Caracal

Ivan and Nigel are very close, and while they may hiss and swat at each other sometimes, one is rarely found without the other close behind.  During the keepers’ morning checks, the two are usually found curled up together in their dimly lit back room.  Sometimes it is only the green glow of their eyes that lets their keeper know their location.

Ivan is smaller than Nigel but he doesn’t let his size get him down.  Despite being both smaller and younger than Nigel, Ivan is definitely in command, evident by his tendency to eat first and deal out the occasional disciplinary swats.  Like the Canadian lynx, our caracals also love tree browse and different scents such as perfume and natural spices.  However, unlike the lynx, neither of the boys are sprayers and you can bet their keepers are relieved to know that!

Macaws

Our macaws take residence in the large parrot cage alongside of the Grand Salon. This cage allows them to greet the guests as they walk in with a “hello” and “hi”, this always has the guests laughing. People love to watch them slide down the wires and siding like a fireman down a pole. It’s been said that macaws have the mental capacity of a 3 year old child and this seems to be true; the swing is prime property and they are frequently bickering over who gets to be the one on it, sharing isn’t their best quality. Their bright feather color against the green surrounding trees is a sight to see.

Our servals are some of the older animals we have in our zoological collection. Servals have very long thin legs and Eli is a perfect example of this. Eli looks to be almost all legs whereas Savannah is a tad rounder in her mid-section. Both average approximately 25 pounds, with Savannah generally weighing about a pound more than Eli on more occasions. This difference is the easiest way to tell them apart. Because of her age, Savannah is also missing one of her canine teeth, which gives her a bit of a snarly appearance. But a missing tooth sure doesn’t curb her appetite. Savannah’s keepers have to make sure she is separated from Eli during feeding times because she has been known to deliver some super quick socks to Eli’s head that leave him baffled long enough for her to swoop in and steal his food. For an older lady, she still packs quite a punch!

Despite food related confrontations, the two get along very well and are typically found cuddling in their favorite wooden box or napping together in their play yard.

Ziddle and Zaddle are our resident Plains zebra couple, respectively, but you can call them Zid and Zad for short. Both came to us from a zoo in Richmond, Virginia when they were seven months and five months old. They were nothing but cute youngsters with long legs then and were much smaller than our keepers. Now, however, that is certainly not the case, as Zid has become quite the Casanova, prancing around his yard, showing off his grace, and occasional clumsiness to anyone lucky enough to observe his beauty. With such a stud around, Zad should count herself lucky that unlike their wild counterparts, Zid will not be in charge of a harem of frisky females.  She’s got him all to herself, and while some days that knowledge grates on her last nerve, you can tell that for the most part, they genuinely enjoy one another’s company.