GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – Greenville Zoo welcomed new red panda cubs and a 230-pound Aldabra tortoise named Mac. They have also started renovations to their educational program classrooms.
Zookeepers said with every new species the zoo receives, the animals are taken to the veterinarian for a regular health check up where they are given supplements to improve their diet.
“Red pandas eat primarily bamboo, so you might see that on exhibit from time to time, but they also get a leaf eater biscuit which has some nutrition that they would naturally have and they also get some fruits,” said Zookeeper Melody Tucker.
Brian Eisele, Greenville Zoo’s Assistant General Curator, said guests can visit Mac, the Aldabra tortoise, during operation hours.
“Mac is in his early 30s right now,” Eisele said. “He could live up to 150 years, maybe even up to 250 years. He is 230 pounds but could get up to 500 or even 600 pounds later on.”
Eisele said the animals have climate controlled barns that will adapt to their needs to keep them warm or cool in any type of weather throughout the year.
In addition to the new wildlife, renovations to the zoo’s educational program classrooms will be completed within the next few weeks.
“With the upgrades, what we’re doing is we’re trying to fix some of the problems that we have in our classrooms. We had some damage on the walls where we repaired those and added paint to bring it up to standard here. We are also reinstalling TV’s so children can watch programming,“ said John Edds, Greenville Zoo’s business manager,
Edds said that education is an important part of what they instill at the zoo.
“The whole focus of the zoo is to educate the public, so with the animals we have in our collection we educate about conservation and how we can improve how we are as humans, stewarding the earth. Education is huge for us,” said Edds.
If you are interested in learning more about the educational program or wanting to be a member, click here.
