100 POUNDS!

P.J. has reached 100 pounds... only 300 more until she is full grown! She is eating milk only once a day now. She drinks 4 pints at one time which takes her about 45 seconds to finish! P.J. was able to meet many of our members last week during member appreciation night. Thanks to all who came out, she really enjoyed all the attention! Not a member yet? What are you waiting for? Its an inexpensive way to enjoy our zoo (plus over 150 different zoos around the country) for free! Plus, you will be able to join the other members in a night of behind the scene tours and special encounters with our furry friends at the zoo!

Here is a picture of P.J. drinking from her very large bottle! Check our her lacrimal gland next to her eye. When she is excited they will open.

No More Spots!

P.J. is now 10 1/2 weeks old and weighs 80 pounds. She no longer has spots! Fawns have spots when they are born and during the first couple months of life to help hide form predators. While the mom is out grazing, the fawn will hide in the tall grass. With the vertical lines of the grass and the spotted pattern on the fawn, they are almost invisible to any passing predator. Now that P.J. is much larger, she can start defending herself from any possible predators - not that there are any in the saftey of the zoo - and doesn't need the help of spots.

P.J. spent the whole day on exhibit a couple days ago! She was a little nervous at first - pacing the fence line and crying out - but once visitors started showing up, she found things to play with to show off her skills at jumping and stomping. She even went for her very first swim!


Here are some pictures and videos of her playing on exhibit.


She's not quite sure what to do with the ducks approaching her...




So she decided to herd them!

P.J. says "Hello" to the public for the first time!

It has been a busy week for P.J.! She was "interviewed" by three different news stations and made her debut to the visitors at the zoo. She was not nervous at all! It was a pretty warm day, so she wasn't as active as she typically is... until she found the shade! Once she was under a tall tree, she gave the visitors a show. Jumping, kicking, twirling, and stomping! Towards the end of hour we were on exhibit, she started getting sleepy. She tried laying down, but was too excited to see people, so she fought through the yawns and kept on playing. P.J. is now 60 pounds at 7 1/2 weeks old!
Here are some photos of her on exhibit and some of her painting! This Saturday (July 18) is "Creature Creations" at the zoo. P.J. will be selling her art work all day. Could P.J. stand for Picasso Junior? You be the judge!!

Moved outside!

On June 23rd P.J. was moved to an outside pen. She loved running through the grass! She has been trying to figure out how to eat the grass, but she can't quite figure out how to pull it out of the ground yet. She weighs 42 lbs at only 4 weeks old! She is eating about 20 ounces of milk every four hours.

I'm hungry!!

Soon after P.J. was born, we put her back in the enclosure with her mom, Lady. We wanted them to bond so we kept them in a smaller inside area. As we watched them interact, we noticed that Lady did not want anything to do with her new baby P.J. When P.J. went to get milk, Lady would walk away and not let her nurse. We were also seeing Lady nip at P.J., it was decided that we would hand raise P.J. It is always best to let the mother raise the young, but in this case, we had to step in. P.J. now has her own enclosure and eats every four hours starting at 6:30 am and ending at 10:30 pm. She has been steadily gaining weight.

P.J. has learned that I am her "mom" so she follows me close!

What is a White-Lipped Deer?

White-Lipped deer (also called Thorold's Deer) are large elk-size deer found in China. They are called white-lipped deer because of well... their white lips! They have large, solid hooves that help them with climbing up mountains. When they walk, you can hear a clicking noise which comes from their hooves. Adult females can weigh around 400 pounds and males weigh around 500 pounds. In captivity, they can live 15-20 years. Here are pictures of "P.J's" parents -"Chip" and "Lady"

"Chip" dropped his antlers ~ 3 weeks ago. They are in the early stage of development for the year. Deer drop their antlers every year. When they are at full length, they can be 3 feet high!

Check out Lady's white lips!!

A Precious Jewel - P.J.

On Monday, May 25th, a new baby was welcomed into our zoo family. She is a White-Lipped Deer fawn. At approximately 2:30pm our female White-Lipped deer was found in the beginning stages of giving birth. She was watched for the next several hours. Unfortunately, the mother was unable to give birth on her own. We had to call in the emergency vet to help out. Zoo animals tend to be less fit than their wild relatives which can cause complications in giving birth. After all was said and done, the zoo welcomed P.J. a healthy baby girl!