The Coudert Institute has enjoyed a longtime association with the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society. As you know, this past season we had the great fortune of collaborating with our friends at the zoo to bring to the community some terrific programming featuring primatologist and ethologist Frans de Waal and scientist Dr. Wallace J. Nichols.
The Palm Beach Zoo is a local treasure, offering children and adults a space to pause and stretch the mind in wonder. We ALL look forward to its reopening at some point soon. In the meantime, as part of our ongoing GARDEN CHATS series, we decided to bring a bit of the zoo to you! Please enjoy this casual conversation with Coudert Institute Founder Dale Coudert and Margo McKnight, President and CEO of the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society. Just one of a handful of the females who preside over our zoos, Margo just celebrated her two year anniversary here. As you will see, she has an infectious smile and cheer and an absolute devotion to her staff and the animals to which they all attend.
“We are giving Api time to bond with her cubs and watching over her closely. As soon as she is comfortable leaving her cubs in human care, we will perform a quick health check of the cubs and determine their sex. We are not expecting any interventions needed in their care at the point and so the health checks could be several weeks from now."
In their stroll through the gardens and sprawling grounds of the zoo, Margo and Dale touched on a wide range of topics including some exciting news on tap. Shortly after taping this conversation, we received the announcement that on May 12, three beautiful baby Mayan tigers were born. After seven hours of labor, their Mom Api delivered the three cubs 90 minutes apart from one another. All three cubs are now nursing and bonding with their mother. The first 72 hours in the life of these newborns is critical, and Margo, along with the zoo's Director of Animal Care Dr. Kathleen Woodie (quoted above) and the entire team at the zoo, will be at the ready until the cubs reach the 30 day mark when they can breathe a sigh of relief.
You can keep up on Api and her three new cubs through the Zoo's Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages. We hope you enjoy this virtual visit to the Palm Beach Zoo! Click HERE to watch this episode of GARDEN CHATS.
Photo and video courtesy of the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation.