"Otterly" Adorable!

Back for day 3 and ready for action! We hopped on the bus, traveled past our favourite "shiny balls" on the Whitemud, and counted zoo signs until we arrived!

The second we got to the zoo, we headed to the commissary! This kitchen feeds over 400 animals! 

We learned about herbivores and carnivores, and also about piscivores (primarily eat fish), insectavores (primarily eat insects), and frugivores (primarily eat fruit)! So many neat animals to feed at the zoo!

We took a peek at the enormous zoo recipe book that lists all of the dietary needs of all the animals. We examined the red panda's diet and even saw the bamboo being taken out for the day!

Teacher Courtney showed us the meat cart for the carnivores. Theses animals get whole food which is already dead. We had an excellent discussion about the food chain and how the zoo keeps animals healthy. 

Today, rather than sketch the animals we had chosen for the week, students got to decide fairly as a group which new animal they would observe today! This opportunity allowed us to compare and contrast the new animal with our previous one!

Comparing lemurs to meerkats

Comparing the snow leopard to the wolves

Comparing the wolves to the seals

Comparing the ref fox to the lemurs

It was nearing lunchtime, but before we got to eat, we saw the river otters being fed! We asked so many questions and were fascinated! 

They were "otterly" adorable and playful! This was a huge highlight of our day and we could have stayed forever!

After lunch we welcomed in Dean, who has been working with the Edmonton Valley Zoo for 39 years and has tremendous knowledge and infinite experience!

Dean taught us how animals can be safely captured (e.g. for medical checkups). He used hoop nets, control poles, and even some blow dart pipes (which aren't typically used but are oh, so super cool!). The zoo prefers to train animals to voluntarily do various behaviours so the animals can be medically examined or moved and keepers can safely interact with them, keeping captures to a minimum. 

After a few quiet minutes journaling our Top 4 moments of the day, we took one last stroll through the zoo and waved goodbye!

We were completely and "otterly" exhausted!