Des Moines Zoo

[HeatherM74]

Our zoo isn't the biggest (it took us 2 1/2 hours to walk the whole thing, and at times I feel for the animals. Sometimes their areas seem a little rundown or too small, but the kids love going and seeing the animals. We have a membership and I'm hoping to use it for a discount at Henry Doorly this Saturday. That's my favorite zoo.

My 3 year old in the feed the budgie area. The website says that the stuff on the stick is nutritionally complete, but when I asked the guy in there what was on it he told me seeds, a little melon, and corn syrup. And to think I go to all this work feeding my budgies when that's all they need. That and a big bowl of millet.

Me feeding the budgies as my 16 month old looks around in awe at all the budgies. Just like at home, the birds liked to perch on his head.

Some of the budgies

I really love going to zoos, but seeing him behind bars made me sad.

Ostriches

I love giraffes. I took a lot of pictures of them, but this is the best one.

Sea Lion

the lions - I was behind glass, hence the blur of the male's head

Hello Mr Camel

Seahorses

American Bullfrog

Egyptian Fruit Bats (I think)

Cayman

um....big fish? from the Amazon? I don't know, but those fish freak me out every time I see them. They are huge.

The scarlet macaws, they made me sad too. The light was dim, and a couple of them looked like they were plucked a little. I wanted them to have room to spread their wings and fly.

The flamingos

Then my battery in my phone died. Just thought I'd share.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Beautiful pics. And I agree with your concerns about the scarlet enclosure. The scarlets without any yellow on their wings is the MEXICAN scarlet macaw. If you can, take more pictures of them Very rare in the U.S and very endangered in the wild.. I think hey should be in breeding programs... Thats way too many birds in that size enclosure (or was it bigger for them to fly and move around). Were they handable? What did their diet look like? You can also VOICE your complaints to this zoo. Sometimes that is all you need to do to make them see that people are concerned and that they have a problem at hand.

The Eagle enclosure is much too small

The website says that the stuff on the stick is nutritionally complete, but when I asked the guy in there what was on it he told me seeds, a little melon, and corn syrup. And to think I go to all this work feeding my budgies when that's all they need. That and a big bowl of millet.

Thats not a very nutritionally complete diet. You need to bring this up to them (print off the page that says that and any page conflicting with anything you saw and heard) and talk to the people in charge.

 

[HeatherM74]

See, that's everything that I was thinking. And that eagle wasn't the only one in there. I saw another one, but my son said there was a 3rd. I think they need to put the macaws and the eagles in their own huge aviaries. Unless the area going behind the macaw area was big, that was pretty much all the room they had. Most of the light you see in that picture is from my flash. The Amazons were in an outside walk through aviary with other birds, why can't they do something like that with the macaws, or like at Henry Doorly they have that huge indoor walk through rain forest area and there is the aviary netting (chain?) between the birds and you but they can fly around in the trees. I didn't notice there food, I should have looked closer but my oldest 3 were starting to move on and I had to jet after them.

I was wondering if the zoo would pay attention to me, I was hoping if I took some information down there with me that maybe they'd pay attention to it. I just don't get how I, just a bird owner would know that what they are doing isn't right. Why don't the zoo keepers know (or do something about) it.

Here's the info they have on the macaws at our zoo.

And here's the info on the feed a budgie program.

Oh, I asked the guy in the budgie area how in the world the budgies were so tame, mine won't even come up to me like that and I've been working with them for months. He said, we bribe them with sugar. That's what started the comment about what was on the sticks. The corn syrup part kind of surprised me. Corn syrup is pretty much sugar (I thought) and you aren't supposed to give them a lot of sugar. I could be wrong. Just the thoughts that went through my head as he was explaining all this to me.

 

[Anne & Gang]

I would definitely call them and also cvoice your concerns..let it be known on the internet and to pet groups whwat you think..that is the best way to get change.

 

[expressmailtome]

Those are nice pictures! It is too bad that the animals are in small enclosures.

Matt

 

[ronsig]

Since you are a member, they might actually listen to your concerns.
I would definitely bring it to their attention. I asked before at a zoo and was told that the macaws were rescued and could not fly.

Zoo memberships are great since you get into so many other zoos.

The budgie sticks looks just like the ones other zoos use. I thought they were just sticks with glue dipped in a seed mix. The corn syrup part would concern me too. I asked about the glue before and was told it was a type that's safe for the birds.

Don't these zoos have good avian vets available who know the best diet?
It is hard sometimes for us to enjoy a visit to a zoo because of these issues.
Your pictures are great...looks like you had a good time.

