Learn in A Living Classroom

For Members of Lincoln Park Zoo • A Magazine of Conservation and Education • Spring 2012

Learn in a Living Classroom Education at the Zoo—and Around the World

iN ThiS iSSuE Volume 11 Number 3 • For Members of Lincoln Park Zoo

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Still Life in Winter Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo may slow down in winter, but there’s plenty of life waiting under the ice for spring.

Sharing Seeds of Knowledge Zoo gardeners have developed a cornucopia of classes to nurture budding green thumbs.

DEPARTMENTS

1 16 18 FEATURES

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Teachable Moments Whether it’s tigers at play or birds on the wing, each animal encounter can spur a living lesson. See how new education programs are letting students take the lead in learning.

Spring Break Safari Can’t head to Africa for spring break? Sign your kids up for a zoo-based safari!

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Wild Trivia

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Prairie Dogs, Ferrets, Teachers & Scientists

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This all-animal quiz will gauge how well you know your scales, stripes, spots and howls.

A community partnership with Montana’s Northern Cheyenne Reservation is preserving black-footed ferrets and providing kids hands-on lessons in conservation.

Two Different Cultures, One Wild Focus Kids in Chicago and Niamey, Niger occupy different worlds, but Lincoln Park Zoo—and a love of wildlife—is bringing them together.

Zoocyclopedia Visualizing some of our favorite Lincoln Park Zoo lessons, from exotic appetizers to eggs of all sizes.

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Perspective Even after 35 years, President and CEO Kevin J. Bell constantly finds new lessons in the zoo’s living classroom.

The Wild File Farewell to a zoo icon, new horns and crests, and Facebook friends help us name a snowy owl.

News of the Zoo Catching up with Chimps Should Be Chimps, Nature Boardwalk honors and wonderful winter events.

Your Story Friends of the zoo share their most memorable lesson from Lincoln Park Zoo.

Continue Your Visit online Visit www.lpzoo.org for Lincoln Park Zoo photos, videos and up-to-date info on events and animals.

You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter!

We’d Like to Hear from You! Send your feedback on this issue of Lincoln Park Zoo magazine to magazine@lpzoo.org.

Cover: Francis W. Parker seventh grader Nigel Schilling collects data at Regenstein Center for African Apes— part of the zoo’s partnership linking Parker students with peers in Niamey, Niger. Left: A seed sprouts at Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo.

QUESTIONS? Contact the Membership Department.

Staff are on hand during normal business hours— phone 312-742-2322 or visit us online at www.lpzoo.org.

LINCoLN ParK Zoo MagaZINe President and CEO Kevin J. Bell

Editor James Seidler

Art Director Peggy Martin

Staff Writer Chris McNamara

Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614, 312-742-2000, www.lpzoo.org. Lincoln Park Zoo is supported through a public/private partnership between the Chicago Park District and The Lincoln Park Zoological Society. The only privately managed free zoo in the country, Lincoln Park Zoo relies on membership, individual, foundation and corporate support as well as earned revenue.

perspective

A Letter From President and CEO Kevin J. Bell

Still Learning I like to think I’ve built an extensive body of knowledge on life at Lincoln Park Zoo. I’ve been part of the zoo since 1976, when I was first hired as the curator of birds. I’ve been proud to lead the institution since 1993. And yet I still discover something new every day as I make my way through this living classroom.

Today, Director of Horticulture Brian Houck might identify some of the bulbs waiting to bloom in spring. Tomorrow, Steve Ross, Ph.D., assistant director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, might reveal how researchers there use computer touch-screens to track how apes respond to the suggestion of a glance.

That’s only a selection of the learning that takes place every day at the zoo. Field trips, animal encounters, curriculum guides and a full calendar of exciting programs give visitors constant opportunities to learn about conservation and care. As you’ll see, children can step into a scientist’s shoes with Zoo Explorers or explore the wonders of Africa on a zoo-based Spring Break Safari.

But learning isn’t limited to zoo grounds. We’ve embarked on an exciting partnership to enable students from Niamey, Niger and Chicago’s Francis W. Parker School to share knowledge about their local ecosystems—and each other. In Montana, as part of our work to conserve endangered black-footed ferrets, we’re partnering with the Northern Cheyenne Reservation to train teachers and help students engage in hands-on fieldwork.

Together, all these efforts underscore the transformational power of education. Every person who learns something about the richness of nature becomes a potential partner in protecting it. By sharing the wonders of wildlife, we’re also building the case for conservation—here and across the globe.

Kevin J. Bell President and CEO

Kids learn from hands-on encounters with the goats at the Farm-in-the-Zoo Presented by John Deere. A volunteer guest engagement ambassador highlights antler adaptations at the Antelope & Zebra Area.

Teachable Moments Why do zebras have stripes? Why do lions hunt in a group?

What’s the difference between reptiles and amphibians?

BY jAMES SEiDLER

every Lincoln Park Zoo encounter can be a launchpad for learning. as visitors observe species of all shapes, sizes and origins, they ask questions to try to piece together the zoo’s world of wildlife.

Happily, visitors aren’t alone in the process. Professional educators guide those looking to learn in the zoo’s living classroom. Free daily activities explain why silverback gorilla Kwan voluntarily presses his fingers against the mesh of his exhibit.

