Caring for polar bears every day can be exhausting. Just ask Como Zoo’s Julie Yarrington, one of a team of aquatics keepers who keep an eagle eye on Como’s three polar bears, Nan, Kulu, and Neil.

Earlier this year, Neil was diagnosed with gastric dilatation-volvulus, or bloat, an urgent medical condition that required emergency surgery. Surgery is a risk for any animal, but especially for one as old as Neil, now nearing 28 years of age, and one of the oldest male polar bears in North America.

“Because of his age, there was a high risk that he wouldn’t rebound,” says Yarrington, who spent more than a month “just hoping we could get him to eat, eat, eat. It was very mentally exhausting.”

Fortunately, after a few weeks, Neil pulled through and has been very particular about his diet, showing a strong preference for his favorite comfort food of canned salmon and canned tuna. As Neil has regained strength and been reintroduced to his companions, keepers have changed the polar bears’ feeding schedule to cut Neil’s risk of further complications. “Instead of getting a big breakfast in the morning, we now feed him three to four times a day,” Yarrington says. 

To allow his incision to heal, Neil had to stay out of the water and away from his favorite companion, Nan, a feisty 28-year-old female. Brought to Como Zoo three years ago in order to be a non-breeding partner to Neil following the death of Buzz, his twin brother, the pairing between the two elder bears has worked out beautifully. 

“Neil just wants to be wherever Nan is,” says Yarrington. “It was hard for him at first, but once it healed up he was able to get to the pool and was able to clean himself up. Guests may not really notice his incision site, which is already covered up by fur.”

Your Give to the Max Day contributions to Como Friends help to provide cutting-edge veterinary care to animals like Neil, ensuring both great veterinary care and the creature comforts that keep animals healthy and curious. “While he’s been recovering, he’s also been into his other favorite foods, Cool Whip and sherbet—in moderation,” Yarrington says. “When you live to be the oldest male polar bear in North America, you definitely deserve a couple of spoonfuls of sherbet.”

Conservation Champion Jill Erzar traveled to Tanzania to help Wild Nature Institute track giraffe across the Serengeti

“Giraffes have been very underestimated, and under-researched for a long time,” says Como Zoo keeper Jill Erzar. “But over the last decade or so, that’s begun to change, and we’re beginning to understand that giraffes are, in fact, highly intelligent, with social hierarchies and relationships that are as complex as elephants and chimpanzees.”

Reaching heights of 18 feet and beyond, giraffes are the tallest mammal on earth. 

But with brains that are relatively small compared to their body size, scientists haven’t always been sure if their elevators go all the way to the top. 

“Giraffes have been very underestimated, and under-researched for a long time,” says Como Zoo keeper Jill Erzar. “But over the last decade or so, that’s begun to change, and we’re beginning to understand that giraffes are, in fact, highly intelligent, with social hierarchies and relationships that are as complex as elephants and chimpanzees.” 

Thanks to a recent grant from Como Friends’ Conservation Champions program, Erzar herself has been contributing to that body of research as a volunteer for the Wild Nature Institute. The conservation group behind the largest demographic survey of giraffes in the world, Wild Nature Institute takes a non-invasive approach to giraffe research, relying entirely on photographic identification to track the births, deaths, movement and social bonds of about 4,100 individual giraffes across 25,000 square miles of the Tarangire and Serengeti ecosystems in Tanzania.  

As a seasoned giraffe keeper who can spot the subtle difference in every giraffe’s unique markings, Erzar’s well-trained eye and expertise were a welcome skill set on the Serengeti this summer, as the conservation group worked to compare and analyze more than a decade’s worth of data about wild giraffe. “I was able to make more than 9,000 matches during the 10 days I spent in country,” says Erzar, who also got the chance to meet and learn from giraffe experts in the field.  “For me the biggest take-away from this trip is that giraffes need protected areas because poaching is still their number one risk. Even with projected climate change impacts in that area, nothing threatens their survival as much as illegal hunting and poaching.” 

Though it will take time for Wild Nature Institute’s findings to be published and shared more widely with other conservation researchers, new discoveries about giraffes are coming to light all the time. For instance, scientists who once considered giraffes to be aloof and anti-social have discovered that in fact, giraffes live in complex social systems and super communities, and even prefer to eat with favored companions. A 2023 study found that giraffes are capable of statistical reasoning, while a 2021 study found that giraffes prefer a fair fight, and will only spar with individuals of the same size. Another growing topic of interest within the giraffe field is the so-called “grandmother hypothesis,” a theory that suggests that menopausal female giraffes may have an important role to play in raising young. 

