March 18, 2022

Invasive plants and animals are becoming more of an everyday problem with new invasives species emerging every year.  With increased awareness of species such as the emerald ash borer, we at the Seneca Park Zoo wanted to know what invasives were in our area or threatening to be here soon. Partnering with Finger Lakes PRISM (Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management), the zoo has been including invasive species into our programming at the zoo, and in our parks in an effort to spread the word about these species that could have large negative effects in our environment.

The Seneca Park Zoo’s Naturalists lead volunteers through our local parks and green spaces to identify and report on the invasives we are seeing, as well as educating the volunteers to find these species on their own. Naturalists lead over 90 volunteers on close to 50 miles of trails in Western New York, specifically in places where invasives surveys have not yet been conducted.  When an invasive species was found on these hikes, the species was photographed and reported to an app/website used to collect invasive species locations and information called www.imapinvasives.org. This reporting tool is a great way to notify invasive species managers who will locate and often remove the species you have reported.

The Seneca Park Zoo’s Naturalists and PRISM coordinators hosted two removal events for an invasive species located in the mouth of the Genesee River called water chestnut. This very invasive plant will create large mats of vegetation along the top of a water source, choking out other species, and making the water an unusable habitat for the organisms that rely on it. Over 1,000 pounds of water chestnut was removed from the Genesee River this year and about 600 pounds has been removed annually from the river for the last 5 years.The Seneca Park Zoo will be holding informational webinars and classes on emerging invasive species, such as spotted lanternfly, in 2022. There will also be more identification hikes to monitor our area for new “invasions” of species not seen in the area. For more information on these events visit here. Please join us in the fight against invasive species!

– Dave Will – Lead Zoo Naturalist for Citizen Science

March 9, 2022

Tracking the health of our zoo animals is at the forefront of what we do at the Seneca Park Zoo. One of the tools we have to monitor our geriatric animals is routine bloodwork to track trends. These blood values can indicate changes in organ function that the veterinarian can respond to with various treatments. With older animals, the risk of anesthesia to collect samples increases so Zoo Keeper Randi Krieger and Veterinary Technician Robin English began working with our 16-year-old (17 in May!)  Amur Tiger, Katya, to try and get a blood sample without anesthesia. After many months of positive reinforcement, they were able to successful collect a blood sample from her tail. This behavior can now be used to track Katya’s health more frequently as she ages.

– Veterinary Technician Robin English 

* Banner photo by Wayne Smith

Holiday Recycling Tips & Guidelines

The holiday season can not only be a source of joy but also a large source of trash! In the months between November and February, Monroe County residents generate the highest amount of trash and recyclables of the year due to high consumerism. When we are shopping for, wrapping, and unwrapping gifts, we should be aware of what materials we are using and how we are disposing of our trash and recyclables. The more materials we recycle and dispose of correctly the less plastic and other pollutants end up in our green spaces and water ways.

The Seneca Park Zoo Society has been focused on removing trash from these areas with help from local volunteers with our Community Cleanup program. Since 2017, hundreds of volunteers have removed over 10,000 lbs. of trash from all over the Rochester area, not only removing the trash but reporting on what items are found to get a better understanding of what items are most impactful.

The first Community Cleanup of 2022 will be New Year’s Day at Turning Point Park. This will be a great chance to start the year off right and give back to our environment by helping to remove trash in a park that borders the Genesee River. Large groups and people of all ages are welcome!

If you would like to join us, stay tuned for more in 2022. Check out some of the recycling tips provided by Monroe County’s Department of Environmental Services for some great ways to improve your personal sustainability this holiday season. By working together we can all help to make Rochester a greener, cleaner place!

– Dave Will, Lead Zoo Naturalist for Citizen Science

September 28, 2021

Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) is a naturally occurring virus of elephants in the wild and in zoos. Historically, the virus has been associated with only Asian elephants; however, African elephants are increasingly affected by the virus. A latent, or hidden, phase can reside in an elephant no signs or symptoms. When it comes out of latency and circulates in the bloodstream, EEHV causes severe disease and often rapid death, especially in weaned calves. While there is no cure for EEHV, the elephant community, led by veterinarians and researchers working in and with AZA-accredited zoos, is learning more about the virus and how to manage it, increasing survival rates. Elephants with EEHV require aggressive treatment with antivirals, intravenous fluids, and often blood products.Although Genny C, Lilac, and Moki do not have EEHV, and due to their age, are at very low risk, they can still help their counterparts who may be at risk. Because our elephants voluntarily participate in their own health care, especially allowing their blood to be taken, Seneca Park Zoo is to contribute to an “elephant blood bank” formed by a consortium of zoos housing elephants.