(He’s letting a keeper examine them, part of his daily checkup.) Public programs teach little ones why the male Blythe’s hornbill gathers all the meals during breeding season. (The female seals herself in a tree hole to incubate her eggs.)

Now a new series of partnerships is encouraging students to step into a scientist’s shoes—and guide their own learning.

See how students are taking the lead with Zoo Explorers and Young Researchers Collaborative.

A Field Trip for Today’s Students Learning tools: Piranha skin. Jaguar fur. A gorilla’s hand cast.

Shed skink skin. Fruits and grubs.

Last year, 3,000 buses dropped off students for field trips at Lincoln Park Zoo. In those buses were more than 110,000 kids of all ages, from cities and schools throughout the region.

Some came equipped with teacher-created activity sheets; others explored with the aid of ZooTracks, free, self-guided tours designed by the zoo to guide learning.

A portion of these students were guided on their visit by a trained zoo educator. They’re known as Zoo Explorers, and they’re part of a program that uses the latest research to deliver a wildlife experience that’s student-led, memorable and lasting.

“Facilitated field trips used to be more passive. Educators would deliver a narrative of basic facts on animals students were going to see,” says Director of Student and Teacher Programs Leah Melber, Ph.D. “With Zoo Explorers, we’ve transitioned from kids receiving information to them generating their own data. This personal connection helps learners better remember the experience and build greater understanding.”

With support from Quest Foundation and Bank of America, each Zoo Explorer session centers on a clear theme: Making Observations. Animal Classification.

Predator/Prey. Animal Behavior. When the students arrive, they use their sense of touch to gain a hands-on introduction to the subject. Snakeskin, piranha scales and feathers aid identification; metal casts of gorilla hands and feet help students visualize how the great apes gather food and move through the forest.

Armed with data sheets, the students then head out to record their own discoveries. The experiences vary by age group. The youngest learners draw distinguishing features for birds, reptiles and mammals while older students fill out a behavioral checklist, or ethogram, mirroring those used by zoo scientists. The participants are guiding their own learning processes, which prompts a better experience—and better results.

Where Do They Live?

Encounters with wildlife including Blyth’s hornbills, western lowland gorillas and Grevy’s zebras let millions of annual zoo visitors gain lessons that can last a lifetime.

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Take part in a Zoo explorers activity—visit www.lpzoo.org/magazine to match animals with their proper habitats.

“With Zoo explorers, we’ve transitioned from kids receiving information to them generating their own data. This personal connection helps learners better remember the experience and build greater understanding.”

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dents to animals they encounter in their own backyards. This exposes kids to the practice of research while reminding them that wildlife is all around them.

By searching for answers to the questions above, the young researchers gain an appreciation for research itself. “A lot of students think research is just looking in a book or online,” says Graszer. “Young Researchers Collaborative shows them research is more than that. It’s something they can do; it involves observing, questioning, predicting, sharing results.”

Building on Success

Students classify the habitats they see in a Zoo Explorers session.

“The kids are always really excited,” says Manager of Student and Teacher Programs Chrissy Graszer. “We make a point to indicate they’re being scientists now, and stepping into that role makes them feel important.”

Feedback from students and teachers indicates Zoo Explorers and Young Researchers Collaborative are both channeling teachable moments into lasting learning experiences.

But Melber and her educators continue to seek ways to innovate and improve. This fall, funding from Polk Bros. Foundation will upgrade the data-collection process from pencil and paper to iPads. The high-tech tools will engage students—and give them a closer look at research as it’s really done.

“We’re developing basic research skills,” says Melber. “Even if kids choose not to be researchers, they’ll have the scientific literacy to guide them in making decisions as citizens and voters. If kids do pursue a career in science, they’ll have early practice at real skills, which is invaluable.”

Filling the Teacher’s Toolbox Partnering in the Research Process What is the difference between a cat at play and a tiger at play?

How do foraging habits differ between squirrels and dwarf mongooses?

Do horses have similar behaviors to Grevy’s zebras?

What types of plants do crickets live in at Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo vs. school?

While Zoo Explorers offers a one-time stroll in a scientist’s shoes, the Young Researchers Collaborative features a yearlong immersion in zoo science. Partners from participating schools use zoo encounters to fuel independent student research projects. After two field trips to the zoo, three or four classroom visits by zoo educators and two teacher professional-development workshops, the experience culminates in the annual Science Celebration at Café Brauer, where select students show off their work.

“We wanted a yearlong partnership to build student research skills and let them present what they’ve learned,” says Melber. “With that, we try to align as closely as possible with work being done at the zoo.”

The research experience is sponsored by Polk Bros.

Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., UBS and University of Phoenix. Classroom visits introduce general concepts: ecology, data collection, animal behavior. Field trips then give the students the chance to collect raw data comparing zoo resi-

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Zoo educators can’t accompany every field trip, but they can ensure that visiting teachers have topnotch tools. Here’s an overview of the resources they’ve developed to enhance learning!

Species Safari Colorful photos and questions encourage young learners as they explore buildings like Regenstein African Journey and Regenstein Small Mammal– Reptile House.

ZooTracks These self-guided tours prompt students to compare animal adaptations throughout the zoo.

Examples include Meet the Family, Everybody Eats and Built to Survive.

Zoo Links Curriculum Guides Our in-depth curriculum guides walk teachers through using the zoo as a living classroom. Focuses include Early Childhood Learning and Creating Young Researchers.

