Small Animal Building Archives - Utah's Hogle Zoo

New in the Small Animal Building

Utah's Hogle Zoo — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 16:33:18 +0000

Meet the new faces in the Small Animal Building

You can now see pouched rats, naked mole rats, and chuckwalla hatchlings.

Hogle Zoo’s team is excited to welcome new residents to the Small Animal Building. Make sure to visit them during your next visit!

Southern giant pouched rats

Commonly found across Africa, southern giant pouched rats are nocturnal and use a vast system of tunnels and hollow trees for their nest. They are intolerant to hot temperatures, so these tunnels help keep them cool from the savanna heat in the daytime.

Pouched rats are social animals, living in colonies up to 20 individuals. They can easily adapt to any situation and are excellent climbers and swimmers. Pouched rats are not true rats. They are in a different rodent family and get their name from their ability to store food in their hamster-like cheeks.

Pouched rats are true wildlife champions!

Pouched rats have an acute sense of smell, helping them find food and even detect explosives. Known as hero rats, pouched rats train to detect explosives starting at four weeks of age when their olfactory receptors become fully developed. They are exposed to various sights and smells and learn to associate a clicker sound with food as a reward. Once they learn this behavior, the pouched rat is trained to indicate a hole that contains explosive material by nosing it for 5 seconds. Once trained, these pouch rats are exceptional in locating landmines and helping with search and rescue teams during natural disasters. Their small stature gives them an advantage over their K9 counterparts.

Naked mole rats

What’s the sitch? Naked mole rats are found in the eastern regions of Africa, where they live exclusively underground in burrows and tunnels. Mole rats can live in large eusocial colonies of 70 or more individuals governed by a queen who is the sole breeder and is constantly moving and inspecting tunnels to exert dominance over the other mole rats to maintain charge.

What is eusocial? Eusocial species show an advanced social organization where a single female produces offspring. Non-reproductive individuals care for the young, provide for the group, or offer protection.

Naked mole rats are characterized by their “naked” pink skin and little sensory whiskers on their faces and toes that sweep soil as they move throughout the tunnels. They have no external ears, small eyes, and distinct large teeth used to dig tunnels with powerful jaw muscles and large incisors.

Uniquely, the naked mole rat’s typical life expectancy can be between 10-30 years (an unprecedented amount of time compared to other small rodents), making them the longest-living rodents in the animal kingdom. Scientists believe their high amount of protein intake replenishes damaged proteins within their cells to keep them healthy much longer than a typical cell.

Naked mole rats are likely the only mammals with these molecular adaptations that scientists can study. The hope is naked mole rats will give hope to humans who have cancer or other neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.

Chuckwalla hatchlings

Our teams successfully incubated Chuckwalla eggs, and on August 29, 2024, five Chuckwallas hatched.

While not threatened by predators or human intervention, Chuckwallas are an important part of Utah’s desert ecosystem. They are commonly found in Utah along rocky hillsides and rocky outcroppings in the desert. Chuckwallas are at home in the sun, often lying flat on desert rocks that help them absorb heat and stay camouflaged.

Pro tip: You can see the Chuckwalla hatchlings in the Small Animal Building and Chuckwallas in the Aline W. Skaggs Wild Utah expansion on the east end of the zoo.

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Porcupines Jack & Blanche

Utah's Hogle Zoo — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 16:58:53 +0000

Remembering Jack & Blanche

Hogle Zoo mourns the passing of bonded African crested porcupines.

Utah’s Hogle Zoo is mourning the loss of geriatric African crested porcupines Jack (19) and Blanche (25). Both porcupines were being treated for age-related health issues, including tooth loss and arthritis, for several years. We made difficult decisions to humanely euthanize Jack on August 3, 2024, and Blanche on August 8, 2024, after their health declined rapidly.

African crested porcupines are monogamous and mate for life. Blanche came to Hogle Zoo in 1999, and Jack came in 2006. They’ve been together ever since as a mated pair. Blanche always kept an eye on Jack and was always near him.

“Jack held many hearts at the zoo and will be greatly missed. He was known for his bigger-than-life personality, participating in porcupine parades, and, most of all, his bond with Blanche.”

-Animal care team

“At 25 years of age, Blanche was the third oldest living porcupine under human care. Described as calm, sweet, and “simply the best,” Blanche was always interested in enrichment and would tear apart a good piñata, lick honey or peanut butter off the glass, or dive into snow, ice or pumpkin treats.”

-Animal care team

Jack and Blanche were indeed ambassadors to their species and were loved by many. Guests may remember them for their porcupine parades and their “porcasso” animal enrichment art, which they painted by walking across canvasses.

Although Jack and Blanche had ups and downs in their geriatric years, we are grateful for the honor of caring for them. They were beloved Small Animal Building residents and will be missed immensely. Thank you to their community, including our dedicated zoo team, for being part of this sweet pair’s lives.

Animal wellbeing

Hogle Zoo’s mission is to create champions for wildlife, and we consider ourselves lucky to care for senior animals. Providing excellent animal wellbeing through individual health plans, like Jack and Blanche’s geriatric care, is an essential priority for Hogle Zoo.