“It’s really cool to see that giraffes are finally having their moment, and I absolutely love being on the forefront of a group that believes that non-invasive [data gathering] is the best way to study them,” Erzar says. 

Como Friends’ Conservation Champions program, funded with donations from our generous supporters, has made it possible for Jill to travel to Africa three times in recent years, supporting conservation partners in the field, while bringing home new experiences and insights that can help enhance the care she gives to animals at Como Zoo every day. “Making the trip to work with Wild Nature Institute helps me to tell the story of our own giraffes better,” she says. “I can tell visitors that our giraffes really do look and behave just like the giraffes in Tanzania. And the more we learn about giraffes, the more we can do to improve their welfare in the wild and here at Como.”

The biodiversity of Como’s rainforest habitat requires complex care  

“When we try to pick out anything by itself,” the famous naturalist John Muir once wrote, “we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”

The profound interdependence of plants, animals and people is one of the lessons Como Park Zoo & Conservatory strives to convey to more than a million visitors every year, and nowhere is that lesson more evident than in Tropical Encounters. Opened in 2006, the immersive rainforest habitat features an extensive array of tropical plants and trees, and an equally diverse range of animals, from high-flying tanagers, to a slithering anaconda, to Chloe, Como’s beloved free-ranging sloth.

With so many living things under one roof, Como Zoo keepers and Marjorie McNeely Conservatory horticulturists collaborate closely within Tropical Encounters to ensure that making a change in one corner of the habitat doesn’t have negative impacts for other residents of the rainforest. That’s why the Tropical Encounters team is taking its time on a major soil replacement project this season paid for by your contributions to Como Friends.

Visitors this summer may notice that horticulturists are taking a staged approach to the process, removing spent soil from one location at a time, to make sure that the root systems of rainforest trees and the animals that live in the vicinity are all thriving. The effort is a little bit like repotting a giant terrarium, says horticulturist Diane Rafats: “We do take special care in this habitat. Everything we do here can affect everything that lives here.”

Private support secured by Como Friends is critical to making behind-the-scenes improvements that keep every corner of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory healthy and thriving. This year, Como Friends’ funding will also support a new lighting system for the North Garden’s gorgeous collection of economic plants, a new sound system to improve the experience for visitors, and a new design plan to renovate and repair Como’s popular Victorian Water Garden pool. Thank you!

It’s been a busy season of new arrivals at Como Zoo

Stanley, Houdini, Mutambi, Stevie….there are a lot of new names to match to new faces at Como Zoo. Here’s a sneak peek of the new animals you should be sure to meet on your next visit.

Blind at birth, Como Zoo’s newest snow leopard is using her other four senses to explore her new world

One of the most anticipated new arrivals at Como Zoo, the seven-pound female snow leopard born on May 6 is taking her time getting acquainted with her new world. Like all snow leopard cubs, spending quality time with her mother is crucial to getting a good start in life.

“With snow leopards, the father is involved in the breeding process, and then he is actively pushed out of the environment in the wild,’’ explains Como Zoo keeper Hans Jorgensen. That’s why Como visitors may notice that father Moutig is almost always outside in the snow leopards’ public habitat, while mother Alya has been behind the scenes, nursing and bonding with her newest cub. “Alya’s an excellent mother, and with this cub, she’s 100 percent invested.”

Moutig

Alya

“Baby and mom are doing great, and I don’t even know if Alya can tell that her cub has no vision,” says Jorgensen. “Six weeks is the point where snow leopard cubs start to get super active, and though she’s blind, she’s very mobile and seems to love exploring.” 

An eager eater, the young cub is also busting her way through the baby growth charts. “She’s a milk-drinking machine,” Jorgensen says proudly.

While she’s hitting all of her developmental milestones, her keepers are also being mindful about ways to make her as comfortable and curious as possible as she grows into her new home. “Milestones for her agility might be pushed back a little later as she figures out the geography of her habitat,” he says. “There might be some accommodations we’ll make for her, things we’ll need to be aware of in terms of keeping her environment very consistent.’’ 

As part of Como Friends’ Sunset Affair fundraising gala this month, the winning bidder in the event’s silent auction will have the chance to select a name for the new cub that captures her native curiosity and fighting spirit. 

“She’s getting fluffier by the day and her claws and paws are gigantic at this point,” says Jorgensen, who’s gotten accustomed to being scratched, clawed and peed on every time he scoops the new cub up for vet care and occasional weigh-ins. “It’s all in a day’s work, but it’s also a big deal to have a new snow leopard cub. Once we could see mother and baby were doing well together, there was a big sigh of relief, and now we’re just enjoying how unbelievably cute they are together.”

