Zoo Boise connects our guests with animals to inspire and involve our community in the conservation of wildlife worldwide. (Terms of use: http://zooboise.org/terms)
Paji giving us a wave, or more than likely, showing off her unique claws.
Sloth bears' thick, 3-inch claws are great for digging into dirt and ripping into trees when searching for food.
📷: Zookeeper Taylor S
Ended a very busy June full of red panda birthdays with Spud's 14th b-day!
More good news: Call him grandpa! One of Spud’s offspring recently gave birth to twins at another zoo.
📷: Zookeeper Taylor S
Happy Meerkaturday!
Fun Fact - Meerkats eat small prey, mostly comprised of insects. In the wild, they have also been seen eating spiders, rodents, small birds, lizards, and even venomous scorpions.
It’s obvious how bat-eared foxes got their names! Their ears help them stay cool and provide a very keen sense of hearing. They can hear a single insect crawling or burrowing up to a foot underground!
Southern three-banded armadillo Arrow had a ball hunting for worms!
Enrichment activities like these are important because they stimulate animals' natural behaviors and abilities in fresh ways.
📷: Zookeeper Taylor T
Happy World Giraffe Day! The longest day of the year is naturally the best time to celebrate our longest necks, Tafari and Jabari!
📷: Giraffe Tafari by Membership Coordinator Morgan
Warthog Vinnie savored quite a tasty treat today to celebrate his 12th birthday! 🍰
Many of his favorites in one dish: a melon puree ice cake with strawberries, blueberries, peanut butter, and romaine lettuce.
Smile, it's World Crocodile Day!
Zoo Boise's Nile crocodile, Pandora, was rescued from a Louisiana canal after Hurricane Katrina. It's likely she was part of an illegal pet trade. She's in a much better home now, and every time you visit Pandora, you help species like hers.
📷: Zoo chef Brittany
Earlier this week we celebrated Stevie’s second birthday! Stevie is a female Chinese red panda who came to Zoo Boise to join male red panda Jasper as part of the Red Panda Species Survival Plan.
📸: Zookeeper Nicole
Two of the most common questions we get are: How old is Mr. Mac, and how much does he weigh? Mr. Mac is an Aldabra tortoise, he’s over 100 years old, and weighs more than 350 pounds.
📸: Zookeeper Elsa
Steller’s sea eagles - like Zoo Boise's Vlad - were named for Georg Steller, a noted 18th-century zoologist and explorer. It is not a typo of “stellar”. These impressive birds would fit that bill, though: they’re the world's largest and most powerful eagles.
Commonly thought to be part of the dog family, hyenas are somehow more closely related to cats! But these unique carnivores make up their own separate family.
📷: Striped hyena Ndale by zookeeper Nicole from a non-public area
You can't stay mad at this face! Even though the olive baboons are the messiest monkeys at Zoo Boise when ripping open their enrichment items, zookeepers love to provide puzzles and boxes for Sukari and the rest of the troop to explore to keep their natural instincts sharp!
📷: Zookeeper Murphy
Happy 14th birthday Akasha! The Amur tiger also celebrated her second anniversary at her Zoo Boise ReTIGERment Home with a whipped cream meat cake.
📷 & 🎂: Zoo chef Brittany
Sloth bear Paji is sometimes a picky eater about her favs and even how she likes 'em prepared.
Paji prefers fruits over vegetables, picking melons and avocados first. When it comes to a certain veggie, she only eats cooked carrots and won't eat them raw!
📷: Zoo chef Brittany
Roll out the royal red carpet! Two East African grey crowned cranes have moved into the Gorongosa Aviary. Zookeepers have noted that this pair - one female and one male - are very gregarious and curious. So, come welcome our newest residents. *No need to bow.
The butterflies are returning! Hundreds of pupas are preparing to emerge for the summer. Frolic with them when our Butterflies in Bloom exhibit opens this Saturday, June 1. 🦋🦋
This walkthrough greenhouse full of Costa Rican butterflies is sponsored by J.R. Simplot Company Foundation and KTVB.
📣 Exciting News - A Cotton-Top Tamarin Baby Born at Zoo Boise
The baby was born in April, and is the fourth child born to parents Eddy and Mimi. The new baby is doing well and joins a growing tamarin family. Read more: zooboise.org/zoo-news/cot...
Have you met Phred? He’s one of the recent additions to the prairie dog habitat at Zoo Boise. Prairie dogs live in tight-knit family groups called coteries.
📸: Zoo Boise Staff Maddie
Zebras are experts at escaping potential predators, especially when running in herds. They create a disorienting blur of motion thanks to their distinct (and dazzling!) stripes.
📷: Grévy's zebra Zeke by volunteer Rebecca
It's our mane model, Revan! Male lions are the only cats that grow manes around their faces. Distinguishable, large manes help them attract females, seem more intimidating, and can protect their necks from attacks from an outside lion trying to take over their pride in the wild.
Primates green without envy! Vervet monkeys are sometimes called “green monkeys” for the slight green tint of their fur when you see them from far away.
📷: Savannah
VOTE NOW: Help us name our new male spur-winged lapwing duo! We asked for suggestions and now we’ve narrowed it down to:
Hans and Franz
Magic and Larry
Skipper and Gilligan
Statler and Waldorf
Tom and Jerry
Reply with your favorite. Voting ends on Sun (05/12) at 11:59PM.
Howdy! Our black-tailed prairie dog town welcomed seven new residents this spring. Pop up and meet females Penny, Poppy, Pepper, Primrose, Zoey, P-Money, and male Phred!
📷: Prairie dog Phred by Zoo Hospital Manager Carson
