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Month: September 2022

Golden-Breasted Starling

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Golden-Breasted Starling

(Cosmopsarus regius)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to one golden-breasted starling. It resides in the aviary inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

The golden-breasted starling is regarded as the most beautiful bird in the world, spurring large-scale capturing for the pet trade.
Their tail makes up about 60% of the bird’s length.
Golden-breasted starlings are cooperative breeders, which means all group members assist with building nests and feeding young.
Will often nest in old woodpecker holes
Diurnal; don’t migrate; very social and noisy like all starlings

Diet

Though primarily insectivores, golden-breasted starlings may also eat snails, spiders, seeds and fruit.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Golden-breasted starlings are found throughout eastern Africa, including Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.

They prefer arid or semi-arid climates, and are usually found in savannas and shrublands. Although their population trend is stable, they are facing a threat from overcollection for the pet trade.

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East African Spiny-Tailed Lizard

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East African Spiny-Tailed Lizard

(Cordylus tropidosternum)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to three East African spiny-tailed lizards (Common name: tropical girdled lizard). Their habitat is located inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

Other common names for this species are “dwarf sungazer” and “tropical girdled lizard”.
This lizard protects itself by grabbing its tail in its mouth – this creates an armored girdle by forming a ring with the sharp spines sticking out.
The East African spiny-tailed lizard is ovoviviparous, bearing live young instead of laying external eggs.
A threatened girdled lizard can wedge itself into a small opening and then inflate its lungs to make the fit even tighter; blocking the opening with its tail.
Two layers of armor protect this lizard: its spiny scales and the bony plates that support them.

Diet

East African spiny-tailed lizards are carnivores, and feed mainly on invertebrates.

Status in The Wild

  • Not Evaluated

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

These lizards are found throughout the southern coast of Kenya to eastern Zimbabwe and central Mozambique.

They are ground-dwellers and prefer dry forest habitats.

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Fire-Bellied Toad (Ambassador Animal)

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Fire-Bellied Toad

(Bombina orientalis)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to 10 fire-bellied toads that are a part of the Program Animal collection.

Animal Facts

The fire bellied toad is known to flip on its back when it feels threatened; this is to show its bright vivid colors to predators.
In the wild, bugs that the toad eats make it poisonous.
Captive toads are minimally or not at all poisonous.
Usually captive Fire Bellied toads can live around 12 years, but several have lived to be up to 30 years old!
Males often act aggressively toward one another, usually in competition for food or a mate.

Diet

Tadpoles survive on algae, fungi, and plants, while the adults eat a variety of invertebrates, including worms, insects, and mollusks.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

This species is found in Korea, northeastern China and adjacent parts of Russia.

An introduced population exists near Beijing. This frog is mostly aquatic, inhabiting warm, humid regions at high elevations. They may be found in a variety of different habitats, such as spruce, pine or deciduous forests, river valleys, swampy bush lands, and open meadows. They spend most of their time soaking in shallow pools.

The fire-bellied toad is not currently considered a threatened species.

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Giant African Millipede (Ambassador Animal)

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Giant African Millipede

(Archispirostreptus gigas)

These are the largest of the thousands of species of millipede. Although the name millipede means “thousand-feet,” the giant African millipede only has about 300 to 400 legs.

Animal Facts

Millipedes have up to 750 legs but they are only born with six.
For each body segment, they have four legs (as opposed to the centipede that has two legs per segment).
They secrete cyanide poisoning when feeling threatened, which harms their predators if they try to eat a millipede.
Millipedes have a very hard exoskeleton for protection.
They are nocturnal “nutrient recyclers”, breaking down plant matter on the forest floor, making it available for smaller animals and plants.

Diet

Organic matter, decayed plant material such as leaves and wood, occasionally on living plant roots and rootlets. Sometimes they feed on dead earthworms and insects.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Found throughout Tanzania, in rainforests, found under logs and stones. They prefer tropical forest floor.

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New Caledonian Crested Gecko (Ambassador Animal)

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New Caledonian Crested Gecko

(Rhacodactylus ciliatus)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to one crested gecko, born in May 2005, arriving at the Zoo in 2007. Their name is Crazy-Eye, and they are a part of the Zoo’s ambassador animal program.

Animal Facts

Crested geckos are capable of changing their color slightly to better blend in with their surroundings and for communication.
Darker color often indicates stress.
This reptile has no eyelids and uses its tongue to clean its eyes.
These geckos can lose their tails to avoid predation. Most adults in the wild no longer have tails.
This is now one of the most widely-kept and bred species of gecko in the world, and they are illegal to export from wild habitats.

Diet

The New Caledonian crested gecko feeds on a variety of insects and fruit.

Status in The Wild

  • Endangered

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

These geckos are native to the island of New Caledonia, in the southeast Pacific, east of Australia.

This species was once thought to be extinct. It was rediscovered in 1994 and is now listed as endangered.

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North American River Otter

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North American River Otter

(Lontra canadensis)

There are six North American river otters at Seneca Park Zoo—three females and three males. Ashkii, a female born in 2016, joined us from the National Zoo in March 2020. Sailor, one of our males, was born in 2007 and arrived from a private facility in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in May 2012. Another male, Gary, born in February 2022, became part of our zoo family in 2023.

Most recently, on January 19, 2025, Ashkii and Gary welcomed three otter pups—two females and one male.

