Page 22 - April 2015 Life In Naples Magazine

LIONTSI,GERBSE, ARS
–Sure, but how about Muntjac, Agoutis, and Tamarins?

by Tim L.Tetzlaff

Director of Conservation & Communications | Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens

E ver since author Frank L. Baum had Dorothy gasp “Lions
and tigers,and bears,oh my!”on her journey along the yellow
brick road, these iconic animals have become inseparably
linked and anticipated favorites on a zoo visit. As part of our mission
to delight guests, we enjoy sharing both familiar animals like these
as well as inspiring wonder and appreciation for the natural world by
introducing families to unusual creatures that even today are largely
unknown – including some almost as amazing as flying monkeys.

“It’s still an age of discovery,” explains Naples Zoo President
and CEO Jack Mulvena. “Not only are scientists still finding new
species, but also revealing the secret lives of animals that science has
known about for centuries.” While many of these are documented in
scientific journals, they often do not reach the general public except
in venues like zoos. “Sharing these wonders of the animal kingdom is
part of our education mission at the daily shows, cruises, and keeper
talks, as well as other venues from evening lectures to the website and
social media,” explains Mulvena.

Even some familiar types of animals have hidden surprises. The
Reeve’s muntjac deer and the red-footed tortoise stray from their
expected vegetarian diet and will eat the carcasses of other animals.
And while everyone knows marsupials and their pouches, few people
know they have the remarkable ability to delay a pregnancy. So if
a drought or other food shortage occurs, marsupials like the Zoo’s
Parma wallabies have the ability to hold the baby in a state called
embryonic diapause until conditions improve.

Others have fascinating adaptations that help them or their
ecosystem. The small desert-dwelling slender-horned gazelles have
modified nasal passages that enable them to cool their blood. And
only the gnawing teeth of agoutis can open the Brazil-nut trees’
tough fruit pods. These large rodents eat some of the dozen or more
nuts inside the pod and bury the rest. Their imperfect memory of
their hiding places lets new trees sprout and enables the Amazon to
keep one of its most important plants.

But there’s far more than these familiar and unusual considerations
determining which animals you’ll find in the zoo. “Here in Naples,

COTTON-TOP TAMARIN

22 Life in Naples | April 2015