Genny C recently became our first donor, allowing us to take about 1 liter of her blood. The blood was collected into a special bag containing anticoagulants to keep the blood from clotting, and nutrients to maintain the red blood cells. Thanks to our friends at Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Services, this blood was spun in a special centrifuge, and separated into RBCs and fresh frozen plasma (FFP). We can store the RBCs for 5 months and the FFP for a year, and if an elephant becomes ill with EEHV, or any disease that requires blood products, we can send these products to help with their treatment.

The high quality of our veterinary care program, coupled with our excellent positive reinforcement training program and Genny C, Lilac, and Moki’s relationship with their keepers, allows Seneca Park Zoo to continue to contribute to the larger zoo community!

– Dr. Louis DiVincenti, Assistant Zoo Director – Animal Care and ConservationDonate

September 22, 2021

During our Elephant Week, we are supporting the wonderful conservation organization International Elephant Foundation (IEF) which is dedicated to the conservation of African and Asian elephants worldwide. There are multiple projects occurring within this organization that our zoo is a part of! The first is The Mounted Horse Patrol Team (MHPT) in Mount Kenya. We have been supporting this project since 2015. Having a patrol team on horses allows the team to travel faster and further into the park. They are responsible for protecting approximately 54,800 hectares of habitat that is home to around 13,000 elephants. This team has and continues to catch and arrest poachers, remove snares placed by poachers, and provide educational opportunities to students and community members.The second project that we support is one that is focused on sustaining local support for elephant conservation near Ruaha, Tanzania. They focus on supporting the local community and educating them on how to positively coexist with their local wildlife through creating conservation curriculums, creating opportunities for the communities to see their local wildlife in a positive setting, and more!

The last project that we support is enabling human-elephant coexistence through applied research and stakeholder engagement in Botswana. They created “Living with Elephants” workshops and presented them in 4 communities and 8 cattle posts. These workshops teach community members human-elephant coexistence strategies and allows researchers to learn from those members as they report their experiences.

IEF is doing really great work for elephants. That’s why we want to continue to support them! Please donate what you can and every $5 donated earns you a chance to win a painting done by one of our elephant friends here at the zoo!

– Zoo Keeper Hanna KaiserDonate

* Banner photo by Zoo Keeper Kat Kleinschmidt

August 28, 2021

Have you ever been scrolling on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok and watched a video of a monkey, ape, or lemur? Maybe they’re wearing a dress, holding their arms up being “tickled”, or being held by someone posing for a photo. These videos can be tempting to share with your friends and family. So much content on social media is centered on animals interacting with the world and people, sharing it seems like a harmless way to bring positivity to someone’s feed. Unfortunately, the truth behind many of these videos is that it fuels the live primate pet trade, threatens wild populations, promotes poor primate welfare, and distorts viewers perspectives on zoos and the differences between private ownership of primates and housing primate species in zoos to support and assist in wild conservation efforts.So, what is the live primate pet trade? The primate pet trade is the transaction of live primates (monkeys, ape, and prosimians) into the care of humans outside of accredited zoos or sanctuaries (Norconk et al., 2019). Some of these primates will have come from facilities that intentionally breed them for the purpose of selling them as a pet, while others will have been taken directly from the wild by traffickers and then sold (Norconk et al., 2019). These primates will all be taken from their mothers and sold at young ages before they have reached full growth and maturity (Noconk et al., 2019).

It was estimated in 2011 that around tens to potentially hundreds of thousands of wild individual live primates are traded a year; in 2017 the number was estimated to be around 450,000 live primates (Nijman et al., 2011; Estrada et al., 2017). In 2011, the United States was the single largest importer of live primates and had been since 2009 (Nijman et al., 2011; Norconk et al., 2019). It goes without saying that these numbers present a major concern for primate populations and their conservation.

