Brandywine AAZK

Brandywine AAZK The Brandywine Zoo Chapter of AAZK is a non-profit organization made up of Brandywine Zoo's keepers, educators, support staff, and volunteers.

Our goal is to expand conservation efforts through partnering with the American Association of Zoo Keepers. The Brandywine AAZK Chapter (BAAZK) is made up of zoo keepers, educators, and other zoo employees. We are committed to supporting the professional and conservation efforts of AAZK. By supporting BAAZK, you help enhance, the professional development of its members, and you also help our chapt

er through fundraising efforts, to contribute to conservation both locally and globally. Some fund raising events we have hosted include, ‘Bowling For Rhinos’, which raises money for rhino conservation. Another annual fund raising event we have hosted is 'Tango For Tamarins’. Monies raised at this event help the Golden Lion Tamarins in Brazil and here at the Zoo. We also raise money to help with professional development for the keepers. We host free 'Guest Speaker' events to help educate the public and other zoo professionals on a variety of topics. Past guest speakers have included Dr. Erica Miller, Dr.La’Toya Latney and Hillary Taylor, Delaware’s wildlife rehabilitator. Next time you are at The Brandywine Zoo, stop a keeper and chat with us. We love to talk about our jobs, the animals in our care, our AAZK Chapter and what our chapter does, and even what it takes to become a zoo keeper

Being a zoo keeper means being passionate, dedicated, hardworking, and having a love of animals and people. Zoo keepers are care givers, educators, conservationists, trainers, and a lot more. Everything we do during our work day directly affects the animals in our care. Our days include feeding the animals, cleaning enclosures, making sure all the animals are healthy and happy, both physically and mentally. We do “positive reinforcement” training and we also do behavioral enrichment for the animals. The training we do helps us better care for the animals and the enrichment keeps the animals stimulated and hopefully solicits some of their natural behaviors. Our days are also made up of problem solving, brainstorming, and progressive learning. Zoo keepers give 100% of themselves to their jobs and the animals in their care. We are constantly bettering ourselves through conferences, networking, newsletters and schooling to helps us grow and stay up on the best animal care practices. We are professionals dedicating our careers to gaining knowledge and experience, sharing this knowledge to constantly improve the care of the animals here at The Brandywine Zoo.

Saphira is excited that it's National Save the Eagles Day!From first being protected under the Bald Eagle Protection Act...
01/10/2025

Saphira is excited that it's National Save the Eagles Day!

From first being protected under the Bald Eagle Protection Act in 1940 to finally being removed from the Endangered Species List in 2007, bald eagles are a great example of a conservation success story, showing how environmental protections can make a huge impact on the wild population. In fact, wild bald eagle numbers are so strong that they are not in a managed breeding program in zoos. So many individuals are available from wildlife rehabilitators, as Saphira was after she was blown out of her nest and her broken wing did not heal properly, preventing her from flying and hunting.

How well do you know your animal tracks? 🤔 Answers revealed at the end. Let us know how you did! ❄️
01/08/2025

How well do you know your animal tracks? 🤔
Answers revealed at the end. Let us know how you did!
❄️

If you stop by the zoo on a cold winter day such as today you may ask yourself how our ducks are able to withstand the c...
01/07/2025

If you stop by the zoo on a cold winter day such as today you may ask yourself how our ducks are able to withstand the cold temperatures of the water.
🥶
Ducks are able to maintain their feather insulation through preening; a process in which they use their bills to groom themselves keeping their feathers clean and oiled. Their outer feathers are able to stay water resistant and the inner layer of down feathers continues to keep them warm.
🪶
They are also adapted to withstand cold waters via a special circulatory system in their legs that prevents them from losing too much heat.
🦆
Both of these processes allow them to stay warm even in freezing temperatures!

Chavin was pretty excited about the snow day!Andean Condors frequently roost high on rocky mountain cliffs in the South ...
01/07/2025

Chavin was pretty excited about the snow day!

Andean Condors frequently roost high on rocky mountain cliffs in the South American Andean mountain range, so he doesn't have to worry too much about getting cold.

