Sedgwick County Zoo animals are entering the Final Friday art scene. Get to know Sedgwick County Zoo animals through their art during this early evening Final Friday Opening Reception April 29 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Riney Fine Arts Gallery on Friends University campus 2100 W. University, Wichita, KS. You’ll see art by Billy, Lucille, Talali and other Sedgwick County Zoo animals. Other artists include: Marbles the chimpanzee, Bibi the black rhinoceros, Kramer & Gerrard the ring-tailed lemurs, Daisy the orangutan, Roscoe the Tayra and of course Cinda & Stephanie the African elephants. Paintings will be available for purchase.
Billy, the western lowland gorilla
(Gorilla, gorilla, gorilla), was born on October 17, 1990 at the Bronx Zoo in New York City. He weighs a hefty 425 pounds. He lives with his full older brother Tommy. Seven other gorillas also live in The Downing Gorilla Forest in four separate troops. Billy has been painting over four years and is considered the No. one painter of the Sedgwick County Zoo gorillas. Painting is just one form of enrichment the keepers use with Billy and the other gorillas. He may also get puzzle-feeders, ice blocks, barrels, nesting material, boxes, blankets, and sheets.
Lucille, named after BB King's guitar, passed away late in 2010. Some might say Lucille had a Type A personality. She had a good disposition and take-charge sensibility. Although she has never had any piglets of her own she knew just what to do when a piglet of another breed - a Gloucestershire Old Spots - came to live with her at Sedgwick County Zoo. Lucille's motherly instincts kicked in and the two became fast friends. Lucille liked to paint in the morning, when it is nice and quiet, while enjoying apples.
Talali and her sister Zeya are Amur tigers
(Panthera tigris altaica). They were born in 2005 and moved from the Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan to Sedgwick County Zoo in January 2009. Talali enjoys daily enrichment, especially painting. Talali learned to paint before arriving at Sedgwick County Zoo. Other enrichment the tigers are given includes: balls, scent lures, tapir hay in grain bags, frozen fish, and hidden food in the outdoor exhibit. The keepers participate in training with Talali regularly. During training session she learns commands such as roll over, sit-up, and, of course paint. These commands help the keepers check her health, give medicine, and provide mental and physical stimulation.
The painting sessions, where Billy, Lucille and Talali and other Sedgwick County Zoo animals produced these works, are a form of enrichment which allows an animal to exercise control or choice over its environment, enhance its well-being, and demonstrate species-typical behaviors.You can seethese and all the animals at the Sedgwick County Zoo, 5555 Zoo Blvd.
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