Adaptations

• Giraffe Cousins
• Although the okapi’s striped markings are similar to the zebra, it is actually related to the giraffe. Like giraffe, okapi have skin-covered horns and a long black or dark blue prehensile tongue. Unlike giraffe, okapi are solitary animals living in dense rainforest areas. Due to their size and their versatile tongue, both giraffe and okapi are able to reach vegetation higher up than most other hoofed animals.
• Prehensile Tongue
• The okapi’s long prehensile tongue is used to strip leaves from branches and vines. Their tongue is 12-14 inches (30-36 cm) long and black or dark blue in color. Okapi can also use their tongue to wash their eyelids, clean out their ears and swat insects from their withers (the ridge between an animal’s shoulder bones).
• Can You See Me Now?
• The unique color pattern of the okapi allows it to disappear into the background of dense vegetation in the forests where it lives. From the front, the dark coloration is rather dull and inconspicuous. From the back, the white stripes against the brown fur help the okapi blend into the shadows of the rainforest. Their fur also helps repel rain and moisture in their rainforest habitat, due to an oily coating.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
Leaves, buds, grasses, ferns, fruit and fungi. Mineral requirements are filled by ingesting sulfurous, slightly salty, reddish clay found near rivers and streams.

At the zoo:
Hay, grain, vitamin and mineral supplements and fruit treats.

What Eats It?
Okapi are preyed upon by leopards, and some humans for bushmeat.

Adaptations

• A reticulated giraffe’s height enables it to reach food sources that are out of reach for other animals.
• Long prehensile tongues and fleshy lips strip leaves from branches.
  • The tongue allows the giraffe to reach leaves on thorny branches without scratching its face or eyes.
• To keep their blood flowing, giraffes need big hearts, two feet (0.6 m) long and weighing about 25 pounds (11kg), and large blood vessels.
• Giraffes are ruminants with four-chambered stomachs that process their fibrous diet.
  • Their ability to chew their cuds while walking allows them to make efficient use of foraging time.
• Reticulated giraffes have excellent eyesight, allowing them to see movement up to a mile away, and a keen sense of hearing that help them be safe from predators.
• Their spotted coat pattern helps to camouflage them in the dry savanna.
• They can run 35 miles per hour (56 kph) for short distances and can deliver a strong kickto discourage predators.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
Reticulated giraffes eat leaves, flowers, seed pods and fruit.  Acacias are their preferred food source.

At the zoo:
Denver zoo’s giraffes eat alfalfa hay, grain, and browse, fruits and vegetables for training and enrichment.

What Eats It?
Lions, leopards, hyenas, and crocodiles hunt mostly young, old or sick giraffes.

Adaptations

• Ring-tailed lemurs are diurnal, or active during the day.
• They are terrestrial, meaning they spend most of their time on the ground, though they are still agile in trees.
• Males scent-mark with a wrist gland that also has a horny pad used to gouge scent into bark.
• They keep their ringed tails in the air when they travel as visual communication to keep the group together.
• They have six lower teeth that stick straight out from the jaw forming a “comb” that they use to groom their own fur and that of other members of the troop.
• They are one of the most vocal primates with several different alarm calls.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
This species of lemur eats fruit, leaves, flowers, bark, sap, large insects and sometimes small vertebrates like chameleons. They will occasionally consume soli to supplement their diet.

At the zoo:
The troop of lemurs is fed vegetables, greens, starches, a low starch gel, biscuits, and a small amount of dried fruit for training.

What Eats It?
Their main natural predators are the Madagascar harrier-hawk,  Madagascar buzzard and fossas.

Adaptations

• Crash, Bam!
• Adult Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep rams have massive horns that can weigh as much as 50 pounds (22 kg). During the fall rut, or mating season, rams clash horns to establish dominance and breeding rights. Rearing up on their hind legs, opposing rams charge full speed toward each other and butt heads using their horns as battering rams. Although they may hit with considerable force, the animals are seldom hurt because the skull and massive neck muscles absorb the force of the blow. The sound of clashing horns can be heard a mile away.
• Rock Climbers
• Bighorn sheep are agile climbers that can climb up steep rocky slopes with ease. They can jump seven feet (2 m) across wide crevices in their rugged habitat and can even turn in mid-air landing on small ledges of rock. Even young lambs can scamper across rocky terrain. Their climbing ability helps bighorn sheep escape predators including mountain lions and coyotes.
• Designer Footwear
• The hooves of the bighorn sheep have a hard outside rim used for digging into the ground or cutting into snow or ice. The inside of the hoof is soft and spongy (like the bottom of a tennis shoe) to aid in traction, making these sheep excellent climbers and jumpers. They have split hooves that pinch and hold rocks (somewhat like clothespins) and the claws higher up on the foot act like brakes if the sheep starts to slide on loose rock or slippery surfaces.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
In summer they eat grasses including horsetail, bluegrass, June grass, needle grass and wheat grass. In winter they eat woody items such as willow, alder and some evergreens.

