#rohanharris

[huxley-paleozoo]

You mentioned Achillobator being a fast accelerator but a poor runner; what about its endurance? Also how do other dromaeosaurs compare?

Achillobator’s endurance is where its running fails it most, actually. I don’t think we’ve ever seen them run for more than a few seconds. They have large strides and probably don’t really need to. Our other dromaeosaurs are slightly faster. Velociraptor takes the cake, reaching a maximum of 40 km/h with wing assistance - close to Usain Bolt’s top speed, but nowhere near the speed of modern flightless birds. It falls neatly in line with estimates by University of Manchester researchers based on fossils.

- Rohan

[huxley-paleozoo]

Hey all! Rohan here with a quick update on things:

After waiting for over a month, it happened early last week - one of our female Achillobator laid eggs! Only one seems to be viable, though, as by Wednesday the rest were ejected from the nest and then eaten. Here’s hoping that one hatches.

As of this week, the American lion cubs have been completely weaned off milk. They’re in good health, transitioned well to meat, and now also have full reign of the outside enclosure they’ll continue to grow up in.

Members of the reintroduction team left for northern Iceland last weekend to check in on our great auk colony. We’ve only lost a few birds so far, and from initial reports, the rest seem to be doing alright. Auks in the Iceland colony (as well as the one in the aquarium) are beginning to pair up, and the team will remain in Iceland for a while to monitor them. Stay tuned!

One of the Zhejiangopterus apparently ate a songbird the other day. We found the bones in his poop.

[huxley-paleozoo]

If the truly ancient species in your facility are genetically fabricated renditions of the real things, why bother making fake Apatosaurus meat?

Hi phasestab!

All our carnivores do end up eating the meat of modern animals at least at times, but we do indeed grow engineered muscle and bone tissue of extinct animals for some, particularly large theropods. Often this is due to size - for example, a hadrosaur is much larger than a horse, and our Tyrannosaurus love some appropriately-sized bones. Due to the effort required, this doesn’t always constitute all of their diets, and a lot of it also doubles as enrichment. For example, when we grow Apatosaurus tissue for our Allosaurus, we often hang it vertically, offering a simulated sauropod flank to dig into.

- Rohan

[huxley-paleozoo]

How often are each of the carnivorous animals fed? I imagine feeding a Titanoboa or Kaprosuchus once or twice a week would be no problem, but how often are the Raptor's or Smilodon fed?

Ectothermic carnivores are indeed fed once or twice a week as their metabolism requires. More active carnivores, like theropods and mammals, are fed every day, often multiple times a day. The scheduled feedings listed on the site are only those that we directly invite visitors to see; other feedings may happen behind-the-scenes or spontaneously in the day.

- Rohan

[huxley-paleozoo]

Any rauisuchians or other Loricata planned?

Postosuchus is one of the animals planned for the next wave of deextinction!

- Rohan

[huxley-paleozoo]

What does it take to be a Huxley intern? I'm assuming you have to have a degree in paleontology but what else?

Hi anon!Student internships are open in many departments, including animal care, education and outreach, administrative support, staffing Quetzal’s Pretzels, and more. The biggest requirement is the commitment, willingness and ability to work and live here! Preferably, you should also be studying or have a degree in a relevant field (biology, paleontology, and environmental science are common). Prior experience and letters of recommendation are always nice. We provide housing and pay for transportation. There are still a couple spring internship slots available; contact us if you’re interested!- Rohan

[huxley-paleozoo]

Out of curiousity, are their any plans for introducing prehistoric pigs into the zoo?

The giant warthog Metridiochoerus is among the animals I’ve heard casually considered for future additions. Nothing’s certain at this point, though; only time will tell.

- Rohan

[huxley-paleozoo]

As the daily life of the zoo continues and we wait for Achillobator eggs to be laid, we’d like to wish a happy (slightly belated) birthday to our namesake, Thomas H. Huxley! Here’s to the man who famously defended Darwin’s theory of evolution, first proposed birds evolved from dinosaurs, and fought for scientific education in Britain.

- Rohan