Zookeeper Appreciation Week: A Labor of Love

Today's celebration of National Zookeeper Appreciation Week post highlights Wildwood Wildlife Park's Head Zookeeper Jennifer Domaszek. As our fans and friends know, Jennifer has a special place in her heart for Kya, our beautiful Striped Hyena. 

During last year's National Zookeeper Week Jennifer selected Kya as her favorite zoo resident. Just a few weeks ago we celebrated Kya's fourth birthday and this year's appreciation celebration holds special meaning: the bond of motherhood.

Last October we were pleased to announce the safe arrival of Kya's cubs born on August 29th. When it was time for our Head Zookeeper to choose a photograph to feature during this week, she quickly chose this image of Kya, "I wanted to use my pregnancy [for this year's National Zookeeper Week] and re-enacted Kya being stretched out while she was pregnant. She ended up having her babies 3 days after I took the photo!"

We are pleased to report that not too long after Jennifer's re-enactment, she and her family welcomed the safe arrival of twin daughters.

Celebrating National Zookeeper Week: Do You Flamingo? We Do!

It's no secret that we love animals: big and small, cute and cuddly, creepy and crawly - we love them all. But it is all the work that goes on behind the scenes - the efforts to maintain the Accreditations and Recognitions and the Zookeepers who help care for our residents that help to provide positive experiences that last a life time. It is why we look forward to celebrating National Zookeeper Week. 

What is National Zookeeper Week?

The third week in July has been set aside as a time to highlight the role animal care professionals play as educators and conservation ambassadors. This is an essential role and responsibility of the Zookeeper as the need to protect and preserve wildlife and their habitats increase. 

Zoo and Aquarium professionals care for hundreds of species three hundred and sixty five days a year, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week - from hurricanes to blizzards and heat waves, Zookeepers must be ready for everything. A keeper's day can include many tasks including cleaning, food prep, medical treatment, training, enrichment, landscaping, exhibit design, public outreach and education and much more. For these animal care professionals it is much more then a job, it's a passion and a calling. 

This week we will be featuring our zookeepers and their favorite animals in a daily posting here on our blog. We are going to kick off the celebration highlighting one of our newest exhibits: the flamingos, we hope you will come back every day this week to see a new picture of the zookeepers imitating their animals! 

The flamingos pink or reddish color comes from the rich sources of carotenoid pigments in the algae and small crustaceans the birds eat. The long legs of flamingos let them wade in to deeper water then most other birds to look for food. Flamingos are unique that their bill is held upside down in the water. They eat by sucking water and mud in the front of the bill and then pumping it out again at the sides. Here, briny plates called lamellae act like little filters, trapping shrimp and other good food the flamingos like to eat.

Flamingos lay one large white egg in a mud nest built by both parents. After a chick is hatched, the chick will stay on the nest for 5-12 days. During this time, the chick is fed a type of “milk” called crop milk that comes from the parents upper digestive tract. Both males and females can feed the chick this way, Even flamingos that are not the parents can act as foster-feeders. 

It is believed that the begging calls the hungry chick makes stimulate the secretion of the milk. While feeding a chick, the parents lose their bright pink colors turning themselves to pale pink or white. The parents will gain their color back once the chicks begin eating on their own.

Happy Birthday Kya!

It's no secret that the qualifications of a zookeeper is more than just a love of animals. They spend their days being the eyes and ears of the entire zoo no matter what the weather. Constantly getting wet and dirty and being on duty during the weekends and holidays is just part of their day. Our zookeepers also are in constant contact with visitors to the zoo; answering any questions they might have and oftentimes working in the encounter areas of the park. And as you can probably imagine, over time, zookeepers develop a special relationship with one or more of the animals.

During our Zookeeper Appreciation week we highlighted our dedicated and trained zookeepers on our Facebook page and gave them the opportunity to share one of their favorite animals at the zoo. Head Zookeeper Jen Domaszek posed with her Wildwood favorite, Kya the Striped Hyena.

In celebration of Kya's fourth birthday on May 31st, we have selected her as the subject of today's blog post.

Kya is a Striped Hyena, which is one of the three hyena species. The other two are the Brown Hyena which are a near threatened species and the more commonly known Spotted Hyena.

Unlike the Spotted Hyena, that live in clans run by one dominant female, both the Brown and Striped Hyenas are solitary animals. 

Although hyenas physically resemble dogs they are actually more closely related to cats. Hyenas are well known scavengers, but will also hunt their own food. Striped Hyenas like Kya also eat fruit and other plant matter. 

Wish Kya a happy birthday and if you are lucky, you might catch her in the act of enjoying her favorite treat - peaches!

Do The Zoo Again and Again!

Spring ... and our much anticipated opening day ... is just around the corner. Everyone at Wildwood Wildlife Park is getting anxious to open our doors and welcome visitors to the Zoo!

Now is the perfect time to purchase a zoo membership. Visit for an hour or spend the day, your membership pass allows you to visit as much as you like. And the best part? There are several options to choose from - you're sure to find a membership that fits your family! 

Did you know that a Zoo Pass pays for itself in as little as two visits?!

