Mesker Park Zoo And Botanic Garden
   HOME
*



picture info

Mesker Park Zoo And Botanic Garden
The Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden is a zoo that opened in 1928 in Evansville, Indiana, United States. It is located in Mesker Park on Evansville's northwest side and is run by the City of Evansville. The Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. History The zoo was founded in 1928 by Gilmore M. Haynie and other business leaders. Karl Kae Knecht, a local cartoonist for the ''Evansville Courier & Press'', helped popularize the idea of a zoo. It initially opened with two lion cubs, some antelope, and an elephant. In 1933, a 1:3 scale replica of the ''Santa Maria'' was opened as a monkey exhibit. The "Monkey Ship" was originally home to rhesus macaques, and eventually housed capuchin monkeys, lemurs, and juvenile American alligators in the pool surrounding the ship. The exhibit was closed in 1991 as the animals were moved to naturalistic habitats, and the ship and pool were eventually restored as a bumper boat attraction for chi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in Southern Indiana, and the 249th-most populous city in the United States. It is the central city of the Evansville metropolitan area, a hub of commercial, medical, and cultural activity of southwestern Indiana and the Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area, that is home to over 911,000 people. The 38th parallel crosses the north side of the city and is marked on Interstate 69. Situated on an oxbow in the Ohio River, the city is often referred to as the "Crescent Valley" or "River City". Early French explorers named it ''La Belle Rivière'' ("The Beautiful River"). The area has been inhabited by various indigenous cultures for millennia, dating back at least 10,000 years. Angel Mounds was a permanent settlement of the Mississipp ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Squirrel Monkey
Squirrel monkeys are New World monkeys of the genus ''Saimiri''. ''Saimiri'' is the only genus in the subfamily Saimirinae. The name of the genus is of Tupi origin (''sai-mirím'' or ''çai-mbirín'', with ''sai'' meaning 'monkey' and ''mirím'' meaning 'small') and was also used as an English name by early researchers. Squirrel monkeys live in the tropical forests of Central and South America in the canopy layer. Most species have parapatric or allopatric ranges in the Amazon, while ''S. oerstedii'' is found disjunctly in Costa Rica and Panama. There are two main groups of squirrel monkeys recognized. They are differentiated based on the shape of the white coloration above the eyes. In total there are 5 recognized species. Squirrel monkeys have short and close fur colored black at the shoulders, yellow or orange fur along the back and extremities, and white on the face. Squirrel monkeys have determined breeding seasons which involve large fluctuations in hormones and there is ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Coquerel's Sifaka
Coquerel's sifaka (''Propithecus coquereli'') is a diurnal, medium-sized lemur of the sifaka genus ''Propithecus''. It is native to northwest Madagascar. Coquerel's sifaka was once considered to be a subspecies of Verreaux's sifaka, but was eventually granted full species level, and is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss and hunting. In popular culture, it is known for being the species of the title character in the children's TV show ''Zoboomafoo''. The species was named after French entomologist Charles Coquerel. Description Its dorsal pelage and tail are white, with maroon patches on the chest and portions of the limbs. The coat is generally dense. Its face is bare and black except for a distinctive patch of white fur along the bridge of the nose. Its naked ears are also black, and its eyes are yellow or orange. The bottom of the lemur's hands and feet are black, while the thighs, arms, and chest are a chocolate brown. Like all lemurs, C ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Red Ruffed Lemur
The red ruffed lemur (''Varecia rubra'') is one of two species in the genus ''Varecia'', the ruffed lemurs; the other is the black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata''). Like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar. It occurs only in the rainforests of Masoala, in the northeast of the island. It is one of the largest primates of Madagascar with a body length of 53 cm, a tail length of 60 cm and a weight of 3.3–3.6 kg. Its soft, thick fur is red and black in color and sports a buff or cream colored spot at the nape, but a few are known to have a white or pink patch on the back of the limbs or digits and a ring on the base of the tail in a similar color. Physical characteristics Ruffed lemurs are the largest members of the family Lemuridae, with this species being the larger of the two. They weigh . They are about long, with a tail. Females are slightly larger than males. They have slender bodies and long legs. Red ruffed lemurs have a narrow snout with ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Ring-tailed Lemur
The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' genus. Like all lemurs it is endemic to the island of Madagascar and endangered. Known locally in Malagasy as ' (, spelled ' in French) or ', it inhabits gallery forests to spiny scrub in the southern regions of the island. It is omnivorous and the most terrestrial of extant lemurs. The animal is diurnal, being active exclusively in daylight hours. The ring-tailed lemur is highly social, living in groups of up to 30 individuals. It is also female dominant, a trait common among lemurs. To keep warm and reaffirm social bonds, groups will huddle together. The ring-tailed lemur will also sunbathe, sitting upright facing its underside, with its thinner white fur towards the sun. Like other lemurs, this species relies strongly on its sense of ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Lemur
Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They arboreal, chiefly live in trees and nocturnal, are active at night. Lemurs share resemblance with other primates, but evolved independently from monkeys and apes. Due to Madagascar's highly seasonal climate, Evolution of lemurs, lemur evolution has produced a level of species diversity rivaling that of any other primate group. Until shortly after humans arrived on the island around 2,000 years ago, there were lemurs as large as a male gorilla. Most species have been discovered or promoted to full species status since the 1990s; however, lemur Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic classification is ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Hellbender
The hellbender (''Cryptobranchus alleganiensis''), also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of aquatic giant salamander endemic to the eastern and central United States. It is the largest salamander in North America. A member of the family Cryptobranchidae, the hellbender is the only extant member of the genus ''Cryptobranchus''. Other closely related salamanders in the same family are in the genus ''Andrias'', which contains the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders. The hellbender, which is much larger than all other salamanders in its geographic range, employs an unusual means of respiration (which involves cutaneous gas exchange through capillaries found in its dorsoventral skin folds), and fills a particular niche—both as a predator and prey—in its ecosystem, which either it or its ancestors have occupied for around 65 million years. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Etymology The origin of the name "hellben ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Hyacinth Macaw
The hyacinth macaw (''Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus''), or hyacinthine macaw, is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. With a length (from the top of its head to the tip of its long pointed tail) of about one meter it is longer than any other species of parrot. It is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species; the flightless kākāpō of New Zealand outweighs it at up to 3.5 kg. While generally easily recognized, it could be confused with the smaller Lear's macaw. Habitat loss and the trapping of wild birds for the pet trade have taken a heavy toll on their population in the wild, so the species is classified as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, and it is protected by its listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Taxonomy English physician, ornithologist, and artist John Latham first described the hyacinth macaw in 1790 under ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Clouded Leopard
The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a clouded leopard was brought to London from China and described in 1821. It has large dusky-grey blotches and irregular spots and stripes reminiscent of clouds. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a long tail. It uses its tail for balancing when moving in trees and is able to climb down vertical tree trunks head first. It rests in trees during the day and hunts by night on the forest floor. The clouded leopard is the first cat that genetically diverged 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago from the common ancestor of the pantherine cats. Today, the clouded leopard is locally extinct in Singapore, Taiwan, and possibly Hainan Island and Vietnam. Its total population is suspected to be fewer than 10,000 mature individuals, with a decreasing pop ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Red Pandas
The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle and a ringed tail. Its head-to-body length is with a tail, and it weighs between . It is well adapted to climbing due to its flexible joints and curved semi-retractile claws. The red panda was first formally described in 1825. The two currently recognised subspecies, the Himalayan and the Chinese red panda, genetically diverged about 250,000 years ago. The red panda's place on the evolutionary tree has been debated, but modern genetic evidence places it in close affinity with raccoons, weasels, and skunks. It is not closely related to the giant panda, which is a bear, though both possess elongated wrist bones or "false thumbs" used for grasping bamboo. The evolutionary lineage of the red panda (Ailuridae) stretches back around , as in ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Gray Wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly understood, comprise wild subspecies. The wolf is the largest extant member of the family Canidae. It is also distinguished from other ''Canis'' species by its less pointed ears and muzzle, as well as a shorter torso and a longer tail. The wolf is nonetheless related closely enough to smaller ''Canis'' species, such as the coyote and the golden jackal, to produce fertile hybrids with them. The banded fur of a wolf is usually mottled white, brown, gray, and black, although subspecies in the arctic region may be nearly all white. Of all members of the genus ''Canis'', the wolf is most specialized for cooperative game hunting as demonstrated by its physical adaptations to tackling large prey, its more social nature, and its highly adva ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]