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By:
Mary Young Not only a classic family destination, the zoo is the
perfect place for keiki to learn in depth about animals, their habits and
their habitats. Honolulu Zoo offers a variety of educational programs
about ecosystems and animal adaptations, endangered species, and even a
career at the zoo. Young visitors learn answers to such questions as,
“Why do zebras have stripes? Why do porcupines have quills?” One of
the zoo’s many remarkable programs is called “Keiki Zookeeper.” On a recent Saturday afternoon at the Zoo’s
Discovery Center, a small group of 6- to 9-year-olds gathered around a
table to examine replicas of animal skulls (“biofacts,” in zoo lingo).
They listened to instructor Anne Staggemeier explain how an animal’s
tooth and jaw structures are adapted to its diet. A half hour later, these
keiki showed a clear understanding of the differences between carnivores,
herbivores, insectivores, and omnivores. Staggemeier, wearing khaki shorts and the education
staff’s blue polo shirt, lectured with obvious enthusiasm and kept the
pace moving. A former classroom teacher, she has a knack for keeping this
age group engaged. The theme that day was “What’s for Lunch?” so her
focus was on feeding habits. The gharial – a crocodilian species with a very
long, narrow snout – is The Komodo dragon, she said, can smell prey five miles
away. “And he will eat it alive or dead … slowly.” “And the crocodile could definitely eat you in one
bite,” she added. When it was time to visit the animals, Staggemeier
cautioned the kids to use “quiet voices and quiet feet.” No jumping up
and down. The animals “All of our animals have hiding spots in their
cages,” she said, “and they use them.” The first stop was to see the hyenas: meat and bone
eaters. “The females are in charge,” said Staggemeier. “They run the
show.” The girls reacted in unison: “Cool!” The group made visits to the monitor lizards, great
plated lizards, zebras and giraffes. (Q. Why is a giraffe’s tongue
black? A. It’s protective coloring, since the giraffe is out in the sun
all day.) Cheetahs are the world’s fastest animals, yet they
catch only one out of five times that they hunt. In the wild, Staggemeier
said, a running cheetah’s back bends like a Slinky to allow the hind
legs to move ahead of the front ones. Lions at the zoo are fed meat, meat chunks, and a
special treat known as “bloodsicles”: frozen blood with chunks of meat and liver. This delighted the kids, who responded,
“Ey-eww!” The high point of the day was feeding apples to
Kruger, the 5,000-lb. white rhino. Kruger, an herbivore, usually eats zoo
ration, alfalfa hay, trace mineral, salt and water, so apples are a sweet
treat. Zookeeper Bryan Egan (“Keeper Bryan”) assisted by gently
lifting Kruger’s head by the tusk to steady him. Everybody was tentative
at first, but eventually each child took a turn placing an apple on
Kruger’s tongue. There’s a gross-out factor to feeding Kruger: his
breath is not fresh and it’s hard to avoid getting drooled on.
Staggemeier took the opportunity to point out that zookeepers get dirty.
“I get dirty, too,” she said. “It’s part of working at the zoo.” The final stop was at the hippos’ pool, viewable
through a Plexiglas window. It was snack time for Cleo, Rose and Louise,
who eat the same diet Then class was over, and it was ice cream time for the
young humans. Sarah Polkabla, who’s going on 8, liked Keiki
Zookeeper so much that her parents plan to enroll her in one of the
zoo’s summer programs. “She hasn’t stopped talking about that
day,” says her mother, Mary Polkabla. “She just really loves being
with the animals, and they’re teaching them more in-depth than just
walking through the zoo.” The animal visits included in a session depend on the
availability of the keepers, the creatures’ health, and other factors,
Staggemeier says. And sometimes the class starts by preparing animal chow.
“We’ll make a primate paste and make it into lau laus and give it to
the primates, or we’ll make fruit kabobs for the birds,” she says. Besides Keiki Zookeeper, the zoo offers “Vacation
Adventures” (summer day camps); a class for toddlers and their parents;
and “Junior Zookeeper” for children age 11 or older. In Junior
Zookeeper, there’s more emphasis on careers, Staggemeier says, and
“sometimes the encounters are a little more in-depth. One time, the
elephant keepers allowed us to come back and actually help clean the
exhibit. The little ones, they aren’t up for that. For the older kids,
it was a good experience.” The evening and overnight programs, “Twilight
Tours” and “Snooze in the Zoo,” are perennial favorites. New this
year are “Vacation Adventures” in Japanese for grades 1-6 and
“Pre-Vacation Adventures” for younger day campers. Most of the classes
– and there are many – are adaptable for keiki with disabilities. Honolulu Zoo began in 1876, when
King David Kalakaua granted 300 acres of royal lands to the people for a
30-year lease. Two hundred subscriber members, the Kapiolani Park
Association, administered the parcel, a marshy series of lagoons and
islands. The park opened to the public in 1877 as Queen Kapiolani Park,
named for the king’s wife. In those days, the park was home to the
king’s collection of exotic birds. Descendants of some of those birds
are said to still live at the zoo. Plantings and peacocks were gradually added to the
park, and in 1914 the city and county of Honolulu assumed its
administration. After that, Kapiolani Park began acquiring animals,
starting with monkeys, bears and lion cubs. The Depression years through
post-World War II brought more and more animals, but the zoo’s
facilities were deteriorating. In 1974, the Dairymen’s Association
donated a camel, elephant, chimpanzees and deer, and interest in the zoo
was revitalized. The City developed a master plan that set the zoo’s
current boundaries and provided its first full-time director and a staff
of thirteen. In 1969, the Honolulu Zoo Society was founded as Zoo
Hui. The present society is a non-profit organization, 6,000 members
strong. It funds various projects, including research, and manages the
zoo’s volunteer program. The education program, a relatively recent
development, amounts to an agreement between the city and Honolulu Zoo
Society that the society provides the education programming for the
community and the schools. “We have been in existence for 10 years now, and
we’ve grown steadily,” says Susie Gardner, the Society’s director of
education programs. “We started out
in the early years with about 5,000 a year coming through the program, and
this past year we had about 26,000.” Even so, Gardner says, “I definitely feel like
sometimes we’re the best-kept secret in town. It’s very rewarding to see
lots of children come back again and again to try our different
programs.” Staggemeier, who has a master’s degree in science
education from USC, says, “What I find the most rewarding about it is I
get to teach the kids about the animals and what is going on with them. A
lot of people don’t know that many of these animals are endangered, why
they’re endangered, and what we can do to help them along.” “I talk about not buying teak furniture be-cause
teak forests are where the tigers live, and tigers are becoming endangered
because their habitat is being depleted, being chopped down. So don’t
buy teak furniture, because that will help the tigers. “I let them know that the horn on the rhino is used
for various things, so don’t support these kinds of organizations. Or
don’t support the illegal pet trade. “I just kind of let them know what they can do, that
they can help. Even though they-’re kids, they can still help out in the
world.” |