Sigrid

 

[Emmilyy]

Thats sad
The zoo close to here (very small but they seem to take wonderful care of their animals) has a bald eagle. I always feel so bad for him. He's got a HUGE aviary all to himself, though he doesn't use it much. They have him because he got hurt somehow and can't fly, so can't me released into the wild.

 

[HeatherM74]

UPDATE! They found my blog post with my pictures and concerns. I hadn't gotten the nerve up yet to call. I just did an updated blog post with their responses -

I got an email from Ryan Bickel, director of marketing at the Blank Park Zoo over my concerns about the zoo. He sent my questions to Jeff Dier, one of the zoo’s curators so they could address my concerns.


This is their response to my concerns about the budgies –

The seed sticks come from Lafeber Co. and were formulated in partnership with Dr. Sam Rivera DVM of Zoo Atlanta. Lafeber has been in the bird seed/diet business for many years. The sticks have chelated minerals, stabilized vitamins, are Omega 3 and 6 balanced and are naturally preserved. The binder that holds the seed to the stick is the same product they use in other items such as seed cakes. When we planned this exhibit we decided we did not want to feed the birds an excess of millet, but a nutritionally complete feed.
We are interested who said they were “being bribed with sugar” because this is not accurate.


The bowls of feed that are in the flight are not filled with millet. The feed is a pelleted diet from Mazuri Exotic Animal Diets, a division of Purina Mills, that is nutritionally complete. It is formulated in the small size to give the appearance of small seed. A diet solely of millet would be nutritionally unsound and as our vet described akin to “Feeding them a diet of Snickers.” The pelleted feed is offered to the birds in the holding area (away from public view) as well as in the flight. The only seed that the birds receive is from the sticks. The birds receive chopped spinach and carrot daily. This is fed in the morning both in the flight (public area) and in the holding (non-public area).
​

To be fair, I should have mentioned that I didn’t get up close and personal with the feed bowl in the budgie area. I mentioned the bowl of feed because as I was talking to the person in the budgie area, I had mentioned that I had been working with my budgies forever to take millet from my hands, and still only 4 of them trust me enough to do that. The person in the budgie area pointed to the bowl over amongst the crowd of people and said, that stuff in that bowl? Millet? That’s where I got the bowl of millet.


Regarding the budgies being plucked –

We have not observed any self-plucking or over grooming of one bird by another. Some birds did experience some minor feather loss during transport to the zoo. Our large social grouping of birds is the best preventative for self destructive behavior such as feather plucking. The birds have plenty of social stimulation and room to exercise in the flight.
​

Regarding the bald eagles –

Both of our eagles are indeed rehabilitation birds. They have some limited flight capability, but not sufficient to allow their release. A larger exhibit would not allow for more flight for the birds since these birds rely on air currents for flying.
​

I feel good for the eagles then. They are absolutely gorgeous birds that we are lucky to have at our zoo. In the wild, in this case, they wouldn’t survive at all. Love to the eagles and to the Blank Park Zoo for caring for them! I also forgot to update in my other posts that when we went back to the zoo the other day, there were only 2 eagles, the ones I originally thought I saw, not the 3 that Jordanhttp://jordandman.blogspot.com/ swears were there.

The zoo does not have a permanent elephant exhibit. 2 years ago we had Rosie and JP, an Asian female elephant and her calf, here for the summer as special guests. The zoo has never had a bear exhibit or a rhino exhibit since reopening in 1986.
​

On July 13 the large mammals, in our collection at present, that were not on exhibit were the Amur tigers and snow leopards. The tiger exhibit pool was remodeled this year. Equipment had to have access into the exhibit which required taking down part of the panels that contain the tigers outdoors. On days over 85 degrees the snow leopards are given their choice to be in the outdoor exhibit or stay indoors in air conditioning. Snow leopards wear a heavy fur coat the year round and can get overheated easily during days of high temps and humidity. All other exhibits, including the giraffe, were open.
​

In closing, I would like to mention that the Zoo is fundraising for a 15 million dollar expansion and renovation campaign to make the Blank Park Zoo an even better place.
​

I emailed him back with my concerns about the macaws still and said that I really hope with that 15 million dollar expansion the macaws get a bigger area with more light. And I asked if that Mexican Scarlet Macaw was in a conservation/breeding program.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Im glad they read this, it does help clear up some things, and it makes it sound to our minds that they do care about them. Some zoos do not, so this is nice to hear a response from them! I cant wait to hear more when they do expand their habitats for their animals!

I emailed him back with my concerns about the macaws still and said that I really hope with that 15 million dollar expansion the macaws get a bigger area with more light. And I asked if that Mexican Scarlet Macaw was in a conservation/breeding program.

