Good Night, Sweet “Faith”»
Zooniversity lost one of its most precious teachers today, our sweet 10-year old fennec fox named "Faith." Faith spent years traveling to schools, libraries, and private events, teaching people about this elusive, and beautiful, desert species. She spent the last seven years with us, battling many obstacles — juvenile cataracts, glaucoma, prosthetic eye surgery, and in her final year, cancer. Faith lost her battle today against the spindle-cell sarcoma that crippled her leg and then spread to the rest of her frail 3-pound body. Thank you Faith for teaching us more than we ever could have imagined. You served the world with grace and dignity and will long be remembered by those whose lives you touched. Rest now, sweet girl. May heaven smile when they hear your sweet fennec squeals of joy.
Read other blog entries about "Faith": Cancer: Exotic Animals Battle It Too and Blind "Faith," the Fennec Fox
Introducing “Tuck” — The South American Armadillo»
Yes, we’re a Texas wildlife company, but this is NO Texas armadillo — this is Tuck, a La Plata or 3-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes matacus) from the dry, grassy Chaco region of Paraguay in South America. This armadillo species is a favorite of wildlife educators throughout the world for its tame, gentle nature and especially for its unique ability to do something other armadillos cannot do. This is the only armadillo species to be able to retract, or "tuck," into a tight ball — using its headplate and tail like puzzle pieces to entirely protect its underside from predators. He’s rather small — when tucked, he’s about the size of a large grapefruit or pomelo.
The word armadillo means "little armored one" in Spanish. Their thick, leathery shell is made of keratin (the same stuff as our fingernails) and the 3-banded has two half domes of shell, separated by three armored bands. Their head and tail are covered with bony plates and the headplate pattern is unique to each armadillo — like an identifying fingerprint. 
These are nocturnal creatures and spend their nights hunting for insects — ants and termites being favorites. They do not dig their own burrows, but instead borrow abandoned anteater holes. Their feet are especially unique. Their front insect-digging claws are so oversized that they walk on the tip of the largest claw — like a ballet dancer. The three center toes on their back feet are fused, like stumpy hooves. They don’t have typical teeth either — they have small peg-shaped teeth that lack enamel. And, they lap up their bugs and rotting fruits with a long sticky, pink tongue.
Tuck was shared with us by another educational facility. He is a quiet and shy Latin gentleman, but is naturally curious and will explore his surroundings looking for something wiggly to snack on. And, he won’t hesitate to quickly tuck into his famous shape to demonstrate his special skill at self-protection. Tuck will be traveling with us this summer to more than 50 free Texas library shows as part of our new "Animal Locomotion" program. Come meet Tuck in person — just don’t take it personally if he doesn’t untuck to meet you!
African Cave Spiders, Anyone?»
Whoa…it’s creepy, it’s crawly, it looks like a very large, squashed scorpion with some daddy-long-legs glued onto it! It’s actually an African Cave Spider, officially called a tailless whip scorpion (Damon variegatus), and it’s perfectly harmless. How novel… a creepy crawly at Zoonversity that doesn’t bite, pinch, or sting – our creep-phobic zookeepers are very grateful.
Unlike other arachnids, such as true spiders and scorpions, these guys have only six legs. Their other two legs have been modified into very long feelers — to help them feel their way around tree bark, under logs, and in the dark caves of Eastern Africa. These nocturnal arachnids eat super tiny insects, using their pincher-like pedipalps to push their bugs into their crushing jaws.
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Even though they are harmless to humans, these creatures have been much maligned in modern media. For instance, in the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, they are described as "lethal" by Mad-eye Moody, who tortures the animal with a curse until Hermione begs him to stop. And, in the TV show Fear Factor, contestants were forced to eat these creatures, proving that humans are much more dangerous to the cave spider than they are to us.
A fellow wildlife educator was kind enough to share a surplus bunch of these big ol’ guys with us, so be sure to invite one of these stunning fellows to your next event. Let’s see if fear is a factor for you! And, we promise we won’t make you eat it.
Come See Us This Summer — Summer Camps and Free Library Shows!»
It’s that time again…time to layout your family’s summer activity calendar. And, we hope you’ll include Zooniversity in your busy summer schedule.
Introducing Zoo Camp! Zooniversity will be offering a week-long morning camp for children in grades 1-3 at All Saints’ Episcopal School in Fort Worth. Your student will love this introduction to zoology and hands-on time with our animal ambassadors. Zoo Camp will be offered the week of August 2-6 — register now before the class is filled! See page 18 of All Saints’ summer catalog for details.
Or, enroll your animal-loving student, ages 5-12 years, in one of Science Adventure’s "Go Wild!" camps. They have many dates and locations offered throughout the DFW Metroplex this summer. We’ve been invited to bring live animals to ten of their locations, as a special treat for their campers. See the Science Adventure website for the location nearest you. (Be sure to ask if Zooniversity is scheduled for that specific camp before you enroll, as we were not able to fit all their locations into our crazy summer schedule — we’d hate to disappoint your student!)
And, like every summer, Zooniversity will again be doing free wildlife shows at more than 50 public libraries throughout North Texas. See our Public Calendar for the nearest location. This summer we will be featuring a new program, "Animal Locomotion," as a compliment to this year’s "Reading Express" summer reading club theme. (Hey, it’s the best we could come up with to tie animals to a train theme!) The program is designed for reading age children, ages 5 years and up. Check each library’s website for restrictions and reservations. Mark your calendars to join us — and be sure to come up and say a special hello to Miss Allison!
Meet Baby Sheila, the Joey Wallaby»
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Ahhhh…meet our newest baby, little Sheila. She is a 7-month old joey wallaby that we’re fostering until she is big enough to return to her mob at another wildlife educator’s Texas ranch. She is still a pouch baby and travels with us everywhere. She sleeps most of day still, but will remind us that it’s bottle time with some gentle chirps. We’ve introduced her to her first grass and hay, but she’s not quite sure what to do with it yet! You can meet Sheila by inviting her to your private event or join us for one of our free summer shows — check our public calendar for the location nearest you. Looks like it’s back to bottles and night feedings for us!
