September 20, 2017 by coloradotravelingducks

Dinosaurs at the Denver Zoo with Zeb and Soapy Smith Duck

Ducks, let’s go to the zoo! Some of our favorite words. But what is this? Dinosaurs at the zoo? Aren’t they extinct? Let’s look around here. This is Coelophysis.

Coelophysis dinosaur

Coelophysis is the earliest dinosaur known to have a wishbone (or furcular), a feature once believed to be unique to birds.

Coelophysis dinosaur

They were social animals, living and hunting in groups. When you go to the zoo, be prepared. These dinosaurs move their heads and make a ferocious sound. You might be startled at first, we were. Next we saw Carnotaurus.

Carnotaurus dinosaur

This dinosaur may have had something in common with the modern day Komodo dragon; highly flexible jaws that allowed it to swallow large chunks of flesh whole. But, please, not to swallow ducks…

Moving along, Edmontonia dinosaur was a sight to see.

Edmontonia dinosaur

This dinosaur would have been a poor choice of prey for a predator due to the bony lumps, or osteoderms, that dotted its already rough hide. It is theorized that Edmontonia had a highly developed sense of smell, thanks to extensive nasal passages within the skull.

Diabloceratops was the most unusual dinosaur we saw.

Diabloceratops dinosaur

Diabloceratops is estimated to have tipped the scales at roughly 4,000 pounds, the same weight as a modern Indian rhinoceros. In addition, like the rhino, it was an herbivore despite its dangerous looking horns. About 79 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period, Diabloceratops lived in Utah. Hey, that is less than 300 miles from where we live.

But look at these baby diabloceratops.

Baby diabloceratops dinosaur

Aren’t they so cute? The last dinosaur we saw was Iguanodon.

Iguanodon dinosaur

We learned that Iguanodon is one of three dinosaurs used as inspiration for Godzilla? The other two were T Rex and Stegosaurus. About 125 million years ago Iguanodon roamed around what is now Belgium in Europe.

There are more dinosaurs for you to discover at the Denver Zoo. But don’t wait too long. After October 31, 2017 the dinosaurs will once again become extinct. While we were at the zoo, we stopped to visit a few of our favorite animals. Mom just loves tigers.

Tiger

We like them also. The okapi is always interesting to us.

Okapi

The okapi is a relative of giraffes and lives deep in the equatorial rain forests of Africa. Okapi can eat up to 65 pounds of leaves a day. That’s a lot of leaves! We love that the okapi only has some stripes. That makes him very unusual and favorite of ours. Of course, no trip to the zoo would be complete with seeing the majestic lion.

Lion

And here is the fastest land animal on earth, the cheetah. The cheetah can sprint up to 70 miles per hour.

Cheetah

Look at those eyes. The sign said the black “tear marks” along the side of a cheetah’s nose may help reduce glare, just like the black grease some football players smear under their eyes. Is the cheetah a trend setter? Perhaps.

November 9, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Washed Ashore Has Art to Save the Sea

I, Zeb the Duck, and Soapy Smith Duck, visited the Denver Zoo. Washed Ashore, a non profit organization, has displayed 15 works of art at our zoo. These works of art are all completely made from garbage collected from beaches. Washed Ashore’s mission is the use the arts to educate a global audience about plastic pollution in oceans and waterways and to spark positive changes in consumer habits. This is Lidia The Seal.

Lidia the Seal

Lidia is one of 15 works on display. Meet Rufus the Triggerfish.

Rufus the Triggerfish

There are 40 species of triggerfish swimming in oceans throughout the world. This “American Star” was created from red, white and blue to bring attention to plastics used in Independence Day celebrations (July 4) in the United States.

The “American Sea Star”

Nora the Salmon is big.

Nora the Salmon

We like this turtle, also.

Tortoise

One of the favorites is See More the Sea Lion Pup.

See More the Sea Lion Pup

Sea Lions are curious and often get tangled in trash. Chompers the Shark reminds us that sharks try to eat most of what they encounter.

