LEGO Zoo #0020: Tarantula Presentation

For the concluding mini-set of National Zookeeper Week, let's look at one of the most important functions that zookeepers do in addition to all of their other duties:  educating the public about the animals in their care.

Educating the public about animals is one of the most important roles of the modern zoo, and zookeepers play an integral role in that process through daily keepers chats and presentations.  Here, Marie is telling visitors about the important role that spiders play in controlling populations of pesky insects.  With any luck, her listeners may overcome some of their fears about spiders and think about letting spiders they find in the wild go about their business, instead of killing them.

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LEGO Zoo #0019: Horse Hand-rearing

The fourth mini-set of National Zookeeper Week shows one of the hardest jobs that zookeepers have to do:  hand-rearing baby animals that have been orphaned or rejected by their mothers.

While many animal species, particularly fish and reptiles, show no parental care for their offspring, the situation is different for birds and mammals.  If a bird or mammal parent fails to care for its offspring, the animals are very likely to die without intervention.  This is where the zookeepers take over.  Hand-rearing is a time-consuming and risky task, because humans are not as effective at raising an animal as a member of its own species might be.  Baby mammals have to be fed milk diets with very specific nutrients, and keepers must often stay overnight in order to feed at regular intervals.  A lot of hard work will pay off, eventually, and the babies will grow up to raise offspring of their own.

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LEGO Zoo #0018: Frog Medication

National Zookeeper Week is still underway, and today's mini-set focuses on the role that zookeepers play in providing medication for animals:

While zoo veterinarians are responsible for diagnosing and prescribing treatments for animal illnesses, it's the keepers who actually apply most of the treatments.  Here, Rachael is applying medication to the skin of a poison dart frog.  Because amphibians are able to absorb chemicals through their skin, it is easy to medicate them without having to modify their diet or use invasive procedures.  Poison dart frogs are themselves important for human medicine, as chemicals derived from the poisons in their skin may be used to create more powerful painkillers.

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LEGO Zoo #0017: Owl Enrichment

The second mini-set for National Zookeeper Week highlights the work zookeepers do in creating environmental enrichment for their animals:

Environmental enrichment is a broad term for items and activities which enhance the welfare of captive animals by stimulating natural behaviors or requiring additional mental or physical effort.  Here, Jared is building a feeding puzzle for a barn owl using wood planks and plastic piping.  The rat at the left will be hidden in the puzzle, and the owl will have to forage for its meal, as it would in the wild.  In this case, both the puzzle and the live prey are forms of enrichment for the owl, keeping it well-fed and stimulated.

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LEGO Zoo #0016: Chimp Training

I've been taking a summer hiatus from the LEGO Zoo, but I'm back for this very special occasion:  This week is National Zoo Keeper Week!  Started by the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK), this week is an occasion for zoo visitors around the country to appreciate the important and often difficult work that zookeepers do every day.

Every day this week I will be releasing mini-sets that highlight different activities that zookeepers do as part of their work.  Today Elaine is training a young chimpanzee using operant conditioning.  She uses the indicator in her right hand to show the chimp how to perform a particular behavior.  If the chimp completes the behavior correctly, he is rewarded with a treat (the banana).  This positive reinforcement encourages the chimp to repeat the behavior again in the future.  Training is an important daily function in zoos, as it encourages animals to cooperate with zoo staff whenever an emergency occurs.

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