Do you like playing?  What are your favorite games?  Do animals play?  Yes, they do!  Explore the world of play in the animal kingdom.  Learn why and how wild animals play through a series of games of our own.

Kindergarten          9am-12pm          $60, $55 Zoo Members

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NAME:

Giant African Millipede

ZOO NAME:

Mbili (found in the Education Department)

CLASS:

Diplopoda

GENUS:

Archispirostrephs

SPECIES:

A. gigas

LENGTH:

12″

WEIGHT:

Size of a nickel in cross section

LIFESPAN:

10 yrs. (captive), 5-7 yrs. (wild)

DIET:

Dead or rotting material

PREDATORS:

Snakes, Birds, Mammals

RANGE

Coastal, eastern Africa (e..g. Niger, Gabon)

HABITAT

Rainforest, forest floor (detritus, rotting wood)

CHARACTERISTICS

Dull, black, cylindrical in shape. 4 legs/body segment; 80-400 legs. Males have spaces between legs of 7th segment, females have no space.

BEHAVIOR

If threatened, curl up in a ball. Giant African Millipedes also secrete a foul-smelling, caustic liquid. They are powerful burrowers and like to be covered in soil. Millipedes of all kinds are most active at night.

REPRODUCTION

The female lays 100s of eggs in a nest just below ground level. The male stimulates female with his legs and deposits sperm on her body. Female transfers sperm to eggs. The babies hatch after a 3-month gestation period.

ANIMAL FUN FACT!

Ring-tailed Lemurs use the Giant African Millipede’s foul-smelling secretions as a natural bug repellant. They shake up the millipede, which makes it secrete the liquid, then rub the millipede over their bodies.There are over 6,500 kinds of millipedes in the world.

Millipedes are decomposers. They transfer energy in dead or decaying plants into soil.

Red Tarantula

CLASS:

Information Coming Soon

NAME:

Goliath Bird-eating Tarantula

ZOO NAME:

Noche (found in the Education Department)

CLASS:

Arachnida

GENUS:

Theraphosa

SPECIES:

T. Blondi

LENGTH:

12″ leg-span (size of a dinner plate)

WEIGHT:

120 grams

LIFESPAN:

3-6 yrs. (males), 15-25 yrs. (females)

DIET:

Crickets, worms, moths, frogs, lizards, small mammals

PREDATORS:

Snakes, Birds, Mammals

RANGE

South America

HABITAT

Rainforest, forest floor

CHARACTERISTICS

The Goliath Tarantula is dark brown to light brown with faint markings on the legs. Like all spiders, they have 8 legs. The Bird-eating Spider is thought to be the largest spider in the world. These tarantulas have hairs on their abdomen, legs and bodies.

BEHAVIOR

Most of the Goliath Tarantula’s time is spent in underground burrows. These spiders may weave a web over the entrance to their home to keep other animals out. They have poor vision and hunt by sensing the vibrations made by their prey. Generally, these and other species of tarantula are not harmful to humans, although the bite from a Goliath Tarantula’s 1-inch fangs can cause swelling, pain and nausea. Another defense of the tarantula is to “kick out” barbed hairs towards their attacker. These hairs are very irritating to the skin and lungs.

REPRODUCTION

The female lays 100-400 eggs in a nest just below ground level. The spiderlings hatch after 2-months.

ANIMAL FUN FACT!

Tarantulas don’t have teeth for chewing their food. Instead, they have fangs. Tarantulas inject venom into their prey, which liquefies the soft tissues so the spider can slurp their meal.Goliath “Bird-eating” Tarantulas rarely eat birds, but have been know to catch young chicks.

Female Goliath Tarantulas can live up to 22 years longer than males. Males die soon after maturity at age 3-6 years and are sometimes eaten by the female after mating.

NAME:

Madagascar Tomato Frog

CLASS:

Amphibia

GENUS:

Dyscophus

SPECIES:

D. antongilli

LENGTH:

male – 2.5\

WEIGHT:

male – 1.5 oz female – 8.0 oz

LIFESPAN:

14 yrs. in captivity

DIET:

insects, worms, small invertebrates

PREDATORS:

snakes

RANGE

NE Madagascar lowlands (seal level to 600’) around Antongil Bay andSouth to Anderanto

HABITAT

shallow ponds, swamps, slow moving water

CHARACTERISTICS

Males are a dull, yellow-orange color, while females are orange-red sometimes with yellow spots.

BEHAVIOR

The bright color lets predators know that Tomato Frogs are not safe to eat. To defend themselves, Tomato Frogs secrete a gummy substance that gets in predator’s eyes. The predator then drops the frog to clear their eyes. When threatened, Tomato Frogs puff up their bodies. They ambush potential prey and catch them with sticky, long tongues.