Whether you’ve had one in the past or are thinking about getting a Zoo Pass for the first time, now is the time to do it!  Specific details and other information can be found here on our web site.

See you at the Zoo! 

William E. Gardner Education and Events Center Slated for Opening Spring 2015

Look deep into nature, and then you will

understand everything better. ~Albert Einstein

The Domaszek family and Wildwood Wildlife Park staff are dedicated to the preservation and conservation of all animals. Wildwood Wildlife Park team’s mission: to provide an exciting zoological collection and educational facility to all visitors. Promoting life-long learning by enriching minds, fostering environmental respect, while helping prepare our visitor for our conservation future. We strive to provide experiences that last a lifetime with every visit no matter your age.

Daily programs are held at the Wildwood Wildlife Park amphitheater where visitors learn about various mammals, birds, primates, and reptiles. The park’s staff works hard to provide a variety of educational programs and learning experiences at the zoo. Thanks to the hard work and dedication from the entire Wildwood Wildlife Park staff, the park received the prestigious Zoological Association of America accreditation in June 2008 and was reaccredited in 2013.

The zoo’s new William E. Gardner Educational and Events Center has been a work in progress and will be filled with amazing things to see and do. Proceeding on our philosophy of continuing education, the William E. Gardner Educational and Events Center will enhance our schools, camps, scouts and 4-H field trip experiences.

Visitors will be able to peer into the world of honeybees and witness these amazing creatures performing their specialized duties to produce honey.

Microscope tables allow insect investigation. Explore the educational tables with hands on examination of skulls, fur and artifacts and fun activity sheets for the kids. Animal displays include: snake, amphibian, lizard, arthropod, insect and finishes.

Our Conservation Corner features information on conservation efforts to help protect sloths, lemurs, leopards, cheetahs, and tigers; conservation causes that Wildwood Wildlife Park actively supports.

Zoo visitors will find opportunities to learn in every corner of the Educational and Events Center. And of course, watching and exploring animals is an educational experience in itself!

The journey of making our mission and the vision of the zoo being a place for guests to spend time with their families, making memories and watching their children learn, laugh and play has been made possible thanks in part to sponsors of the William E. Gardner Education and Events Center (photo below.)

Thank you sponsors of the William E. Gardner Education & Events Center:

Pukall Lumber Company - Van Natta's Plumbing - Hallman Lindsay Quality Paints

Wilderness Sales & Service - Quality Heating Inc - Furniture and Appliance Mart

Continuing Education and Conservation: Wildwood Wildlife Park Lemur Exhibit

The zoo may be closed for the season but that doesn’t mean that we’ve been hibernating waiting for spring. If you’ve driven by the zoo lately you know that nothing could be farther from the truth! We can’t wait for spring to show off the new and exciting changes at Wildwood Wildlife Park.

We’ve got that reputation among our zoo members and visitors that there is always something New at the Zoo. Today we take you on a behind the scenes look at the new lemur house.

Did you know all species of lemurs are native to Madagascar?

Wildwood Wildlife Park is fortunate to house four different species: the Ring-Tailed Lemur, the Brown Lemur, the Red Ruffed Lemur and the Black and White Lemur.

The Red Ruffed and the Black and White are two species of ruffed lemurs named for the “ruff” of long hair that runs from the ears along the cheeks to beneath their chin. Ruffed lemurs are the largest of the lemurs - about the size of a large house cat. 

The name “lemur” comes from the Latin word for “ghost.” Lemurs communicate with each other using a complex system of at least 12 different vocalizations. These vocalizations can be low grunts, gurgling sounds or a cackle like roar. It’s no wonder that the first people to hear the loud calls of a lemur thought they were ghosts in the forest!

Can you guess the favorite food of the lemur? If you guess fruit - you’re right! But they also eat other food including leaves, flowers, buds and fungi. When the lemurs aren’t foraging for their food in the treetops you’ll find them dangling from their arms or legs to get to a hard-to-reach treat if they can’t get it from a standing position.

When a female lemur is ready to give birth she begins making a nest - in the wild the nest can be high up in a tree usually 60 to 80 feet from the ground. Would you be surprised to know that baby ruffed lemurs don’t cling to their mothers: the mom thinks it is time to move her baby, she carries him or her in her mouth.

Lemurs are critically endangered. The main reason is the loss of their rain forest habitat. Madagascar’s forests have been reduced by as much as 85% due to extensive logging for cooking fuel, building materials and what is called slash-and-burn farming.

Wildwood Wildlife Park is dedicated to help save these beautiful, inquisitive and vocal animals. We look forward to your visiting the new lemur exhibit.

Book Your 2015 School Group Tour! Contact Wildwood Wildlife Park To Reserve Your Date!

It's no secret that our School Group Tours are one of the hottest events in the Northwoods. To quote an excerpt from the Wildwood Mission Statement: "We strive to provide experiences that last a lifetime with every visit no matter your age."

We are accepting reservations for your school group tour for spring 2015.  Click on the image below to enlarge, print and share the School Field Trip information.

Call the park to reserve your date for one of the wildest field trips anywhere!!