President's Message ...

Aloha!  We wanted to get this newsletter out to you early this spring so you will know about all the great events that are coming up!  We have planned another special evening lecture for Friday, April 18.  This one will feature our zoo gardens with plant tours and a lecture by Dr. Don Hemmes.  This event will sell out fast so call in now to reserve your space.  See details inside.

 Other imminent events are the Merrie Monarch Parade on Saturday, April 5 which will include a County Parks & Recreation float celebrating the Zoo’s 30^th anniversary, the March of Dimes Walk on Sunday morning, April 13 and Earth Day at UHH Campus Center on Friday, April 18 and our very popular Plant Exposition on May 4!

 At the District Science Fair we presented awards to 4 exemplary projects in zoology.  The recipients are going to the State Science Fair this month.  We hope to encourage students and teachers to use the zoo for their research.

 The board of directors spent a lot of time studying the zoo’s needs and has decided on a project for its 30^th anniversary.  We plan to replace the old exhibit building across from the trellis --- the one that currently houses the sloths, lemurs, squirrels, and ‘io with a completely new building similar to the one housing the binturongs.  We hope to complete this project this year and will need to do a lot of fundraising.  Stay tuned!

 New octagonal cages and shade structures were donated to the zoo by former Councilman Jimmy Arakaki.  We have paid for putting up 3 of the structures:  one by the Education pavilion and 2 smaller ones between the primate houses.  We have also purchased a new cage for Lyman, our conure at the entrance; cage and a playpen for Zoey, the new hyacinth macaw; special lighting for the reptile house; and new fencing in the petting zoo.

 On our Wish List:  we always need old towels for animal enrichment.  They can be left at the gift shop.

 Thank you all for your continuing support for our zoo.  It is a beautiful and special place which gets raves from our many visitors and families.

                                                                                                                                                     -- Jean A. Curtis

Our zoo is celebrating 30 years 1978-2008 with an animal collage by Dick Mortemore made into t-shirts and other  memorabilia.

Spring Has Sprung! The chickens are nesting and the peacocks are showing off their beautiful tail feathers.  We are beginning to receive regular rain showers after a long dry spell that was preceded by record rainfall.  Our botanical gardens and rainforest haven't been too badly affected by this weather pattern.  The vireyas seem to be in constant bloom, and the orchids in the trees are putting out some spectacular blooms.  The water lilies at the watergarden are displaying their bright colors, and if you look closely you'll probably see a few bullfrogs.  We have a couple of unusual palms blooming this year, the ivory nut palm and the raffia palm have very unusual inflorescences.  If you haven't been to the zoo lately, the growth of the bamboo has been impressive.

 You may have heard that our sloth had a baby on 12/10/07.  The baby was healthy and starting to eat solids and getting very active but sadly it had an accident, possibly fell, and died.  Be sure to say hello to Zoey Manu, our hyacinth macaw, in her new home next to the Amazon parrots.  Zoey is so sweet--you'll probably see her going for walks around the zoo with her special handlers.  Einstein, the white cockatoo, is also in his new home next to the Toucans.  Both Zoey and Einstein talk.  In February we received a breeding trio of blue dart frogs from Lowry Park Zoo in exchange for some coqui frogs for their exhibit.  On 2/27/08 Pixie Snowflake the pygmy goat had a bouncing baby boy.

 Once again I extend a special invitation to everyone to come visit YOUR zoo.  It's a perfect time to see what's happening at the Pana`ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens.

                                                                                                                                                         -- George Saito

8th Annual Plant Sale & Exposition 

FUN – FOOD – FABULOUS PLANTS!!  Planting demonstrations by the Orchid Society!  A great day is planned for Sunday, May 4^th for the annual FOZ plant sale.  A huge variety of herbs, flowering plants, daylilies, orchids, trees, bamboo, palms, water garden plants, native plants, and everything for your gardening pleasure will be available at this popular event.  The Palm Society will have an info booth and seed give away, plus do one palm tour at 11 am.

Come join us from  9:00 am to 2:00 pm and get a lot of plants, goodies and great ideas and advice for your garden.  The FOZ  concession booth will be serving hotdogs, shave ice, chips and drinks.  A new coffee and pastry wagon is also coming for all you early birds!

