Animal enrichment and how you can help

August 28, 2017Enriching the lives of the animals at Seneca Park Zoo is a key focus of keeper staff here at the Zoo. It is a crucial part of our day to make sure that all the animals in our care are stimulated and encouraged to interact with their environment. Enrichment can be anything that the animal experiences that is out of the normal daily routine. It can provide them with a new scent, a new object to investigate, or an opportunity to engage in their natural behaviors.

For example, orangutans are forage feeders, so they spend their days searching around for food to eat in their natural range. By giving the orangutans at the Zoo different food items that they have to search for, we encourage them to exhibit the natural behavior of foraging. Similarly, hiding food treats for the tigers encourages them to sniff out their food. We offer new enrichment items to our animals daily and try to challenge them every day.Seneca Park Zoo animal care staff are very excited to share the search for new enrichment items with all of the Zoo’s guests! With Animal Enrichment Weekend set for September 2-4, we are giving all of you an opportunity to help us provide enrichment to your favorite animals. Any guest that brings in an animal enrichment item from our wishlist will receive $2 OFF for each person in their group. There will also be an enrichment line hung in the Zoo that will be loaded with tags, each bearing an animal’s name and an item that would make a great enrichment piece. If you are interested in giving an animal an item, take a tag and return to the Zoo with the item listed!

Our animals love having new enrichment items to explore, and we are looking forward to a weekend of exploration and fun!– Robin English, Vet TechnicianView Enrichment Wishlist

Seneca Park Zoo announces new sea lion pup’s name

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC-TV) – Seneca Park Zoo’s newest sea lion pup has a name!

The public voted to name the sea lion pup Bob, beating out the other finalists, Slider and Flippers. The winning name received over 50 percent of votes.

Since the contest started on July 26, over 5,000 people submitted 2,000 unique names. Nearly 1,500 votes were cast in the online poll from August 17-22.

View the full story HERE.

Seneca Park Zoo has finalist names for sea lion pup

Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) – The three finalists for the sea lion pup at the Seneca Park Zoo have been selected.

The names, announced Thursday by Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo, are Slider, Flippers and Bob.

Starting at noon Thursday (Aug. 17), people can go online and cast their votes to choose a name.

The online poll, posted on the County Executive’s Facebook page, will run through 10 p.m. on Tuesday, August 22.

View the full story HERE.

More than what meets the eye

In my fourth week as the Communications Coordinator for the Seneca Park Zoo Society, I had the opportunity to spend one morning exploring Turning Point Park and the Genesee River through the lens of One Cubic Foot.

The Zoo’s mission to inspire the community to connect, care for, and conserve wildlife was one of my main attractions to this role, but I lacked knowledge of the organization’s conservation efforts off Zoo grounds. I would quickly learn that Seneca Park Zoo is actively involved in many initiatives, including One Cubic Foot, aimed at helping to protect and preserve ecosystems.

It was a beautiful day to be at Turning Point Park. The Zoo Society had partnered with The Nature Conservancy to bring members of its LEAF Program to Rochester and introduce them to the One Cubic Foot initiative. High school students from New York City, this next generation of conservation leaders was eager to discover species through an unfamiliar point of view – and so was I.

I went in with curiosity about how the One Cubic Foot initiative was important and relevant to my everyday life. Within minutes, my questions were answered. From pointing out invasive species as we walked along the park, to determining the best areas to place the cubes, I was in awe of the breadth of knowledge my colleagues have about the natural world around us.During the expedition, we observed the activity of and photographed very tiny species that I would have never thought about otherwise. But they all have a role in our ecosystem, and just like those animals, there’s more than what meet meets the eye when it comes to our Zoo.

Sharing the value of the One Cubic Foot initiative is just one of many things Seneca Park Zoo Society does to encourage others to engage in citizen science and become protectors of wildlife. In addition to the exhibits and on-site programming, there’s Zoo staff off grounds promoting our mission and making every effort to make a difference in the lives of animals.

Thanks to my experience at Turning Point Park, I not only gained a better understanding of the value of One Cubic Foot, but I learned to recognize and appreciate the rich biodiversity that can be found in small areas of our world. While there’s still much more to learn and discover, this trip showed me that I can begin connecting with nature in my own backyard. I simply just have to use my senses.

Mina Johnson – Communications Coordinator, Seneca Park Zoo SocietyLearn about other conservation projects