Three New Additions From Dickerson Park Zoo Visits Creekside

The Dickerson Park Zoo made a surprise visit to Creekside to show off three new members of the traveling zoo family. The first new animal was Ebony, a solid black chinchilla that the zoo adopted when her owner went away to college. The Zoo often takes in animals that the public is no longer able to take care of. These particular animals have to be quarantined for two months to make sure that they are disease free before they are allowed to be around other animals of their species. One of the most interesting things about /ebony the chinchilla is that these soft fluffy mammals have 60 hairs in each individual hair follicle!
The second animal was a bearded dragon lizard named Sydney . They actually change color like chameleons however, they change colors when they are excited or angry, not for camouflage. Everyone was able to feel something unique about Sydney’s scales. When you rub your hand down toward their tails the scales are smooth. When you try to run your hand up their back towards their head the scales stand up and are prickly which makes in nearly impossible to move your hand. This is a method of defense for the lizard.
The third surprise was a silky black chicken named Diana Ross! This chicken was soft and fluffy with a big puff of hair on top. They lay eggs that are a bit smaller than a regular chicken even though the bird itself is the same size. Most of Diana’s eggs are fed to the snakes at the zoo. This particular breed of chicken was used several years ago at the zoo to help hatch some orphaned eagle eggs. The mommy substitution was a success and the baby eagles were released into the wild.
This visit by the Zoo was a surprise which made it even more special ! We are thankful for our friends at the Zoo and for all the interesting things we learn from their visits!