Age: 3.
Species: Vietnamese potbellied pig.
Color: Solid black to solid white, with various
spots in between.
Size: 3 feet long and 14 to 18 inches tall.
Weight: Up to 150 pounds.
Other physical features: Loose skin that gives
a wrinkled appearance, wiry hair, short ears and a short snout.
Average life span: 10 to 20 years.
Zoo life: Harley and his brother, Max, arrived at
Irvine Park in June 2005. “They’re my boys,” London said as she snuggled with Harley, who likes to be petted and scratched.
The pair followed her on a recent summer day,
grunting and wagging their tails like dogs. After
wandering around, the pair might snooze in the
shade under a tree. When it’s chillier, the swine
siblings like London to tuck them into a bed of
hay and blankets.
Pig picnic: Harley and Max eat fruit (both like
apples and grapes), grass and vegetables. Max is
the pickier porker. Harley is the heavier of the two.

Age: 4.
Species: American black bear.
Color: Black, brown, cinnamon or (rarely) white.
Size: 5 to 6 feet long.
Weight: 200 to 600 pounds.
Average life span in the wild: 20 years.
Did you know: Black bears, North America’s most common bears, are excellent tree climbers. These bears — including the trio at Irvine Park — are not true hibernators. During their winter dormant period, they don’t eat but might wake if disturbed.
Zoo life: Honey and her sister were born at the
zoo in February 2004. They, along with their mother, moved into the park’s new bear enclosure in 2005. A male bear cub about the same age as
the females later replaced the mother bear so the
animals can breed.
(Zoo animals are rotated from time to time to
keep the exhibits “new,” said Bill Faherty, city
parks, recreation and forestry director.)
The three bears like to climb on branches in
their exhibit and carry tires around their enclosure
for entertainment.
Bear fare: Black bears are omnivores, meaning they eat meat and plants. Like their wild cousins, Honey and her roommates like to eat grass and dandelions. They also have a sweet tooth.
“They love doughnuts,” London said, noting the
zoo staff uses the treats to persuade the bears
to move so their enclosure can be cleaned.

Age: 7.
Species: American bison.
Color: Light to dark brown.
Size: 5 to 6½ feet tall at the shoulder, with a tail measuring 19¾ to 23½ inches long.
Weight: 930 to 2,200 pounds.
Average life span in the wild: 12 to 20 years.
Did you know: Male and female bison have a
single set of hollow, curved horns.
Zoo life: Little Richard, born in May 2000, is one
of six bison at Irvine Park. The small herd roams a
fenced-in enclosure at the north end of the park.
Buffalo breakfast: Bison are herbivores, meaning
they chiefly graze on grass and other plants.
The zoo’s bison also get grain and hay.

Age: 14.
Species: Bobcat or, sometimes, wildcat.
Size: 26 to 41 inches long, with a bobbed tail measuring 4 to 7 inches.
Weight: 16 to 30 pounds.
Other physical features: Long legs, large paws and
tufted ears. Brown or brownish red with a white underbelly and a short, black-tipped tail.
Average life span in the wild: 10 to 12 years.
Did you know: The bobcat is the most abundant wildcat in the United States and has the greatest range of all native North American cats. These nocturnal felines, rarely spotted by humans, can kill prey much larger than themselves.
Zoo life: Mack arrived at Irvine Park in June 1993. His roommate, a 4- to 5-year-old female, joined him in 2007.
Mack “loves to be talked to,” London said, and he kneads his paws like a house cat.
Both bobcats sleep in a sandbox topped with hay. Neither is super playful, but Mack likes to bat at the brush London slips through his cage bars for cleaning.
Cat cuisine: Bobcats are meat eaters. In the wild, they often eat birds, mice, rabbits, squirrels and other small game.
During the warmer months, Mack and the female each eat about a pound of meat a day. When the temperature is cooler, they eat about 1½ pounds each.

Age: 1½ to 2 months.
Species: Porcupine.
Size: 25 to 36 inches long, with a tail measuring 8 to 10 inches long.
Color: Dark brown to black, with white highlights.
Weight: 12 to 35 pounds.
Average life span in the wild: Five to seven years.
Did you know: Porcupines have soft hair but sport sharp quills on their back, sides and tail. When porcupines are threatened, the quills — which typically lie flat — leap to attention as a deterrent, but the animals can’t shoot them at predators as once thought.
Zoo life: The 1- to 2-pound baby is one of four porcupines at Irvine Park. It was born this spring. Like porcupines in the wild, the zoo residents are good climbers and like to spend time on tree branches in their enclosure. “If you put a branch in there, they are on it,” London said.
Porcupine porridge: North American porcupines have a healthy appetite for wood. They eat natural bark, fruit, leaves and springtime buds.

