Dakota Zoo tales

By: Tanya Fyfe, Broker at Clearwater Properties

If you had told me when I graduated veterinary school in 2005 that I would be helping move 500-pound alligators, checking teeth on a Grizzly Bear named Ted or hand-feeding Bobcat kittens on my lap as part of my daily gig I would have thought you were crazy. Spending time with a tremendous variety of creatures while watching them explore their worlds and learning about individual species essentially just feels good. The uptick in that exploration and learning has been immense since I donned my green ‘Zoo staff’ hoodie.

Bismarck’s weather requires that some animals be moved indoors during the winter- hence the movement of Goliath, our enormous alligator. Sure enough, the YouTube videos we explored the night before made it clear that the most important part of lifting an alligator was getting the large mouth tied shut! That same day several of us herded and moved our small Muntjac deer, which involved patience, speed, and coordination amongst the zoo crew.

Zoo veterinarians are charged with health and safety checks for animals moving into and out of our care. We conduct regular health checks and when necessary, we facilitate the departure of elk calves, bison calves, Dall sheep and a tiny Tamarin monkey, not to mention Bobcat kittens.

The Bobcat kittens, who were born at the zoo primarily in secrecy so that their mom, Ginger, could nurse and nurture them away from the public eye, needed a series of vaccinations not unlike domestic house cats before we could move them to their new zoo in Indiana. After the second round, we wanted to help the kittens become a bit more used to human handlers without trying to train or tame them in any way. My husband and I visited them almost daily in the on-site clinic where we initially just sat in their stall with them with small buckets of meat and a pair of tongs. Within a few days “The Girls”, as we affectionately called them, were climbing onto our legs and eating the chunks of steak right from the tongs.

Learning continued with The Girls as their distinct personalities started to become evident. Each kitten had their preferred human, with Sugar running to my husband and Spice choosing to find me every day. We loved sharing our discoveries with the zoo team and through social media. I was honored to be one of their transporters and had a tear in my eye when we handed them over to their new zookeepers in Minnesota.

One of the most exciting experiences at Dakota Zoo so far was the evening arrival of our new male Amur, or Siberian Tiger, Spoutnik in early October. It truly was a ‘dark and stormy night’ when the pickup truck and trailer pulled into our receiving zone. The hairs on the back of my neck still stand up when I remember hearing the massive, majestic

Apex predator share his feelings with us when we unloaded him into the Big Cat enclosure. Since then, a few of us with the zoo team have studied and rehearsed Tiger introductions in the hopes that our resident female Amur Tiger, Nadya will breed with Spud this year and produce more kittens of this spectacular endangered species. There is absolutely nothing that compares to tongfeeding a 400-lb Tiger separated only by a mesh wall!

The Dakota Zoo participates in Species Survival Plan (SSP) initiatives and programs for endangered or threatened species, such as the Amur Tiger. Global SSP coordinators study and recommend specific pairings and hopeful breeding based on species health, individual and herd genetics and other factors. We respectfully contribute to the SSP with animals like our Przewalksi’s Horses, several primates, Snow Leopards and African Penguins.

One of our SSP breeding penguin pairs, Coretta and Ambrose produced a solitary egg last fall and I was thrilled to be able to assist in weekly monitoring and the eventual “hatch watch” that ensued. A tiny ball of fluff emerged from her shell and our penguin colony has officially grown by one this year. Ruby was named by the public, and she and her parents have recently re-joined the colony as nesting season ended. We are all currently on “camel watch” for a potential baby from our Bactrian camels, Padme and Chewbacca.

Several of our zoo animals come from healthy, well-established populations, like the Bobcats, Black Swans, Kunekune Pig, Mule Deer, and more. When we lived in Montana our property bordered the US Forest Service and I have a healthy respect for the wild cats and bears who shared our world there. This appreciation for Mountain Lions made sedating and examining the mouth of Jasper, a young male Mountain Lion even more incredible. Equally impressive was when I attempted to get my head almost into Jasper’s mouth to get a look at his palate while zookeeper staff reassured me that Jasper was, “fairly sedate”. This procedure tested my “why not” attitude, but we all lived to tell the tale!

Along with commonly known animals like tigers and bears, Dakota Zoo also has lesser-known species like our mighty Takin boys and an adorable, clever little Pine Martin named Winston. So much is learned every day from the animals and the zookeepers. We intensely monitor and record behavior, eating and play habits, appearance, interherd relationships and even the weather daily to make sure we are doing everything possible to care for the animals and zoo, itself as best we can.

Dakota Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and Zoological Association of America. We are also the only Raptor Rehabilitation facility in North Dakota. The zoo is self-supportive and relies on memberships and donations to fund its efforts.

The zoo is open year-round so if you make time to visit, stop and ask if Dr. Tanya is working- I would love to talk Takin, Lemurs, Penguins, Tigers or Lynx with you!

Update: We are thrilled to announce the arrival of our baby camel, Anakin, born on March 10th. Both momma and baby boy are healthy and doing well. We look forward to watching Anakin grow and thrive here!