African Elephant Genny C turns 43!

November 1, 2020

Fall is here at Seneca Park Zoo which means Genny C’s birthday!  This year she is turning 43.  Genny C is one of the Zoo’s oldest and longest residents, arriving with Lilac as orphans in 1979 from the Kruger National Park. Over the years she has inspired staff and guests to further their passion for elephant conservation with her captivating personality.

Genny C loves time with her caregivers, and is almost always perfect for every training session.  This makes her the optimal elephant for new keepers to start their elephant training experience. But don’t let her fool you! Once she knows you are comfortable, she will start to test you to see if you are really paying attention, and will show her stubborn side. Just like humans, elephants love to do the least amount of work for the highest reward!The median life expectancy for female African elephants in human care is 38.1 years old. So at 43, Genny C needs a little extra TLC to ensure she is as comfortable as she can be. Originally, guests could tell her apart by her iconic long tusks, with the left one going the opposite way. But due to her arthritis in her front legs, we trimmed her tusks to reduce the weight these legs had to carry. This also allows her to lie down much easier! As you can imagine, it is extremely important for her to lie down at night to get weight off her joints. To further assist her with laying down, we made a hill in the barn which is much easier than flat ground for older elephants to use. Additionally, we installed a “tire rope” for her to grab onto if she needs extra help standing. Genny C is highly motivated to participate in her own health care, which helps us provide extra geriatric care including heat wraps, acupuncture and laser therapy (check out SPZ Facebook page for these videos and more)!

Out of the sixty different behaviors Genny C knows, her favorite activity is to hit a yoga ball with her trunk. One time she even hit it onto the roof of the barn! Hopefully next year guests will be able to try and catch it! She also is very enthusiastic about moving large logs around with a rope, showing off how strong she is. Genny C may not be our best painter, but she loves trying her best! The paint usually ends up on her keepers instead of the canvas.

While she often prefers spending time with her keepers, you can also find her sharing a hay net with Moki, or relaxing while sucking on her trunk. If you see her sucking on her trunk, you know she just enjoyed some of her favorite food or had some warm water from the hose. Another way to tell its Genny C is if she has hay on top of her head. This way no other elephant can steal it! She is the most vocal of our elephants and you can usually hear her purring or rumbling. You might even hear her blow raspberries or see her start wiggling when she wants her keepers’ attention.Genny C’s adaptability amazes us all, especially as her geriatric care continues to evolve. She is a wonderful ambassador animal for guests to connect with to inspire them to conserve elephants in their natural range. Make sure to wish her a happy birthday during your next visit!

– Zoo Keeper Kat Kleinschmidt

*Banner photo by Wayne Smith 

A Snow Leopard Update

October 27, 2020

You may have noticed that Silver and Timila are no longer sharing space together on exhibit. In nature snow leopard cubs leave their mothers at 18-22 months and become independent. We have been observing Silver and Timila’s behavior closely over the last few months in anticipation that they may become less compatible, especially as the next breeding season approaches.

To prepare Silver for the inevitable separation and move to another institution, we have been separating them for increasing lengths of time so that it would be easier for Silver to adjust. About four weeks ago, Timila’s behavior led us to the decision that the time had come for them to be permanently separated. Timila was avoiding Silver, vocalizing at him, posturing defensively, and occasionally swatting at him. Eventually, the Snow Leopard SSP will make a recommendation for Silver to move to another Zoo to start a family of his own.

Except for mothers with cubs and during breeding season (generally January to March), snow leopards are solitary in nature.  Although snow leopards in human care are often compatible year-round, this is why Timila and Kaba have not been together outside of breeding season. If we receive a recommendation to breed this year from the Snow Leopard SSP, we will monitor Timila and Kaba’s behavior, and we will reintroduce them when the time is right. However, if we suspect Timila is pregnant, we will separate them as her due date approaches since male snow leopards do not participate in cub rearing. Monitoring behavior closely allows us to make management decisions that maximize their welfare. Since this would only be Timila and Kaba’s second breeding season, we have to rely on their behavior and the limited experience from their first breeding season to make the best decisions.

While all three snow leopards are separated at this time, they each have equal access to the different areas of the habitat. They also are able to see each other and interact safely through mesh. Each animal is provided enrichment and training, and welfare is monitored closely.

