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December 13, 2024 • 14 mins
The Henry Doorly Zoo has a brand new giraffe!
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I have a special guest I'll introduce in a second
in the studio right now. I was at Sebastian Maniscalco
last night. Now he's a funny comedian, and Sebastian said,
has anybody gone to a zoo recently? And the entire
crowd at c CHI Heuston was like yeah. And He's like,
whoa do you have like a good zoo or something?
And everybody was like yeah, and he's like what is

(00:22):
going on? And then people were shouting we have the
best zoe and He's like, Okay, geez, I guess I'm
gonna have to go to the zoo. I'm sorry, I
didn't know you had such a great zoo here. I
thought San Diego had the best. You and everybody's like booo.
It was the best part of the entire show. And
that is a perfect way to introduce our guest. Here.
We have JC Collson from the Henry Dorley Zoo and
Aquarium in here. I mean, that's got to mean something.

(00:44):
A Sebastian Maniscalco had a show taken over by people
cheering for the Henry Dorley Zoo.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
That's completely wonderful to hear. Of course, we absolutely love
our zoo community in the Omaha community, and we're so
glad that they love us as much we love them.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Yeah. So how about that. I saw the news and
I texted you last week you were on vacation. Sorry
to bother you, but I couldn't help. But notice that
we got a new animal that showed up. We did.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
We had a new edition last Friday. We welcomed a
new male reticulated giraffe. So his name is Jeff. He
joined our herd in the early morning hours. He came
from an Ezy accredited facility in the southeast, traveled all
the way to Omaha, and he has already been so

(01:35):
welcomed by our zoo community. Everyone is so excited that
he's here and we're so glad to have him.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
So giraffes, everybody knows what a giraffe is. You know,
if I quiz to somebody on please show me or
draw an kidnap, people would be like, h or you
know a giraffe? They're like, ah, yes, I know what
that looks like. There are awesome animals, you guys, got
quite a few of them over here. But this is
an tentional thing that is done to welcome a giraffe.
This isn't just like, hey, we got to get rid

(02:04):
of this giraffe. Let's uh, you know, find a place
that wants a new giraffe. That's not how it works.
AZA Accredited is something that you just mentioned there. Can
you re explain kind of what that means and how
Jeff's place in the US is kind of affected by
that accreditation and another acronym SSP. Yeah, So the.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
AZA is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. It's sort
of the governing body for zoos and aquariums in the
United States that are accredited by them. So they have
really rigorous strict standards that zoos and aquariums have to
meet to be a z A accredited And then they
also have like what you just said SSPs, which stands

(02:43):
for Species Survival Plans. So Jeff specifically is part of
the reticulated giraffe species Survival Plan. And what they do
is they match different individuals based off of and they
man genetically diverse, demographically varied, in biologically sound populations of

(03:06):
threatened or endangered species to ensure that those animals are
able to have a long thriving future within human care.
And so you mentioned everyone knows what a giraffe is,
which is very true, but unfortunately a quiet side effect
of that is that drafts are sort of facing what's

(03:27):
called a silent extinction. So because they're so common in
media and in zoos and we see them everywhere, maybe
we forget that they're facing real threats in their natural habitats.
So less than sixteen thousand reticulated drafts remain in their
natural environment. So conservation efforts are really urgent and critical

(03:51):
to save these really important, majestic, amazing animals that we
all know and love.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
And this is the one thing for anybody who you
know seventy eight eighty one hundred years ago or it's like, well,
a zoo is basically where animals are just in cages
and we get to look at them. Zoos in twenty
twenty four are just incredible things. And this is why
AZAD accreditation is so important, because you can go to
an AZA accredited zoo and know that you're seeing not
just the best of care for all of the animals,

(04:18):
but also this is helping preserve the genes and the
species that you're seeing. A great example is the addicts.
The addicts is an animal that I didn't know anything about,
but apparently is basically functionally extinct in the wild in
a lot of places, and it thrives in zoos because
of human care and it's not getting eaten by predators
on a regular basis. So this is not that something's

(04:40):
out there eating giraffes, but they are, you know, kind
of targets for some poaching and some prize hunting in
big game hunters out there. For Jeff, he's coming here
and he's got one very important job that he's going
to be focusing on.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
Right, Yes, Jeff's very important job is going to be breeding.
So as part of the SA, they manage all of
the reticulated drafts within easy accredited zoos and they make
matches based on again those goals of genetically diverse, demographically varied,
and biologically sound population. So Jeff made his way to

(05:17):
us because he was matched with some of our females
to produce some calves and and benefit uh, not only
giraffes in human care, but also serve as an incredible
ambassador for all giraffes, even those in their natural environment.