Age: 8.
Species: Blackcapped capuchin monkey.
Size: 12 to 22 inches tall; the length of the tail is about the same.
Color: Dark face, with almost black hands and feet. The general body color is brown, with a
lighter rust color around the face and down into the chest and upper arms. The hair on the head can form tufts that resemble “horns” or upright hairs joining in the middle of the head forming a “hood.”
Weight: 3 to 8 pounds.
Average life span: Up to 40 years in captivity.
Did you know: These monkeys have a cap of black hair on top of their heads. Organ grinders have been entertaining with these animals for decades.
Zoo life: Popeye, or Poppy, arrived at the zoo in April 2003. He is one of four capuchin monkey inhabitants, including a baby.
“They’re active all the time,” London said. “They love to climb and look at themselves in mirrors.”
Monkey meals: Like their wild cousins, the capuchins at the zoo eat fruit and vegetables. They
also like sweets, especially gummy worms.

Age: 6.
Species: Elk.
Size: 4 to 5 feet tall at the shoulder; a bull (male) elk’s antlers can reach 4 feet above its head.
Weight: 325 to 1,100 pounds.
Average life span in the wild: Eight to 12 years.
Did you know: Bull elk lose their antlers each March, but they begin to grow them back in May in preparation for the late-summer breeding season.
Zoo life: Sonny Boy, born in May 2002, is one of three elk who call Irvine Park home. He and the two females he lives with are pretty tame, London said. None of them, especially the females, are fond of dogs.
Earlier this year Sonny Boy banged his left antler as it began to grow, so it might be deformed this year, London said.
Elk eats: These herbivores munch on grass and shrubs in the wild. The zoo’s elk also eat grain and hay.

Age: 4.
Species: Coati or, sometimes, coatimundi.
Size: 2 feet tall, with a tail about the same length.
Weight: 7 to 13 pounds.
Color: Brown to red-brown fur, with black and white sprinkled in like a raccoon’s coat.
Average life span in the wild: Up to 16 years.
Did you know: The coati, a relative of the raccoon, has a long, pointed nose; a long, bushy, ringed tail; and long claws, which it uses to tear
rotting logs apart or dig holes. Its ankles are double jointed and extremely flexible, enabling the animal to descend trees headfirst.
Zoo life: Tabitha, or Tabby, arrived at Irvine Park in October 2004. She is one of three coatis that can be seen climbing around their enclosure and mugging for park visitors. “They love to dig,” said London, noting if she throws a pair of pants into their exhibit, the trio will dig in the pockets. “They’re (also) real curious, and they love different scents.”

Age: 7.
Species: Cougar, also known as mountain lion or puma.
Size: 3¼ to 5¼ feet long, with a tail measuring 23½ to 33½ inches long.
Weight: 147 to 227 pounds, males; 79 pounds to 132 pounds, females.
Average life span in the wild: Up to 20 years.
Did you know: Cougars can jump 18 feet from the ground into a tree. They are good swimmers, but they don’t seem to like to get wet.
Zoo life: Tia arrived at the zoo in July 2004. She enjoys playing with a ball in her pen and doing
high-flying laps around the current cougar enclosure. However, Tacoma, her 8-year-old male
roommate, isn’t fond of the noise she makes romping. The pair love to sniff different scents. “She’s always purring, and he’s always growling,” London said.
Feline food: Cougars are carnivores. They like to prey on deer, but they also eat smaller animals, including porcupines and raccoons. At Irvine Park, Tia and Tacoma get 8 pounds of ground meat
between them each day. He typically eats more than she does. Like their wild cousins, they also like deer, donated by hunters, especially the heads.

Age: 8.
Species: Donkey.
Size: Less than 36 inches to more than 56 inches tall, depending on the type.
Weight: Standard donkeys can weigh 400 to 500 pounds.
Color: Many are gray, but some are black, brown, light red or white.
Average life span: 25 years or more.
Did you know: Donkeys are part of the horse family. Male donkeys are called jacks, and females are called jennies or jennets. When a male donkey and a female horse mate, the resulting offspring is a mule.
Zoo life: William is a summer zoo resident. He belongs to Lorraine Westaby of Stanley, who brings her animals to the park each summer, including a
second donkey, Maxwell; two pygmy goats; a miniature horse; a white-faced calf; and a sheep and its lamb. “They don’t mind going to the park at all because they get petted,” Westaby said. “People love William. He goes right up to them.”
Donkey diet: William eats grass and hay at home. But in summer he also gets apples and grain from park visitors.

Age: Unknown, but he’s an adult.
Species: Ostrich.
Size: 7 to 9 feet tall.
Weight: 220 to 350 pounds.
Color: Males tend to be black with white wing tips, and females are light brown.
Average life span: 30 to 40 years.
Did you know: Ostriches can’t fly, but they can sprint up to 43 mph. The birds have the largest
eyes of any land animal. Their eyes measure almost 2 inches across.
Zoo life: Ozzie is a summer zoo resident, and he is residing near the fallow deer enclosure. “He loves company,” London said. “When someone comes
around, he runs to the fence.”
Ostrich entrees: Ostriches typically eat plants, roots and seeds, but they also will eat insects, lizards or other creatures available in their habitat. Ozzie’s diet includes ostrich chow.