– Kellee Wolowitz, Assistant Curator

Header photo – Timila, by Wayne Smith

Your Support Helps Snow Leopard Conservation

Your Support Helps Snow Leopard Conservation

High in the mountains of Central Asia lives one of the most elusive predators on our planet: the snow leopard. Known as the “ghost of the mountains”, the snow leopard’s remote natural habitat, stealthy movements, and perfect camouflage make it very difficult for researchers to locate and track. This species is currently facing threats including poaching, loss of habitat, and conflict with herders when snow leopards prey on their livestock. If left unaddressed, these critical threats will drive snow leopards to extinction. Seneca Park Zoo is working together with Snow Leopard Trust to learn more about these cats, and the best ways to ensure the future survival of this species.

Snow Leopard Trust recognizes and works with governments and conservationists in the 12 countries where snow leopards are naturally found. Current efforts are focused in China, Kyrgyzstan, India, Mongolia, and Pakistan, which are thought to collectively contain more than 75% of the world’s wild snow leopards. Your donations to snow leopard conservation help Snow Leopard Trust’s programs tackle all sides of the threats that snow leopards are facing in their natural habitat. Their mission and conservation philosophy states:
The Snow Leopard Trust aims to protect this endangered cat through community-based conservation projects that are based on an improved scientific understanding of snow leopard behavior, needs, habitats and threats.

The wide scope of their work has propelled Snow Leopard Trust to be a leader in the efforts to secure the future of the snow leopard.

However, snow leopard conservation efforts are further complicated by the fact that conservationists still have many unanswered questions about this species. Even with the use of research tools including camera traps and GPS tracking collars, the unforgiving mountain terrain can make it difficult to locate and track a specific snow leopard for a long-term study. This is where zoos can come in to help. Under the care of their dedicated zookeepers and highly skilled veterinary staff, snow leopards in zoos act as ambassadors for their wild counterparts. Animal care staff can observe snow leopard behavior and gather information including the foods they prefer, enrichment scents that attract them, and denning practices, which can be shared with field research teams to help them track snow leopards more effectively. Veterinary staff can learn more about snow leopard biology through routine health exams which can involve x-rays, ultrasounds, and bloodwork – tasks which are much easier to achieve in the zoo’s animal hospital setting rather than a remote mountainside.

Seneca Park Zoo’s three snow leopards (Kaba, Timila and Kenji) also prove that snow leopards in zoos help people connect with a species that they would otherwise never see. This connection can inspire zoo guests to learn more about the animal they see, and even contribute to their conservation. Whether it’s spreading the word about the plight of a species, or donating to a conservation partner, every bit helps.

To learn more about the snow leopards at our Zoo, and what you can do to protect this species, follow Seneca Park Zoo on social media or stop by in-person during Cold Asia Week!

To learn more about the expansive work that Snow Leopard Trust is doing, visit snowleopard.org.

Sensory Inclusion Certification: It’s all about breaking down barriers to equitable access for all

October 14, 2020

At Seneca Park Zoo, we want every member of our community to feel they are welcome from the moment they arrive – or even before, when visiting our website.

We all know someone who is on the autism spectrum.  We likely all know someone who suffers from PTSD.  And some of us care for people with sensory issues as a result of a stroke, or dementia.    We might think a day at the Zoo would be a perfect outing, because we know it to be a place where our blood pressure falls, our breathing evens, and we feel a sense of calm as we encounter nature.But for the one in six members of our community that have sensory issues, the Zoo can be an overwhelming and overstimulating experience – one that can lead to frustration and even fear as they struggle to make sense of the sights and sounds and smells.  For people with sensory issues, it isn’t just that being in crowds makes them uncomfortable, or that loud sounds are jarring, or bright lights annoying.  Rather, these things can make it difficult to make sense of the world.

To make the Zoo accessible for this large segment of the population, we had to look at these obstacles and find ways to ameliorate them.  For us, and a growing number of zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the answer was becoming certified as Sensory Inclusive by KultureCity.

