Archive for April, 2010
Summer Camp 2010
June 7th-11th 8:30am-1pm (Ages 8-13)
Summer Camp 2010 is for kids who love to be outdoors, who love to get dirty and who can’t wait to learn more about Earth’s amazing creatures!
These camps are uniquely formatted to give animal lovers ages 8-13 the opportunity to explore the world of animals in a hands-on, interactive setting overseen by Sharkarosa keepers and educators. Not only will your child learn about animal behavior and management in the wild & in captivity, they’ll experience what it’s actually like to care for these amazing creatures!
PARENT FRIDAY TOUR:
On Friday of each camp week, we will have a “Parent Tour” in which parents/siblings are invited to join us at 12:30 for a “camper-led” tour of the front portion of the ranch. The campers will present their animal handling skills and facts to their audience, much like our educators do during event presentations.
COST:
$225 per camper/$50 discount for families sending 2 or more campers.
10% Late fee added for registrations not received by May 31st.
Includes: Official Summer Camp 2010 T-Shirt & a daily light snack
**We will NOT have an overnight campout this year.
Michelle, our White-Faced Capuchin Monkey finally has the man of her dreams. Please welcome Miguel to the Sharkarosa family!
He arrived late last week. When we first put them together everyone watched in anticipation to see how well they would take to each other. We are delighted to announce that all has gone extremely well and the two are very happy with each other’s company.
Here’s a little video clip of Michelle grooming Miguel. Grooming doesn’t mean that one or the other has bugs or anything dirty on them. Grooming is a major social activity in primates. They do it as a means of reinforcing social structure, family links and building relationships and trust. Of course, it also maintains good hygiene and health. All in all, grooming is a wonderful thing!
In larger groups of primates, social grooming plays an important role in establishing and maintaining alliances and dominance hierarchies, for building coalitions, for reconciliation after conflicts, and is a resource that is exchanged for other resources, like food and sex. The act has been shown to reduce tension and stress, sort of like how a good massage affects humans. It is often associated with observed periods of relaxed behavior, and primates have been known to fall asleep while receiving grooming.
So on that note, please enjoy!