Educator Open House This annual event lets Chicago-area teachers explore the zoo after hours. Nearly 250 teachers joined us last September to try out different field trip activities and take home free copies of the latest learning materials!

Spring Break Programs

Spring Break Safari Most animal lovers would relish spending spring break on a safari getaway, watching giraffes strip leaves from acacia trees or lions stalking prey across the Serengeti. But even in Chicago, the average spring break budget probably doesn’t include airfare to Africa.

Luckily, Lincoln Park Zoo is giving kids the option to enjoy a spring break safari, right at home. Special programs for 4–5-year-olds, first–second graders and third–fourth graders will let students experience the diversity of Africa—and the ways Lincoln Park Zoo is working to conserve the continent’s wonders.

“We know parents are looking for something special for their kids to do during spring break,” says Director of Public Programs and Guest Engagement jessica Monahan. “Spring Break Safari gives them a chance to learn about animals—and have a great time doing it!”

Use-Your-Senses Safari

Scientists on Safari

Experience the wild side of Africa by crawling through a life-size termite mound, smelling an aardvark and meeting a hissing cockroach!

Learn about field research focusing on everything from rhino poop to chimpanzee termite fishing. Then step into a scientist’s shoes by conducting your own animal-behavior study!

Tuesday, March 27 or april 3 4–5-year-olds 9–11:30 a.m. or 12:30–3 p.m. $30 ($25 for zoo members)

African Adventure Join us for this all-day African exploration. We’ll discover how savannas, jungles and deserts provide perfect homes for giraffes, hippos and other amazing animals!

Wednesday, March 28 or april 4 First–second graders 9 a.m.–3 p.m. $65 ($53 for members)

Thursday, March 29 or april 5 Third–fourth graders 9 a.m.–3 p.m. $65 ($53 for members)

Visit www.lpzoo.org/springbreak to learn more and register!

Plan Ahead for Summer Fun at Lincoln Park Zoo Lincoln Park Zoo summer camps let 4-year-olds–eighth graders enjoy hands-on learning in a living classroom. Learn more at www.lpzoo.org/camps.

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Wild Trivia how Well Do Know Your Lincoln Park Zoo Species?

Sure, Lincoln Park Zoo is a worldwide leader in conservation science. It’s a living, breathing, roaring classroom. It’s home to some of the most exotic species in the world.

But it’s also a trivia-lover’s paradise…a huge collection of cool, crazy, creature-based facts that can puzzle even the most regular zoo visitor. So no matter if you tour the zoo every day or you can’t differentiate a meerkat from a motmot, take the Lincoln Park Zoo quiz below. And then come and visit the zoo to either crow about your smarts or catch up on your species studies. Good luck!

A

D B

C

Match the Answers 1. These amphibians defend themselves from predators by excreting a toxic, milky substance.

2. Young of this bird species can withstand falls of hundreds of feet when first leaving the nest.

They bounce on the ground, then waddle off to the nearest pond.

3. The orange nodes on this amphibian’s back are venom glands, which dissuade predators from taking a bite.

4. As its name indicates, this tree-dwelling animal employs membranes under its limbs to glide away from predators.

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E

Are you Smarter than a Zoo Field Tripper?

5. Which animal uses its thick, furry tail as a scarf to protect itself from its frigid habitat?

6. This oversized mammal’s skin secretes a red substance, giving rise to the legend that it sweats blood.

Each year, more than 110,000 Chicagoland students visit the zoo on field trips to learn in our living classroom.

Lincoln Park Zoo’s educators compiled the following questions from field trip materials to determine if you, reader, are smarter than a field tripper.

7. Which bird species’ hysterical call lends the animal its name?

8. These reptiles have toe pads covered with scales called lamellae, which enable them to climb steep, slick surfaces.

True or FaLSe:

9. These furry mammals can remain submerged for as long as eight minutes while hunting fish or playing a game of tag.

1. Monkeys have tails and apes do not.

10. These aquatic animals native to only two high-altitude Mexican lakes can detect electrical fields.

2. All the birds at Lincoln Park Zoo are permanent residents.

11. This amphibian’s vocalizations vary from a croaky mating bark to a soft, cooing sound.

3.The area that is now Nature Boardwalk was a cemetery in the 1840s.

4. African wild dogs cannot look up.

1. I-American toad; 2. B-Wood duck; 3. K-Emperor newt; 4. J-Sugar gliders; 5. D-Snow leopard; 6. E-Pygmy hippo; 7. C-Laughing kookaburra; 8. F-Standing’s day gecko; 9. G-Asian small-clawed otter; 10. H-Axolotl; 11. A-Oriental fire-bellied toad

ANSWERS: T, F, T, F

F

I

G

J

H

K

Ready for Another Round? answer more Wild Trivia questions at www.lpzoo.org /magazine!

Prairie Dogs, Ferrets, Teachers and Scientists

A Team Approach to Conservation

©MINDEN PICTURES

BY ChRiS MCNAMARA

They are back in their own worlds now. rachel Santymire, Ph.D., is ensconced in the lab at Lincoln

Once thought extinct, black-footed ferrets are now regaining a foothold in the wild. In Montana’s Northern Cheyenne Reservation, zoo scientists and educators are enlisting the community as partners in conservation.

Park Zoo. rachel Bergren has resumed her duties leading the zoo’s educators. The teachers at Montana’s Northern Cheyenne reservation are back in their classrooms.