KultureCity has trained all our team members and much of our volunteer corps.  They’ve provided sensory kits that include noise-cancelling headphones and verbal cue cards families can borrow when visiting.  They’ve helped us identify places on site where our guests might want to use those headphones, and other places where a family that needs a bit of a time out can pull off the path and rest for a bit.  They’ve helped us with providing social stories on our website, and they’ve added us to their app (Apple Store / Google Play ).

Perhaps Gretchen Spencer, who works on our education team, sums it up best: “As a mom of a son with sensory sensitivities, knowing that the Zoo is sensory inclusion certified makes me feel like my family is welcome here.  As an educator, I feel proud that this is a safe place to bring all students.”We know there are other barriers to inclusion, and that become sensory inclusion certified is just one step among many we need to take.  But it’s an important step, and one we are proud to have made, in service to our community.

-Pamela Reed Sanchez, President & CEO Seneca Park Zoo Society

 

* Guests who would like to take a sensory bag on loan for their visit can do so at the ZooShop.

The Urban Ecology Program Grows and Evolves

September 2020

They said, ”Do you want to be an urban ecologist?”

I said, “Sure, I’ll be an Urban Ecologist.” 

Naaman and I were discussing how he didn’t know at the time that this decision would lead to a morning deep in the Genesee river gorge on a path that offered little room to move between the flowing water on his left and layered stone cliffs to his right.As the Urban Ecologist program manager I think I can safely say that most of the 15 Urban Ecologists we hired this summer weren’t really sure what they are getting themselves into. Each one applied through the City of Rochester’s Summer of Opportunity program with the hope of getting some real life work experience. Luckily this diverse group of high school students were willing to take a chance on a job that was explained as an opportunity to spend the next two years developing their future readiness, studying their relationship to the urban environment, engaging the community in nature-based activities, and working to improve the natural environment through stewardship projects. This adventurous spirit has led to a team of young people who are confidently and courageously facing the particularly challenging set of circumstances we find ourselves in this summer. 

As we considered how to run a program that kept our young people and the community safe and healthy, we saw online work as an opportunity we could take advantage of, but early conversations with our senior urban ecologists provided motivation for figuring out how to provide in-person work as well. They had spent the spring in their homes and they emphatically expressed a desire to get out in nature.  There is plenty of research to back up the idea that getting out would be good for their social, emotional, and physical health. Fortunately the outdoor work embedded in this program lends itself well to a work environment that is well ventilated with space to spread out. We have been able to create a hybrid program that provides both in person and online learning.We have used our time online and at home for a variety of experiences. We worked with an expert to take a financial literacy course. We had a video conference call with an EPA attorney in Baltimore and an expert in environmental justice education in Buffalo. We have had workshops to dissect our sense of place by considering what an urban ecosystem is and how we map our world.  We have read “The Home Place” by J. Drew Lanham and have worked on self-designed community engagement projects.Our in-person work has benefited from the fact that the Urban Ecologists have taken to heart the idea that their attention to health and safety makes a greater impact possible.  With daily health checks, masks on and six feet between each other breaths of fresh air fills our lungs, dialogue about the state of the world fills our ears and gardening soil fills our hands. We have spent several mornings tending community food gardens. We now have a deeper connection to the neighbors who benefit from the freely available fresh food and the pollinators who make that food possible. Removing invasive species in an urban forest has connected us to the ecosystems that bring people in the city peace. Sharing photo stories of Seneca Park connects us to the land in our city and the community of people telling their stories on instagram.

The Urban Ecologists sometimes ask me about getting paid for activities that hardly seem like work like hiking and reading. I tell them it is some of the most important work that can be done right now. Connecting to our environment and each other is necessary in a way it has never been before. I tell them they have a responsibility to share that connection with others. Finding a path through the urban wilderness on foot is just one of the ways they are preparing to lead our communities down an uncertain path. The skills, knowledge, and relationships they are building today will create the hopeful tomorrow we need.

Chris Widmaier, Seneca Park Zoo Society Urban Ecology Program Manager

*Banner photo by Chris Widmaier

The Seneca Park Zoo Society Urban Ecology Workplace Development Program began 2017 in response to the lack of diversity in the field of conservation.  Now conducted in partnership with the City of Rochester Summer of Opportunity program, participants connect with nature, learn important life skills, and make an impact on their communities. Follow @rocurbanecologists on Instagram.