Animals

Call of the Wild

Behind the scenes at Roger Williams Park Zoo

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“Wake up, George! Wake up, Gracie!” This is how zookeeper Al D’Ercole greets two very special siblings each morning. George is passed out on his hammock, while Gracie is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed – well, sort of. As Al slowly turns on all of the lights it becomes clear who is a morning person... er bear, and who is not. George and Gracie are sibling Moon Bears. They are huge, and they trust Al.

These Moon Bears are full of personality. “I’ve worked with a lot of bears and every single one has a different personality,” says Al. “George is playful, very curious and very easy going. Gracie on the other hand, is a little more serious – she’s a thinker. She seems to put more thought into things and is really good at problem solving, and he is really good at reaping the rewards of her smarts.”

Moon Bears, and all captive animals, require more than just food and shelter to live healthy and fulfilling lives. Each animal takes part in enrichment. According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), enrichment is a way to enhance the environments in which these animals live according to their natural habitats and biological behaviors. So for Moon Bears, a piece of static enrichment, something that is a permanent feature of the exhibit, is the wobble tree. Imagine a metal pole with a square basket on top. The square basket has slots cut out of the sides. Fruit is placed into the basket and in order for the bears to get it, they must move the pole back and forth to shake it out. This is where the bear’s individual personalities come into play. Just as Gracie is the first bear to rise and shine in the morning, she is the one who has figured out the wobble tree and is able to maneuver the fruit out of it. George, on the other hand, has a more relaxed approach. Just as he is last to rise in the morning, he does not put any effort into getting fruit out of the wobble tree. Instead, he patiently sits next to his sister as she persistently wobbles the pole back and forth until, at last, the fruit comes out, at which point George happily eats it right up. (Sibling rivalry, oh, how I can relate.)

Now, I’d like you to meet Ro, the resident Snow Leopard, and she is gorgeous. Snow Leopards are famous for being very close with their keepers, and Ro is no different. Just like house cats, they like to be scratched – through a protective mesh barrier. And like a house cat, Ro will come on her own terms, in her own time, and then be a sucker for the famous scratches from Al through mesh. Ro had a companion for awhile, Ghurka, and although snow leopards are solitary creatures, these two were crazy about one another. Ro would take food from Ghurka’s mouth and he wouldn’t care. Ro would also lay on Ghurka and the pair would start each morning by grooming one another. Although Ghurka left, there is hope that the zoo will have a new male coming soon, and we’ll just have to wait and see if he’ll let her take food from his mouth.

One thing that truly needs to be understood when these animals lives are considered is safety both is for the animal and for the keeper. These animals are wild. They are not domesticated. They maintain their wild instincts regardless of the fact that they are ambassadors to the public. The keeper never goes in a holding area or exhibit with the animals, especially carnivorous animals. Remember, carnivores eat meat, and humans are made up of a lot of meat. As much as the keepers have earned the trust and have trained these animals, there is always a protective barrier between them and the animal. This keeps both safe.

And how about another interesting pair? Meet the Red River Hogs – Harley and Persephone – and how they met. Whenever the zoo gets a new animal, it must go through a quarantine period that assures that there will be no new diseases introduced into the zoo. The animal is kept separate from the others for about a month. Zookeeper Amanda Markey, who works in The Plains of Africa section, received Harley and Persephone in September. During quarantine the pair were not allowed in the same pen but did share one wall. It was through this wall that their relationship began. They were able to smell and hear each other, so they spent a lot of time smelling each others noses and communicating the way that hogs do. Contrary to popular belief, hogs make a wide range of sounds from grunts and squeals to higher and lower pitched sounds. It’s all hog language, and they understood each other.

The introduction happened very slowly, as it needed to, and as time went on they were able to touch noses. “They would run up to each other and then run away. They wanted to interact but were afraid or nervous,” says Amanda. The next step was to alternate who was put on exhibit. First, Harley was put on, then he was put into his holding area, then Persephone was let out. Well, Harley could not stand it any longer. As Persephone was on exhibit, Harley broke free of his holding pen by lifting up the door with his dexterous snout, scooted underneath and finally bounded towards Persephone. This all happened in a matter of moments and Amanda was unable to stop the hurried rush of introduction. There was squealing and a single display of dominance, where Harley placed his nose on top of her, and that was it. They have been the best of friends ever since. Harley could not wait to meet Persephone.

Every night they sleep in their little hay bed together and snuggle up. Now, there is quite an age difference between the two. Persephone is two and a half years old while Harley is nine and a half. “She keeps him young,” Amanda says. “She chases him around, entices him to play and performs play bows just as a dog would with their bums in the air and faces close to the ground. There’s a fair bit of nudging and playful rough housing.”

Keeper Amanda Markey and the charismatic Red River Hogs

Now, the life of a keeper isn’t all fun and games – although it is pretty darn awesome. There is also some practical training that goes along with the everyday feeding, watering and enrichment. Why train a snow leopard? What good does it do to be able to have a Moon Bear raise up on its hind quarters on command with the motivation of some tasty grapes as a reward? Yes, it is fun to scratch a hog’s belly through bars while it is laying down, but what is the purpose?

These animals’ lives are entrusted to the keepers and to the veterinarians. These training techniques are a valuable tool in being able to discern the health and wellbeing through a series of trainable movements. It might be something as simple as having George open his mouth and keeping it open. This allows the vet to look at the dentition and assess tooth and gum health. By having Persephone lay on her side, the vet will be able to perform an ultra- sound to discern whether or not she is pregnant. (By the way, how adorable would it be to see a bunch of little hogs running amok on exhibit?) Luckily for keepers who provide guidance and positive reinforcement, many species are heavily food-motivated, meaning that they will aim to please the keeper for a grape or banana or other favorite food.

These animals are at Roger Williams Park Zoo for many reasons. Some are endangered, some are threatened, some are rescues. Whatever the case may be, they are here, and we are lucky to have them. I remember going to the zoo as a child; now I go with my friends and their kids, heck, I even go with a group of adults or by myself. It is nice to see the animals out on exhibit but it has been an honor to get to know these animals from a different perspective, from the inside looking out.

Roger Williams Park Zoo, Al D'Ercole, zoo, RI Zoo, RI attraction, Moon Bears, Snow Leopard, Red River Hogs, animals, Providence Monthly

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