How to spend a summer day at Como… without spending a dime

With a full roster of daily public programs and the long-awaited return of Como’s fantastic interpretive volunteers, there are more ways than ever to connect to conservation at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory. As the crowds make a comeback, here’s how to make the most of your summer days at Como, Minnesota’s most visited cultural institution. And with free admission for all, making great memories won’t cost a thing…

By removing economic barriers to career-building experiences, Como’s new apprentice program is working to build a more diverse future workforce

For the last year, college junior Joshua Lee has been trying his hand at a variety of zookeeping jobs at Como, from caring for the zebras in the hoofstock building, to climbing in with the penguins to take a crack at cleaning the rock work. 

“That’s not easy,” Lee admits. “When the penguins are nesting, they’re very protective of their space.”

A zoology major at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Lee is curious about the career paths available to him in animal care. Getting the chance to see the inner workings at a zoo has historically required signing on as a volunteer or an unpaid intern—a traditional career path that can be a major barrier to young people who can’t afford to take time away from paid employment. But over the last year, Lee has been earning money and learning about his future options as part of Como Park Zoo & Conservatory’s new paid apprentice program through the City of St. Paul’s Right Track program.

Mayor Melvin Carter’s youth employment initiative, Right Track engages nearly 1,000 young people from cost-burdened homes throughout Saint Paul in a variety of internships. Launched in 2014 through a partnership between the City of Saint Paul, the Saint Paul Public Schools and the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, the program’s goal is to establish a pipeline of career development opportunities for Saint Paul youth. 

Como’s campus managers helped launch the program at Como in 2022, but the program has been in the works for several years, creating a new, fully paid pipeline for young people who are interested in zookeeping and animal management careers. “The program is also designed to ensure that youth don’t have to work multiple jobs to take advantage of an internship opportunity,” says Lianna Sanders, the Como project manager who oversees the Right Track apprentices. “During the school year, they work 20 hours a week, and during the summer months it’s a full-time job for these apprentices, who also take part in professional development training that’s part of the program.” 

Right Track operates out of the City of Saint Paul Department of Parks and Recreation, building on the department’s long history of providing youth development and employment opportunities for Saint Paul youth. While Right Track apprentices at Como are paid minimum wage, a partnership with Como Friends also helps to pay for the gear that apprentices need to be successful on the job, like uniforms and sturdy boots. 

“Como’s audience is incredibly diverse, and it’s important to be recruiting a workforce that reflects the surrounding community,” says Como Friends president Jackie Sticha. This summer, Como will say goodbye to Joshua who completed the program this year and Gil and Gabby will stay on and continue with their work here as Como welcomes additional Right Track apprentices for roles in both animal and plant care at Como Zoo and the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory. 

As Lee returns to college for his senior year, he says his experience at Como has given him many new options to consider. “I still don’t know what I will want to do after I graduate, but what I liked about zookeeping was that every day was a different day, and I had a chance to work with so many different animals,” he says.

To learn more about the Right Track program, visit here.

From animal transport to medical treatments, spring is a busy season at Como Zoo

Humans aren’t the only species that seem to get a spring in their step when the weather turns warm. Jill Erzar, a senior zookeeper at Como Zoo, believes animals anticipate spring just as we do. 

“It seems like animals are always a little more excited this time of year,” she says. “The ice has thawed, there are new smells in their habitats, and of course, many more visitors.” 

On your next visit to Como, you may notice some changes, as zookeepers take advantage of the spring weather to welcome new animals, say goodbye to old friends, and provide best practice veterinary care to animals. Here’s a look: 

Outstanding veterinary care can prolong the lives of animals like Daisy the giraffe. But for Como Zoo keepers, humane animal care can also make for heartbreaking decisions.  

With more than a thousand animals of 215 different species in Como’s care, death is part of the natural life cycle at Como Zoo. Even so, recent months have felt especially challenging, as Como Zoo said goodbye to two iconic animals well known to and beloved by the public. 

Last week, keepers made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize Daisy, a 23-year-old reticulated giraffe, who had been suffering from severe degenerative arthritis. A few months earlier, Como lost another beloved animal ambassador, 46-year-old orangutan Amanda, who was diagnosed with an inoperable abdominal mass that was causing chronic damage to her kidneys. 