REPRODUCTION

Males call to females; mounts and fertilizes eggs, female lays a clutch (1,000-15,000 eggs) on the surface of the water; tadpoles occur in 36 hours; a yellow juvenile frog occurs 45 days after eggs are laid; frog is sexually mature in 9-14 months.

ANIMAL FUN FACT!

When a frog closes its eyes, the eyeball itself is pulled back into the skull by special muscles. The eyelid does not close to cover the eye!All frogs are sensitive to salt. The salts found in human skin can be strong enough to “burn” a frog’s skin if they are handled too long or too often.

NAME:

White’s Tree Frog

ZOO NAME:

Wirin (“Tree” in Wagiman – aboriginal Australian) and Peapod (both found in Educational Department)

CLASS:

Amphibia

GENUS:

Litoria

SPECIES:

L. caerulea

LENGTH:

4-5″ testing

LIFESPAN:

20 yrs in captivity

DIET:

insects, spiders, moths, smaller frogs

PREDATORS:

snakes, lizards, birds, dogs, and cats

RANGE

Northeastern to southern Australia, New Guinea; introduced to the U.S.A. and New Zealand

HABITAT

In the canopy of trees near a still water source, such as swamps; prefer moist, forest habits

CHARACTERISTICS

The color of a White’s Tree Frog is dependent on background and temperature (range from green to brown). They have large discs on the end of all of their toes for gripping. Males have a gray vocal sac and females have a white vocal sac underneath their chins. The fatty folds over their bodies give them their common name, “dumpy tree frog”.

BEHAVIOR

White’s Tree Frogs, like most amphibians, use lungs and skin absorption to ‘breathe’. Tree frogs keep their skin moist by staying in cool, dark damp areas. Although generally found in the trees, White’s Tree Frogs descend to the ground for mating.

REPRODUCTION

White’s Tree Frogs breed during the summer months. The male deposits a “cloud” of sperm and female expels 150-300 eggs through the sperm cloud. The eggs hatch in 28-36 hours. Metamorphosis from tadpole to frog can take 2-3 weeks under good conditions. These frogs are sexually mature by age 2 years.

ANIMAL FUN FACT!

The White’s Tree Frog or Dumpy Frog is thought to be the inspiration for Kermit the Frog.White’s Tree Frogs secrete a substance that is antibacterial and can be used to treat staph infections.

White’s Tree Frogs are expert survivors! During the dry season in Australia, they make a cocoon out of mucus and dead skin to protect themselves from drying out.

NAME:

African Bullfrog (Burrowing Frog)

ORDER:

Anura

GENUS:

Pyxicephalus

SPECIES:

adspersus

LENGTH:

up to 12 cm (females); up to 24 cm (males)

WEIGHT:

up to 2 lbs

LIFESPAN:

up to 40; it takes 28 years to reach full size

DIET:

Termites, grasshoppers, crickets and millipedes and sometimes larger items such as mice, lizards, birds, and snakes

PREDATORS:

adults have few predators; snakes, lizards, birds, crocodiles, and turtles prey upon young frogs

RANGE

It is found from the eastern regions of Somalia to South Africa and westward to Nigeria.

HABITAT

Most often small puddles in open grassland, but it is also found in the Kalahari Desert and the sandy regions of central Namibia as well as the highveld domains in the Transvaal.

CHARACTERISTICS

This is the second largest African frog. It has dull green skin and a broad head and body. The females are lighter green in color than the males. The male usually has a yellow throat while the female’s throat is cream color. It has toothlike projections on its lower jaw to restrain struggling prey. Only its hind toes are webbed.

BEHAVIOR

African Burrowing frogs can be quite aggressive. Male bullfrogs protecting tadpoles may also feed upon them and larger siblings may eat their smaller siblings when food is limited.

REPRODUCTION

African bullfrogs are sexually mature at 8 years of age. Following heavy summer rains the bullfrog emerges from its burrow underground to breed. Male frogs develop swollen pads on their forelimbs and thumbs which he uses to grasp the females. Males congregate and call from a breeding site in shallow water, attracting females which then lay their eggs in the water. As she lays her eggs, he fertilizes them. Up to 4000 eggs are laid and the fertilized eggs hatch in two days. The male remains at the breeding site and protects the tadpoles. Metamorphosis takes about three weeks. When the pool dries up, both adult and young frogs burrow underground.

Ball Python

South American Yellow-footed Tortoise

Red-tailed Boa

CLASS:

Information Coming Soon