And the focus of the project all these individuals participated in—the prairie dogs—are scampering around their habitat, popping their round heads in and out of burrows, going about their lives without the knowledge that a handful of passionate people are dedicated to securing their future.

In October, Lincoln Park Zoo staff joined a team of Montana educators to change perceptions about the prairie dogs that live among the Northern Cheyenne.

“We’re helping educators within the Northern Cheyenne tribe develop skills they can employ in their environment and information they can use in their science-education initia-

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tives,” says Santymire, director of Lincoln Park Zoo’s Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology. Bergren and Student Programs Coordinator Katie Hawkins hosted teacher workshops, tutorials on using monitoring devices such as camera traps, and field work. “The goal for everyone participating in the project is to restore the ecosystem and bring back the prairie dogs.”

And that will help save black-footed ferrets.

Lincoln Park Zoo recently began working with this blackfooted ferret recovery team at the behest of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Many people in the Northern Cheyenne Reservation are born and raised on ranches, and they often aren’t aware of the importance of prairie dogs to this ecosystem. As such, they treat them as little more than pests.

That reaction has fallout, particularly for black-footed ferrets, which share the habitat and feed exclusively on prairie dogs. As their food source dwindles, so too do endangered black-footed ferrets.

Clockwise: Zoo educators met with local educators to discuss integrating the conservation effort into the curriculum. Vice President for Education Rachel Bergren explores the ecosystem with residents. Seth Magle, Ph.D., director of the Urban Wildlife Institute, installs a camera trap to monitor wildlife. The prairie landscape provides a natural home for prairie dogs—and the endangered black-footed ferrets that prey on them.

“It was fascinating to see how closely this wild community is interconnected and how it overlaps with the human residents,” says Santymire. “This ecosystem includes species ranging from prairie dogs to buffalo, ferrets and swift foxes.

If our efforts are successful, all these inhabitants will be stabilized.”

To stabilize animal populations, human minds had to be changed. Santymire admits it’s a challenge to get people to flip their long-held beliefs.

“There’s this misconception that prairie dogs are pests,” says Santymire. “So it was very impressive to see at the end of this two-day workshop how the participants all thought differently about animals they had previously considered no better than rats.”

That education was spearheaded by Lincoln Park Zoo’s Bergren and Hawkins, who worked closely with Northern Cheyenne teachers on disseminating this information to the next generation.

“We asked the people in our program to consider a different perspective. To look at the larger picture surrounding the prairie dogs,” says Bergren. “And the response has been great.

If we can get kids and teachers excited about wildlife in their own backyard, then it’s going to make it easier to continue to support these types of initiatives.”

That next generation is already joining the cause. Adriann Killsnight, a graduate student from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, is currently working on a master’s degree focusing on the swift foxes that also occupy the habitat.

With Santymire’s support, Killsnight is trying to determine if swift foxes still occupy the reservation and, if not, which nearby habitats would be suitable for their reintroduction.

Like the mindsets of the people who share this area, change—though difficult—is often necessary for survival.

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Two Different Cultures, One Wild Focus Their outfits were different—jeans and gym shoes on the Chicago students and colorful headscarves on the students from Niamey, Niger. On one end of the Skype connection they spoke American-teenager English, while on the other their English had a French accent. Outside the walls of Francis W. Parker School the North Side of Chicago bustled, while beyond the walls of the other classroom, Niamey’s residents—and the hippo that lives on the outskirts of town—went about their daily lives.

There are plenty of differences between Chicago and Nigerien students, but the reaction to the international internet connection that took place in January was the same on both ends of the Skype connection—both groups of kids beamed when they saw one another on the computer screens, they giggled at the thought of speaking live with other students halfway around the world and they peppered one another with questions about wildlife.

“Are there lions where you live?”

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“What kinds of animals do you have in your zoo?”

“What types of species have you found outside your school?”

Lincoln Park Zoo educators, students and teachers from Parker, staff from the National Museum of Niger Boubou Hama, and pupils and educators from two Nigerien schools (College Mariama and Lycee D’Excellence) have partnered to communally study wildlife and, while doing so, learn from one another.

“Our intent is to use the appeal of animals and interest in science to engage students from these two disparate cultures,” says Lincoln Park Zoo Vice President of Education Rachel Bergren.

“It’s exactly the sort of broad vision I associate with the Lincoln Park Zoo…a creative integration of animal studies and culture,” adds Maryanne Kalin-Miller, the Francis W. Parker seventh-grade teacher who joined zoo educators in Niamey in January for a weeklong work trip to connect with their African counterparts, observe and lead classroom sessions, and perform educational field work in a setting vastly different from Chicago.

The initiative is known as the Community of Conservation Program. Launched back in September, it’s funded by the U.S.

State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the Association of American Museums.

Over the course of a few months, Chicago and Nigerien students performed similar classwork and wildlife field studies. The African students studied local wildlife and animals at the zoo and the National Museum of Niger Boubou Hama. Parker kids took advantage of their neighboring Lincoln Park Zoo. The Chicago and Nigerien students conducted animal observations using data sheets similar to the ones Lincoln Park Zoo scientists—and students with the zoo’s Young Researchers Collaborative —use to monitor zoo species. Likewise, they also used similar equipment, such as stopwatches and binoculars provided by the Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad grant program.