At the zoo:
Hay, grain and vitamin supplements.

What Eats It?
Wolves, mountain lions, coyotes and eagles prey on this species.

Adaptations

• Aquatic Ungulate
• With eyes, nostrils and ears located high on the head, hippos can see, hear and breathe while staying almost totally submerged. Hippos can stay completely underwater for five to six minutes. Their body weight distribution and webbed feet allow them to move easily in water. Hippos cannot sweat, so submerging in water or covering themselves with mud helps keep their bodies cool during the heat of the day.
• Hippo Sunscreen
• Despite thick skin, hippos can get sunburned. Glands in their skin secrete a reddish substance that acts like a natural sunscreen. This substance also has antibacterial properties that help injuries heal quickly. Staying in the water during the daytime also protects hippos from the sun.
• Calling All Hippos
• Hippos communicate using a resonant call – a deep bass rumbling sound that can be heard over long distances. Underwater, hippos also make clicking sounds that may announce their presence in murky waters.
• Muck-Spreading
• Hippos practice “muck-spreading” which occurs when the tail is vigorously wagged during defecation. This action scatters feces in a wide range and may serve to mark territory or mark trails from the water to their grazing areas.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
Grasses

At the zoo:
Grass, hay, grain, plus vitamin and mineral supplements

What Eats It?
Crocodiles, lions, hyenas, and leopards prey on young hippos.

Adaptations

• Group social behavior allows for protection, success in raising offspring and ability to obtain food.
• Large manes make males look bigger which may intimidate rivals, attract females and protect their throat from another lion’s attack.
• Soft foot pads and retractable claws allow lions to move quietly when approaching prey. Lions have great forebody strength which enables them to bring down and hold prey sometimes with just a swipe of their larger front paws.
• Lions’ night vision is highly developed. Eyes see in very low light (1/6^th the light humans need).  A white circle below the eye reflects light also helping to see at night or early morning when lions tend to hunt.
• Lion’s sense of smell, although less important than its sight or hearing, helps when hunting, finding kills of other predators and identifying scent marking of territories.
• With relatively small hearts and lungs, when hunting lions rely on stalking prey and a short chase, reaching a top speed of about 35 mph (56 kph).
• Long tails have a black tuft of fur at the end used to communicate with each other on a group hunt and used by females to signal cubs to follow them. Lions are the only cats with a tufted tail.
• Lions are both an apex predator (top of the food chain) and a keystone predator (critical to the health of their ecosystem).
• Lions, like all big cats, can roar. Both males and females roar to communicate their territory and communicate with group members.  The lion’s roar is the loudest of all big cats and can be heard up to 5 miles (8 km) away.  Lions also roar the most of all big cats – sometimes considered habitual roarers.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
As carnivores, African lions are specialized communal predators of medium- to large-sized ungulates.  Typical prey includes antelopes, gazelle, warthogs, zebra, wildebeest and sometimes Cape buffalo, giraffe and young elephants.  When prey is scarce, lions will consume almost any animal and scavenge off the kills of predators such as cheetahs or hyenas.  In semi-arid habitats, they will also consume plants for water.

At the zoo:
Ground meat fortified with nutrients is fed five times a week.  Once a week on a fast day, the lions are fed large bones.  Also, once a week they are fed large carcass pieces of beef shank or rabbits.  Sometimes on carcass day, a carcass piece up to 200 pounds is shared as a group followed by fasting for several days after.

What Eats It?
Humans hunt lions as trophies, for bushmeat and for body parts. Lions are also killed due to human conflict from increased agricultural development of wild habitats.  The old and sick and very young lions not carefully watched by their mothers can be killed by hyenas, leopards and other predators.

Adaptations

• Large social groups help to provide protection, food and survival of young.
• Their brain’s large frontal cortex is associated with superior problem-solving skills.
• Strong jaws, teeth and digestion allow them to eat entire carcasses including skin, hooves, ligaments, horns, hair and bones.
• Spotted hyenas possess a variety of communication techniques. They have a large range of vocalizations with over 11 different sounds including yells, howls, cackles and a “whoop” that sounds like laughing to humans.  Some vocalizations are loud enough to be heard several miles away.  A complex set of body postures are also used in communication with other hyenas.
• To mark territory, their anal glands produce a pungent substance which is unique in chemical makeup to each individual. Urine and feces are also used to mark territory sometimes depositing feces in a communal “latrine” at the edge of their territory.
• Large heart and lungs allow them to run up to 37 mph for long distances in pursuit of prey.
• Females have more testosterone than the males making them more muscular and aggressive.
• Mostly nocturnal, their night vision and hearing are excellent.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
Spotted hyenas are carnivores that prey on animals of all types and sizes.  Although often portrayed as scavengers, they are highly intelligent, skilled hunters that obtain 50% to 90% of their diet from direct kills.  However, they are not picky eaters and will scavenge for food consuming carrion, bones, and vegetables.    Spotted hyenas are able to eat up to 35 lbs. of meat at a single feeding.

