Meet Our Animals!

Take a virtual step into the Zoo, where you can meet some of your favorite furry, feathery, hairy, and scaly friends! 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.

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.

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.

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.