Zookeeper Appreciation Week: Cute as a Coati

Thursday's zookeeper of the week is Melanie Czajkowski who is about to celebrate her first year as a zookeeper at Wildwood Wildlife Park. To commemorate National Zookeeper Week, Melanie has selected as her favorite park resident the coatimundi.

The coatimundi or coati is a medium-sized mammal found only in North and South America and are members of the raccoon family.  Coatis have a slender head and as you can see, a slightly turned-up nose. This feature is part of the reason why it is given the nickname 'the hog-nose raccoon.' Additionally they have a very long tail and often hold the tail erect; using it as a way of keeping troops of coatis together while walking or foraging in tall vegetation. The tip of the coatis tail can be moved slightly, just like a cat.

Coatis are active day and night and feeds on lizards, fruits, nuts and seeds, insects, birds eggs, rodents and small reptiles. A forest dweller and an agile tree climber when the coatis is on the ground, its short forelegs give it a bearlike gait.

Females and their young travel in bands but males are solitary. Males join the band only during the mating season, typically at the start of the rainy season, when there is an abundance of food. When the female is ready to give birth she will leave the band of coatis to build a nest in the trees or on a rocky ledge, where she will give birth to 2-7 kits. The female and her young will rejoin the band when they are about 6 weeks old. 

Coatis communication using chirping, snorting, or grunting sounds. The also use postures to convey simple messages. In her photo Melanie has chosen a favorite posture of our one-year old coatis: the adorably cute tactic of begging the zookeepers for their favorite food of grapes and mealworms.

Thank you Melanie for sharing your love of animals and for highlighting the coatimundi.

Zookeeper Appreciation Week: Lindsay and the Bob Tailed Cat

Today we are pleased to introduce you to another of Wildwood Wildlife Park's dedicated zookeepers, Lindsay Krapfl and her favorite animal, Keeta, our one-year old female Bobcat. 

The bobcat is the most common wildcat in North America and is named for its short, bobbed tail which appears to be cut or 'bobbed.' Its ears are black-tipped and pointed, with short black tufts of hair. Many people refer to the bobcat as a wildcat. While Wildcats are native to Africa, Europe and Asia, a bobcat is a small lynx of North America and are known as the North American Wildcat.

The bobcat prefers to live in woodland areas, but, unlike the lynx, it does not depend exclusively on deep forests. In addition to living in woods and forests these solitary animals can be found in swamps and semi-desert areas.

The bobcat is crepuscular, meaning that it is more active during the twilight hours just before dawn and dusk. During cold or the winter months it will often become active during the day.

Bobcats are amazing hunters - stalking its prey with both stealth and patience eventually capturing their meals with one leap. They are agile, climbing trees seemingly without effort and are also very good swimmers.

Bobcats are carnivores; their diet consists mainly of small animals including rabbits and hares and are also know to eat rodents, birds, and bats. 

Bobcat's mating season is late winter, but anytime throughout the year is possible. Bobcat litters can be between 1-6 kittens that are usually born in the early spring. The kittens begin eating solid food around two months and begin learning to hunt at 5-months of age.

Like other cats the bobcat will often mew, hiss, growl ... and purr.

If you encounter Lindsay we hope you will thank her for sharing her passion for animals - or maybe just wave and "meow." 

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