“I was impressed with the dedication of the Nigerien schools to this program,” says Chrissy Graszer, manager of student and teacher programs who, along with Student Programs Coordinator Katie Hawkins, relished the chance to talk shop with Nigerien educators.

“It was wonderful to give students the opportunity to share their research and collaborate with students and teachers from the other side of the world.”

The Skype session that took place in January enabled both groups to come together in one (digital) space to share their studies, to learn, to laugh and to celebrate their unusual group-study program. “The Skyping sessions have provided me with a cyberspace classroom filled with digital pen pals,” says teacher Kalin-Miller.

What do the Francis W. Parker students think of the international exchange?

“Most meaningful to me is that you can interact with kids halfway around the world, which is really neat. i think that the students in Niger are very intelligent. Some kids even speak three languages, which is totally amazing. Kids in Niger and kids in America have many similarities. We all want to have fun and live our lives like kids do.” Abby Feitler “i think this project allows us to not only collect scientific data about African animals but exchange information about our cultures, daily life and hobbies. it is interesting and amazing to be able to connect with fellow students our age, to study and learn together.” Brianna Gist “My impression of this program is that it is just fantastic! instead of just saying hello and how are you doing, we can learn and connect in a unique way.

There are definitely many benefits of this program, such as learning about other cultures, realizing what

The Community of Conservation project uses field outings and Skype sessions to let students from Niamey, Niger and Chicago’s Francis W. Parker School learn about wildlife—and one another. During a January trip to Niger, zoo educators Chrissy Graszer, Rachel Bergren and Katie Hawkins and Francis W. Parker teacher Maryanne Kalin-Miller (right) visited Regional Park W with colleagues from the National Museum of Niger Boubou Hama.

kind of animals they see daily compared to us and understanding how they collect data.” Jason Lansing

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Zoocyclopedia

every visit to the zoo shares info from across the animal kingdom, from exotic appetites to eggs of all sizes. here we visualize some of our favorite living lessons from Lincoln Park Zoo.

How Many Animals?

Social Groups Chilean Flamingo-46 Chimpanzee-6 Meerkats-8

Social to Solitary

Family Groups Bolivian Gray Titi Monkey-6 Red Wolf-4

Breeding Pairs North American River Otter-2 Waterbuck-2 Red Panda-2

Solitary A sampling of living arrangements at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake-1 Aardvark-1 Polar Bear-1

BIGGEST

Laying an Egg Ostrich egg: 6 x 5 inches Bald eagle egg: 2.9 x .2.2 inches Dwarf crocodile egg: 2.75 x 1.25 inches European white stork egg: 2.5 x 1.5 inches Hooded merganser egg: 2.5 inches in length Black tree monitor egg: 1.77 x 0.6 inches Spotted turtle egg: 1.33 inches in length Eastern box turtle egg: 1.18 x .79 inches SMALLEST

Smooth green snake egg: 1 x 0.25 inches

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Mudpuppy egg: .43 inches diameter Eastern newt egg: .06 inches diameter Oriental fire-bellied toad egg: .04 inches diameter

CARNIVOROUS

Animal Opposites

Carnivorous Polar Bear

oriental Fire-Bellied Toad

Oldest

Youngest

Chimpanzee Keo (born 1960)

Crested wood partridge chicks (hatched January 7, 2012)

Dwarf Crocodile

Meerkats Malayan Sun Bear

ThreeToed Box Turtle Pygmy Slow Loris andean Bear Chimpanzee

Biggest

A leaf cutter ant forager, one-ten-thousandth of an ounce

Black rhino Ricko, 3,000 pounds

Omnivorous Blyth’s Hornbill

Bali Mynah

red Panda

HERBIVOROUS

Smallest

WhiteCheeked gibbon red Kangaroo

Western Lowland gorilla

Packing in the Protein Herbivorous

Ranking species on the diet spectrum— from all plants to all meat and all the space in between.

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Look into Learning What’s Shared in a Glance?

For chimpanzees and gorillas at Regenstein Center for African Apes, group living entails a constant balancing act. Each ape relies on intricate signals and interactions to reinforce—or challenge—its place in the existing hierarchy.

One of the finer points of social interaction has inspired the latest research by ape-cognition experts at the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes. While past projects have examined how chimpanzees and gorillas use tools and sequence objects on a computer touch-screen, scientists are now studying how these species respond to the social cues embedded in a glance.

“Research shows that eye gaze is a relevant cue for humans and chimpanzees,” says Steve Ross, Ph.D., assistant director of the Fisher Center. “For instance, if two people are facing each other, and one looks off to the side, the other person is very inclined to look in that direction as well.”

Ross is attempting to discern whether gorillas—who are famously averse to eye contact—react to the same cues. The study is the first of its kind, and the results may help scientists better piece together how the behavior evolved.

How do they measure the response? Researchers start by using positive reinforcement to teach participating chimpanzees and gorillas a simple task: choose a green icon instead of a red one on a computer touch-screen. Once that’s mastered, the gaze component is introduced. A human face is projected on the touchscreen, looking straight ahead. That photo is then replaced with a nearly identical one, except the eyes have shifted to look at the green or red choice.

If the apes are attuned to the social cue of the gaze—if they want to follow it, as humans do—then response times should decrease when the gaze is directed toward the correct green choice. It would be as if the gaze primed them in that direction. But if the gaze is directed toward the incorrect choice—the red one— the apes might be slower to select it as they have to reorient themselves away from the suggestion of the gaze toward the correct answer.