Spring a Popular Time for School Tours

Spring is in the air at our beautiful zoo and that means an increase in the number of groups wanting to tour our zoo and gardens. There were six requests for docent led tours in the fall and there have been 25 so far this spring with more coming in every day. Our senior docents have been struggling to keep up with the demand and are delighted that there are nine newly graduated docents ready to lend a hand.

The groups have varied in every respect. We have had 5^th graders working on meeting their science standards and we have had 0-to 3 year olds touching furry animals in the petting zoo for the first time. We have had students from East Hawaii, West Hawaii, Kauai, and Oahu as well as Naalehu and Waikoloa.

We have had groups from private schools such as Kamehameha Kapalama, Le Jardine Academy Kailua, Hongwanji Mission School Honolulu and St. Theresa’s on Kauai and from public schools around our island. It is wonderful to see such a wide variety of young people visiting our zoo and we hope they return often with their families.

The docents are a group of dedicated volunteers and they do an outstanding job of telling the zoo “story” to our many visitors. Next time you see someone in the green docent shirt be sure to thank them for the informative tours they give. If you know someone who is interested in the docent program please have them call Barbra Green at 934-7014.

                                                                            —Barbra Green

A Green Evening at the Zoo with Don Hemmes

 On Friday evening, April 18, from 4 – 7:30 PM, the Friends of the Pana`ewa Zoo and the Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park are jointly hosting a three-part program featuring the Zoo’s gardens.  The evening begins with docent led tours of the grounds, followed by a buffet dinner in the Zoo’s Education Pavilion and capped with an illustrated talk by Dr. Don Hemmes that will focus on several of the plant groups found at the Zoo: Mushrooms, Palms and Cycads. The cost of the evening is $30 and reservations are made by calling the Friends of the Park at 985-7373 or e-mailing ainahou2@aol.com .

 The Zoo, in conjunction with the Hawai`i Island Palm Society, has developed and nurtured a major collection of more than 100 species of Palms. Don Hemmes is currently the Palm Society’s president.  Small group walking tours, begin at 4 PM and will acquaint guests with some stunning examples of palms, as well as other notable trees and plants in the Zoo’s gardens.

 Don Hemmes is co-author of the beautifully illustrated and very readable Identification Guide to the Mushrooms of Hawai`i published in 2002.  Hawai`i has a number of introduced species of fungi as well as its own array of fungi found nowhere else on earth. Hemmes and his co-author Dennis Desjardins are still discovering and documenting endemic species.  Hemmes is the current President of the Mycological Society of America.

 Don Hemmes is well known as an inspired speaker.  Recently retired Chair of the Natural Sciences Division at UH Hilo, Hemmes’ skill at communicating his biological enthusiasms gained him the University of Hawai`i’s Regent’s Excellence in Teaching  Award.  Following his recent lecture at the Lyman Museum, guests were overheard saying, “I had no idea that fungus could be so fascinating.”

 Many Hawai`i Island plant societies have collaborated with the Zoo in recent years to develop the elegant Zoo gardens: The Palm Society, Orchid Society, Vireya (Tropical Rhododendron) Society, Bamboo Society and Water Garden Society have made major contributions of plantings and labor.  The newest area under development at the Zoo, under Hemmes’ direction, is the Cycad garden.

 Generally, we visit Zoos to marvel at the animals, and Hilo’s Zoo hosts an intriguing array of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles from the tropical and subtropical regions of our planet.  Perhaps a best-kept secret is that our Zoo is also the site of major and diverse collections of the world’s plant life.  The Hilo’s Zoo’s new name, Pana`ewa Rainforest Zoo AND GARDENS invites us to discover the truly remarkable spectrum of both native and exotic plants that grace the Zoo’s grounds.                               

Third Wednesdays, Etc.

