Membership

Donate

Tickets

Membership

Donate

Tickets

Month: September 2022

Red-Eared Slider

Posted on by tgwadmin

Red-Eared Slider

(Trachemys scripta elegans)

There are two red-eared sliders at Seneca Park Zoo and they can be found in 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.

Learn About Our Conservation Efforts

More Animals From North America

Browse Animals

By Region

By Class

Red-Footed Tortoise

Posted on by tgwadmin

Red-Footed Tortoise

(Geochelone carbonaria)

Koopa is the name of our female red-footed tortoise. She loves to eat grapes!

Animal Facts

Red-footed tortoises can reach up to about 20 pounds, with males being a little heavier than females.
They can live up to 50 years!
Red feet help males attract females – the brighter the color, the more impressive a mate!
While habitat loss is increasingly a problem for these animals, overhunting is the most common cause of population decrease.
Tortoises are hunted for food and for their shells.

Diet

The forest habitat provides the red-foot with an abundance of fallen fruits such as wild plum. It also eats wild mushrooms, vines, grasses, succulents and carrion, and is attracted to yellow and red flowers.
Previous
Next

Status in The Wild

  • Not Evaluated

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

The red-footed tortoise is found throughout extreme southern Central America, and central and northern South America

This includes the countries of Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. Red-foots are commonly found in relatively-dry grassland and forests areas. They can also be found in humid forest habitat. Red-foots are protected under Appendix II of the CITES, meaning they may not be exported from its home country without a permit. In every country in its range, the biggest threat to the survival of the red-footed tortoise is hunting by man.

Learn About Our Conservation Efforts

More Animals From South America

Browse Animals

By Region

By Class

Red-Tailed Hawk

Posted on by tgwadmin

Red-Tailed Hawk

(Buteo jamaicensis)

The Zoo is home to one female red-tailed hawk who came to the Zoo in May 2014. The red-tailed hawk is a medium-sized bird of prey. Its head is distinguished by a hooked beak and supraorbital ridge over the eyes.

Animal Facts

Red-tailed hawks may live about 25 years in captivity.
Red-tailed hawks are monogamous and may mate for life.
These diurnal hawks are primary solitary but will be social during breeding season and during migration.

Diet

Red-tailed hawks feed mostly on small- to medium-sized mammals such as voles, squirrels, rabbits and hares. They rarely take (but have been observed consuming) birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, large insects and carrion.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

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

Red-tailed hawks are widespread and the most common hawk throughout North America.

In Alaska and Canada, they migrate to avoid severe winters, with migration peaking in October/November. Habitats vary but include rural and urban areas that contain woods, open country, deserts and mountains.

Learn About Our Conservation Efforts

More Animals From North America

Browse Animals

By Region

By Class

Reef Tank

Posted on by tgwadmin

Reef Tank

Various Species

Reef Tank Species Fish: Yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens); Percula clownfish (Amphiprion percula); Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris); Flame hawkfish; Diamond goby; and Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni). Corals (soft and stony): tree leather coral, green leather coral; Kenya tree coral; frilly mushroom coral; star polyp; button mushroom coral; bubble (or grape) coral; hammer coral; candy coral Invertebrates: Rose bulb tip anemone; short-armed brittle star; spiny sea urchin The reef tank is also home to four Pacific cleaner shrimp.

Animal Facts

The tank is 560 gallons!

Diet

The reef tank is fed seven times a week a diet of seaweed, marine fish flakes, small shrimp, etc.
Previous
Next

Status in The Wild

  • Vulnerable

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

Coral reefs occur in the waters of more than 100 countries and territories around the world

According to the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), coral reefs are among the most vulnerable ecosystems on the planet with the world losing about 14% of the total world’s population since 2009.

Learn About Our Conservation Efforts
Bubble Coral Range
Bubble Coral Range
Rose Bubble Tip Anemone Range
Rose Bubble Tip Anemone Range
Yellow Tang Range
Yellow Tang Range
Diamond Goby Range
Diamond Goby Range
Flexible Leather Coral Range
Flexible Leather Coral Range
Hammer Coral Range
Hammer Coral Range
Long-spined Sea Urchin Range
Long-spined Sea Urchin Range
Neon Green Hairy Mushroom Coral Range
Neon Green Hairy Mushroom Coral Range
Pacific Feeder Shrimp Range
Pacific Feeder Shrimp Range
Percula Clownfish Range
Percula Clownfish Range
Red Mushroom Coral Range
Red Mushroom Coral Range

More Animals From Asia

Browse Animals

By Region

By Class

Snow Leopard

Posted on by tgwadmin

Snow Leopard

(Uncia uncia)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to two snow leopards, a male named Kaba, and a female named Timila. Kaba was born in May of 2010 and came to the Zoo in 2011 from the Cape May County Zoo in New Jersey. Timila came to the Zoo in March of 2018 from Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia, where she was born in May 2016. Their first offspring, Silver, was born to mom Timila on May 27, 2019 and now resides at Rolling Hills Zoo in Kansas. Their second, Kenji, was born April 16, 2021.

Animal Facts

Snow leopard eyes are light green or gray, unusual for big cats, which usually have yellow or gold eyes.
Snow leopards are mainly active at dawn or dusk, so they are rarely seen in the wild.
Snow leopards can’t roar because of an under-development of vocal tissue.

