Meet Our Animals!

Take a virtual step into the Zoo, where you can meet some of your favorite furry, feathery, hairy, and scaly friends! If you'd like to learn more about the species that call Randall Oaks Zoo home, click on their photo for information. Learn about their habitats, behaviors, conservation status, and more.

Virginia Opossum - NORTH AMERICA

North America's only marsupial. The mothers carry babies in their pouch.
Wild opossums eat ticks. 5,000 per summer. Beat that!
During the night, I scavenge for both plants and animals.
My body temperature is too low to carry or transmit rabies.

Fennec Fox - NORTH AFRICA

Fennec foxes have "Ear conditioning!" Their big ears keep them cool in the hot African desert where they are from.
A great sense of hearing helps them hunt small animals in the dark of night.
The only carnivore in the desert that can live without freely available water. They get the water they need from food.

Pot-Bellied Pig - SOUTHEAST ASIA

They can't see very well, but we can hear and smell remarkably well.
From Southeast Asia and descended from an ordinary pig in China.
Can live up to 30 years.

Macaws - CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

There are 370 different types of parrots, and macaws are the LARGEST of the parrots.
Can live for up to 80 years.
Their beaks can break a big stick in half.

Chickens - SOUTHEAST ASIA

Chickens are omnivores. In addition to seeds and greens, they will also eat mice, insects, and even ticks!
There are 450 distinct varieties of breeds and colors of chickens.
Chickens can recognize up to 100 human faces and can quickly come to equate a familiar face with food.
A hen can lay 300 eggs per year.

Red Iguana - MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND CARRIBEAN

Iguanas are herbivores and plant eaters and can live up to 20 years.
They live in the trees and have excellent eyesight, allowing them to look for food on the forest floor.
Being cold-blooded, iguanas need to bask in the sunlight for most of the day.

Box Turtles “ NORTH AMERICA

Their shell has a hinge on the bottom, allowing these reptiles to close themselves tightly if a predator attacks.
Can live over 50 years.
Their favorite snacks are raspberries and mealworms.

Ball Python - AFRICA

When they are frightened, they curl into a ball and hide their head.
Native to Africa, Ball Pythons can grow to 6 feet long.
They are non-venomous constrictors huggers, not fighters!
They only eat once a week, and their favorite food is mice.

Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches - MADAGASCAR

These flightless insects live in Madagascar and turn dead plant material into rich soil.
Male Hissers have "horns" on the back of their heads to fight with others.
The hissing sound comes from pushing air out of their bodies.
Their favorite food is sweet potatoes and kale.

Rose-haired Tarantula - CHILE

From Chile, these spiders hunt insects and small animals at night. Here, they eat crickets.
Males live 2-3 years, and females can live up to 20 years. The males live to mate and then die shortly after.
They defend themselves by kicking microscopic hairs with barbs on them into the face of their attacker.

Bearded Dragon - AUSTRALIA

Active during the day (diurnal), these lizards eat plants, insects, and small animals.
When threatened, they puff out their throat, and it turns black.
They are camouflaged for the Australian desert, and their spiky defensive bodies don't make for an easy snack.

Arabian Camel - NORTH AFRICA

Bactrian or Dromedary? Bactrian camels have two humps, like the capital letter "B." Dromedary camels have one hump, like the capital letter "D."
Camel's hump can store 80 pounds of fat which they can break down into water and energy.
Desert camels can travel 100 miles without water. They can drink 30 gallons of water in 13 minutes!

Miniature Horses - EUROPE

Mini-horses can live longer than larger breeds. 25-35 years is a standard life span for a mini.
Mini-horses can be trained as service animals and can be taught to wear sneakers for indoor work.
To be classified as "mini," they must be less than 3 feet tall at the top of the shoulder.

Goats - WESTERN ASIA

Goats have a social structure easily seen by how big they are. The bigger the goat, the more dominant they are in the herd.
Goats are picky eaters. They use their sensitive lips to forage for the tastiest food.
Goats are very social and can become depressed if kept away from a herd.

Donkey - EGYPT

Donkeys are the preferred mode of transportation in many countries around the world.
They are stronger than a horse of the same size. They are extremely smart with excellent memory.
Unlike horses, donkeys use all the nutrients in their food, and their manure is not good fertilizer.

Mini Mule - TURKEY

A mule is the cross of a female horse and a male donkey, and they are almost always infertile.
Their sizes range from an extra-large draft mule to an extra-small mini mule.
Mules are tough animals that can handle harsh environments.
Donkeys and mules will protect herds of livestock from predators.