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! Thank you for your support in 2024, and we look forward to seeing you in...
12/31/2024

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! Thank you for your support in 2024, and we look forward to seeing you in the new year!
🌟🥳 🎉

Joining in on the wrapping paper surprises while working on Christmas to make sure the animals get the care they need an...
12/25/2024

Joining in on the wrapping paper surprises while working on Christmas to make sure the animals get the care they need and the Zoo stays monitored. Merry Christmas!!

Just Bushmallow, soaking in the sun while she can, ready for some longer days.
12/24/2024

Just Bushmallow, soaking in the sun while she can, ready for some longer days.

Sometimes you’ve just got to take a moment to ponder life’s big questions 😔
12/17/2024

Sometimes you’ve just got to take a moment to ponder life’s big questions 😔

We often think "What's Saphira looking at?" and can rarely find an answer. Bald Eagles have excellent eyesight, several ...
12/09/2024

We often think "What's Saphira looking at?" and can rarely find an answer. Bald Eagles have excellent eyesight, several times stronger than a human's, so she can spot small items like potential prey animals from too far away for her keepers to see.

Like our animals, gifts come in all shapes and sizes. All of these items have been gifted off our wishlist over the past...
12/03/2024

Like our animals, gifts come in all shapes and sizes. All of these items have been gifted off our wishlist over the past year. Thank you to Sabrina for recently buying the slow feeder Blue is using; great enrichment for many different animals that challenges the mind. If you would like to give a gift on this Giving Tuesday our wishlist is available at https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3B5KU9TU7FW04?ref_=wl_share

📸 1-3: Keeper Mark
📸 4-6: Keeper Doug

Enrichment is a critical part of keeping our animals happy and healthy, stimulating their minds and bodies. Choosing and...
11/25/2024

Enrichment is a critical part of keeping our animals happy and healthy, stimulating their minds and bodies. Choosing and providing enrichment to the animals is a big part of the keepers' daily routine, and we are always looking to give them exciting new enrichment items.
With Giving Tuesday coming up next week, there are many gift ideas on our Amazon wishlist for those interested: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3B5KU9TU7FW04?ref_=wl_share

Happy world Anteater day!!!    🎉🌎🐜 Giant Anteaters, like our Lancaster, are the largest of the anteater species. They ca...
11/19/2024

Happy world Anteater day!!! 🎉🌎🐜

Giant Anteaters, like our Lancaster, are the largest of the anteater species. They can reach 6-8 feet in length from their elongated nose to their bushy tail.
Anteaters have poor eyesight and hearing, however, they make up for this with their strong sense of smell which is nearly FORTY times better than that of humans!

Red Pandas like Scarlet don't have thumbs, but they do have a false thumb, a bony projection on the wrist that allows th...
11/19/2024

Red Pandas like Scarlet don't have thumbs, but they do have a false thumb, a bony projection on the wrist that allows them to grip bamboo, or in this case, a big juicy chunk of apple.

The leaves sure are changing colors and falling fast these days. Peanut is on a mission to eat as many as possible while...
11/12/2024

The leaves sure are changing colors and falling fast these days. Peanut is on a mission to eat as many as possible while she still can.

Miss Gryphus, matriarch of the zoo, watching over everything from her perch high on the hill.At 45 years old, Gryphus is...
11/04/2024

Miss Gryphus, matriarch of the zoo, watching over everything from her perch high on the hill.

At 45 years old, Gryphus is one of the oldest animals in the zoo, but Andean Condors can live to be over 75 in human care!

Everyone's getting in the spirit! 👻 The animals all enjoyed their special themed enrichment - Happy Halloween!! 🎃📸1 - Ke...
10/31/2024

Everyone's getting in the spirit! 👻 The animals all enjoyed their special themed enrichment - Happy Halloween!! 🎃

📸1 - Keeper Mark
📸2, 4 & 6- Keeper Doug
📸3, 5, 7, & 8 - Keeper Emily

Happy Halloween!!🎃Spooky fun and yummy treats with all our pumpkins!📸1 + 5 - Keeper Allyson📸2 - Keeper Connor📸3, 4 & 6 -...
10/31/2024

Happy Halloween!!🎃
Spooky fun and yummy treats with all our pumpkins!

📸1 + 5 - Keeper Allyson
📸2 - Keeper Connor
📸3, 4 & 6 - Keeper Emily
📸7-9 - Keeper Doug

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1001 N Park Drive
Wilmington, DE
19802

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