Animal Artists
5/26/2010
What do Lemurs, crocodiles and Picasso all have in common? They're all abstract painters!
It all started with a fund raiser. The Animal World and Snake Farm staff put their thinking caps on and came up with an idea of donating paintings created by some very unusual artists to raise money for a local conservation based event. We had never attempted this before, so we brainstormed, looked at what other zoos had done, changed it up a little bit and "Voila!" - Animal Art. With the exception of a few pretty humorous hiccups, all went according to plan and the results were perfect for the silent auction.
Lizzie, the red-ruffed lemur, loves 'people' attention and loves raisins; but would she like attention and raisins enough to paint a picture? You bet! We set a tray of non-toxic finger paint on the ground and let her play and get used to the smells and feel of it. After a little bit, Jarrod, her favorite person at the park, volunteered to be the easel for Lizzie's canvas. With the canvas in his lap, Lizzie's job was to get paint on her feet and walk across the canvas to the raisin reward. It took a little time for her to get the hang of it, but raisins are a pretty strong motivator for a lemur, and soon enough she was all over the canvas, spreading paint everywhere. Not just on the canvas either- Jarrod was covered in all sorts of designs by the time Lizzie was through painting. It took quite a bit of mild, soapy water to get the colors off of both of them. The humorous hiccup? Shhh, don't tell Jarrod I told you, but at one point Lizzie was so excited by the process, she had an 'accident' that nearly ended up on Jarrod's head!
Have you seen the enormous crocs and gators in the pond outside? Our plan was to get a painted foot print from the big crocodile out there. Raisins weren't going to cut it this time. Jarrod offered to feed the crocs and gators their favorite meal, chicken, in hopes that the big guy out there would walk through the paint on the way to dinner and step on a paper, leaving his foot print. Let me tell you, it is not easy to feed ONE particular animal in a pond full of large, and hungry, crocs and gators. So they all were fed. And a lot of them walked through the paint. And a lot of them ended up on the paper. And it was a huge mess! We weren't able to get the footprint we were hoping for, but one of the gators did leave a pretty clear imprint of his belly scutes on the paper. Luckily, after their meal, crocs and gators alike headed back into the water to wash off on their own- I don't think we would have been able to give those guys a bath! Humorous hiccup? One of the smaller gators was a little nervous about his debut in the art world; as Jarrod was picking up a finished painting, he bit it! No worries though, the paper was quickly traded for a piece of chicken and the painting was saved for the silent auction.
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Edible Enrichment
5/25/2010
Edible Arrangements offers ‘bouquets’ of fruits, instead of flowers or plants. Recently they have been generous enough to donate some fruits that the animals here at Animal World and Snake Farm don’t often have the chance to sample. The fruits are cut into fun shapes like flowers, stars and hearts for use in their arrangements, and there are often funky shapes left over afterwards. The left over pieces, or pieces that weren’t quite good enough, end up in the Animal World and Snake Farm kitchen. Fruits like pineapples, melons, kiwis and oranges are enrichment all by themselves, since they are not part of our animal’s regular diet, and the unusual shapes and sizes that are donated are often different from what the animals are used to, so that even the fruits they get daily are presented in a stimulating way.
Not all of the items that are donated are healthy for each animal, so staff carefully selects the correct fruits for each animal at the park and makes sure that they get an appropriate amount. Some of the fruits are cut up into bite sized chunks and some of it can be left the way it arrives. One of my favorite things to offer is pineapple rings. Pineapple slices, still with the rind, have the middle cut out in a flower shape. This ring is perfect for hanging on perching for arboreal animals like birds, bats, and squirrels. Poe, the White-necked Raven, tends to play with her food. Although she will tear a few pieces off, she isn’t really interested in pineapple to eat- it becomes a toy! You’ll find her spending time removing the pineapple ring from a tree branch, tossing in the air and hanging on other perches. The other day I watched one of the Prevost squirrels trying very hard to sit on the inside of pineapple ring while she was snacking. Not only was the squirrel being enriched by the experience, but staff and guests alike were entertained for quite a while.
We’d like to thank Edible Arrangements of New Braunfels for thinking of Animal World and Snake Farm. The staff and animals appreciate your generosity!
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