Good day my friends. I am back to update you despite the lack of repose. (Note the dark circles around my eyes. Thank you, I know I can pull off this look). But here is a random sampling of my schedule as of late.

First, I check in on our Baby Flamingo. 

Napping. All is well. 

Then I make sure that baby peacock is studying the grounds. (This little one has big shoes to fill). Note to self, teach her the difference between flowers on the mural and real ones.

It is never too early to educate them on the finer things in life. Look at this display.

I've asked the Flamingos repeatedly to take on some of the workload supervising the grounds, but they feel they are above that, on account of being 'actors' in the flamingo show.Well. I asked Florence if she prefers the Stanislavsky technique, or method, and if she attended Juilliard School but she harumphed at me and said she is a stand up comedienne, so there goes any assistance from them.

Of course on my route I encounter a few stragglers, this chap was on his way to Zoo Camp and got distracted by the Wishing Well. 

And apropos the Zoo Campers; they pop up in the most unexpected places!

Please do not fret. Once the zoo campers have fulfilled their fun quota here with us, I shall dedicate myself to my regular blog posting schedule. Wish I could find time to meditate like this guy.

Everything in life is speaking in spite of its apparent silence.
— Hazrat Inayat Khan

Its been Wilder than ever!

Dear Friends,
I am sorry I was not here to post on my regular day.
And I shall tell you why.
It starts with a Z and ends with OO CAMP!.

They are everywhere these Zoo Campers! A peacock needs his rest, but they have infiltrated the grounds! From playing games in the Secret Garden (so much for that being a Secret), to Water Activities out back, Stories under the Pavilion, and the general laughter and learning going on, not only am I exhausted from all the supervising along with my human counterparts, I have fallen behind in my beauty rest. Where am I to nap?  Therefore my apologies my fine followers. I have been extremely busy, but if I may confess, I've been having lots of fun just watching those kids have a such a good time.  They are really quite amusing.

I'll post pictures of Zoo Camp in action in the next day or two. Florence Flamingo has been borrowing my camera to capture the growth of our baby peacock. Look how big he's getting! A fine specimen if I do say so myself.
And so my friends, I am off to investigate the flamingo arena, I hear lots of excitement over there which I would never forgive myself for missing. And so I bid you adieu, and leave you with this parting thought from my latest literary musings:


Love of animals is a universal impulse, a common ground on which all of us may meet. By loving and 
understanding animals, perhaps we humans shall come to understand each other.
— Dr. Louis J. Camuti

What are you reading right now my feathered friends?

 Are you a thriller enthusiast? Do you like Historical fiction, autobiographies? Have you been there done that with Dickens, Wilde and Thoreau?

Well here is something new you can add to your repertoire. My friends and I at the zoo are starting to gather new or used books to start a lending library. In particular, anything and everything to do with wildlife, plants, animals, conservation, recycling, gardening, and saving the planet in general. Ever wondered about the life cycle of the red-eyed tree frog? How to take care of a spider plant? Need cool ideas about how to give items around your house a new life? Pretty soon, you'll be able to make Ardastra your source for literature on everything wild and being green. (One of my favourite colours FYI).

If you would like to donate your books to the Lending Library, you can drop them off with one of our staff at the front gate (don't give them to the Ring Tailed Lemurs even if they try to convince you). Hey you can give yourself a gold star for dropping off used books; thats recycling!

Bonus points if you bring them on your bike. 

Hey There Wild Ones!

Zoo Camp is filling up fast! Have you signed up yet? Whether you'll be in Critter Club, or be a Zoo Trooper, an Ardastra Explorer, or getting your Art Ed-zoo-cation, you are leaps and bounds to have a wild adventure with us! So register online today, its easy! See you soon.

There's a new sound...

Hi Everyone,
If you haven't heard, there is a new buzzword going around. And its this: ZOOCAMP!
There will be something for everyone, from 3.5 to 11 years old, there's Critter Club, Zoo Troop, Ardastra Explorers, and Art Ed-Zoo-cation. There is a 3 day camp and a 5 day camp, but only a limited amount of space so sign up soon. We'll be introducing the kids to all sorts of fantastic stuff, like veterinary health, ecology, animal arts and crafts, even music and photography! Get your passport stamped as you explore creatures from all corners of the globe... there is so much going on, take a peek for yourself at our website:http://www.ardastra.com/
See you there in June!

Proud Peacock Announcement

Drumroll please....

Its official! We have a new baby Flamingo! Just got word from Florence. Here's what she said happened:

The baby started to hatch on Thursday May 12^th.  She was born on lucky Friday May 13^th  and stayed with her Mom and Dad in the nest she hatched in for the weekend. On Monday, the animal caregivers realized that she was not in the nest and apparently had fallen out.  The baby was with her parents who were desperately trying to find her a new nest because their existing nest is so high.  For the first half of the day, they huddled against the enclosure on the ground.  Then the parents tried to take over another nest that was lower to the ground for the baby to rest in.  This started a fierce disagreement with the  owner of that nest, but they finally seemed to reach some sort of agreement, and the family were able move into the new nest.  Since then the baby has matured nicely, and at about one week, she started to climb out of the nest and walk around, with Mom and Dad getting very flustered and trying to push her back up into the nest. Plenty of time to stretch your legs and horizons soon, little babe!

But what is that redness around her beak you ask?

Well let me tell you. The redness is called "Crop-Milk". Whats a crop anyway? A crop is an expanded, muscular pouch near the gullet or throat in a birds' digestive system. It is a part of the digestive tract, essentially an enlarged part of the esophagus. (Thats the tube that goes from your mouth to your stomach, kids). 

So, the crop is used to temporarily store food. Not all birds have a crop. 

The crop milk is a secretion (oozy substance) from the lining of the crop of the mom and dad birds that is regurgitated to young birds as really nutritious food. Hey, whatever works, you know? This crop milking ability is found among all pigeons, doves, flamingos and some penguins. Pretty cool huh? 

Here is another picture of her. I love this one.

Today, she spent a lot of time playing and frolicking in the mud! She was having such a blast. We are so relieved that she is doing so well and that Mom and Dad are fine too. 

We do still need to name her though so send in your ideas to our Facebook page and if your name suggestion is chosen, you can win 2 passes to the zoo! 


Here is our link to Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ardastra-Gardens-Zoo-and-Conservation-Centre/153515658030637

Baby Pictures!

You think they are cute here on this blog? You should see them in bird! I mean, in person! 

Florence is still holding out on the baby Flamingo pictures, but don't worry, I'm on it. I'll post them right here as soon as I can.