Christmas came to the zoo animals on a Saturday.  The animal enrichment crew prepared sumptuous repasts for the animals, and there were other treats as well.  The most enjoyed extra was a plastic mirror that was installed in the Primadome.  Bugaboo could not take his eyes off his fascinating mirror image.  Since he made the most horrible faces at himself I will make the anthropomorphic guess that he was not harboring a trace of narcissism but believed that a handsome stranger had entered his realm.  Namaste showed little or no enthusiasm when presented with a box of catnip.  But the best was yet to be:  he certainly was not disappointed at his 3:30 feeding time.  Then he got a whole beef shank and on Christmas day an unroasted beef roast, both bought at Kulana Foods by Auntie Jean Curtis for the Friends.

 Animal enrichment was followed by the people’s party.  Docent, enrichers, petting zoologists and staff were treated to a leaning tower of pizzas and a massive array of potluck dishes.  Barbra Green organized a gift drawing which was much better received than a certain box of catnip.

 Wednesdays began in full force with a new docent training course on February 13.  This course is given each year to prepare people to give guided tours at the zoo.  The word “docent” comes from the Latin word docere which means to teach.  It is hoped that those on a zoo tour, mainly school groups, will learn something.

 Our first meeting was introductory.  Materials were handed out and an orientation tour taken.  The next week we got down to business when Chris Kornet gave an overview of the vertebrate animals in the zoo (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) and their physical characteristics.  The following week I missed Dick Mortemore’s live bird class (he raises homing pigeons) because I went to the Hawai`i Ocean Services and Technology Park at Keahole Point to learn about the facility and go on the abalone and sea horse tours.  Sea horses are amazing.  They are sold to mainland aquarists but are not sold in the State of Hawai`i because they might become another escaped species and contribute to our ecocidal demise.

 On March 5, Eric Craig gave us a glimpse at food preparation behind the scenes.  There is a lot of chopping of fresh fruits and vegetables which the zoo staff collect from grocery store rejects.  KTA and other stores donate this produce to the zoo.  Later Karla Cook, the Petting Zoopervisor, gave us an interesting introduction to the Petting Zoo animals and a thoughtful explanation of the functions of the PZ for guests and volunteers.

She was followed by Faith Elarionoff, Chief Animal Enricher, who brought Andy, the brown lemur, from his home behind the scenes.  Andy’s rear legs are paralyzed from rat lungworm disease, but his quality of life is excellent thanks to his numerous “aunties” who talk to him, feed him special treats, carry him around, cuddle him, and clean and massage his little body.  Lemurs are prosimians, making them essentially our doggy-nosed cousins, and like human babies, they thrive on attention.  While Karla held Andy, Faith introduced us to Zoey, the new hyacinth macaw.  Both Faith and Karla exemplify the dedication and responsibility that humans should always show when treating captive animals.

 George Saito, the zoo manager, gave us an extremely knowledgeable tour of the zoo plants.  The zoo has a number of sizeable collections of specific types of plants (palms, vireyas, bamboos, orchids, water plants) which are donated and maintained by various plant societies.  While there are a huge number of plants at the zoo that are rare and special, my very favorite plants are the Bismark palms from Madagascar.  Their leaves are enormous blue-white fans.  I think they are gorgeous.

 On March 19, our last day, Lanaya Deily gave an outstanding presentation on the life cycle of monarch butterflies.  These are the only invertebrates which are exhibited in the zoo.  Though not native to Hawai`i, monarchs are well established on this island.  Lanaya not only illustrated her talk with her own excellent photographs of monarchs, but she also brought a number of terrariums showing monarchs at various stages of development.  Lanaya hopes that you will always remember that butterfly caterpillars do NOT make a cocoon, which is spun of silk, but shed their last skin to form a chrysalis.  Monarch butterflies drink nectar; their caterpillars eat milkweed leaves.

 Nina Bremer had the hard task of following butterflies, yet she was up to it.  Her subject, basically how to survive giving a zoo tour, was presented with a full array of tips and good humor.  How to get a group’s attention?  Don’t holler.  Since docents are volunteers they should enjoy touring.  If a group is off the wall, the docent can even quit!

 After the class completed an exercise in knowledge management, answering and then discussing the questions on a small written quiz, it was time for festivities.  Potluck lunch, of course, but also certificates (a first) and the presentation of na lei inoa, name tag necklaces.  This class was quite outstanding in terms of both knowledge and enthusiasm.  Its members will be a terrific addition to the zoo’s volunteer force.

                                                                      — Suky Byrne