Chompers the Shark

Scientists say that tiger sharks have been found with tires, license plates and plastic debris in their stomachs. Humans, stop feeding your trash to animals! Gertrude the Penguin sits in front of the Denver Zoo’s Bird World.

Gertrude the Penguin

Gertrude even had an older model cell phone on her beak. Natasha the Turtle, made of garbage, is laying on a pile of garbage.

Natasha the Turtle

Sea turtle have been swimming through the world’s oceans for 100 million years. A large threat to sea turtles is plastic bags. Plastic bags often are mistaken for jellyfish and are eaten by turtles. Each sculpture lists some of the trash used. We saw chairs, coolers, sport balls, umbrella handles, flip flop shoes, toys and much more. Plastic water bottles, plastic lids and plastic bags were so common. Humans, try to do better. And, if you are on the beach and see trash, pick it up and put it in trash containers. Flash the Marlin is the last work of art from garbage that we will show you today.

Flash the Marlin

Marlin even has toothbrushes, beer cans and a toilet seat. There are more sculptures at the zoo and we hope you go to see them. They are interesting and great to see, but remember where all these building materials were found. Washed Ashore has 54 works of art that travel around the country to teach ducks and humans to be careful. For more information visit http://www.WashedAshore.org This display will be at the Denver Zoo until January 16, 2017. We hope you go to the Denver Zoo to see the animals and the Washed Ashore exhibits.

October 5, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

Zeb Loves the Lego Exhibit at the Denver Zoo

I, Zeb the Duck, visited the Denver Zoo. The zoo is a great place. I love all the animals, but this time we enjoyed a Lego exhibit. Look at this lion made of legos.

Lego Lion

And then, look at this real lion.

Powerful Lion

Almost like being in Africa. We headed to the snow leopard.

Lego Snow Leopard

This one is made from 63,379 legos. We love this polar bear with her cubs.

Lego Polar Bear with cubs

There are 133,263 legos in this sculpture. The live polar bear is taking a nap.

Live Polar Bear taking a nap

This red rose is great.

Lego Rose

We really liked this whooping crane.

Lego Whooping Crane

Check out this bumblebee

Lego Bumblebee

and this gorgeous butterfly.

Huge butterfly

The germinating acorn is very nice also.

Lego acorn germinating

The Koi and Lily Pads seem so tropical.

Lego Koi and Lily Pad

It takes a lot of work to keep the zoo nice for visitors. This honors a man that keeps things is great shape for our visits.

Honoring those who work to keep the zoo nice for us

Of course, a lawn mower is a necessity.

A lawn mower of Legos. Looks so real

We liked the bison and calf of legos.

Bison and calf made of Legos

We also liked these live cape buffalo.

Cape Buffalo and Baby

The baby was born July 24, 2015. We love the zoo anytime, but these legos are spectacular. They will be on display at the Denver Zoo until November 1, 2015. We recommend that you visit the zoo and see the animals and the legos. We have seen them three times and will definitely go back again. We always see something new at the zoo.

May 6, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

Goodbye to Bert the Hippo

I, Zeb the Duck, went to the Denver Zoo last August. Bert, the hippo had a birthday August 21. Bert, 58 years old, was the oldest living hippo in North America and the longest resident of the Denver Zoo.

Happy Birthday Bert

My friend, Bert, died Monday, May 3, 2015 at the zoo. We will miss him whenever we go to the zoo. Bert’s son, Mahali, is now the oldest hippo at the Denver Zoo.

Bert, born at New York City’s Central Pak Zoo, arrived in Denver on December 16, 1958. Bert was the first hippo to ever live at Denver’s zoo.

Bert has his own pool

Bert became one of the most loved and visited residents at the Denver Zoo. Here are some photos from Bert’s birthday last August.

Bert is watching me!

Bert is eating while watching me watch him

Bert, I will miss you. You were the best hippo I ever met!