Primates are imperative to the health of the ecosystems they inhabit. With continually decreasing population numbers, and approximately 60% of primate species threatened with extinction, primates will no longer be able to support the functions necessary for an ecosystem to thrive (Estrada et al., 2017). Primates are responsible for a significant amount of seed dispersal and pollination throughout forests (Estrada et al., 2017). Since many primates are frugivorous (eat fruits), they are able to disperse fruit seeds throughout long distances when travelling, assisting in forest regeneration (Chapman et al., 2013). In addition to forest regeneration, primates disperse seeds that grow plants connected to economic growth, cultural importance, and food security in communities within primate habitats (Estrada et al., 2017).While the impacts removing primates from the wild has on ecosystems and local peoples will have a multitude of consequences, it is important to discuss how the live primate pet trade impacts the individual’s health and welfare once in the hands of its “owner”. The majority of primate species are social animals and require the presence of conspecifics to engage in natural behaviors such as grooming, playing, breeding, and various other species-specific behaviors. When taken out of these social environments and placed within human care (non-zoo or sanctuary) in an inappropriate environment such as a house, the individuals may begin to develop stereotypic or abnormal behaviors. Stereotypic behaviors are defined as “repetitive behaviors caused by central nervous system dysfunction, frustration, or repeated attempts to cope” (Mason et al., 2007). These behaviors can be functionless movements (pacing, bouncing, excessive somersaulting), over grooming oneself, or forms of self-harm that may include picking or biting at their skin forming a wound (Coleman & Maier, 2010; Lutz, 2014).

Keeping primates as pets in general, as well as in an inappropriate environment with no social groups, will have detrimental effects on the primate’s mental and physical welfare. Many primates who were previously kept as pets face lifelong struggles with harmful stereotypic behaviors and may have trouble fitting in with other primates since they were never able to learn how to be a primate when living alone as a pet. Unlike what most videos or pictures of pet primates will show, primates are incredibly dangerous animals and pose a serious risk to humans once they reach full growth and maturity. Below is a picture of Seneca Park Zoo’s dominant male Olive Baboon, Mansino, showing off his canines.Social media is becoming an increasing threat to primate populations worldwide, with certain species being more popular and appealing to viewers. As of 2020, YouTube had two billion users throughout the world, making it the most popular and impactful social media platform to exist (Moloney et al., 2021). With this many users, and the ability to share YouTube content on other social media platforms, these videos promote the popularity of having a primate as a pet and thus increases the demand for the trade of live primates and decreasing their numbers in the wild.

While there have been numerous action plans implemented to combat this issue that involve local peoples within primate habitat countries, there are a variety of ways that our visitors here at Seneca Park Zoo can help decrease the number of primates imported into the United States for pets and entertainment.

Tips for sharing videos or pictures of primates on social media:

• Was the video or picture posted by an accredited zoo? If yes, it is ok to share it! The primate is in an appropriate environment and social group and is being taken care of by professionals.
• Is the primate sitting on someone’s shoulder wearing clothes or doing tasks throughout the house? If yes, do not share it! This is most likely a primate being kept as a pet. The primate is in an inappropriate environment behaving in a way it wouldn’t normally behave in a social group in the wild or at a zoo.
• Is the primate in the wild? If yes, it is ok to share it! Sharing videos or pictures of primates in the wild is encouraged, as it shows people what primate social groups look like as well as the type of habitats the species lives in.

There may be some videos or images that could cause confusion when deciding if it should be shared or not. These videos or images may show a veterinarian or wildlife researcher in close contact with a primate. If these videos or images are connected to a zoo or a research/conservation group, then it is ok to share them. Veterinarians will have to be in close contact with a primate for exams or if an injury occurs. Wildlife researchers may have to be in close contact in order to collect samples (blood, fecal, urine, etc.) or even fit the primate with a GPS collar to assist in their research. Below are some examples:You may also come across videos or pictures of young primates (mainly orangutans and chimps) being held by care takers or wheeled around in wheelbarrows. The majority of these videos or pictures are taken at primate rehabilitation centers. As long as these videos or pictures are coming from a center, it is ok to share it! These centers rehabilitate primates that have lost their mothers due mainly from forest destruction and the pet trade. Sharing this content can help raise awareness about the dangers primates face in the wild and the work that is put into rehabilitating the primates and eventually re-releasing them into the wild. Below are examples:One last action our guests can take is to educate your friends and family about the primate pet trade! Sharing this information is perhaps one of the most important ways to help primates. Help us at Seneca Park Zoo spread awareness about the threat the primate pet trade poses to primate conservation and primate welfare.

