On Friday, August 17, Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo announced that a second Masai giraffe, a one-year-old female named Iggy from the Virginia Zoo, arrived at the Seneca Park Zoo as a part of the Animals of the Savanna expansion. The new Animals of the Savanna area is set to open to the public on Thursday, September 13, 2018.
Hi! Our names are Emily and Gillian and we’ve been members of the ZooTeen program for the last four years, and ZooTeen Leaders for the last two. Anyone entering grades 8 through 12 with an interest in animals, ecology, or conservation can apply for the ZooTeen program. The ZooTeen program runs through the summer season, while the ZooTeen Leaders program is year-long. ZooTeen Leaders serve as mentors for those in the ZooTeen program, helping to develop training and content for the summer stations. In addition to acting as role models for our peers, we also get more involved in our community, and further develop our public speaking and leadership skills.
If you’ve visited the Zoo this summer, you’ve likely seen or spoken with a ZooTeen. Throughout the day, we are educating guests on how important it is to protect, conserve, and understand the environment we live in. Our time spent interacting with the public is most important, as we strive to get them to care for the natural world around them.Each day we break into groups of two or three that we’ll stay with for the day, and sometimes it’s with ZooTeens we may not know very well. Each group rotates to stations around the Zoo, each with a different topic. These topics include animals, threats to the environment, and conservation methods.
Our time as ZooTeens has taught us about working cohesively with others to convey a common message. Working with others has proven to be a challenge, but this program has successfully given us the tools to communicate and educate effectively. The ZooTeen program has expanded our knowledge of wildlife and nature and encouraged us to step outside our comfort zones!
We think there’s no better way to spend your summer than with like-minded peers educating Zoo guests about the importance of conserving wildlife and wild places.When the summer program ends, a ZooTeen can decide to continue their experience at the Zoo and join the ZooTeen Leaders program. Participating in both programs has been an amazing experience and we encourage anyone who is thinking about joining to apply for the program next spring, so we can grow our group of conservationists!
Emily wants to become an elementary school teacher while Gillian is interested in studying environmental science and sustainability. For more information about the ZooTeen program, visit the link below!ZooTeens & ZooTeen Leaders
On Thursday, August 16, Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo joined officials from the Seneca Park Zoo to announce that the new Animals of the Savannaexpansion project will officially open to the public on Thursday, September 13, 2018. This is the second major project in Phase I of Seneca Park Zoo’s Master Plan Expansion Project.
The expansion is a new five-acre area of the Zoo featuring animals from the African Savanna, including Masai giraffes, plains zebra, ostriches, a southern white rhino, naked mole rats and over a dozen other species. In addition to the new habitats and animals, the expansion includes a tram that will take guests from the front of the Zoo to the new area beyond the elephant barn. Additionally, the Savanna Outpost is a new concessions area, and will include an opportunity for guests to feed giraffes in the future.
Monroe County is committed to providing the best care possible for the animals at Seneca Park Zoo. This year, that commitment was manifested in a dramatic upgrade of the Animal Hospital’s diagnostic imaging capability. In May, the antique radiograph machine, dating to the 1970s and designed for use on humans, was replaced by a new, state-of-the-art digital veterinary machine. The system replaces traditional film processing that required a dark room and chemicals with computer generated images. This technology allows us to obtain higher-quality, more diagnostic images almost instantly, and positions us well for providing excellent veterinary care for our existing animals as well as new species being added with the Animals of the Savanna and the eventual tropics complex. The new table top has a capacity of 600 lbs. and floats in four directions to accommodate a lion, tiger, or adult orangutan. With our aging elephants and new large animals like giraffe and zebra coming to the Zoo, one of the best features of the new system is portability. The new digital interface communicates with our existing mobile x-ray unit, so we are able to obtain digital radiographs anywhere in the Zoo.We have already been able to put this new technology to great use. For example, you may know that elephants actually walk on their tiptoes. Over a lifetime, 8,000 lbs. on tiptoes catches up with elephants who are prone to a variety of foot problems. We’ve been able to obtain incredible images of our senior elephants’ feet to monitor signs of arthritis or other degenerative foot problems that may occur as they age.
We have also used the tabletop system as a screening tool for the animals who have come to the hospital recently for their annual health assessments or pre-shipment exams. No radiographic abnormalities were noted in Kaba the snow leopard and Katya the Amur tiger as well as many smaller animals like our nicobar pigeons and spotted turtles.Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo’s support for our Zoo has been essential in helping us acquire these new technologies. As a result of her personal involvement, including visiting the Animal Hospital to see the equipment in action, the 2019 Monroe County budget will continue investing in the Zoo’s veterinary care program through the purchase of new ultrasound and anesthetic equipment. County Executive Dinolfo’s commitment to animal care at our Zoo means that we can continue to provide state-of-the-art healthcare to our Zoo animals, and because our Animal Hospital is open to the public, it means we can share better stories with our community. The digital system allows us to connect with our guests to more effectively teach them about animal anatomy, physiology, and veterinary care.
Be sure to stop by the Animal Hospital at your next Zoo visit to see our new digital radiograph machine!– Dr. Louis DiVincent, Assistant Director – Animal Care and Conservation
(Featured image at top: Male snow leopard Kaba’s thorax or chest. You can see his spine, ribs, heart and the great vessels as well as amazing detail throughout his lungs)
