Cryptobranchids at the Ft. Worth Zoo

[kyle]

Hello everyone, a few more pictures of those wonderful cryptobranchids we all love. I just got home today from a visit to Texas and a quick stop by the Ft. Worth Zoo where I got a nice tour behind the scenes. Saw all kinds of amazing herps on display as well as a whole other menagerie of what was off display and I was very impressed.

Of course, my favorites still were the Cryptobranchids, and here are a few quick shots I got through the glass of the 3 they had off display, I hope you enjoy them!

I know these arent the highest quality of shots, but they were the best I could get... these guys are hard to take a good picture of thats for sure. I'll be working on capturing a nice photo of the Japanese Giant at the Omaha zoo to share with you all as soon as I can. It has grown quite a bit in the last couple months and it'll be time to weigh and measure it pretty soon. I'll be sure to post the best pictures here as soon as I have them!

 

[joan]

That's the coolest job ever. The Detroit Zoo is the closest to me with giant sals (Or any sals for that matter), and they don't hire people unless they've volunteered for a long time, or have a degree in zoo management, etc. And then they don't let volunteers work directly with the animals

 

[nate]

Aha! I thought you were Uberkyle...

Anyway, nice meeting you Kyle. If you would have told me what you were up to, I could have arranged some nicer photo opportunities for you.

 

[kyle]

Haha, its quite alright Nate, although that would of been nice, I was in a bit of a rush any way so the tour I got was more than sufficient. Thanks for feeding those Parsons though... that was impressive and my friend absolutely loved it!

A couple pictures of the best looking Parson's chameleons I have ever seen in person for those who are curious at all (another giant... go figure

)

By the way, on my job... I am the luckiest guy ever to get to do what I do. Because in reality since I am a volunteer (its fancied up as "intern" lol) I probably wouldnt normally get to do any of what I normally do. The reptile staff at our zoo is definitely a whole other category of keeper as far as the other keepers are concerned it seems and a lot just kind of goes under the radar as an understanding is all. It works out great for me, as well as the rest of the staff because it helps with the work load tremendously, and I get excellent hands on experience.

But, they very rarely have interns in the herp area because they are very picky about who they hire. This is because of how different it is from any other animal area. Its a great trade off though for who ever is lucky enough (or as I like to think "skilled" enough..... yea right lol) to be the one that actually gets the spot.

 

[sal]

Just FYI, The San Antonio zoo has a new display for its A. japonicus. It is a large river recreation that holds 2.2 There is also another female on display in the amphibian building. A press release about the new salamander exhibit should be coming out soon.