Aurora inspires guests to Defend the Ice

February 22, 2018

Seneca Park Zoo is home to Aurora, a 28-year-old female polar bear. Working with her is one of the best parts of my day. Aurora is the first bear I’ve ever worked with, and it’s been an amazing experience to learn with her. She has a very calm, good-natured personality and enjoys spending time with her keepers every day. First thing in the morning, she is typically inside to greet us while we start preparing her diet. Her daily diet consists of a mixture of fish (herring, capelin, trout, salmon), lard, fish oil, meat, chow, daily vitamins, and a special treat such as yogurt, a meat-based baby food, or fruit. Some days she is picky and will only eat a few things, while other days she will eat everything we give to her.

We keep a daily log for Aurora where we write down what she eats and how much, and if she had any abnormal or significant behaviors that day. Filling out these logs help to ensure that we are providing the best care possible, and by watching her behavior every day, we can tell if something is off.Beginning in late fall, Aurora will make the transition into denning season. This is when females in their natural range will dig a den to live in for the next few months – the bear will give birth in this den and raise her cubs until they are ready to venture out in the world. Even though Aurora is an older bear, she still goes through this process. She becomes less active, goes outside less often, and sleeps much more. Her appetite decreases and she’ll be selective about what she will and will not eat. Aurora will spend most of her time resting indoors, where her favorite spot to rest is the den where we provide straw for her to create a cozy space for herself.During late winter, and from early spring to summer, Aurora is very active and enjoys exploring enrichment items. We change her enrichment every day to keep her mind active. We’ll spread different spices, herbs, or perfumes around her habitat, provide straw from different species in the Zoo, and scatter food. One of my favorite things to do is give her an ice block of fish, which makes her exhibit a natural behavior of pounding on the ice to break it open. This time of year, Aurora can also be found rolling around in the snow or swimming in the pool.Aurora is an ambassador for polar bears in their natural range. When she swims past guests and I see them in awe, laughing, and smiling, I know a connection has been made. With this personal connection, it’s our hope that guests will want to help protect polar bears in their natural ranges.– Hanna Kaiser, Zoo Keeper

Construction progressing for Zoo’s new habitats

February 19, 2018

With habitat openings slated for this summer, construction crews are making strides every day on the four-acre expansion of A Step into Africa and new habitats for snow leopard and red panda. The progress is exciting to see.

The building for snow leopard and red panda is now enclosed, allowing interior work to begin. Exterior grading and footers for the net are progressing well, and guests can begin to see the separation of the two different habitats. The snow leopard habitat will be towards the top of the hill (facing the hyena), while red pandas will be viewed from the lower road at the bottom of the hill. The shape of the building’s roof line is designed to evoke a feeling of Southern Chinese architecture, a habitat native to both species.Click image to enlarge and learn more.The expansion of A Step into Africa is really beginning to take shape. Construction crews have enclosed the Animals of the Savanna building and are beginning interior work. This building will have indoor spaces for the large animals, an aviary, an aquarium of Lake Malawi cichlids, and numerous small habitats for animals like naked mole rats and rock hyrax.The tram stop is almost structurally complete, while fencing, landscape, and other minor work will begin once the weather warms up in the spring. Construction for the tram stop at the front of the Zoo also will not begin until the springtime. The retail shop and giraffe feeding platform (shown below) have been enclosed and soon the exterior will go up. Sod has been installed in half of the giraffe yard, with the remaining sod set to be laid down in the spring.The hay barn is also progressing well. This building is located at the back of the rhino yard and will serve as a support space for diet and meal prep as well as food storage. Efforts to shape the rhino yard will begin in the next week or so. Zoo guests can observe this work taking place through the cut-out viewing space near the Elephant Barn.Click here to learn more about what’s changing at your Zoo and the A Wilder Vision Capital Campaign.

Discover local biodiversity at the Zoo’s FrogWatch USA volunteer training session

February 15, 2018

Do you ever listen to the sounds of wildlife on a warm summer night and wonder what the animals are communicating?