Cows - Hereford/Angus Crosses “ SOUTHWEST ASIA

This cross of cattle is the ideal beef cow. They are very gentle and excellent mothers.
The Hereford/Angus cross, or Black Hereford, almost always has a distinctive white head.
Cattle can live up to 20 years.

Sulcata Tortoise - AFRICA

Sulcata tortoises are a desert species that can go weeks without food or water.
Males can reach upwards of 220 lbs.
Due to habitat destruction from humans, Sulcata tortoises are vulnerable to becoming endangered.

Ducks - CHINA

Ducks are omnivores and eat plants, insects, small fish, and even frogs.
Bread is not a healthy food for ducks! If they become dependent on people's food, they won't migrate.
Male ducks have a special "drake feather." It is a curled feather on their tail and is a way to tell males and females apart.

Bobcat - NORTH AMERICA

Bobcats can jump up to 12 feet and reach speeds up to 34mph.
Their main predators are humans, cougars, and wolves.
Bobcats swim well and hunt beavers that try to hide in the water.

Alpaca - SOUTH AMERICA

Alpacas are 5 feet tall. They are shorter than llamas.
They hum when happy and content.
There are no wild alpacas, and they are often kept in herds in the Andes mountains.

Llama - SOUTH AMERICA

Llamas spit when they are agitated. If their ears are back, watch out!
They can grow up to 6 feet tall and have an average lifespan of 20 years.
Guard llamas on farms protect smaller animals.

Red-tailed hawk - NORTH AMERICA

They can see a mouse from 100 feet up in the air!
Have a majestic call that many films use in place of an eagle vocalization.
Female hawks are larger than males.

Great horned owl - NORTH AMERICA

They swallow prey whole and spit up indigestible bones and fur in a small pellet.
Do not build nests; find abandoned ones or nest in hollow trees.
Owls have one ear higher than the other. This way, they can simultaneously hear up in the trees and down on the ground.

Raccoons - NORTH AMERICA

They are very tactile and have five times the sensory cells in their paws than most mammals.
Their "masks" help them recognize each other and help them see in the dark.
Raccoons like to go fishing for crayfish and frogs but will eat whatever they can find.

Porcupines - NORTH AMERICA AND CANADA

Porcupines shake quills to warn predators but cannot use them as projectiles.
Barbed quills are modified hairs, and they can have up to 30,000.
A mother and her young are called a "prickle."

Foxes - NORTH AMERICA

They are part of the Canidae family, along with dogs, wolves, and coyotes.
Have 28 distinct vocalizations used to communicate with each other?
These are all Red Foxes. They come in different colors!

Mini Zebu Cattle - SOUTHWEST ASIA

Wild Zebus are the only cattle that live in tropical rainforests.
Just like a camel, their humps store fat when food is limited.
They can run up to 25 miles per hour when faced with danger.

Emu - AUSTRALIA

Second largest bird, after the ostrich.
Relative to the dinosaurs. Check out my feet!
Emu's are Omnivores. You can find them eating bugs as well as greens and flowers.

Bennett's Wallabies - AUSTRALIA

One of several marsupial mammals living on the eastern coast of Australia and Tasmania
Each ear can move independently 180 degrees to detect predators
When born, joeys only weigh one gram (the weight of a paperclip) and use their strong arms to climb into their mother's pouch

Turkey Vulture - NORTH AMERICA

Their stomach is more acidic than battery acid, so they can eat diseased animals and get germs out of the environment. They are nature's clean-up crew.
The main defense mechanism is projectile vomit that shoots 10 feet. Look out!
To keep me cool in the summer, they poop on my legs and feet. It reduces their body temperature while it evaporates.

Blue Peacocks - INDIA

Male peacocks use their brightly colored feathers to attract female peahens.
Native to India and Sri Lanka, peacocks feed on insects, small reptiles, mammals, and plants.
When the male displays his feathers and shakes them, he makes a sound outside our hearing frequency.

Turkeys - NORTH AMERICA

Males are called "gobblers" because of the sound they make to attract female hens.
Turkeys have up to 5,500 feathers.
Turkeys can run up to 25 miles per hour and fly to the treetops to stay safe at night.

Helmeted Guinea Fowl - AFRICA

Native to the Sahara desert.
Females can be sneaky and lay their eggs in another bird's nest, so they don't have to care for their young.
Chicks are called "keets."
They are very social birds and often chat with one another with different sounds and calls.