I was hoping they would have responded in their first email about the mexican scarlets/scarlet macaw enclosure. I would like to know why they do not have much light, and why its not that big. And would love to know the diet they have and when and if they get any toys and enrichment. And most of all, I really look forward to hearing about the mexican scarlets. Out of the 3 subspecies of scarlet macaws, the mexican is very endangered(now only limited to the very small forests that still remain in mexico) and they are being bred with the other two scarlet macaws in captivity (crossing the subspecies, )..

 

[Emmilyy]

Just wanted to point out about the 'plucking' birds.. so many birds that US Roadies have pluck/barber/chew their feathers.. It doesn't mean they are not being taken care of.

 

[Renae]

Great photos!

I hope that the money can go towards a bigger enclosure for the Macaws and possibly the Eagles too.

The zoo here (well in Sydney) has huge enclosures, even the birds (all different sorts including Suns) get this big open sort of enclosure (it's closed off, but they can still breathe and such, there's no glass or anything) that they've made to look like a forest, they're extremely lucky!

 

[ronsig]

I am very impressed that the zoo took the time to explain the situation. Obviously, they take visitors' concerns very seriously.
Interesting about the pellets. I tried to get my budgies to eat pellets for years. I wonder if I should try to find the brand they mentioned.

Sigrid

 

[HeatherM74]

Just wanted to point out about the 'plucking' birds.. so many birds that US Roadies have pluck/barber/chew their feathers.. It doesn't mean they are not being taken care of.

Excellent point! I just wanted to make sure that no one was plucking due to stress/health/issues like that. Thank you for reminding me of that!

 

[HeatherM74]

Here is there response to my questions about the macaws -

[FONT="]Heather;[/FONT]
[FONT="]Ryan Bickel forwarded your inquiry about our scarlet macaws to me, so I thought I’d fill you I on their story, it is an interesting one…[/FONT]
[FONT="]Back in 1986 when the Blank Park Zoo was first opening after being closed/renovated for four years, we were contacted by the USFWS to hold a group of scarlet macaws that were confiscated in New York as part of an illegal importation for the pet trade. We held the birds for 3 years while the case went through the court system and in the end the birds became federal property and they donated 6 to us for exhibit purposes. I did know the birds were wild caught (and couldn’t be returned to the wild), so I immediately set up a pair for off-exhibit breeding. The others were sent to other zoos for display and breeding. Within two years they had successfully parent raised three clutches. When the discovery center was being designed, we set out to build an exhibit just for our macaws…the idea was for it to resemble the clay cliff areas where macaws congregate to eat minerals. There is a kitchen behind the “mud-wall” that the birds put their heads through to get their diet of pellets and about 15 different fruits, vegetables, and seeds. Of course in captivity, macaw’s territoriality usually prevents keeping a group of adults together. We thought free-flying in the conservatory would be too hard on the plant material…I agree that the branching and enrichment items needs to be replaced…we do it often…you should see them go to town when new branching is put in! On the plus side, the birds feather condition are good, indicating the exhibit meets most of their needs. They are behind glass (they receive some natural light) and we do keep the lights on the dim side in an attempt to make them feel more secure. If you view them from the exit hallway side, you get a better idea of how much light they actually have…when you are in the bright conservatory, it is hard to see in because you are standing on the bright side. We hope to someday add a “roof” to stand under, which should facilitate better viewing.[/FONT]
[FONT="]So the six birds in the exhibit right now, are the originally breeding pair and their offspring. You can usually pick out the dominate pair fairly easily. There are a fairly large number of scarlets in zoos right now, so there isn’t a pressing need to reproduce such a long lived bird, but if needed, I’m sure our original pair would gladly do it if moved to an off-exhibit space. The only way we can keep the six adults together is to not provide a nesting cavity in the display.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Last year the College of Vet Medicine at Texas A &M started a genome project with our original female (they needed a known wild-caught bird that was in a stable environment). They determined that she (and consequently our whole group) is of the Ara macao macao…the subspecies found in the Amazon Basin. Generally there are two, sometimes three subspecies of the scarlet recognized…and there isn’t much difference between them. The yellow on the wing is one clue, but so is the “bluishness” or “greenishness” of the wing feathers…but I guess the genetics tell the whole story.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]

Should I include anything else in my response back to him? I am so glad they are out of the illegal importation of wild bird activity. I thought I'd give you guys this info before I responded because you know more about macaws than I do. I've got little birds.
[/FONT]

 

[Conure Conniption]

at Henry Doorly this Saturday. That's my favorite zoo.

Just went there two weekends ago. My favorite attraction is the parrots they take out to perch...it was too windy and they didnt have them out ;(

I did get the chance to take my 10 month old daughter to the budgie enclosure though! She was amazed at all the birds flying around!

Great pics, thanks for posting! I LOVE zoo pics!