Learn more about animal wellbeing

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Black-footed cat Ryder

Utah's Hogle Zoo — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 15:49:28 +0000

Black-footed Cat Ryder

Hogle Zoo mourns the loss of black-footed cat.

Utah’s Hogle Zoo is mourning the loss of beloved male black-footed cat, Ryder (4), who passed away on July 22, 2024. After Ryder was placed under close veterinary care for advanced kidney disease, Hogle Zoo made the responsible but difficult decision to humanely euthanize him as his health rapidly declined despite treatment.

Ryder’s dedicated care team, including veterinarians and keepers, created an individualized treatment plan and worked together to assess his quality of life. We discovered Ryder’s kidney disease during a health exam following notable changes in his behavior and weight. Our animal health team also performed a necropsy that confirmed his advanced kidney disease.

Ryder came to Hogle Zoo in 2021 from San Diego Zoo Safari Park as a part of a breeding recommendation from the Black-footed Cat Consortium, a species survival organization dedicated to the husbandry and conservation of black-footed cats.

Best known for his playful yet mellow personality, Ryder loved the challenge of puzzle feeders and had a special fondness for scratching posts sprinkled with cinnamon

“Ryder was a guest favorite in the Small Animal Building. He loved to sleep by the glass and was often snuggled up in a spot where he could watch people.”

-Tammy Walling, Animal Care Supervisor, Small Animal Building

A female black-footed cat, Gaia, recently joined Hogle Zoo on a breeding recommendation for Ryder. Our teams had begun the introduction process, including swapping habitats and sharing habitat space. We will work with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the Black-footed Cat Consortium for future breeding recommendations for Gaia. Gaia continues her daily routine, and guests can visit her in the Small Animal Building.

Ryder also contributed to Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden’s Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) CryoBioBank, which helps ensure genetic diversity among black-footed cats. Every birth creates opportunities for future generations of this vulnerable species and significantly contributes to their conservation.

Black-footed cats have the highest hunting success rate, catching their prey 60% of the time. In comparison, big cats have an average 20-25% hunting success rate.

Ryder was a beloved member of our zoo family and an outstanding ambassador for black-footed cats. To Ryder’s community—including his dedicated animal care and health teams, staff, volunteers, and guests—thank you for being part of Ryder’s life, whether through his diligent care or by advocating for his species. He will be greatly missed.

About black-footed cats

Found in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, black-footed cats are among the world’s smallest and considered among the deadliest cats. They live in desert grassland areas and spend the day resting under grass cover or in abandoned burrows left by other animals before coming out to hunt and patrol their territory at night.

Black-footed cat conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists black-footed cats as vulnerable due to threats like habitat degradation and loss. Hogle Zoo works with the Black-footed Cat Consortium to support healthy populations under human care, successfully welcoming many litters of kittens.

Animal wellbeing

Providing excellent animal wellbeing through animal health is an essential priority for Hogle Zoo. Ryder is a great example of dedication to animal health, not only for his kidney disease care but also for an innovative surgery in 2022. One of Ryder’s care team members noticed he wasn’t putting weight on his right front paw. Following an exam, we initially splinted his foot, and after consulting with a board-certified veterinary surgeon at MedVet, an orthopedic surgery requiring patience and precision was performed.

Read about Ryder's surgery

Learn more about animal wellbeing

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Partnering with MedVet

Utah's Hogle Zoo — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 21:36:00 +0000

Partnering with MedVet

It takes a village to care for over 600 species at the zoo.

Caring for over 600 species at Utah’s Hogle Zoo takes a village. One key component of animal care is excellent health care. Hogle Zoo has an on-site veterinary team that works with all the animals at the zoo and often consults with specialized experts to elevate the care we provide for our resident animals.

A great example of the zoo’s partnerships and dedication to animal health care is a story about Ryder, our resident 4-year-old black-footed cat. In 2022, one of Ryder’s care team members noticed that he wasn’t putting any weight on his right front paw and immediately notified our on-site veterinary team members for an assessment.

Our vet staff soon discovered a fracture in Ryder’s paw after collecting radiographs (x-rays) and performing an exam in which Ryder was temporarily sedated, called an anesthetized exam. When medically evaluating wild animals like Ryder, we always take the necessary precautions to keep ourselves and the animals safe—he’s not your average house cat, despite his looks!

Ryder’s foot was initially splinted following his exams, but after consulting Board-certified Veterinary Surgeon Dr. Sylvia Lee at MedVet, an innovative approach to repairing a small foot fracture was performed. The repair was successful thanks to the partnership between Hogle Zoo and MedVet and their dedication to care.

As Ryder healed, his animal care team worked to replace bandages, take follow-up X-rays, and ensure the bone was healing properly. Ryder was running about his habitat in no time.

Providing excellent animal wellbeing through animal health is a key priority for Utah’s Hogle Zoo and our health partners. Saving animals in the wild starts with the wellbeing of the animals under our care. Thank you to our amazing veterinary teams for the work they do every day and to our health partners for their collaboration in care!

About Animal Wellbeing

Providing excellent animal wellbeing through animal health is a key priority for Hogle Zoo. Saving animals in the wild starts with the wellbeing of the animals under our care. Patenka is just one example of the individual personalized care we give each resident animal resident at the zoo.

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