At the zoo:
Five days a week, each hyena is provided ground meat fortified with necessary nutrients.  Individuals get specific amounts that help to maintain a natural body condition.  Once a week, they get bones for a fast day, which they sometimes totally consume.  Once a week, they receive large pieces of carcass often rabbits or pork products.  On occasion, they receive larger pieces of carcass, around 100 pounds, as a group.

What Eats It?
Humans hunt spotted hyenas for meat, skins, and body parts for medicinal purposes.  Although they are seldom intimidated or preyed upon, their primary rival, lions, will kill them over battles for prey.

Adaptations

• Arboreal Lifestyle
  Sloths are adapted for life in the treetops. Their long curved claws provide a powerful grip as they hang from branches. At night they move slowly through the trees eating leaves, shoots and fruit. They sleep hanging in the trees with their arms and legs close together and their head tucked between their limbs that makes them look like part of the tree. They mate in the treetops and give birth hanging upside down in the trees.
• Slow, Slow Motion
  Sloths are the world’s slowest mammals. Everything about them is slow! They move slowly along branches with a deliberate hand-over-hand motion. They have the lowest variable body temperature of any mammal, from 75 to 86 degrees F. (24-30 degrees C.). Their digestive system is so slow that they only come down from the trees about once a week to urinate and defecate.
• Can You See Me Now?
  Sloths are so sedentary that algae grow on their long fur. The greenish color of the algae provides camouflage that helps sloths blend into the rainforest canopy. Their fur actually has groves in each strand that allow algae to grow and collect. They sleep 15-20 hours a day and often remain motionless even when awake. They feed at night when they are protected by darkness.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
Leaves, young shoots, blossoms and fruit.

At the zoo:
Plant materials, fruits, monkey chow and vitamins.

What Eats It?
Jaguars, ocelots and other cats prey on the two-toed sloth.

Adaptations

• Just a Little Sip
  Vampire bats feed almost exclusively on blood from domestic animals. After landing on or near a potential food source, they use their razor sharp incisors to make a tiny, painless cut in the skin of the animal. Their saliva contains an anti-coagulant called “draculin” that keeps blood flowing from the wound. They do not suck blood but rather use their grooved tongue to lap up the free-flowing blood. A vampire bat may ingest up to 40 percent of its body weight while feeding. With such a huge increase in body weight, vampire bats would not be able to fly after a meal if it were not for their ability to rapidly process and digest the blood.
• Ultrasonic Navigation
  Common vampire bats are active only during the darkest hours of the night. In the darkness, they use echolocation to find food and to avoid collisions when flying. Bats produce ultrasonic (high frequency) sounds that are not audible to humans. Echolocation is the ability to bounce these sound waves off objects so the returning sound waves provide information about food sources and potential hazards. Vampire bats also have very good hearing, excellent vision and a well-developed sense of smell, all of which aid in finding food.
• I Can Fly!
  The wings of bats are different than birds, as a result bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight. Bats have a thin membrane of skin with bundles of elastic tissue and muscle fiber that is supported by the finger bones and extends to the arms and legs. The muscle fibers extend the wings and provide tension as the bats flap their wings in flight, then fold the wings in when they rest.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
Blood from domestic animals such as cows, donkeys, pigs and horses.

At the zoo:
Beef blood.

What Eats It?
Eagles, owls and hawks prey on the vampire bat.

Adaptations

Aquatic Adaptations

Otters have long streamlined bodies enabling them to swim rapidly and change direction quickly when pursuing prey. Their muscular tail helps propel them through the water when swimming fast and is also used like a rudder to help them steer. They close off their ears and nostrils when swimming and can dive underwater for 6-8 minutes at a time. They have dense fur consisting of two layers – a soft insulating under fur to keep them warm and an outer layer of waterproofed guard hairs to keep them dry.

Musky Warning

Otters communicate mainly through the use of scent marking to establish territorial boundaries. Scent glands near the tail deposit a strong musky scent on their feces. Their scent marked feces called “spraint” is then deposited on tree trunks, trails and rocks. They also communicate with a vocabulary of a dozen calls including a distress call used when they need help.

Claws, Paws and Whiskers

These otters have very short claws that do not extend past the fleshy pads of their partly webbed toes making their forepaws very dexterous. They forage with their sensitive paws to locate prey in murky water or mud. They also have stiff whiskers called “vibrissae” that can detect the movement of prey in the water. They catch prey with their paws not with their mouth like other otters.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
Fish, frogs, crabs, mussels, snails, crayfish, insects, snakes.

At the zoo:
Primarily a fish diet

What Eats It?
Aquatic predators such as crocodiles and large snakes.