Losses like this are hard on the whole zookeeping staff, says Erzar. “But being transparent about these events is an important way to tell the public about how much effort goes into life and death decisions about animal care,” she says, noting that there’s an even longer list of Como Zoo animals whose lives were saved or improved by major interventions over the last year. Below is a look at a few of them:

Dental Surgery for Tsar: A few years ago, Tsar the tiger went into cardiac arrest during a root canal and nearly died. “Dr. Fausto Bellezzo, our veterinarian at the University of Minnesota, jumped on him and did the most heroic CPR to bring him back,” says Erzar. “But we were very hesitant to immobilize him again.” When it became clear Tsar needed the procedure again in October, Como consulted with a team of tiger experts to help minimize the high risks of putting large cats under anesthesia, preparing for “every possible scenario we could imagine,” says Erzar. With 17 keepers and specialists assembled, this year’s procedure went “like clockwork,” and the 9-year-old tiger is back on the prowl. 

Hormone Therapy for Forest: When they’re growing, reindeer antlers are covered in a complex vascular network called “velvet” that sheds as the antler hardens. But without the usual surge of male hormones required to boost the process, Forest’s antlers bled extensively, causing the castrated reindeer to collapse on exhibit last year. “Como vet tech Andrea Persson raced in and got a tourniquet on him right way,” says Erzar. This year, keepers found a much simpler solution—a short-term hormone implant that’s helped the reindeer develop and drop his antlers according to schedule.

Cataract Surgery for Gomez: One of the longest-lived spider monkeys at Como, 31-year-old Gomez was also one of its most recognizable, coming directly up the bay window of his habitat and shading his eyes to get a better look at visitors. “For decades, he had cataracts that were infringing on his vision, and that was his unique way of dealing with light sensitivity,” explains primate keeper Em Brunmeier. In March, Gomez had successful cataract surgery that will allow him to see well into his golden years. “We still see him shade his eyes at times, but it’s more of a reflex or a little salute at this point,” says Brunmeier.

Helping Jasper Navigate: Orphaned in the wild and brought to Como Zoo in 2018, mountain lions Jasper and Ruby have always stayed close together, and this year, a medical exam may have found the reason. “Jasper has progressive retinal atrophy, retinal tissue that either never forms or is not connected quite right or is lost over time,” says Erzar. Knowing more about his visual impairment has helped keepers develop a better plan for his care, which will involve keeping him outdoors where he’s most comfortable. “We are very lucky he has Ruby and they are close, because we do see her help him out,” Erzar says, adding that while his functional blindness won’t hurt his quality of life, it may help visitors feel more connected to the cougar. “When you see an animal that’s dealing with a challenge that a lot of humans face as well, it helps build that connection and that empathy about what humans and animals have in common.”

Polar bears are loners by nature, but for most of his life, Como Zoo’s Neil was part of a permanent two-some with twin brother Buzz.

When Buzz died two years ago at the age of 24, zookeepers wondered whether Neil—already one of the oldest living polar bears in North America—would thrive. But if you’ve noticed the 1,000-pound bear frolicking in Polar Bear Odyssey’s deep pool this year, there’s no question that Neil seems to be enjoying his new life.

“Neil is doing just great,” says keeper Kristin Nelson. “He actually seems like a much younger bear than he used to, like he’s gotten some years back. He’s so much more lively now.”

A good part of the credit goes to Neil’s two new roommates, Nan and Kulu, and to the Como Zoo aquatics keepers whose carefully orchestrated introductions backstage in Polar Bear Odyssey have helped to keep all three bears calm and healthy through what could have been a stressful transition time. “They’ve all become such good companions that they’re a lot of fun to watch,” says Nelson.

The process started back in March 2021, when Como Zoo welcomed Nan, short for Nanuyaak, 28, a female bear originally orphaned in the wild near Barrow, Alaska. A seasoned traveler who’d lived in zoos from Toledo to Tacoma, Nan had no problem making herself at home in Polar Bear Odyssey, where she and Neil were soon snuggling together (Nan and Neil will be celebrating their birthdays on Friday, December 9).

Roommate relations got more complicated in November 2021 with the arrival of Kulu, a young bear who celebrated his third birthday on November 28. “When Kulu first arrived, we honestly weren’t sure we’d ever be able to put him in with Neil. Even though Neil is bigger, Kulu is a young, intact male and we just didn’t want to risk Neil getting hurt,” Nelson says. But over time, their behind-the-scenes introductions went so well that keepers were confident all three bears could get along together in the same habitat.

“When we first let them go together, we created a plan that would allow us to close doors and separate them if we needed to, but it was never necessary,” Nelson says. “They’ll make noises and growl, but they’ve never been aggressive.”

Instead, they’ve created a bond that looks a little like a storybook family—a mama bear and a papa bear watching over a baby bear who can be quite demanding. “Kulu does not like being alone, and he likes getting a lot of attention from Nan and Neil,” Nelson says. “When all three bears are outside in the snow, Kulu is in such a good mood. But you can always tell if the other bears don’t give him enough attention.”