Speaker 1 (05:37):
We're speaking with JC Collson. She's from Henry Dorley Zoo.
An aquarium. This is an important thing also that I
think people are a little bit confused by about how
this all works and not to get you know, too
in the weeds about you know. I mean, theoretically, if
everything goes well, in a couple of years, we're going
to be seeing little giraffes at Henry dor Ley Zoo

(05:57):
and aquarium. And it's not just to have These are
going to be, like you said, ambassadors for their species
as they grow up and live their lives hopefully for
several decades in these AZYA accredited environments. But you have
to be very intentional about how this is done right.
And the giraffe enclosure is so awesome, the outside area,

(06:19):
the inside area. And I'm sure Jeff is getting to
know his new roommates essentially, but you guys have that
in a very controlled environment. So what does that look
like and how does Jeff's you know, journey kind of
begin and how he's introduced to maybe some of his
partners here.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yeah, so Jeff is currently in his own space that
was set up for him to be separate from the herd.
They can see each other, him in the herd can
see each other, They can engage with each other, but
they aren't quite physically together. But I called down to
our giraffe herd rooms this morning ahead of our conversation

(07:02):
and I said, okay, so what's the feeling on Jeff.
And he's adapting so well to his new environment at
our zoo, and the other herd members are quite curious
of him. They've been kind of scoping him out, seeing
what he's all about. And yeah, the animal care team
let me know that he's doing really well and he's

(07:25):
adapting just as we would hope and expect.

Speaker 1 (07:27):
That's awesome to hear Jeff the giraffe. Can people see
him in his space because I know that you guys
have a pretty sweet space on the inside as well
that you can be able to see these giraffes all
year long.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah, so Jeff is in our sit in Betty Kate
Giraffe Herd Rooms in our scott African Grasslands and so
when you walk inside, just take a look in the
back corner and you'll be able to see him.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
That's awesome. Can you stick around for another segment?

Speaker 2 (07:50):
Absolutely?

Speaker 1 (07:51):
All right? We got more to talk about with JC
Calson from Henry door Lee Zoo and Aquarium. Coming up
next on news Radio eleven to ten kfab and Mary's Songer.
Can I even go to the zoo? It's wintertime? This
sounds like a summer idea. Well, fear not. The zoo
is absolutely operational. Does what's what makes it different? I
guess for the zoo versus the summer into the winter

(08:13):
of how people can enjoy that jac.

Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, so during the day, some people know, some people don't.
We have seven acres of indoor exhibits, so even if
it's cold, even if it's snowy, there's still plenty of
plenty to do at the zoo. And even more, we
have our special after hours event, zoo Lightful, so it
is our holiday event. The zoo transforms into a glowing

(08:40):
world of immersive lands with just completely unique and enchanting experiences,
light displays, and just some really unforgettable holiday fun.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
I went last year. We brought some family friends, my
wife and I as friends. They have a small daughter.
It was fun to see her enjoy it through her eyes.
And we got to see all the big lighted up
Christmas trees. We got to put together a gingerbread house.
We were able to go through and see all the
different things that are going on, all the lights and everything.

(09:12):
It is a transformation for people if they go there.
So how can people enjoy zoo Lightful because they might
be thinking, Okay, this sounds like a great family trip
for us. How many days a week are you guys
doing that? And how can they get tickets?

Speaker 2 (09:25):
Yeah, so we have zoo Lightful every single evening from
now until December thirtieth, except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,
and you can go to omahazoo dot com slash zoo
Lightful to buy tickets. And we can't wait to see everyone.
We've already had a great turnout of folks enjoying the
event and we're excited to see how the holiday season

(09:47):
wraps up.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
For US animals this time of the year as well.
And obviously if you go to Zoo Lightful at being
dark outside, that's one thing. The hours are a little
bit shorter, right ten to four I think for animals,
but the zoo is open, and there are animals that
actually really like this time of the year, right, and
then they do like to be outside.

Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, there's plenty of our animals that enjoy the outdoors
and the cold. So you'll see a lot of the
species in our Asian Highlands exhibits, snow leopards talking, they're
really cold adapted species, so they enjoy it when it's
snowing and cold. But again, otherwise we have those seven
acres of indoor exhibits, and even our animals that are

(10:30):
generally outdoors during the summertime, you could see them in
their indoor spaces, such as our giraffes or our elephants
in their herd rooms.

Speaker 1 (10:37):
Yeah, love to see that, and there's a lot of
cool spaces in there that you might not even have
thought to go look at because the animals are generally
outside during the summer. It's a completely different environment and
it's a lot of fun to go in the winter
time and kind of see the differences. And of course
the desert dome and the creatures of the night basically
that are living underneath that, which I really love that

(10:57):
you get to see the beavers and the alligators, the
cayman and all the different types of things. But on
top of that as well, the aquarium is just unreal.
And I guess I'm going to ask you. I know
this is probably going to change every single day of
your life, but what's your favorite thing in the aquarium,
because I feel like I've gotten a little bit attached
to the jellyfish lately, just because watching that thing move

(11:20):
and know it's alive, like my brain kind of breaks
at that. It's hard for me to understand how this
thing is a living thing and how it eats and
all that stuff. What's your favorite aquarium?

Speaker 2 (11:29):
It's so hard to pick, but I've got to say
my favorite is the Sunflower Seastar because they have a
really great conservation story and we're doing a lot of
great conservation work with them. So the Sunflower Seastar, their
populations were kind of along the Western seaboard and they
suffered huge population losses due to what was called c

(11:52):
star wasting syndrome. So it's not really understood why it happened,
but a ton of their populations unfortunately died off. And
so what we're doing one of our aquarus, Ben he's
kind of leading up the charge with a Saving Animals
from Extinction or safe program through AZA to study why

(12:14):
those stars, why those stars suffered from that syndrome, and
then also how we can repopulate them. So he's trying
to figure out how we can breed them in human care.
And then one of our reproductive scientists, Jesse, is working
on a cryopreservation with them, which is kind of crazy.

Speaker 1 (12:36):
So and that would probably work, right, I mean, if
there was anything that you could potentially like preserve in
that way, that would be one of the animals that
I would think it probably had the best chance of
working for.

Speaker 2 (12:48):
She's looking at the cryopreservation of their sperm so that
we could perhaps capture sperm from different individuals at different
organizations and then use that sperm for time to repopulate.

Speaker 1 (13:02):
I mean, this is this was just okay, this was
the what was it called the Sea Sunflower Sea Stars,
the Sunflower Seastar. And I'm telling you this is just
the tip of the iceberg of the information you can
learn about conservation efforts at Henry door Ley Zoo and Aquarium.
On top of all the fun that you're just going
to have seeing these animals in these environments and having
a lot of fun with that. JC Colson as always,

(13:23):
I mean, I could talk to you every day and
we could have fun talking zoo. But I can't wait
to get to Zoo lightful and I can't wait to
chat with us with you again. Sometime in the near
future about something else that's incredible happening at the zoo.
Thanks so much for coming.

Speaker 2 (13:36):
In, Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (13:38):
I love that place. It's gonna be awesome. It's going
to be a great time. And if you're going to
Zoo lightfil be sure to let me know Emriett kfab
dot com about all the fun that you had and
maybe send me some pictures. Love to see people enjoying that.
And follow the Henry door Ley Zoo and Aquarium on
social media because they always do such a great job
of letting you know what's going on. That's how I
learned about Jeff, the new giraffe that's going to be there,
and you can check him out in his new closure

(14:00):
with the rest of the giraffes at Henry Dorley Zoo
an Aquarium. It is Christmas time. We are going to
have a fun Christmas themed Friday four coming for you
here in the four o'clock hour. You stay right there.
You have fifthy animals. You got more on the way.
On news Radio eleven ten Kfab
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