Animal Facts

River otters can travel underwater a quarter of a mile and stay submerged for about eight minutes at a time.
Not only water creatures, river otters travel across land. They run and slide along the belly up to 18 miles per hour.
The otter’s thick coat is made of guard hair and an undercoat. The undercoat next to the skin stays dry, insulating the otter from the cold water in its environment.
River otters do not compete with humans for game fish.
River otters are crepuscular, meaning they are more active at dawn and at dusk than other times of day.

Diet

River otters are carnivorous creatures. They eat fish, crayfish, frogs, salamanders, snakes, clams, snails, turtles, birds, rodents and insects.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

North American river otters reside throughout the U.S. and Canada along rivers, near streams and lakes bordered by woods with wetlands.

North American river otters have been trapped for their highly-prized furs, resulting in a steep decrease in population since the 1800s. However, the otter is being restored to places where it is regionally threatened, resulting in an otter come back in many places. Seneca Park Zoo is part of an initiative to reintroduce the river otter back to Western New York. Releases have taken place in Honeoye Lake and the Genesee River, among other locations. Laws protecting the otter from over-hunting and habitat destruction have been important U.S. conservation measures.

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Olive Baboon

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Olive Baboon

(Papio anubis)

Seneca Park Zoo has a troop of 10 baboons: 6 females (Pimento, Pearl, Sabina, Peperella, Olive Oil, Olivella) and 4 males (Mansino, Jefferson Jr., Kalamata, Pico-de-Limon). Pimento, the dominant female, is most established in the baboon hierarchy. The baboons can be found enjoying enrichment items, running around their habitat, and grooming one another.

Animal Facts

Olive baboons live in groups of 15 to 150, with many females, a few males and the offspring.
Social hierarchy is important to baboons. Males fight to establish dominance, whereas females inherit dominance from their mothers.
The olive baboon is so named for its coat, which is a grey-green color from a distance.
Males are larger than females, weighing on average 53 pounds, whereas the female weighs on average 33 pounds.

Diet

Olive baboons have a diverse omnivorous diet. They eat everything from plants, flowers, fruits, shoots and twigs, insects, lizards, frogs and turtles.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Found in 25 countries throughout equatorial Africa, the olive baboon inhabits the African grasslands called the savanna.

The olive baboon is the most widespread African primate.

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Panamanian Golden Frog

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Panamanian Golden Frog

(Atelopus zeteki)

Panamanian golden frogs are a bright golden-yellow color with some darker spots. The Zoo’s Panamanian golden frogs reside inside the CRE Building.

Animal Facts

Although Panamanian golden frogs are called frogs, they are scientifically classified as true toads.
These frogs communicate by waving their hands instead of croaking.
Panamanian golden frogs are considered lucky in Panama.
Panamanian golden frogs are poisonous, secreting a water-soluble neurotoxin.
In wet habitat, the frogs can weigh twice as much as those living in dry habitat, 12 to 17 grams compared to 3 to 7 grams.

Diet

Very small insects comprise the diet of these frogs.

Status in The Wild

  • Critically Endangered

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

The Panamanian golden frog historically inhabits mountainous rainforests and streams in Panama, but is believed they could be extinct in nature at this time.

Panamanian golden frogs are under pressure from loss of habitat, over collection and chytridiomycosis. Some scientists suspect that the Panamanian golden frog has been extinct in its natural range since 2006. Seneca Park Zoo is part of a larger conservation effort for these frogs, known as the Species Survival Plan (SSP).

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Red Panda

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Red Panda

(Fulgens fulgens)

The Zoo is home to a red panda named Raji. Born in July 2022, Raji arrived at the Zoo in winter 2023 from the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse. Raji’s face markings are predominantly red. The red panda habitat is located next to the Animal Hospital.

Animal Facts

Red pandas spend almost 13 hours of their waking time foraging for food. They can eat up to 30% of their body weight in bamboo shoots and leaves each day.
The Chinese word for red panda is hunho, meaning fire fox.
During cold weather, red pandas can lower their metabolic rate to conserve energy.

Diet

Although technically omnivores, red pandas are primarily herbivores and prefer to feed on bamboo leaves and shoots. They will also eat berries, blossoms, the leaves of other plants, and occasionally bird eggs, insects, and small rodents.

Status in The Wild

  • Endangered

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Red pandas are found throughout the Himalayan Mountains, living at altitudes between 5,000 and 15,000 feet.

They prefer cool temperate climates in deciduous and coniferous forests. These forests are vital for red panda survival, since they are an arboreal species.

The biggest threat to this species is deforestation, which eliminates nesting sites and sources of food, and isolates populations into small fragments. They are also poached for their fur, and are becoming increasingly popular in the pet trade.

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Red-Eared Slider

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Red-Eared Slider

(Trachemys scripta elegans)

There are multiple red-eared sliders at Seneca Park Zoo and they can be found in the pond along the Genesee Trail (seasonally).

Animal Facts

Females can grow to be much larger than males.
The red-eared slider gets its name from the red stripe that can be seen from behind the eyes and extending all the way to the neck.
These turtles are common pets throughout the world.
Red-eared sliders are mainly aquatic, but leave the water to bask in the sun and to lay eggs.

Diet

Omnivore. Adults feed on plant and animal matter. They like to eat snails, tadpoles and fish, as well as duckweed and water lilies.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Red-eared sliders are from the southeastern United States and also live in New York State. They can often be found basking on logs or stumps in or near water.

Humans are the greatest enemy of red-eared sliders. Each year, turtles are harmed; mainly from habitat destruction and pollution.

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