Two very beautiful small trees from Asia welcome El Paso Zoo guests as they enter the front gate. Crape myrtle, also called crepe myrtle, is native to the Himalayas, southern China, southeast Asia and Japan. The name Myrtle originates from the Latin word for an evergreen shrub that was sacred to Venus as a symbol of love. …
Month: May 2021
Check out Big Cat Mountain
If you haven’t been to the El Paso Zoo lately you are in for a big surprise when you visit the Zoo’s new Chihuahuan Desert Exhibit. The exhibit has been open since November of 2019, but because the Zoo was closed during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic for almost a year, most people have…
Texas Master Naturalists program
Do you love the outdoors? Like to learn more about the outdoors? Don’t mind sharing some of your time improving the outdoors? If so, the Texas Master Naturalists program can be perfect for you. What is it? It is a state and federally supported program that provides volunteers training and opportunities for learning about, helping…
Zoo Spotlight: Mojave Sidewinder
Mojave Sidewinder Crotalus cerastescerastesStatus: Least ConcernSize: Up to 30” longHabitat: Sonoran and Mojave DesertsAt the Zoo: Reptile House The sidewinder rattlesnake moves in a sideways motion by throwing its body into lateral waves with only two short sections touching the ground. Reducing body contact with the hot surface helps the snake survive the extreme temperatures…
Hummingbirds
Most people in El Paso who are paying attention to their backyard birds have noticed that hummingbirds are back for the summer breeding season. If you have not seen any yet try putting out a hummingbird feeder. Hummingbird feeders are not expensive, but if are going to help hummingbirds with feeders be sure that you…
Chihuahuan Desert Plants: Little-leaf Cordia
The fun part about writing about all the different plants we have growing at the Zoo is how every time I do so I get to know many new forms of life that for years I simply walked by. I used to give most of my attention to trees and common succulent plants like cacti,…
Kitchen Talk: Microplastics are everywhere
Join our sea lions by becoming a ocean conservation ambassador Our California sea lions are conservation ambassadors reminding us of our connections to oceans. Did you know that most of the oxygen we need to breath comes from tiny ocean plants called phytoplankton? Today are oceans are threatened by all kinds of human impacts including climate change. Oceans…
Polar opposite documentaries, not for the faint at heart
Over the past year many of us have probably spent more time in front of the TV or computer screen than we normally would like. As a result, I have been paying more attention to some of the new wildlife documentaries released on PBS, Netflix and on YouTube. There are so many wildlife documentaries these…
Zoo Spotlight: Hispaniolan giant anole
Hispaniolan giant anole Anolis ricordii Status: Unknown Size: Up to 12 inches from tip of nose to end of tail Habitat: Rainforests At the Zoo: Reptile House Many people are familiar with the green anole or Carolina anole that for many years has been common in pet stores. Today scientists list 424 species of anole…
Chihuahuan Desert Plants: Trees and Shrubs at the Zoo
Now that the Zoo is recognized as a Botanical Garden we are planning to identify more of our plants with interpretive graphics like those seen in our new Chihuahuan Desert Exhibit. Until then to help you identify some of our plants when you come to the Zoo here are three species pictured above growing in…
El Paso’s Przewalski’s horse will help build an international conservation bridge with Russia
While the relationship between the United States and Russia is a hot topic in our nation’s capital, the El Paso Zoo and the Minnesota Zoo continue to move forward in supporting collaborative efforts with Russia in helping to save one of the rarest large animals in the world, the Przewalski’s wild horse. Recently Zoo officials…
Chihuahuan Desert Plants: Trumpet flower
One of the most colorful small shrubs in the Chihuahuan Desert, the trumpet flower (Tecoma stans), is rarely seen in El Paso probably because it has a very limited range where it is found mainly in Big Bend National Park and parts of the Davis Mountains. The three-foot shrub is commonly called yellow bells. If…
Zoo Spotlight: green crested basilisk
Green Crested Basilisk Basiliscus plumifronsStatus: Least ConcernSize: Up to 3 feet long tip of nose to tail.Habitat: RainforestsAt the Zoo: Reptile House The genus for this lizard, Basiliscus, is taken from the legendary reptilian creature of European mythology which could turn a man to stone by its gaze. It is also called the Jesus lizard because…
Conservation Education 