It’s a subtle point, but one that can reveal key information as to whether gorillas use these types of social cues. Beyond increasing our body of knowledge about apes, these findings could improve how the animals live in zoos.

“If we know social gaze is a relevant cue for gorillas, we can find better ways to interact with them,” says Ross. “The information can be used for social management—and maybe better training techniques too.”

Scientists at the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes are studying whether a gorilla’s gaze has a social impact—as it does in humans and chimpanzees.

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wild file Farewell to the King of the Urban Jungle On February 1, animal care staff made the difficult decision to euthanize Adelor, our geriatric male African lion, due to progressively deteriorating health and quality of life. Adelor had been an iconic presence at the Kovler Lion House since 1995, fathering five cubs and amazing countless guests with powerful roars.

A memorial page has been set up in his honor at www.lzppo.org/adelor. Friends of the zoo are welcome to learn more about his life, share memories or express condolences to caregivers.

Hard to Spot, Easy to Admire By mid-January, the newest Bolivian gray titi monkey was still just a third of the size of the adults with whom he lives in the Helen Brach Primate House. But he’d already grown a great deal since his birth in October. In those first few weeks, the offspring was a tiny, nearly invisible speck of fur nestled into mom’s body.

Regular visitors know a trick for finding newborn titi monkeys—follow their family members. Brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, mom and dad all help care for new members of the group. They are all intrigued by new life, just like the crowds that gathered to gush.

A waterbuck pair at Antelope & Zebra Area are among the zoo’s new arrivals.

White-Ringed Rumps Who Hibernates? Who Doesn’t?

Animals in the wild hibernate in response to winter’s lack of food, lack of daylight and lack of warmth. Wild bears, most famously, hunker down in dens, slow their metabolisms and wait for the warm weather to prompt the spring meals.

But food is plentiful here at Lincoln Park Zoo, even in winter. And all zoo animals are always given the option to escape the cold in warm indoor spaces. So some species that hibernate in the wild skip the long winter nap.

Black bears at the Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo, for example, don’t embark on the winter snooze their wild cousins do.

They stay active throughout the calendar, sometimes exploring their yard in the crisp air, sometimes retreating to heated, indoor, off-exhibit spaces to relax on warm piles of hay.

Some animals do hibernate here. The smooth green snake exhibit within the Children’s Zoo is cooled to 50 degrees, mimicking winter’s chill. The snakes become lethargic during this period, their metabolisms slow. Then when spring starts to warm Chicago, they bounce back to their normal, active selves.

This brumation, as it’s known with reptiles, is crucial to maintaining their life cycles. They need to experience the changing seasons to fully develop and reproduce.

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A pair of waterbucks joined the zoo at the Antelope & Zebra Area in fall. The large, powerfully built antelopes, native to savannas, woodlands and grasslands in Africa, are distinguished by the white rings on their rumps. Scientists haven’t reached consensus on the purpose of these white rings, but African legend says they are the result of an interaction between a clumsy waterbuck calf and an upset housepainter, who threw a bucket of white paint onto the animal’s backside.

Wild waterbucks live near ponds, rivers and lakes. They escape predators by fleeing to the water, where the pungent, oily secretion in their coats waterproofs them.

At Lincoln Park Zoo, predators aren’t a problem. But the oversized antelopes can on occasion be found standing in the pool at the east end of their yard, living up to their name.

Name that Bird While the start of winter was unseasonably warm and dry, Chicagoans were graced with a snowy owl, which joined the resident male at Lincoln Park Zoo’s Regenstein Birds of Prey Exhibit. She was an immediate favorite of staff and zoo visitors, but the bird remained nameless for a few weeks while zoo lovers voted on her moniker via our Facebook page (facebook.com/lincolnparkzoo).

In the end, voters selected Freya—the Norse goddess of love and beauty—a beautiful, regal name that juxtaposes her exhibit-mate’s. (He’s known as Stanley.)

Still Life in Winter They’re moving down there.

Deep beneath the ice on the pond at Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo there is water that never freezes. And down in the cold, dark depths are the turtles—the red-eared sliders and painted turtles that in warmer months paddle around the banks and sunbathe atop rocks.

Affixed to some of the turtles’ shells are radio transmitters that Lincoln Park Zoo scientists use to track their movements, which are a little more labored and a lot less frequent in winter. But then, whose aren’t?

Lincoln Park Zoo’s Coordinator of Wildlife Management Vicky Hunt studies those radio signals as part of her work with the Urban Wildlife Institute, the zoo’s initiative to monitor wildlife in the shadow of skyscrapers here at the zoo and What’s New at Nature Boardwalk? around Chicago.

Coordinator of Wildlife Management Vicky And while the turtles’ presence can be confirmed hunt shares the latest wildlife sightings at by bleeps and blips from radio transmission, more www.lpzoo.org/natureboardwalk. animals enliven Nature Boardwalk during these frozen months, though it takes more skill, more patience and more layers of clothing to appreciate them than in summer months.

“It’s true, most species that are still at Nature Boardwalk in winter are hunkering down,” says Hunt. “The turtles enter a state similar to hibernation where they absorb small amounts of oxygen from the water. The fish also survive under the freeze line. But some birds are active throughout the winter.”

