Our Honolulu
'Ohana strong at the zoo
By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist
Neither drought nor economic recession nor international terror can deter the power of 'ohana at the Honolulu Zoo. Today, the warthogs will debut their new additions, two baby girl warthogs.
Papa and Mama Warthog will be "at home" with the little ones to receive visitors for the first time since the great event, and it promises to be a lively party.
Papa Warthog, Kamapua'a, weighs maybe 230 pounds and has tusks six inches long. He's not much good at cuddling little girls, like a warthog in a China shop. So Butch Ball, the mammal specialist, has kept Kamapua'a incommunicado until today.
"The babies were born in July, so they're quick enough now to get out of his way," explained Ball. "Seeing their father will excite them. They'll be very frisky."
It's easy to tell Papa Warthog from Mama because he's the one with the warts as big as horns. She's undeniably feminine; only 140 pounds, shapely legs and dainty feet. The little girl warthogs are even more so.
But Ball doesn't recommend taking them home with with you. They'll destroy your flower beds to eat the roots and turn your lawn into a mud wallow. Besides, a warthog costs between $4,000 and $10,000.
A better choice is the fledgling roseate spoonbill, born five weeks ago in a high tree-top nest, a landmark event because it's the first time a roseate spoon bill egg has hatched at the Honolulu Zoo.
Animal keeper Brenda Clawson said she could hold the chick in the palm of her hand. Since then, he's grown to the size of chicken with stork legs and a long beak.
The baby spoonbill has been helpless in its nest, completely dependent on his parents even though he is now as big as they are. Either mama or papa is always at the baby's side in the flight cage.
Meanwhile, their offspring has taken lessons from them in grooming and how to build a nest. Clawson said the baby learns to fly by watching.
He spreads his wings and flaps them for practice. Sometimes, he almost lifts himself out of the nest. "He's like a kid learning to walk," said Clawson. "Finally, he just decides to go for it."
There's another new family at the zoo today. A mama blue-tongued skink gave birth to eight baby skinks a few months ago. The lizards are about a foot long now, with heads like rattlesnakes and bodies like smooth, slinky alligators.
Unlike the baby roseate spoonbill, the skinks are on their own from the moment they're born, said animal keeper Kendra Mau.
In the Reptile House, skinks hunker down and hiss when you get too close. But these babies in the Children's Zoo are as unconcerned around humans as household cats because they've been cuddled so much. Kids like their bright blue tongues, Mau said.
Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073 or bkrauss@honoluluadvertiser.com.