August 23, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Bert the Hippopotamus has a Birthday

I, Zeb the Duck, visited the Denver Zoo Friday.

Back to the Denver Zoo

Bert the hippopotamus celebrated his 58^th birthday Thursday, August 21. In the wild, hippos live 30-40 years and in captivity, they live about 10 years longer. Bert is way past that.

First mom and I went to the Pachyderm Habitat.

Bert and other hippos live here

Bert was there, eating.

Happy Birthday Bert

He sure is big. This sign explains much of Bert’s life.

This is Bert’s story

Bert is the oldest hippo in North America and perhaps in the entire world. That is amazing!

Bert is watching me!

Bert has some geriatric problems, including arthritis, stiffness and dental issues.

Bert spends much of his time in the water.

Bert has his own pool

The water helps alleviate the pressure of carrying his 5,000 pounds.

After leaving Bert’s home, we spotted this statue.

Zeb’s first time on a hippo

I think I look good with the hippopotamus.

I hope you visit the Denver Zoo soon. If you visit Denver Zoo this weekend and your name has Bert in it, you get in free. That’s for RoBERTa, RoBERT, and so many more names. If not, visit a zoo near you. Other zoos may not have Bert, but zoos are wonderful places and so much fun. You will have a great day at a zoo.

Bert is eating while watching me watch him

May 9, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Bird World at Denver Zoo

Zeb the Duck here. We are at the Denver Zoo again.

The Denver Zoo

This time we head for Bird World.

I love birds!

We will see many of my kind of creatures. Penguins greet us in front of the building.

Penguin greeters

These are warm weather penguins.

These penguins live in warm climates

I love them!

My friends

Here is our first greeter.

Welcome!!

So colorful. Heading into the rain forest area.

Warm and humid here

Look at the bright red head of this green winged macaw.

Macaws

His friend is the blue and gold macaw. These macaws eat clay from the riverbanks. This neutralizes toxins in some of the poisonous plants they eat. They use their large, strong beaks to crack nuts and crush seeds and also as a third leg to grab branches while climbing trees.

The Hotttentot Teal is my relative. This is the smallest African duck

My little African cousins

and he lives in freshwater marshes in sub Sahara Africa. He feds by putting his bill under water feeling for, and eating, seeds, invertebrates and plants. He takes cover in shoreline vegetation. This little duck grows to 11 inches.

This Elegant Crested Tinamou is a secretive bird. You will hear him more often that see him.

Regal crest

His feathers provide a great camouflage in the dense vegetation he calls home. This tinamou lives in the low dry shrub land of Argentina and Southern Chile.

Another relative. This African Pygmy Goose is not really a goose.

A duck called goose

He is one of Africa’s small ducks. This guy grows to 13 inches. He lives in freshwater lakes and streams of sub Sahara African and Madagascar. The African Pygmy Goose (a duck relative) hides in floating vegetation.

Between rooms in Bird World we delighted in seeing this Rhinoceros Hornbill.

Hornbill

Rhinoceros Hornbill information

He moves real fast!

White-faced Whistling Ducks certainly are curious.

information

The sign says they are attentive to each other. That is only partially true.

I am the new duck in town

Best friends now

We became good friends.

This Tawny Frogmouth hunts like an owl at night and during the day he perches motionless on a branch.

It’s Tawny

This Tawny Frogmouth is alive. No dead stuffed birds in Bird World.

I like the blue-breasted kingfisher.

He is alive also

This kingfisher lives in tropical Africa and prefers wooded habitats where insects are plentiful.

Love the colors!

He grows to 10 inches and is related to our local belted kingfisher.

Green Aracari is a type of toucan. His large, but lightweight bill, is perfect for feeding on tropical fruit

Toucan type here

and caring for those beautiful feathers. He is about 10 inches and lives in the lowland forests of northeast South America.

These birds, some are my relatives, are magnificent. You will love seeing them. Mom and I spent a long time at Bird World. Hope to see you at the Denver soon, but if you don’t live here, visit your local zoo. You will have a great day there!

