The Week of The Kudu

Greetings Friends, this week we’re talking about the Kudu! The Kudu is a type of antelope from the more arid parts of Africa. A Greater Kudu stands 4 to 5 feet in height and males can weigh anywhere from 500 to 700 pounds. Female Kudu weigh anywhere from 400 to 500 pounds. In contrast a lesser Kudu stands 3 to 4 feet in height and the males will weigh 130-to 200 pounds.

The Kudu has really long spiraled horns like a few of the antelope species in Africa do. The best way I can identify one is by the marking of stripes down their sides combined with spots. They also have a mane that travels along their spines. Kudu like to hang out in dense brushes or forests. The color of their coat combined with their markings help for camouflaging defense.

The Kudu is a herbivore that enjoys a diet of grasses, fruits, leaves and roots. It can also go for long periods without water like most animals that enjoy drier climates.

Male Kudu live mostly solitary lives and will compete for mating rights. Females will live in small groups with the young. The gestation period for a Kudu is 8 months at the end of which the mother will give birth to a single baby.

When you ride the Safari Train or even just visit the Grasslands Area of Timbavati Wildlife Park, you’re sure to encounter our Kudu! Check out this week’s video for more fun facts about the Kudu!

The Attraction To Flight - Parakeet Encounter

There’s something about flight. From the greek story of “The Boy That Flew Too High” to the tales in egyptian hieroglyphics about the son of Ra, Horus the Falcon. We as humans have been enamored with flight. We are land dwellers who on occasion and sometimes with great adaptability swim.

We can’t however jump off of the ground and take flight. I think it is this limitation that conjures up so much interest in flight. Be it the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk or a NASA launch, the sky is our great limitation and path for exploration.

This is why I think we are so enamored with birds as a classification. There is something to be said about the evolution and survival from their ancestors the dinosaurs. Some birds are as large as a human when you think of the ostrich and emu. Some like the parakeets in our Parakeet Encounter weigh only an ounce or so. Let me tell you though, it’s much easier to hang out with a parakeet than an emu. Emus are highly territorial you know.

This for me is what makes the Parakeet Encounter so gosh darn cool. You can hang out with birds that are safe colorful and usually hungry. This encounter gets you a “bird’s eye” audience as you come face to face with one of nature’s most cute creations.

All you have to do when you get in there is grab a stick that’s covered in bird seed and hold your hand out with the stick in it. Then you have to stay really still like Elmer Fudd, shhhhh be vewy vewy quiet and boom you’ll get a little budgie to come land on your stick and hang out with you. Warning though, once they like you, they really like you. They will hang out on your shoulder, on your head, they also will perch on backpacks and toddlers as well.

Check out this week’s video for more fun facts and a look at our Parakeet Encounter. 

Squirrel Appreciation Day

Squirrel Appreciation Day

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day! That’s right, most of you are probably unaware but January 21st is Squirrel Appreciation Day. Our fuzzy little friends can be found over all of these great United States and keep in mind that for a lot of kids in metropolitan areas, a squirrel is largely the only wild animal that some kids have the opportunity to see on a regular basis.

Squirrels plant seeds and nuts to help the cycle of flora perpetuate and they are also much smarter that most people give them credit for! We think squirrels are cool, and enjoy watching these little tykes scamper to and fro in our day to day lives.

Image Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/squirrel-appreciation-day/

Penguin Awareness Day

We all know that today January 20 is inauguration day, but I can bet that most of you didn’t know, it is Penguin Awareness Day? That’s right today is the day that we celebrate our little flightless feathery friends and their fantastic features. Well I’m not sure about features but January 20 is a day that we observe the Penguin. There are many different species of penguin as this chart would indicate!

Did you know that there are a lot of warm weather penguins? Timbavati Wildlife Park is home to African Penguins! Check out this video of our little friends.

The Addax of Timbavati Wildlife Park

Greetings once again friends of Timbavati Wildlife Park and welcome back to this week’s topic, the Addax. This native of the Sahara Desert has adapted to a climate that bests many other animals. Like the camel, its hooves are adapted to the desert sand. Think of a snow shoe which permits us to walk appoint drifts or how we have to work twice as hard to walk on the beach. These adapted feet permit the addax to be sure footed in the desert.

The addax has a highly concentrated urine. This feature allows it to live on the moisture in the plants that it forages during the dry seasons in Africa. It absolutely will drink if presented with a source of water but can do very well without it as needed.

The addax also has a seasonal coat that changes colors from grayish-brown in the winter to white in the summer. This facilitates absorption and repulsion of the sun in either season. The addax primarily functions nocturnally in the summer choosing to forage nocturnally to beat the heat.

Here are more fun facts available to you in this week’s video! Talk to you next week!

Albino Kangaroo

Greetings Timbavati Friends and Family members! This week I wanted to take a look into something that isn’t commonly discussed but all too often recognized in the animal kingdom, albinism. At first glance an albino animal is typically discussed interchangeably with a white animal. A white tiger is white not an albino, same goes for a white emu which was introduced to Timbavati Wildlife Park in 2016.

These animals become exclusively bred with other white animals for purpose of creating that perfectly white animal. I hear there’s talk of a mostly white tiger cub that was born recently and that cub if completely white would be very rare because most white animals still have natural markings that break that color up.

An albino animal has a mutation in one of several genes. These genes are responsible for the production of melanin which gives skin and eyes their color. Not all albinos are pure white as some may still have other colors. What makes an animal albino or qualifies it if you will is a loss of pigment in the eyes.

An albino animal’s eyes will have a loss of pigment as well and most often turn pink. An albino animal typically will have poor vision. The same goes for humans with albinism. An albino animal can also have pale blue eyes as well. Like we discussed with the tigers and the emus a polar bear, snowshoe hare, and arctic fox aren’t albinos, the eyes don’t fit the description.

Albinism can be a double edged sword for animals who are typically lower on the food chain. If  a squirrel isn’t squirrel colored would a predator still recognize it as a meal? Maybe not, this might cause it to get off the hook. However, if a bird doesn’t display the correct plumage would a mate find it attractive?

Regardless of these and other interesting facts. We think the diversity in nature is a marvel to be appreciated. This week’s video gives us a glimpse into the world of our own albino kangaroo. Talk with you next week!

Save The Eagles Day

Happy Save The Eagles Day!!! Today is a day where we observe the conservation and awareness of the Bald Eagle. The Bald Eagle has been observed as the national emblem of the Unites States of America since 1782. It can be found all over North America from Alaska to Mexico.

The bald eagle was almost extinct through habitat destruction, poaching and food source contamination. Conservation efforts and protections have brought it back from the bink and as of August 9, 2007 it was removed from the endangered species list.

Here is a link to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service page which gives us a detailed look on how to continue supporting the growth and survival of our friend and symbol of American freedom!

https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/

National Bird Day

Do you know what today is? Haven’t you heard? You Mean You haven’t heard? Click this link if you haven’t heard! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx2jq184

Yes that’s correct, the bird is the word! It’s National Bird Day! Now if only we can figure out what that is?!?!? Luckily we have www.nationalbirdday.com to help us understand what’s going on here and January 5th is a time for us to appreciate and show our respect for the inspiration that birds bring us and understand what birds need from us in general. Here is a direct quote from their site.

“National Bird Day is on January 5 each year, as it's scheduled to coincide with the end of the annual Christmas Bird Count. The Christmas Bird Count has been going on for more than a decade. It lasts three weeks and is the longest running citizen science survey in the world that helps to monitor the health of our nation’s birds. Birders and the public go out and count as many birds as they can see during the count.

The reason National Bird Day falls on January 5 is that, for three weeks, the country is focused on native birds and wild populations. Once that period ends, we begin to focus on captive birds (who mainly consist of bird species that are native to other countries, but who are kept in captivity in the U.S.). January 5 is the new beginning for captive birds!”

You can find more info about national bird day on their website!

Happy National Bird day. Nationalbirdday.com for more info

Adopt A Rescue Bird Month

We all consider adopting both dogs and cats from animal shelters when we are seeking a companion. Well the month of January is “Adopt A Rescued Bird” month in the animal world. It’s a chance for you to give a home to a feathery friend who wouldn’t do so well in the wild. Here is a link to research how you can help give a bird a home if you’re in Wisconsin! http://www.feathered-friends.com/

The Pygmy Goat of Timbavati Wildlife Park

Greetings friends of Timbavati Wildlife Park and Happy New Year to you all! This week we are talking about the Pygmy Goat which is a native of West Africa. It was developed from the West African Dwarf Goat which is mostly found in the Cameroon Valley. They were taken to Europe during the Colonial Era and brought over to the United States in the 1950’s.

Pygmy Goat colors can be gray, white, brown or black, let’s just say the they can be any barnyard animal color for no apparent reason, you know why? Because everything I have read and all the time I have spent with these animals, I cant tell you why they’re the color that they are, they just are.

Now why do they have rectangular eyes? This is something we can look at a bit more scientifically without getting lost in so many combinations. There is a predator/prey divide in the shapes of pupils and apparently this eye shape gives them a visual advantage. It’s a panoramic view for the one defense mechanism the pygmy goat has which is skedaddling!

Now for the who? Who are they running from? Pygmy goats typically will have beef with canines. Domestic dogs, coyotes, wolves and foxes are all reasons for vigilance. Bears and mountain lions are also on the avoid list for pygmy goats as well.

Most people don’t think about it but goats are great jumpers. If they were basketball players you’d say they have “hops”, they’re capable of getting enough air to land on the hood of your Toyota (i.e. small car). They can swim too, these guys are all kinds of Johnny Weissmueller when it comes to getting in the water. I don’t think they would do much to an alligator like Tarzan would, but hey with those panoramic pupils they will see it coming sooner and can skedaddle!

Watch this week’s video for more fun facts about the pygmy goat!