Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)
That’s right they have several George-Michaels (our pet turtle) at the zoo. It is strange to see something that you have at home at the zoo. And also see that they act the same. This little male is using a larger female to get as close as he can to the lamp. It is fun to see so many swimming around though.
Naked Mole Rat (Heterocephalus glaber)
These little adorable monsters are from Eastern Africa. They live in groups in large networks of tunnels. At the zoo, they have a special room you can walk into where their burrows are set up like a large ant farm, so you can see everything.
Ruth interrupting here: When I first went to the naked mole rat enclosure, I searched all their little windows to find the little guys. There are several windows, most of them empty. In one window I noticed a water dish and some chopped up vegetables: celery, lettuce, and yams in large orange slices. “No rats there,” I said to myself and continued looking. I found another window with what looked like whole yams stacked up. “Are they saving those for winter?” I wondered to myself. “That seems unnecessary.” Then one of the yams wiggled his tiny nose at me and rolled over. That pile was mole rats and not yams at all. So, I recommend for camouflage tactics that naked mole rats hide in grocery store produce sections near the root vegetables. If they stay very still, no one will recognize them…
Screech Owl (Megascops)
This is one of several birds used in the birds of prey live show. This is a full grown adult that is native to the Northwest US.
Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
The Oregon Zoo has four elephants. This is sort of their main animal. The zoo has an excellent breeding program and many elephants have been born at the zoo. There is also a museum about the elephants next to the elephant enclosure.