Hunt cites the mallards and gadwalls that tough out the cold around Nature Boardwalk. She advises visitors to enjoy the cat-and-mouse game that takes places between the Cooper’s hawks and the crows near the Peoples Gas Education Pavilion. Sometimes mobs of the clever black birds gang up on solitary Cooper’s hawks. Other times, the hawks harass the crows with dive bombs that send feathers flying.

Most creatures are more genteel, though Hunt notes that we must wait until April for their arrival. At the first sign of spring warmth, guests might spot migrating black-crowned night herons, which establish the population that makes its home here in Chicago during warm seasons. Warblers will join the herons. Then dragonflies and butterflies will join the aerial party.

And around that time, as the ice transforms back into water, the bluegill and pumpkinseed and largemouth bass will start splashing through the water. Likewise, the turtles will begin ascending from the pond’s depths to resume their paddling and sunbathing. Guests will have an easier time spotting the regular residents of Nature Boardwalk, and Vicky Hunt will be able to track the shelled set by sight rather than by bleep and blip.

Painted turtles burrow into mud to wait out winter at Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo, but Cooper’s hawks and mallards can still be spotted at the urban oasis.

SPRiNG 2012 17

news of the zoo

A free, interactive iPad children’s book, Chimps Should Be Chimps shares how chimpanzees should be free to be themselves, from chimp head to chimp toe. The 2 million lights of ZooLights Presented by ComEd and Charter One illuminated a record crowd this year.

Chimps Should Be Chimps From his comfortable home in a city zoo, Poe, a wise old chimpanzee, reflects on a life that wasn’t always easy. Sharing his story with granddaughter Lulu, he remembers the hardships of life as an “actor” and expresses his gratitude at arriving at a place where chimps can be chimps “from chimp head to chimp toe.”

That’s the premise of “Chimps Should Be Chimps,” a free, interactive iPad children’s book produced by Lincoln Park Zoo’s Project ChimpCARE. Developed in partnership with Manning Productions, this colorful tale aims to change attitudes about the use of chimpanzees in entertainment.

As the book shares, chimpanzee “actors” are taken from their mothers at a young age, forced to perform unnatural behaviors and discarded when they become unmanageable in adolescence.

“Reaching out to kids, we’re able to have a conversation before attitudes really form,” says Steve Ross, Ph.D., assistant director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes. “At the same time, we can share the key message that it’s best to be yourself—whether you’re a kid or a chimpanzee.”

“Chimps Should Be Chimps” is available for free download via the App Store. After you’ve read the book, help Ross track the impact by filling out a short reader survey at www.lpzoo.org/chimps.

Collaboration in Care In early November, Lincoln Park Zoo hosted the sixth Great Lakes Regional Gorilla Workshop. Nearly 50 gorilla experts from three universities and 15 Association of Zoos and Aquariums institutions discussed the latest findings on

18 LiNCOLN PARK ZOO

gorilla enrichment, diet, exhibit design and care. “It was great to be able to work with peers to improve animal care,” says Curator of Primates Maureen Leahy, who organized the event.

Wonderful Winter Events For those willing to brave the weather, winter at the zoo offers some unique experiences. Quiet grounds make for closer encounters with zoo animals. Cold-weather traits, such as polar bear dives and snow leopard romps, are on full display.

This winter, a range of exciting events offered extra incentive to visit Lincoln Park Zoo. • ZooLights Presented by ComEd and Charter One welcomed a record crowd of 365,593 visitors. Attendees visited Santa, thrilled at live ice carving and enjoyed the brilliance of 2 million beautiful lights. Members were able to warm up with free crafts and cookies in the Members Lounge before emerging for another tour of light tunnels and dancing displays. Thanks to ComEd, Charter One, MINI of Chicago, Motorola ELECTRIFY, Pepsi and United.

• Conservators’ Council donors enjoyed their annual ZooLights party at Regenstein African Journey on December 11. 175 guests of all ages celebrated the season with dinner and drinks, behind-the-scenes tours and crafts!

• This fall, Safari/Zoologist-level members and above enjoyed the first round of Zoo Safari Tours. Offered September–December, this series of tours for families and adults gave 120 members an inside look at zoo primates, animal bedtimes and conservation success stories. The next round will be offered from February–May; if you haven’t already, sign up soon because they fill up fast!

Sharing Seeds of Knowledge Lincoln Park Zoo gardening experts Brian Houck and Mike Davenport have plenty to keep them busy.

They oversee more than 100 volunteers keeping 49 acres of zoo grounds beautiful. They’re kicking off a comprehensive master planning process that aims to shape the zoo’s gardens and greenways for decades to come. And they’re just coming off a fall season that saw gardening crews invest in future blooms with 26,000 crocus and tulip bulbs.

Still, the horticulturists aren’t content to rest on their laurels. Now they’re planning to share their knowledge with budding green thumbs through a second season of gardening classes organized with zoo educators.

“Gardening classes offer another way to connect people with nature,” says Houck, the zoo’s director of horticulture. “They also remind guests that the zoo is one of the most accessible gardens in the city.”

The classes include everything from free garden walks to primers on plant identification. Based on feedback from last year’s participants, the gardening experts are offering more apartmentfriendly courses such as Herb Window Boxes 101 and Wildlife-Friendly Gardening (see the full list in the calendar insert).