He is waiting for you

April 5, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Tropical Discovery at the Denver Zoo

It’s Zeb the Duck here again. Mom and I went back to the Denver Zoo.

Zeb the Duck goes to the zoo

This time we visited Tropical Discovery. This building within the zoo has fish, snakes, frogs, lizards and the huge Komodo Dragons. It is warm inside, like a tropical forest, so it is perfect for those less than perfect days outside.

I like the frogs. Here is a Mexican Leaf Frog.

More information

Mexican Leaf Frog

These frogs only live in Mexico. The yellow banded dart frog lives in northeast South America.

The snakes were very colorful and not slimy. This McGregor’s Viper lived in the rainforest of the Philippine Islands.

Zoo information

McGregor’s Viper

Cobras have hoods on their heads and this suphan cobra thrives in the forests of Thailand.

Cobra information

Thailand’ Suphan Cobra

Be careful if you hike in the forest of West Africa. This green mamba lives there and is deadly.

Be careful around this snake

West African Green Mamba

Lion fish are graceful while swimming.

Lionfish

They appear to have fancy costumes that sway in the water; they are stunning fish.

Before leaving Tropical Discovery, we visited the Komodo dragons, lizards and crocodiles.

Komodo Dragon

The Komodo dragons often grow 10 feet long. When they are hungry, they are capable of killing and eating just about anything.

Tropical Discovery at the Denver Zoo is a fascinating place. I am glad the glass enclosures are strong. Visit www.denverzoo.org for more information.

November 16, 2013 by coloradotravelingducks

Felines at the Denver Zoo

Denver has a wonderful zoo.

Zeb the Duck goes to the zoo

It is huge and has many animals. The zoo also has some special exhibit areas. To see and enjoy the entire zoo, we would need to spend a full day, never stopping, or see a little each day. Mom and I have a zoo membership, so we visit the zoo for an hour or more several times during the year. If you live near Denver, you would enjoy a zoo membership also.

This trip we entered and headed for the large felines. Mom and I really love the cats. They are so powerful and so graceful.

Mom’s favorite

Now that you know how we visit the zoo, let’s talk about this visit.

Entering the zoo, we watched the banded mongoose run and play.

Banded mongoose

Some hid under a gunnysack and then jumped out, then hid again.

I was at the zoo. The mongoose was playing.

In the same enclosure we watched the African crested porcupines.

African crested porcupines

They were lounging, not very active today.

Next exhibit were the dik diks. These look like baby impalas or baby deer.

Dik Dik. So little and cute.

However they are full grown. Just look like toys.

I was with mom and saw all these animals also. It was hard to get pictures of me, Zeb the Duck, with these animals. They are so big and I would not go in the cage with them. Next time at the zoo there will be more pictures of me.

Then we saw the servals. These are African felines that hunt in tall grasses in Africa. They hunt by sound rather than by sight. We saw them, but they were too close to the fence for a good photo. Then we watched the leopard.

Leopards climb trees

This feline often sits in trees for a better view, and will usually take their meal in a tree with them. The leopard then feels safe from everything, except humans. So, when on an African safari, look up to see the rare leopard.

Siberian tigers are mom’s favorites. Now I know why. They are beautiful. We saw the tiger calmly resting and waiting for dinner. Dinner arrived, and this huge feline ate, while exhibiting good table manners.

Tiger with dinner

Such grace and calmness. WOW!!

Walking to the African exhibits, we saw this cheetah. A cheetah is the fastest land animal, sprinting at 70 mph.

Cheetahs are fast!

With speed and grace this feline is a real classy animal. Never knew I would learn so much at the zoo and see such magnificent animals.

I am looking forward to our next zoo visit. Go to www.denverzoo.org to learn more. I hope to see you at the zoo on my next visit. You will enjoy your day here. I, Zeb the Duck, love the zoo.

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