We now have two precious Burrowing Owl owlets that are currently in “training” to become our newest Education ambassadors. Sherlock and Watson were born here at the El Paso Zoo and are now estimated to be about 2½ months old. Education Specialists, Heather and Sarah, are working with them to get them used to people,…

The world needs you.   Not only are we living during one of the most challenging times in our country’s history trying to survive a pandemic, a highly emotional fall election and the threat of climate change, but we are also living though an extinction event called the Holocene extinction.  Commonly referred to as the sixth mass…

Thick-billed Parrots, the northernmost species of parrot in the western hemisphere, are one of two species of parrots that once lived in the US.  Sad to say the Carolina Parakeet went extinct in 1918. Today the fate of Thick-billed Parrots living in the high elevation forests of northern Mexico, hangs in the balance where there…

In many El Paso neighborhoods people at this time of year are hearing the vocalizations of rock squirrels and mistaking them for birds.  Rock squirrels are fairly common in El Paso and during the first part of the morning they will call out to other squirrels to warn of predators like foxes and hawks.   They…

In the Upper Savannah exhibit living alongside our giraffes, two female greater kudu are an example of a well camouflage antelope.  This species has a large range across the southern half of Africa, but its numbers in the wild are very low in most areas due to declining habitat, deforestation and poaching.  They are very…

Bats are some of the most misunderstood animals in the world.  When I lived and worked at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, every night around sunset I could look out my window and watch hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats exit the cavern.  Most insect eating bats sleep during the day and when the Carlsbad…

Last year Zoo volunteers and Education Specialists offered a special activity at the Zoo called the Conservation Game. The goal of the game was to help people in El Paso learn about our conservation programs. How much do you know about the El Paso Zoo and the conservation programs supported by the Zoo over the…

This year’s 16th Annual Chihuahuan Desert Virtual Fiesta will feature a presentation by Jean Ossorio of Lobos of the Southwest.   Few people living in southern New Mexico are as familiar with Mexican wolf recovery efforts over the past two decades.   The presentation will take place on Zoom at 10am on Saturday morning, September 19.  Ossorio’s…

One of the nice things about working at the Zoo is seeing all the love our keepers and other members of the team have for our animals.  Every chance they get keepers team up with educators,  Zoological Society staff, the marketing team and members of Service Systems and Associates at the cafes and gift shop…

It’s going to be a very different Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta this year. Due to the surge in COVID-19 infections, fiesta planners have decided to offer a virtual fiesta as a precaution for the health and safety of our community.  The main goal of the event that was held 15 years in a row at Franklin…

The Zoo encourages people to landscape with native plants not just to help pollinators like butterflies and bees, but also to help provide food for birds in our city that live here year round and migrate here for the winter.   One excellent choice is saltbush, a drought tolerant shrub available at some nurseries in the…

Over the past six months many people have avoided meeting with others in person and no one really knows if the present way we are interacting with each other is going to be a new normal.   As a result of the pandemic, meeting virtually has become more common than ever.   If you are one of…

Next time you visit the zoo be sure to listen for our siamangs.  These interesting black apes from Indonesia are some of the most vocal animals living along the Asia Endangered Species Walk.   Early in the day siamangs will make vocalizations that include an amazing Tarzan-like yell.   Using their inflatable throat sacs they make deep…

Proyecto Titi is a field conservation project in Columbia, South America that the Zoo’s conservation committee has supported over the years. The other day Proyecto Titi sponsored a Day of the Cotton-top Tamarin…Virtually. To help the communities they are working with join the celebration, they created at-home activity kits that were distributed to the children…

One of our newest birds at the Zoo is also one of the most beautiful ground nesting birds in the Chihuahuan Desert, the Montezuma Quail, also known as Mearn’s Quail or Harlequin Quail. They live in high elevation habitats and will hunker down in one spot when approached. Like most quail species they eat plants…

On your next visit to the zoo make sure that you stop by and see our spider monkeys.  Of the 139 species monkey in South and Central America there are seven species of spider monkey, all are threatened and the black-headed spider monkey and the brown spider monkey are critically endangered.  At the El Paso…

Alligators look ancient, but they are not living fossils like some people believe.   Paleontologists have reported that there are plenty of other prehistoric crocs much older than the animals we see today.  If you want to see a real living fossil next time you visit an aquarium or go to the ocean look for jellyfish…