Wildwood Zookeepers visit Camp Angel at Camp Manito-Wish

One of the New Year traditions that we look forward to is traveling to Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, to visit the Angel On My Shoulder kids at Camp Manito-Wish. On January 9th several of the zookeepers from Wildwood made their annual visit bringing with them several of our special residents.

Angel On My Shoulder is a non-profit organization that assists and supports individuals, families and caregivers affected by cancer. Camps, such as the one the Wildwood zookeepers participated in, offer the assurance that make it clear they are not alone.

Camp Angel holds their winter session at Camp Manito-Wish YMCA in Boulder Junction. While it is cold outside the cozy and warm Northwood's cabins with the fireplaces keep everyone warm and toasty. The campers enjoy popcorn, hot chocolate, and other treats while playing games and getting to know each other and their counselors. Campers at Camp Angel offer a number of interesting, unique and educational presentations; the zookeepers all look forward to their presentation.

Each zookeeper spent approximately five minutes talking about the animal before the children were able to ask questions of the zookeepers. The zookeepers then lined up so the children could touch and pet each animal and ask additional questions.

Our time spent with the campers at Camp Angel is something we always look forward too. No matter what the temperature is outside when we leave, we're wrapped in the warmth of courage, love and hope.

Three of the five animals at Camp Angel. Left to right: Daffy the striped skunk,

Arnie the 9 banded armadillo, Peanut the Flemish giant (rabbit).

Not shown: a box turtle and African spurred tortoise.

Weathering The Cold At The Zoo Submitted by the Wildwood Zookeeper Staff

Halloween Fun Moves Indoors

Bellatrix "Bella"the Binturong enjoying some supervised enrichment time in her winter home. To learn more about binturong's click here.

Celebrate Our 8th Annual Zoo Boo Event!

Double Trouble Excitement: Twin Striped Hyenas

Twins! We are excited to announce the arrival of twin Striped Hyena cubs. The brother and sister were born to first time Mom, Kya, on August 29, 2014. 

Did you know that hyena’s are not member of the dog or the cat family but rather, they are so unique that they have a family all their own: Hyaenidae. There are four members of this distinct family: the striped hyena, the “giggly” spotted hyena, the brown hyena and the aardwolf (which really isn't a wolf at all!)

These wonderful creatures are found in North and Northeast Africa, the Middle East and Asia and play a very important role: cleanup crew!

Striped hyenas are smaller than the spotted and brown hyenas and can live 10 to 12 years in the wild and up to 25 years in zoos. Hyenas have dark eyes; their muzzle, ears, and throat are entirely black but their coat may be golden yellow, brown or gray with black stripes on their body and legs. A mane of long hair grows along their back camouflaging them in the tall, dry grass that is found in the rocky brush and scrubland of their native habitat.

Despite their distinctive walk, which makes it appear as if they are limping uphill, hyenas are very agile and can run, trot and walk for long distances with very little effort.

Wildwood Zookeepers report that both cubs and mother are healthy and happy. Eventually the cubs will be placed at another ZAA accredited facility.

How Do You Catch Dozens of Budgies?

Because you asked ... How DO we move dozens of budgies from the Budgie Encounter to their winter home?

Labor Day is historically the day we close our Budgie Encounter exhibit for the season due to the fact that nighttime temperatures in Wisconsin's Northwoods are too cold for our friendly and brightly colored budgies.

Their latin name is budgeriar however they are more commonly known as pet or shell parakeet: but everyone knowns them simply as the budgie.

These small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrots are the only species in this genus that can be found throughout the arid parts of Australia.

So how do we move them to their off-season home? Quite simply, it takes a couple of people only a few hours to use nets specifically designed to humanely capture birds so they can be relocated to the winter housing.

Budgies are closely related to the fig parrot; a parakeet is a term that refers to any of a number of small parrots with a long, flat and tapered tail.

Badgerigars or budgies are naturally green in color and yellow with black and have scalloped markings on the neck, back and wings. Cage bred budgies are larger in size than ones found in the wild, and selective breeding by breeders over the years have caused changes in colors. Blues, whites, yellows, greys and even some with crests.

Budgies are popular pets worldwide due to their small size and ability to mimic human speech. The species were first recorded in 1805 and today is the third most popular pet in the world.

A Rainbow Colored Surprise

It isn’t often that we are truly surprised - but last week while making our rounds we were surprised to discover Rainbow Boa babies! Rainbow Boa’s are one of the few species of snakes who give live birth rather than laying eggs. Snakes give birth from 2 to 20 babies; within two weeks of age the babies begin eating a diet of small mammals.

Rainbow Boa’s are a species of non-venomous constrictor that are found in South America. They are known for their attractive iridescent sheen on their scales. Like most Boa's they have heat-sensing pits on their faces that allow them to detect the body heat of their warm-blooded prey. 

Rainbow Boa’s are nocturnal and spend time during the daytime basking. They are active at dawn and dusk and feed on small mammals, birds and lizards.