Thousands of bulbs planted by volunteer gardeners will yield beautiful pink tulips and yellow crocuses in spring. The zoo’s gardening experts are also growing green thumbs with a new season of gardening classes, including city-friendly offerings such as Herb Window Boxes 101.

Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo will still be a living classroom for those interested in learning about prairie plants. The growing black oak savanna near the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, made possible by a longtime zoo donor, will even offer a new ecosystem type to explore. “It’s a unique spot, with historic sandy soil on the lakefront,” says Davenport, the zoo’s volunteer gardening coordinator.

“We can grow things there that aren’t easily grown at other gardens.”

Even as the pair prepare to share their love of plants, they’re already looking forward to their favorite spring sprouts at the zoo.

Houck is eager for spring tulips to introduce the year’s strong pink color palette, while Davenport hopes some Michigan lily will bloom around Nature Boardwalk.

“The volunteer crews did a tremendous job planting bulbs this fall,” says Houck. “The investment will pay off for years to come.”

membership matters

April’s Members-Only Morning will offer an exclusive look at the white-cheeked gibbons and Bolivian gray titi monkeys.

Members Lounge at ZooLights We’d like to thank Lincoln Park Zoo members who visited the ZooLights Members Lounge this holiday season.

Throughout the course of ZooLights Presented by ComEd and Charter One, we welcomed more than 3,000 members and their guests in our newly decorated lounge.

Over 24 nights we served countless sugar cookies and hot chocolates. We helped children decorate dozens of animal pictures. We warmed hundreds of chilled toes and fingers. Most importantly, we were able to show our gratitude to our members.

Special thanks to members Maria R. Hrycelak, M.D., and Mr. and Mrs. Michael and Emily Casey, who dedicated nights of the Members Lounge.

We’ll see you next year!

reminder of Fullerton Drive Construction Please be advised—the Fullerton Avenue Bridge spanning Lincoln Park Lagoon (just west of Lake Shore Drive) will undergo reconstruction starting this winter, lasting through the end of 2012. The zoo’s parking lot will be open during this project.

Please check www.lpzoo.org for construction updates and suggestions on how to make your zoo visits easy and enjoyable.

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april Members-only Morning Mark your calendars for a Members-Only Morning—Saturday April 21, from 8–10 a.m.

Following the success of our inaugural MembersOnly Morning last August, we’ve got great plans in store: *We’ll close down the southeast part of the zoo just for you—primates, primates, primates! *We’ll watch clever chimpanzees use tools to fish for termites. *We’ll learn about the zoo’s monkeys and apes and decorate one of their exhibit windows. *We’ll celebrate Earth Day weekend by learning about the zoo’s local and international conservation efforts—made possible by your membership.

Keep an eye on ZooMail for more details. (And if you don’t receive ZooMail, visit www.lpzoo.org/ zoomail to sign up.)

SAVE THE DATE!

your story

How to find a mate for life.

Cassandra Santoyo

From embracing nature to enjoying time with loved ones, friends of the zoo share the most memorable lesson they’ve gained in Lincoln Park Zoo’s living classroom

Human animals are NOT the only living things that deserve respect.

Jennifer Stewart

Life is precious.

Marsha Frank

How important it is to support our “free” zoo! And to cherish the quiet time with a loved one while strolling through LPZ. Tina Jacobson (At right with daughter Sara after the United Run for the Zoo.)

The unadulterated awesome of red pandas. @TheLadyLysy

Lions are big.

Renee Schiefelbein Miller That tigers like to be on the move!

Calvin OneDeer

To love and respect every living thing.

Jean Johnson Shaver

Not to be afraid of bats. Can’t wait until I visit there again!

Bob Bryar

The Pallas’ cat can always be found in the upper right corner of the habitat. :) Kelly Pedersen

Regenstein African Journey is the warmest place in the city during Chicago winters.

Mando Tejeda

SPRiNG 2012 21

Non-profit organization u.S. Postage PaID Lincoln Park Zoo

Your membership supports everything we do, from animal care to publishing Lincoln Park Zoo magazine. Thank you.

Po Box 14903 Chicago, IL 60614 www.lpzoo.org

Members Benefit Want to see which zoos offer free admission to Lincoln Park Zoo members? Looking to make the most of your discounts? Visit www.lpzoo.org/support to see how your support benefits you as well as the zoo.

Stay Connected!

Lincoln Park Zoo magazine offers an exclusive inside look at conservation and care. But it’s not the only way to stay up to date on the zoo’s world of wildlife. Discover what’s new at the zoo—and what your support makes possible.

join the Fun Which wildlife is making its way back to Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo? What’s the latest field sighting in the Serengeti? Follow Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the zoo blogs to experience each day at the zoo as it’s happening!

ZooMail Shares What’s New

Chimps Should Be Chimps Created by Lincoln Park Zoo’s Project ChimpCARE, this free, interactive iPad children’s book shares how chimps should be free to be themselves, from chimp head to chimp toe. Visit the App Store today to download the colorful tale of Old Poe and granddaughter Lulu.

Who’s the newest primate to swing through the treetops? What’s the lineup for this summer’s Jammin’ at the Zoo concert series?

Subscribe to our weekly ZooMail digest at www.lpzoo.org/zoomail to receive the latest animal updates, program offerings and more!

We Want To Hear From You! Send your feedback on Lincoln Park Zoo magazine to magazine@lpzoo.org