Wildfire Resiliency Project Supplies Meals and Enjoyable for Animals at Santa Barbara Zoo

The City of Santa Barbara’s Wildfire Resiliency Project has discovered an sudden group profit: feeding animals on the Santa Barbara Zoo.

The venture, a collaboration between the Fire and Parks and Recreation Departments, is designed to scale back the danger and severity of wildfires in Santa Barbara’s open area parks by eradicating high-fire-risk invasive species and restoring native, fire-resilient ecosystems. 

In September, the venture’s Vegetation Management Crew set sights on Stevens Park, a 26-acre open area park situated inside the foothill zone of Santa Barbara’s excessive hearth hazard space. Among the invasive crops focused for elimination had been silver wattle (Acacia dealbata,) a fast-growing shrub native to Australia, and customary olive (Olea Europaea,) native to the Mediterranean, Africa, and China.

Some of these invasive species, it seems, make nice snacks and enrichment for animals on the Santa Barbara Zoo. Rather than chipping the limbs, branches, and leaves into mulch, the City partnered with the Zoo’s Animal Care Team to make use of the cleared crops for meals and enrichment for over 15 totally different animal species.

Kangaroos, wallabies, and goats fortunately munched on olive branches, whereas Banjo the emu had a blast tossing and pulling on the leaves. Miles the prehensile-tailed porcupine, Tesso the Prevost’s squirrel, Saki monkeys, and Masai giraffes all joined the enjoyable, feasting on each olive and acacia trimmings. Capybaras loved snacking on acacia, whereas toucans, tawny frogmouths, cockatoos, honeyeaters, and bleeding coronary heart doves used the branches for hiding, climbing, or enjoying. This intelligent reuse turned what was as soon as an issue in Stevens Park into enrichment and vitamin on the Zoo.

“Providing natural foods like browse is key for herbivores’ gut biome and can improve overall well-being for the animals,” mentioned the Zoo’s Animal Nutritionist, Trent Barnhart. Zoo workers estimate that the donated branches and leaves saved the group round $6,400. 

“I can think of no better way to use these invasive cuttings than to feed animals who would graze on them in their native habitat,” mentioned Monique O’Conner, Open Space Planner for the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department. “Transporting the plant material offsite helps us reduce the invasive seedbank in the park and frees up space for our fire-resilient natives to thrive. It’s really a win-win.”

As a thanks, the Santa Barbara Zoo staff invited Parks and Recreation and Fire Department workers for a go to to see the animals and the prospect to feed olive branches collected from the park to Adia, Theo, and Malia, the Zoo’s Masai giraffes.

This will not be the primary time the Wildfire Resiliency Project has integrated animals. During the spring, sheep could be discovered throughout totally different parks to assist preserve defensible area, the buffer zone between buildings and surrounding vegetation that may assist sluggish or cease the unfold of wildfire.

“Grazing is one of many tools in our toolbox for vegetation management, but this might be the first time an agency has gotten giraffes and monkeys involved,” mentioned Mark vonTillow, Wildland Fire Specialist with the City of Santa Barbara Fire Department. “Anytime we can remove hazardous fuels and keep that material out of the waste stream is a win. Plus, working with the Zoo has been a great opportunity for the crew to see their work make a direct, positive impact beyond wildfire prevention.”

Learn extra concerning the Wildfire Resiliency Project and the work underway in Stevens Park at SantaBarbaraCA.gov/WildfireResiliency.

To be taught extra about donating your personal plant materials to the Santa Barbara Zoo, go to SBZoo.com/Donate#Browse.