 Written By: Aimee Turcotte
When you think of Red Pandas, how would you describe them? Would you say that they are closely related to the Giant Pandas? Or would you mention that Red Pandas are herbivores because they eat bamboo? Well, these statements are a false perception of Red Pandas. Red Pandas are unique animals because their closest relatives are raccoons, skunks, and weasels. However, these pandas are a part of their own taxonomic group, Ailuridae. The scientific name of the Red Panda is Ailurus fulgens, meaning ‘cat shining.’ Red Pandas are also known as ‘lesser pandas’ or the ‘red bear cat’ because of their color and the fact that they are smaller than Giant Pandas.
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Written By: Aimee Turcotte Red Wolves are gorgeous animals that are now rare to see in the wild. These canines used to range from central Texas to southern Pennsylvania to Florida, but now you can only see Red Wolves in the wild in northeastern North Carolina’s Albemarle Peninsula. Red Wolves prefer habitats such as bottomland forests, dense mountains, coastal prairies, swamps, and marshes. Unfortunately, the land of the Albemarle Peninsula is susceptible to climate change due to sea level rise, since the coastal plains in this area are only three feet above sea level. It is estimated that within the next century, up to a third of the coastal plains can disappear underwater. Furthermore, saltwater intrusion and storm surges from hurricanes can further harm the land of the Albemarle Peninsula. If Red Wolf habitat is damaged, then the land is no longer feasible for Red Wolf survival, resulting in these animals having to search for a new home that can provide them with an abundance of resources.
 Written By: Aimee Turcotte
Zoo Educator Tigers, typically found in 13 countries in Asia, are beautiful black and orange cats. Even though these animals are cats, they are strong predators with a powerful roar. Unfortunately, due to threats such as trafficking and habitat loss, tiger populations have declined significantly, by 97%. Now, these animals are listed as ‘endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Fortunately, through conservation work, some tiger populations in Asia have increased.  Written By: Aimee Turcotte
Zoo Educator Did you know that Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo has a Bald Eagle? Kodiak is a 17-year-old male Bald Eagle from the Alaska Raptor Center, AK. He arrived at the zoo in 2010 due to an injury in his wing. Unfortunately, Kodiak most likely would not survive in the wild because he cannot fly. As a result, he cannot be released back into the wild. Kodiak is currently living in a temporary home between the tiger and leopard habitats. His habitat will be renovated to have more perches, an enhanced pond, and a protective cover. Written By: Aimee Turcotte Zoo Educator  Butterflies have many characteristics that make each species unique: their size, shape, color, and pattern. Caterpillars rely on the leaves of plants for food before they grow into butterflies. Some plants that attract caterpillars are dill, passionflower, chokecherry, and milkweed. When the caterpillar emerges into a butterfly, it will mainly rely on nectar, a sugary fluid from flowering plants, for nutrients. While feeding on nectar, pollen may stick onto a butterfly. Throughout the day, these insects work alongside other pollinators such as bees and hummingbirds to visit wildflowers, transferring pollen between these flowers. However, butterflies are not as efficient as other pollinators in collecting pollen. For instance, butterflies have long thin legs that allow them to perch on flowers, but not close enough to the pollen of blossoms where they can easily rub against pollen. In contrast, because a bee is smaller than a butterfly, bees have mobility, enabling them to get closer to the pollen in flowers. Additionally, butterflies do not have an exceptional sense of smell like bees, which makes it less likely for butterflies to find flowers based on their attractive smell. Nevertheless, unlike bees, butterflies can see red, which attracts them to more brightly colored blossoms that are open during the day.
Written By: Aimee Turcotte Zoo Educator  Bees are insects that rely on flowering plants for food and water. Nectar is a main source of food for bees, which these animals locate using their sight and smell. Bees are attracted to petals that are bright blue or yellow and that have a sweet or minty fragrance. Interestingly, bees cannot see red, so they will not be attracted to red flowers. When a bee finds a flower that is to their liking, the bee lands on the flower’s petal. The bee needs to be the right size and weight to trigger the flower to open. For instance, if the bee is underweight or overweight, the flower will not open. When a bee of the correct size causes a flower to open, the center of the flower can be easily located because it has a region of low ultraviolet reflectance. Therefore, the bee can quickly and efficiently drink nectar before moving on to the next flower.
Written By: Aimee Turcotte Zoo Educator  Hummingbirds, small iridescent birds that originate from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, are pollinators that contribute to the biodiversity of flowering plants in tropical rainforests, high-altitude mountain ranges, and arid deserts. These plants can be annuals, perennials, shrubs, vines, and trees. The blossoms from vegetation may attract hummingbirds through their bright colors, including reds and oranges.
Written By: Aimee Turcotte Zoo Educator  Did you know that bats are pollinators? There are approximately 50 species of bats that pollinate plants. Bats visit flowers that are open at night in search of copious diluted nectar for their energy-rich diet. Occasionally, bats will feed on insects in the flowers or the flower parts of plants such as banana, sausage tree, and calabash. Some bats, like the greater long nosed bat, are nectarivorous, meaning their main source of food is sugary nectar. The fermenting or fruit-like odor of flowering plants attracts bats to large pale or white bell-shaped flowers with nectar. When a bat is collecting nectar, pollen often gets on the bat’s body and is transferred from one flower to another. This movement of pollen is pollination, aka chiropterophily for bats. The relationship between the bat and flowering native or introduced plants is mutualistic since the bats benefit from drinking nectar and the plants benefit from pollen distribution.
Written By: Aimee Turcotte Zoo Educator  Who knew that beetles are pollinators? Beetles are very abundant insects, with approximately 380,000 living species of beetles in the world. These insects were one of the first insects to visit flowers for protein-rich pollen, which is one of their main food sources. Beetles appear to have been present 200 million years ago during the Mesozoic period, pollinating gymnosperms (flowering plants) such as cycads. Around 100 years ago, angiosperms (flowering plants) like spicebush and magnolia arose, which beetles relied on for pollen. Bees and butterflies were not present during this time, so beetles were one of the only pollinators. Therefore, beetles helped create an ancient line of flowers that are still present today!
Written By: Aimee Turcotte
Zoo Educator Pollinators are animals that fertilize plants by transferring pollen grains from one flower to another. When discussing pollinators, the most common animals that are mentioned are butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. However, there are many other types of pollinators. In fact, some people may call a few pollinators ‘unusual’ because they did not expect those animals to be pollinators! Join me to learn about the ‘unusual’ pollinators! |
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Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is dedicated to acquainting a diverse public to the delicate balance that exists between living things and their environment.
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is a 501(c)(3) not for profit owned and operated by the Connecticut Zoological Society.
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is a 501(c)(3) not for profit owned and operated by the Connecticut Zoological Society.
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