ANNUAL REPORT 2006 - Denver Zoo

2006 SIGNIFICANT TROPICALDISCOVERY ACQUISITIONS• Bicolor poison dart frog• Bornean file-eared tree frog• Vermiculite stingray• Dow’s four-eyed fish• Tiger catfish• Yellow tang• Bushmaster• Suphan cobra• Nepal viper• Rufous-beaked snake• Mozambique sungazer lizard• Tanzanian big-eye frog• Lemur frog• Pratt’s frog• Green vine snake• Giant hump-headed lizard• Achilles tang• Jackson’s tree snake• Knob-tailed gecko• Many-horned adderBIRD DIVISIONJohn AzúaCurator of BirdsLorikeet Adventure, a new exhibit to displayover 60 colorful Australasian lories forfun-filled feeding interactions with thepublic, opened Memorial Day weekendand provided enjoyment for nearly 120,000visitors. Important enclosure features allowthe new exhibit to be open almost all yearround, dependent on weather conditions.Construction continued on the new BirdPropagation Center in the southwesternportion of the zoo. This facility is scheduledto be completed and functional in the springof 2007 and will be critical in sustainingDenver Zoo’s bird collection well into thefuture.There were several key breeding successesin the past year. Two pairs of toco toucanswere added to the collection in 2004 andone pair at the old Propagation Center bredsuccessfully in 2006. The pair nested ina hollow palm log inside their enclosureand produced two three-egg clutches inFebruary and June. The first clutch did notresult in any hatched chicks, but two eggswere fertile. The second clutch had betterresults with two chicks hatching after anapproximately 20-day incubation period.The chicks were initially fed crickets by bothparents and over time various fruits wereadded to the feedings. Unfortunately, onlyone chick survived. It fledged after 51 daysand was weaned by day 66. Palm cockatooAbove | A black tree monitor hatches from its egg in Tropical Discovery.Far Left | Queen triggerfishLeft | African leopard tortoise hatchlingwas another magnificent species that bredat the propagation center. The cockatoo pairproduced two clutches and both eggs werepulled for artificial incubation and replacedwith a wooden dummy egg on bothoccasions. The chicks hatched normallywith the first chick being hand-raised andthe latter parent-raised.Another important breeding accomplishedthis past year occurred with crestedoropendolas. They constructed magnificentpendulous nests in the Aquatics exhibit ofBird World and two females laid eggs andraised two chicks.There were important acquisitions in 2006that supported several significant birdprograms. Several new lorikeet species wereacquired to bolster the zoo’s lory collectionduring the inaugural year of LorikeetAdventure. Golden-headed manakins, afascinating species, were acquired andadded to the Tropics exhibit. The malesperform elaborate courtship dances in acompetition with each other to gain theattention of a female for breeding. Twopair of keel-billed toucans were importedfrom Nicaragua as part of a multiple zooconsortium coordinated by the PotawatomiZoo. One keel-billed toucan pair was placed11