BEACH INSIDER

Walk on wild side at ZooWorld

Jan Waddy
jwaddy@pcnh.com
Slo and Mo hang around inside the Nursery during a Sloth Encounter at ZooWorld in Panama City Beach. JAN WADDY/THE NEWS HERALD

PANAMA CITY BEACH — The world's slowest mammals are quickly becoming a new favorite at ZooWorld.

Two-toed sloths "Slo" and "Mo" — short for Sloth and Molasses — arrived from a Michigan zoo in November. 

"This is the No. 1 requested animal we didn't have," said Kayte Hogan, director at ZooWorld, whose husband, Bryan, named the newest additions. 

Other recent animal additions include the King Vulture, the Capybara, which she described as "the world's largest rodent," and Binturong — a bit like a "civet."

"The Binturong smells like popcorn, the most delicious smelling animal in the zoo," Hogan said with a laugh. "We try to bring in animals people have never heard of and never seen to keep it different and interesting as well. We brought in more than 10 new animals just in the last two years."

ZooWorld has more than 200 animals at the non-profit at 9008 Front Beach Road. Hogan's family, which includes her father, Rhyno Wanko of Rhynettes LLC, purchased the property from ZooWorld Inc. two years ago. The family endeavor also includes her sister, Jessica Kiefer, and helping hands from Kiefer's 5-year-old daughter, Rosey. Hogan's 6-month-old daughter, K.J., already is forming a few opinions, too.

"She dislikes the monkeys, but loves the giraffes and the goats," Hogan said, as she held K.J. on her lap. "We've been in the zoo industry almost 20 years. This had great bone structure and a great location. We spent the first year just cleaning up, got rid of anything not used in a six-month period and did staff retraining and basic routine maintenance. The facility has been here since 1947 when it was the Snake-a-Torium. It became ZooWorld in 1991. And three seasons ago we took over management of it. We have a lot of zoo experience here on staff. We've done a lot of changes with husbandry practices."

The sloths, which are native Central and South America, are housed in a room in the "Nursery," the same building where the reptiles are being housed while the reptile exhibit is under renovation.

"The renovation has been a lot more intense than we wanted it to be. We had to replace the entire roof, so they currently live in here where the Sloth Encounters are," said Hogan, who then opened the door to the room with the two sloths — which also can be seen through the glass for passers-by in the park. "The room stays right around 90 degrees in temperature, and the humidity is 90 percent. They require a much higher temperature than most animals," Hogan explained. "Sloths have the lowest and most fluctuating body temperature, between 75 to 90 degrees, and the lowest muscle mass of any mammal."

A tray on their tree features fresh fruits, veggies and leaf-eater biscuits.

"We offer sloths sweet potatoes as a treat at the Encounters. They are part of their normal diets, just the part they like best," Hogan said. "Each encounter is 10 to 15 minutes with two to five in here at a time. We open the doors. We make it comfortable for people."

When it comes to sloths, even digestion is slow. It can take up to one month for them to digest their food, but luckily they have large stomachs.

The mesmerizing Sloth Encounters began Feb. 1 and allow guests the opportunity to pet the animals.

"I tell people to pet them on their backs. We are very conscious of safety," explained Hogan, who added she doesn't like to be touched in the face. 

(And if you don't want to be climbed on, be sure not to stand too close to the tree for too long.)

Each Animal Encounter at ZooWorld is $35. 

"Encounters are on a first-come, first-served basis. We will schedule it when you get in and we stop doing them an hour before the close of the park," Hogan said.

The park is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, rain or shine.

Other encounters give guests opportunities to hold alligators, feed giraffes from the Overlook and to snuggle with lemurs — at the lemurs' discretion. 

Guests are instructed to sanitize their hands before (and after) going in with the ruffed lemurs — two red and one black and white. All of the doors to the enclosures pull in, "because the animals push out."

"The black and white are normally more playful of the three and the red ruffed are more snugly," said Hogan, who instructs guests to sit on the long bench inside the habitat. "When we go into the Encounter, we generally explain their behavior as being similar to a cat. Let everything be their choice and likely it will be a good Encounter."

On Friday, it was the black and white ruffed lemur who jumped in my lap and snuggled up while I pet his back. 

"'Human-like hands' is very much the No. 1 comment, and 'I didn't think their hands would be like this,'" Hogan said.

Unlike the sloth's coarse hair, the lemur's coat is soft and fluffy. Though he acted like a cat, his long nose made him resemble a dog.

"This is a prosimian, an almost-monkey," said Hogan, who added they are an endangered species from Madagascar. "Madagascar is the only place in the world you will find a wild lemur."

The lemurs all made sounds, "a territorial call," as some of the ducks moved during the park's construction.

"We have a lot planned for this spring," Hogan said. "We are always working, always improving, always doing something different. Come once and you will miss something; there's always something new to do and see."

The new sign, paint and fence out front are just an indication of all of the new changes happening inside ZooWorld. "A brand new" animal exhibit is currently under construction, and the "surprise" is set to open the second week of March.

"The pond has been in the zoo since the beginning, but was never fully utilized," said Hogan, who pointed out the new boardwalk over the water. "I felt this was the best first place to address in the zoo. This was noticeably the space that needed the most work. It's going to make the most difference. We put in a boardwalk, a new seawall to protect the sidewalks and keep the banks from eroding. The boardwalk adds more walking space. This is a small facility, 5 acres. More new space adds a better experience and opens a third of the zoo that wasn't being utilized."

Hogan suggests allowing two hours to go through the park.

"The new exhibit is interactive. Basically that's the way we would like everything from here on out. We like to get people involved, make them care about them," Hogan said. "We want to give people connection that lasts a lifetime because that type of connection can make conservation last a lifetime. The encounters are the best tools we have to promote conservation issues. While you have the experience, we are taking the opportunity to talk about their plight in the wild and give suggestions what they can do to help and suggest general tiny lifestyle changes, such as using sustainable products."

Her goal is to have a new exhibit every year, while continuing to bring in new animals and finish renovating the zoo.

"We have not worked on donations and grants but have worked on making this self-sufficient. The animals will always be taken care of, and the staff will always be paid. With donations we can do big things more quickly. We're hoping to generate enough funds next year to do the project on the lion yard. We'd like to give them an entirely new habitat," said Hogan, who added zoos can prolong the life of an animal by at least five years. 

She also explained that all exhibits have a lixit system, which are usually at the back of the enclosure, that provides fresh clean water on demand, and they also have ponds available to play or swim.

"These animals are so important to us. We would never do anything to jeopardize their health. It benefits us personally, because these are the animals we love, and it benefits us professionally. If we don't have good healthy animals, we don't have a business," said Hogan, who admitted some animals even take the "fresh water on demand" to the extreme. "Our lion will hold his paw and flood the bedroom so he has water to play in, so they can get as much as they want whether we want them to or not."

What: Zoological and Botanical Conservatory

Where: 9008 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach

Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, rain or shine

Admission: $16.95 for adults, $15.95 for seniors 65 and older, $12.95 for ages 2-12 and younger than 2 are free (military and Bay County residents get 20 percent off admission with valid I.D.); Season Passes available

Animal Encounter: Additional $35 per person for each 10-15 session with sloths, lemurs, alligator or giraffe

Details: 850-230-1243, ZooWorldPCB.com or Facebook.com/ZooWorldPCB

See videos of Encounters with Sloths and Lemurs at NewsHerald.com

ZooWorld