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Urban Wildlife

Goats are a welcomed addition to hospital grounds

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Wed, 2010-03-17 10:54

Drivers along Barnes Road in front of Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in recent days may have noticed a few visitors who appear to be a little out of place.

A herd of up to a dozen goats -- on loan by an employee at nearby Catlin Gabel School -- have been grazing on a small hillside near the hospital's east entrance in an effort to keep noxious weeds (English Ivy, blackberry and holly) at bay as spring time weather rolls in.

"The great thing about (the goats) is, if we have them out there at the proper time, they eat all the things we don't want and they leave the things we do want to keep," said Providence St. Vincent groundskeeper Craig Martin. 

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Zookeepers' donation ensures swinging time for orangutans

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Tue, 2010-03-16 15:44

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Construction on Red Ape Reserve, the Oregon Zoo's new indoor-outdoor exhibit housing orangutans and white-cheeked gibbons, is in full swing -- and getting more swingy by the minute -- with the installation of several sway poles for the apes now under way.

The new exhibit will open this summer. The sway poles -- which mimic the movement of the small trees these animals would use to navigate through the forest in the wild -- are a testament to the many people the great apes have inspired: They were purchased through a $56,000 donation by the American Association of Zoo Keepers' Portland chapter.

The idea to raise additional funds for the exhibit came from the keepers themselves, who wanted to go above and beyond the call of duty for their beloved apes. Fund-raising efforts began with the merchandising of stylish Red Ape Reserve T-shirts.

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Red-flanked duiker newest member of the Oregon Zoo family

Submitted by Bill Roberson on Thu, 2010-02-18 18:28

A red-flanked duiker is the latest family member born at the Oregon Zoo.

This two-month old duiker (pronounced "dike-er") made his debut in the Africa Rain Forest exhibit. 

Visitors to the zoo may find it hard to spot the tiny African antelope during his first several weeks in the exhibit.

It is common for mother duiker's to hide their calves in brush piles, retrieving them only when it is time to nurse.

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Gibbon at center of new zoo exhibit

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Tue, 2010-02-16 16:18

"Gibbons are naturally curious animals, and they love observing people," says Mike Marshall, primate keeper.

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Oregon Zoo orangutans make Super Bowl predictions

Submitted by Jeremy Doucette... on Fri, 2010-02-05 14:22

Portions of this story were taken from a press release courtesy of The Oregon Zoo.

Kutai, Inji, and Batik - three orangutans living at the Portland Zoo - have not reached a unanimous prediction of this year's Super Bowl winner. Kutai picked the Colts to win while Inji and Batik predict a Saints victory. The primates chose from either a Saints or Colts t-shirt in order to predict the winner.

Since 1996, when primate keepers first developed the system that allows the orangutans to predict the Super Bowl winner, the “orangs” - as they are called by zookeepers - have proven themselves to be the Portland area's foremost football prognosticators, or at least the foremost in the animal kingdom.

Inji's ability to predict the winner of football games was discovered by chance when a local sportscaster had seen the primates receive clothing items as enrichment and wondered what they might do with Beavers and Ducks T-shirts prior to the teams' 100th Civil War game.

Inji, the most dominant of the orangs at the time, put on an Oregon shirt, and the Ducks went on to win, 49-13.

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The newest resident at the zoo

Submitted by KATU.com Staff on Wed, 2009-12-09 16:07

The Oregon Zoo, in Southwest Portland at 4001 S.W. Canyon Road, has a new resident. KATU Photojournalist Sean Broderick was there today to snap the first shots of the zoo's newest member. 

His name is Bakari, and he's a 2-year-old male "reticulated" giraffe. Two years old is still a baby in giraffe years, since giraffes don't start breeding until they turn four or five. 

Say hello to little Bakari!

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