Three’s Company

Behind the scenes at Como Zoo’s Animal Support Building, a cavy, a chicken, and a rabbit have created an unusual inter-species bond

One of the loudest, liveliest buildings on the campus of Como Park Zoo & Conservatory is one that visitors will never see. Located along the private service drive to Como’s back door is where you’ll find the Animal Support Building (ASB), home to nearly 200 individual animals representing more than 40 species. 

“It’s actually the most diverse collection of animals we have in one place,” keeper Brooke Johnson says about the ASB’s colorful array of residents, from the squawking pink flamingos waiting out winter in the central heating, to the tiny Panamanian golden frogs tucked away in a biosecure room. While the birds, reptiles, invertebrates, and mammals that make their home here come from all around the world, the common denominator that unites them is advanced age. “Some of them are animal ambassadors that retired from our education programs,” she says. “Although they are not all older, it’s a bit like a 55-plus community.” 

Of course, the demands of high-density, apartment-style living can make for some roommate arrangements you’d never see in nature. For instance, the Chilean flamingos that fly far below the equator share their space with several red-breasted geese that breed in the Siberian tundra. Hissing cockroaches from Madagascar live next to tarantulas from Brazil. But the strangest bedfellows in the building would have to be this threesome: Jasper, a rabbit, Bowie, a chicken, and “Cavy Crockett,” a Patagonian cavy, a hare-sized rodent from the guinea pig family. 

“A few years ago, we noticed that when they were allowed to roam, they tended to gravitate to the same spots and hang out together, and we found that when we moved them all in together, it just worked out,” says keeper Allison Pizel, adding that the communal living arrangement may be familiar to each of them. “Cavies live together in big groups in the wild, and domestic chickens tend to live in groups, and rabbits live in colonies, but here, they’re each the only one of their kind,” she says. 

The oldest of the trio is Cavy, age 13, who is now deaf, blind, and prone to stepping on Jasper the rabbit as he explores his environment. Their keepers report that while there is occasional squabbling, Bowie, the alpha chicken, keeps the peace and sets the boundaries. On occasion, the three animals can even be found curled up together in the morning. “It’s not the recommended arrangement, but it seems to work for all of them,” says Pizel. “And with animals this old, we want to keep things stable for all of them.”

In fact, geriatric care is a big part of the day in the ASB, which also includes many animals like Sassy the chinchilla, who were retired from the zoo’s ambassador animal program when it came to an end during the pandemic. Instead, Como made the pivot to virtual programs that allowed classrooms to see and learn from animal ambassadors online, while allowing resident animals to make their own choices about whether or not to visit other parts of the zoo. Como Zoo recently completed a formal assessment to determine which animals would participate in the animal ambassador program, based on their ability to travel safely and comfortably to other areas of Como. The program includes species-appropriate stations and enrichment designed to ensure animals remain comfortable in environments outside their normal habitat.

For instance, when Dilla the six-banded armadillo is looking for some excitement, she’s trained to step on a green mat in her habitat that indicates she’s up for being handled. Check out this video on Facebook of her holiday visit to the Sunken Garden, helping horticulturists dig up the soil before the Holiday Flower Show. When she chooses to sit on her red mat, her keepers know she would prefer to stay home and chill. The communication between Dilla and her favorite keeper runs even deeper: Johnson is such a fan of the armadillo that she helped get Dilla moved to Como Zoo from another AZA institution. The pair have known each other for more than 13 years.  

“We form real bonds with these animals because we’re with them more than our pets at home,” she explains, adding that keepers are always looking for ways to delight the animals in their care. To that end, Johnson and Pizel recently applied to Como’s animal enrichment committee for funding—supported by your contributions to Como Friends—to bring an oversized cat exercise wheel into Dilla’s habitat. “You wouldn’t believe how fast she can run, and then she goes back to sleeping for 18 hours a day,” says Johnson. “The hard part is that many of these animals are very old and they won’t be with us forever. But while they are, we want to make things as good as we can for them.”