Thank you for your support and Happy Primate Weekend!

– Clare Belden, Baboon KeeperDonate References:

Estrada, A., Garber, P.A., Rylands, A.B., Roos, C., Fernandez-Duque, E., Di Fiore, A., Nekaris, K.A.I., Nijman, V., Heymann, E.W., Lamber, J.E., Rovero, F., Barelli, C., Setchell, J.M., Gillespie, T.R., Mittermeier, R.A., Arregoitia, L.V., de Guinea, M., Gouveia, S., Dobrovolski, R., Shanee, S., Shanee, N., Boyle, S.A., Fuentes, A., MacKinnon, K.C., Amato, K.R., Meyer, A.L.S., Wich, S., Sussman, R.W., Pan, R., Kone, I., Li, B. (2017). Impending extinction crisis of the world’s primates: Why primates matter. Science Advances, 3: e1600946

Chapman, C.A., Bonnell, T.R., Gogarten, J.F., Lambert, J.E., Omeja, P.A., Twinomugisha, D., Wasserman, M.D., Rothman, J.M. (2013). Are primates ecosystem engineers? International Journal of Primatology, 34:1-14

Coleman, K., Maier, A. (2010). The use of positive reinforcement training to reduce stereotypic behavior in rhesus macaques. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 124(3-4): 142-148

Lutz, C.K. (2014). Stereotypic behavior in nonhuman primates as a model for the human condition. Institute for Laboratory Animal Research Journal, 55(2)

Mason, G., Clubb, R., Latham, N., Vickery, S. (2007). Why and how should we use environmental enrichment to tackle stereotypic behaviour? Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 102:163-188

Moloney, G.K., Tuke, J., Dal Grande, E., Nielsen, T., Chaber, AL. (2021). Is YouTube promoting the exotic pet trade? Analysis of the global perception of popular YouTube videos featuring threatened exotic animals. PLoS ONE, 16(4): e0235451

Nijman, V., Nekaris, K.A.I., Donati, G., Bruford, M., Fa, J. (2011). Primate Conservation: measuring and mitigating trade in primates. Endangered Species Research, 13: 159-161

Norconk, M.A., Atsalis, S., Tully, G., Santillan, A.M., Waters, S., Knott, C.D., Ross, S.R., Shanee, S. (2019). Reducing the primate pet trade: Actions for primatologists. International Journal of Primatology, 82: e23079

August 28, 2021

Led by Dr. Karmele Sanchez, International Animal Rescue-Indonesia (IAR) supports orangutan conservation by addressing several challenges the animals face in the wild. In 2013, IAR established the first rescue and rehabilitation center for orangutans in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, home to approximately 8,000 Bornean orangutans. The center serves as a hub for IAR’s rescue, rehabilitation, and reintroduction program.Poaching for the illegal pet trade remains a critical threat to orangutans, and IAR’s Orangutan Protection Unit works with the local government to rescue orangutans from these situations. Often, these animals were orphaned, and need significant rehabilitation and education before they can be reintroduced. IAR provides state of the art veterinary care, and IAR’s staff spends years teaching orangutans the skills they need to survive in the wild. Orangutans go from pre-school to baby school to forest school and finally to a pre-release island that mimics the wild forest into which the orangutans will eventually be released. Following extensive surveys to ensure the release site is appropriate, IAR releases orangutans and monitors them to ensure their long-term survival.

IAR also conducts community outreach and education since the success of orangutan conservation efforts depends on involvement and investment in local communities. IAR conducts conservation camps, after-school programs, and a religious education project to engage local community members, especially children, and to foster their interest in conservation and environmental issues.

– Assistant Zoo Director – Animal Care and ConservationDonate

* Banner photo is an orangutan found in a coconut farm is relocated to Gunung Palung National Park.