At Seneca Park Zoo, we understand the importance of local biodiversity and water quality, and have taken action to report it anyway we can. The Zoo is a part of a program run by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) called FrogWatch USA. This program utilizes a strategy called citizen science, which is a way for individuals, groups, and families to take part in and contribute to scientific projects that are far too big for a team of scientists to complete on their own.As a member of the FrogWatch USA community, the Zoo will be working to map the location and biodiversity of local frog and toad populations by listening to mating calls in three-minute intervals. We’ll document our observations and then upload them to the national online database. FrogWatch USA is a national study with hundreds of volunteers. Having this data is crucial to documenting diseases, shifts in population or biodiversity, and overall distribution of the very important frogs and toads of the United States. Amphibians are amazing indicators of health in an ecosystem because they can “breath” through their skin, making them susceptible to pollution and other health factors. This unique adaptation is why we look for them to help us determine the health of a specific area.Anyone is welcome to become a FrogWatch USA volunteer through the Zoo. To ensure the data is usable by scientists, a one-time training session is required of all volunteers to participate in the program. The training includes simple frog and toad call information as well as a large amount of resources to get you on your way. Once a training session is complete, you will be able to access the FrogWatch USA database online and upload observations on your own.If this is something that interests you or your family, the Zoo is hosting a free FrogWatch USA volunteer training session on March 4th at 10 a.m. The training session is open to all ages however, the material is most beneficial for adults and children in middle school or older. Zoo admission is not required.In addition to the training and learning materials, the session will include a walk down to an area of the Zoo that we’ll be observing all summer for a “mock observation”. FrogWatch USA is a very beneficial and easy study to participate in, as well as a great local message for our Rochester amphibians. Join us in frog and toad conservation at Seneca Park Zoo!– Dave Will, Lead Interpreter for Citizen Science

A partnership to protect polar bears

February 4, 2018

What do the Amerks and polar bears have in common? They both depend on ice! While the former requires ice to play a hockey game, the latter requires ice for survival. Rapidly increasing rates of receding sea ice in the Arctic pose a serious threat to polar bears and their ability to hunt their main prey, seals. In response, the Amerks and Seneca Park Zoo Society have teamed up for Defend the Ice Month. The entire month of February is dedicated to raising awareness of polar bear conservation and highlighting how the community can help make a difference.Ice is so important to polar bears because it provides the platform on which to hunt seals. Just like humans, seals are air-breathing mammals that must resurface eventually while swimming. Polar bears are well aware of this, and will wait hours by a breathing hole, which is essentially an opening in the ice, until a seal pops up for a breath of air. Seals contain large stores of fatty blubber essential for sustaining polar bears through the long and brutal Arctic winters. However, increasing atmospheric temperatures are causing sea ice to melt at an unprecedented rate, leaving behind fewer breathing holes and hence fewer opportunities for polar bears to hunt. With less fatty nourishment from seals, polar bear populations have declined sharply in recent years.Although the future of polar bears in a changing Arctic may seem bleak, there are many ways you can help at home, at the Zoo, or even at a hockey game. Simple actions to reduce one’s carbon footprint, such as turning down the thermostat a couple degrees during the colder months and consuming less meat, helps to depress increasing atmospheric temperatures – the main culprit behind receding sea ice. In addition, the Amerks and Zoo Society have partnered up to provide exciting new – and fun – ways to help this February as part of Defend the Ice Month.At the Zoo, guests can help by joining us during Polar Bear Awareness Weekend from February 24-25. Along with interpreted enrichment demos with the Zoo’s polar bear Aurora, interactive games, and BioFact stations highlighting the polar bear’s unique adaptations, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy a special meet and greet with Amerks players on Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Guests will also have the chance to enter multiple drawings on Sunday for signed Amerks merchandise and a behind-the-scenes tour of Rocky Coasts with the Amerks players. All proceeds will go towards Polar Bears International (PBI), a conservation partner of the Zoo and nonprofit organization working towards a better future for polar bears through research, education, and community programs.Hockey fans can also support PBI by attending any Amerks home game during the month of February. On February 2, 16, and 18, the ZooMobile will be at Blue Cross Arena with live animals and BioFacts. On February 23, join us for “Defend the Ice Night” where there will be an auction to win a custom game jersey worn by Amerks players that night! All proceeds will go to the Seneca Park Zoo Society and Polar Bears International. Rochester may appear worlds away from the Arctic, yet there are so many ways we can help locally to promote a better future for Aurora’s counterparts in their natural ranges.– Karen Wu, Lead Interpreter