanization of their habitats.
Great Gray Owl:
Figure 4. Great gray owl in its exhibit sitting on a branch.
We saw the great gray owl just resting on one of the branches in the exhibit. The most interesting thing about the great gray owl was how relaxed the owl was when all of us were pulling our phones out to take a picture. We were pretty low compared to the branch it was on, but I was expecting it to fly away quickly. One adaptation that I learned was how their ear holes are not aligned like most animals, which gives them a bigger resonance chamber, therefore easier for them to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. I would also expect the skull to have big orbits because they have big eyes that allows them to see better. Also, their skulls would be smaller and flat in the front, except for the protruding beak. This allows them to be able to have a wider range of view to see any predators or prey incoming. One difference between the great gray owl skull and the snowy owl skull would be the color of their beaks because snowy owls have black beaks while the great gray owl has a light yellow color.
According to the informational poster in front of the exhibit, a small part of the Pacific Northwest does have some distribution of these owls, but it is more common in Canada and Russia. They are usually around 2 feet in body length, and about more than twice is their wingspan. Their wings and body are also covered with thick fur to not only give warmth, but also gives them the ability to filter the sound that they make when flying behind their prey. I wonder if the quietness that the feathers provide affect their speed when flying.
Porcupine:
Figure 5. Porcupine waiting for the volunteer to come out and give them food.
The most interesting thing in the porcupine exhibit for me was learning about how they use their bad odor as a defense mechanism on top of the sharp sticks on their backs. We saw one porcupine pacing back and forth in front of the door where the volunteer usually comes to feed the porcupine. Talking about feeding, porcupines like to reside on branches and sleep during the day. They feed on leaves, inner bark, and other plants. When those are scarce in the winter, other animals usually do not eat inner barks of trees and it is not very nutritious. They do not hibernate like other animals however, so they do not save up the plants from summer or spring season. Also, the closest relatives to the porcupines are the beavers and they both have incisors. They are also well distributed in the Pacific Northwest and other parts where there are lots of forests, like a big part of eastern Canada. From this, I would expect to see big incisors on their skull because they are still a part of the rodentia order and mainly feed on barks or branches. Also, since they eat plant material, I would expect the back teeth to be molars to grind the leaves and other plants. I would also expect big nasal turbinates because they rely on scent to find their food.
The quills that porcupines have are special because they can dig into a predator’s muscle harsher than a needle due to the microscopic ridges that keeps the quill stuck in there. I wonder if there are toxins that came from the barks that can go to the porcupine’s quill and theoretically also poison the predator.
Snowy Owl:
Figure 6. Snowy owl standing on the ground looking off to the distance.
We saw the snowy owl and the most interesting thing in the snowy owl exhibit to me was how the owl was resting on the ground instead of the branches available. I thought that all owls would prefer the branch instead of the ground so that they can see everything around them better. For example, the great gray owls mentioned previously prefers the branches, while the snowy owls prefer the ground and even keeps their nest on the ground as well. Similar to the great gray owl skulls, I expect to see big resonance chamber for better hearing, big orbitals for better vision, and flat facial features except for the beak. I would also notice that they would lack the abundance of nasal turbinates when compared to other animals. I would also expect the snowy owl skulls to be bigger in size because they are the biggest owls in terms of size, weight, and ability to hunt. According to the informational poster in the exhibit, the snowy owls are distributed more in the Pacific Northwest and can even come down to Western Washington. They are also distributed around Canada, Alaska, and Russia. The distribution of snowy owls is bigger than the great gray owls as well. Great gray owls and snowy owls are both a part of the Strigidae family and lives in similar locations. However, snowy owls cover more of the northern parts of the locations where the tundra are located, like mentioned previously, while great gray owls live in more forested areas. That is also why the color of the feathers are also different between the two owls. If we were to come across a completely white snowy owl, they would most likely to be an adult male according to the informational poster in the exhibit. I also learned that they usually hunt using their hearing because it is harder to see in the tundra and do not use their sense of smell primarily for hunting. I wonder if it is because of their use of hearing that they travel on land more than they fly.
PART 2:
Figure 7. Brown bear moving its position after a long day of napping.
Figure 8. Sloth bear sitting behind the branch.
The two animals I will compare and contrast are the brown bear and sloth bear which is from the same family of Ursidae. When I was visiting the brown bear exhibit with the group, the bear was not active because they are still at the late stages of hibernation. Then when I went on my own to the sloth bear, which resides in the Indian Tropical Forest exhibit, there was not much activity either. First, brown bears are more common in North America, Europe, and some parts of Asia. While Sloth Bears are more common in India. Both bears have a great sense of smell to detect for food. Both bears eat fruits, insects, and other plants edible to them in the environment. Some brown bears that live near the coast can feed on salmon as well. Both of them also are going through major dislocations due to urbanization in their environments. One ancestral trait that both bears have would be their big paws and the claws that they can use to dig up plants and insects or as a weapon. One derived trait from the sloth bears would be the teeth gap in their skull that allows them to eat insects easier. This teeth gap shows how their location affects adaptation because there are more insects available in tropical regions than colder ones. One derived trait from the brown bears would be the thick fur that allows them to live in more rigid environments and hibernate for a longer time during the winter. The thick fur shows how their location affects adaptation because the places that they live are usually where snow is abundant in the winter and stays pretty cool during the Summer compared to the tropical regions.
PART 3:
During this field trip I noticed so many ways that animals are able to adapt to their environments. For example, the mutation of having a type of quill that allows the “needle” to have ridges that lodges it deeper and sticks to the muscle have evolved over time due to natural selection and other factors to become what porcupines have now. My perspective on animal biology changed after this field trip because of the kind staff that helped us throughout the day. I used to think that zoos and aquariums are unfair for the animals because we are keeping them captive. But after the field trip, I realize that most zoos probably take really good care of the animals for their well being and also the lessons that they are teaching to the public. The most interesting thing that I learned during this field trip was how hippopotamuses are one of the deadliest animals on the planet when kept in captive or being agitated because they are fast runners despite their size and they can kill they prey very easily with their enormous jaw muscles.
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