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Plan ahead for a wild year of fun times with your family in the Zoo!

Fierce Creatures Now at Zoo:
Honey Badgers at Only 4 American Zoos!

If you've heard of a honey badger, you've probably seen or heard about the viral YouTube honey badger video by Randall - Warning PG-13 language. With over thirty million views, it's brought tremendous awareness to these fierce creatures. And Randall even did a custom Naples Zoo badger video about the three badgers in Naples.

In South Africa, the idiom “tough as nails” doesn’t cut it. To assert a rough-and-ready attitude, the phrase is “as tough as a ratel.” These fearless and persistent creatures are recorded attacking cobras, shredding into beehives amidst the stinging swarm, and even chasing lions off their kills. All the more amazing when you consider this brashness is bottled inside a mere 25-pound creature with the deceptively friendly nickname of African honey badger. Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens is now one of only four American zoos and the only zoo in the SE USA where you can see this extraordinary species.

Fearless and persistent perfectly describes the ratel. They will rip wooden planks from hen houses and dig under walls to get a meal. Even the stings of bees do not deter them from tearing into beehives with their immense claws. Fortunately, their thick skin and dense hair protects them from many stings. (It is that taste for honey that earned them the “honey badger” name.)

Their diet also includes scorpions, rodents, berries, roots, and tortoises. In a still unknown process, ratels survive envenomation by cobras, puff adders, and other deadly snakes. After killing the snake, the bitten ratel drops and remains still as if dead, but eventually rises from its toxic stupor to eat its would be assassin.

Although commonly associated with Africa, the honey badger ranges all the way to India. When cornered, ratels will savagely attack and predators have learned to leave them alone. Even the South African army named their armored infantry fighting vehicle the ratel in honor of their toughness.

The three ratels arrived in Naples a few months ago from Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, another nationally accredited zoo. After the standard quarantine time to insure their health and to make habitat renovations, the ratels are ready to greet Zoo guests. And “habitat renovations” is putting it lightly. Heavy tie wires on the mesh walls were replaced with even heavier steel. Feeding dens were completely rebuilt. The ground was excavated and covered in 6-gauge chain link; the chain-link seams were ringed together and concreted, as was the entire perimeter of the habitat. Finally, a naturalistic rock wading and swimming pool was crafted before the habitat was refilled with dirt.

GRAPES & APES
The Rotary Club of Naples presents an
Evening of Wine & Food at Naples Zoo
March 24th from 6 to 10 PM

The Rotary threw a great Grapes & Apes party in 2011 and 2012 promises to be even better! More wine, more food, more entertainers, more animals, more wine classes, more fun!

Tickets for the Rotary's 2012 event are now on sale and are selling very quickly. (No one under 21 years of age will be admitted.) Only 1,200 tickets will be sold.

Tickets are $100 per person benefiting the projects and programs of The Rotary Club of Naples.

Millie, Coyote, and Scott Johnson Photo: Dennis Guyitt Photography

Naples Zoo and the Humane Society Naples have previous experience adopting a dog for unusual situations. Just over a decade ago the Zoo adopted a dog named Crystal as a companion for a young tiger. The two got along famously. Once the tiger was mature enough, Crystal then became friends with the Zoo's Australian dingo with whom she still lives.

Michael Simonik, Executive Director for the Humane Society Naples, states, "Millie's mothering instincts makes her a perfect match to help wild canines adjust to domestic life at the Zoo. We are confident that the Zoo staff will give Millie a wonderful lifelong loving home as they did with Crystal. Millie found a second chance at life comforting her wild cousins." (Learn more about Plott hounds - North Carolina's state dog which has been described as the "ninja warriors of dogdom" for their fearless hunting skills.)

All the pups have taken to Millie quickly and are becoming the pack everyone hoped they would be. Best of all, two of the coyotes that were a little shy have already taken great security in Millie's presence. The coyote pups (Gunther, Cody, Dakota, and Maya) can be seen daily in the morning feature show in the Safari Canyon Open-Air Theater. Education staff members bring out two a day onto the naturalistic rockwork stage. Most mornings, Millie can also be seen joining them as well.

Scott Andrews, Matt Goeben, Zach Marchetti, and Scott Johnson with three of the four coyote pups and Millie.

New in Safari Canyon: Black Vulture

With names ranging from condor to griffon, vultures soar the skies of our planet in order to cleanse the land. Although many people think of vultures as dirty, these misunderstood birds actually help prevent the spread of diseases by ridding the landscape of carrion and related pathogens.

While some vulture species are doing well, others are critically endangered. To educate the public and help shift attitudes about these vitally important birds, Naples Zoo is welcoming a Black vulture to the line up of unusual species seen in the Safari Canyon theater.

Born just this May on Friday the 13th, he was appropriately named Omen. And he’s maturing rapidly. With a 54” wingspan and weighing nearly 4 pounds, Omen is nearly fully grown. Sometime during the next year, Omen is expected to join the ranks of other birds that free fly in the Safari Canyon shows.

Besides their unearned reputation, many people are unaware some well-known birds are vultures. For example, the California condor is a vulture – as is the Eurasian griffon. Likewise, so is the bird with the world’s largest wing area: the famed Andean condor. And what many Floridians call a turkey buzzard is actually a turkey vulture.

Did you know? While vultures do circle the sky over a located food source, it’s not the only reason they circle. The circling behavior is also done while searching for food, riding a thermal to gain altitude so they can continue gliding, or just playing.

New Study Highlights Benefits of Watching Animals at Zoos

Researchers in Japan (Taketo Sakagami and Mitsuaki Ohta) found a decrease in blood pressure and an increase in quality of life ratings (via World Health Organization rating scale) for people who view animals at zoos.

These results were significant over people who visited zoos for the same amount of time, walked the same distance, but did not watch animals. Results were published in the peer-reviewed Animal Science Journal.

Bottom line:
Spend some time watching the extraordinary animals in the Zoo. It's good for you.

Hand-Feed the
Herd of Seven Giraffe!

For the first-time ever, you can feed the new herd of seven giraffe at Naples Zoo. This delightful experience is now offered daily between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and is presented by the Wynn Family of Businesses.

For just $5, you'll receive a serving of tasty, fresh veggies from Wynn's Market to feed the giraffe.

Learn more.

Travel with Naples Zoo in 2012
Tanzania: Serengeti to Zanzibar

Naples Zoo Executive Director David Tetzlaff is hosting an amazing trip this year to East Africa. Go on Safari to see the wonders of African wildlife plus stunning sights like Ngorongoro Crater. You can have a great time with the Zoo on this guided tour.

Tour is coordinated by AAA and operated by Tauck Tours, the leader in premium guided travel adventures.

Special evening presentation on Thursday, January 19. Click below for RSVP info and more.

More info including ITINERARY.

Become a Volunteer!

We are now recruiting for Giraffe Docents to help preview our new giraffes in their temporary home. Giraffe Docents will be stationed in front of these beautiful creatures where they will speak with guests sharing fun facts about the giraffes and answering any questions.

More opportunities available Zoo-wide!  

Orientations
We  will also be holding general volunteer orientations and supplemental orientation on interpretation. If you are friendly, outgoing and self-motivated please accept this invitation to attend. In this time we will cover general information about the volunteer program and tour the Zoo grounds.

For more information on volunteering and to RSVP for an orientation, please contact our Coordinator of Volunteer Services at (239) 262-5409 ext. 136 or via e-mail. You will receive a confirmation e-mail.

More information and Volunteer Application.