Phoenix Zoo

Smells so good, you want to wear it! 🍒

One of Auggie's favorite scents is cherry extract! His keeper, Emily, captured this video after she placed the extract on the walls in his habitat for enrichment. This behavior is called self-anointing and involves rubbing against stinky, novel scents to transfer the sensory information of the environment directly onto themselves. It is a common behavior across many species, including domestic dogs and cats!

Auggie's habitat is generously supported by Primrose Schools.

Something BIG is returning to the Phoenix Zoo! 🦕

In honor of today being Dinosaur Day, we are excited to announce that Dinosaurs in the Desert will be back this fall! For the first time, over 60 dinosaurs will be visible across the Zoo grounds. From the long-necked Brachiosaurus and spiked Ankylosaurus, to the winged Pteranodon and hulking Tyrannosaurus, guests should be ready for a dino encounter around any corner.

For more information, visit https://www.phoenixzoo.org/events/dinosaurs-in-the-desert/

Join us for a training session with Brutus! 🐊

Brutus is the largest of five American alligators here at the Phoenix Zoo. You can have the chance to watch these sessions during the weekly keeper chats on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 9:30 a.m. throughout the summer! Happy (day late) National Alligator Day!

You can find the full animal presentation schedule here: https://www.phoenixzoo.org/visit/daily-activities/

Happy Snail Day to all who shell-abrate! 🐌

The Phoenix Zoo's conservation team cares for over 10,000 snails. They are very small, ranging between 1.5 to 9 millimeters in length, so counting them requires an expert eye and lots of patience. Fortunately, the team uses a tally counter to keep track of their count!

The Zoo currently works with three different species: the San Bernardino springsnail, the Huachuca springsnail and the Quitobaquito tryonia. The populations of all known springsnail species native to Arizona are in decline due to varying circumstances, including groundwater depletion, predation by invasive species such as crayfish, habitat destruction by elk and cattle and the effects of wildfire on stream quality and flooding.

You can learn more about the Zoo's conservation efforts here: https://www.phoenixzoo.org/local-conservation/springsnail/

The cutest thing you'll see today:

The black-footed ferret kits are growing bigger every day! Learn more about the Phoenix Zoo's conservation efforts with BFFs here: https://www.phoenixzoo.org/local-conservation/black-footed-ferret/

Happy World Otter Day, David!

David celebrated with lots of fish and ice treats!

What's Saban talking about? Wrong answers only.