Diet

Snow leopards eat wild sheep and goats, but are known to eat small animals such as rodents, hares and game birds. They stalk their prey and spring from a distance of 30 to 50 feet. Their limbs help them leap up to 30 feet, six times their body length!
Previous
Next

Status in The Wild

  • Vulnerable

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

The snow leopard is found at altitudes between 9,800 and 17,000 feet in the high, rugged mountains of Central Asia.

Their range spans Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Russia in the north, to India and China in the east. China contains about 60% of snow leopard habitat. They have already disappeared from certain parts of Mongolia, part of their historic range.

The snow leopard is very rare in most of its range, with an estimated 3,500 to 7,000 remaining in their natural ranges, and 600 to 700 in zoos worldwide. They are also listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1972 and included on CITES Appendix I. Poaching for traditional customs, lack of prey, conflicts with herders, loss of habitat and the effects of climate change are the cats’ major threats..

Learn About Our Conservation Efforts

More Animals From Asia

Browse Animals

By Region

By Class

Snowy Owl

Posted on by tgwadmin

Snowy Owl

(Bubo scandiaca)

The Zoo is home to two snowy owls, a male named Tundra and a female named Flurry. Tundra was hatched in July 2013 and came from the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA. In 2014, he was confiscated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission from a private citizen. Because he was imprinted on humans, he was deemed unable to be re-released. Flurry was born at the Akron Zoo in May 2023 and came to us in February 2024 on a breeding recommendation. 

Animal Facts

Snowy owls are carnivores; they hunt by sitting on an elevated perch that gives them good visibility; visual scanning of their hunting area is made possible by their ability to rotate their head three quarters of the way around.
Snowy owls are generally monogamous for one breeding season at a time, although cases of polygamy for a few seasons have been seen when prey is extremely abundant.
The niche of a snowy owl in their ecosystem is controlling lemming populations. A snowy owl may consume three to five lemmings a day, or approximately 1,600 lemmings in a year!

Diet

Lemmings, mice, rabbits, rodents, waterfowl, other birds and fish.
Previous
Next

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

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

Snowy owls are found circumpolar, most often in Arctic habitats where they breed including coastal Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.

They can also be found in northern Scandinavia, Russia, southern Novaya Zemlya (a large island off the northern coast of Russia) and northern Siberia. During the winter season, some snowy owls migrate south to more temperate habitats. Snowy owls usually inhabit open tundra during summer months. They also inhabit lowland grasslands (saltwater grass meadows and freshwater wet meadows), especially for hunting.

They are protected, however, under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act and CITES Appendix II. Snowy owls are victims of collisions with vehicles, gunshot wounds, utility line and airplane collisions, electrocutions and entanglement with fishing lines.

Learn About Our Conservation Efforts

More Animals From North America

Browse Animals

By Region

By Class

Southern 3-Banded Armadillo

Posted on by tgwadmin

Southern 3-Banded Armadillo

(Tolypeutes matacus)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to a three-banded armadillo named Doug, who was born in 2009 and came to the Zoo in 2010.

Animal Facts

Because of its ability to roll into a sphere, this animal is often called bolita (“little ball” in Spanish). They are the only armadillo able to roll into a ball.
Armadillos also like to swim and they are very good at it!
This armadillo has suffered a 30% decline in the last decade.
Their teeth are small and peg-like and are designed only for crushing the exoskeletons of insects.
Long, hard nails are designed to break through anthills and termite mounds.

Diet

Mainly beetle larvae, although ants and termites are an important portion of their diet during the dry season. During the wet season they feed on a significant amount of fruit.

Status in The Wild

  • Endangered

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

The armadillo can be found in grassy or marshy areas between scattered forests.

They can be found in eastern and central Bolivia, Paraguay, the Mato Grasso of Central Brazil and northern and central Argentina. Many species of armadillo are endangered or threatened in the wild. Human encroachment, slash-and-burn farming and hunting account for a large percentage of the problem.

Learn About Our Conservation Efforts

More Animals From South America

Browse Animals

By Region

By Class

Speckled Mousebird

Posted on by tgwadmin

Speckled Mousebird

(Colius striatus)

Seneca Park Zoo is the home to speckled mousebirds. Their habitat is inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

Speckled mousebirds are a highly social species. They forage, preen, and dust-bathe together.
When predators are close, speckled mousebirds crash land into thick bushes and freeze until the danger has passed.
Speckled mousebirds occasionally swallow pebbles to help grind up the vegetation they eat, which aids in digestion.

Diet

Speckled mousebirds are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, leaves, nectar, and occasionally termites and ants.
Previous
Next

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

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

Speckled mousebirds range widely throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

They prefer forest and savanna habitats but adapt well to other habitats and are often seen in urban areas containing gardens and orchards. Their current population trend is increasing.

Learn About Our Conservation Efforts

More Animals From Africa

Browse Animals

By Region

By Class

Cape Thick-Knee

Posted on by tgwadmin

Cape Thick-Knee

(Burhinus capensis)

There are two cape thick-knees (also known as spotted dikkops) that reside at the Zoo, one male and one female. The male, born in 2010, arrived at the Zoo in 2011. The female was born in 2011 and arrived in 2012. The birds can be found in the aviary inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

The cape thick-knee can live up to 20 years in natural range.
Within one breeding season, the cape thick-knee often has two to three broods.
When threatened by a predator, young chicks will crouch down and remain motionless while the parent will pretend to have a broken wing, back or leg to distract the predator away from the chicks.

Diet

The cape thick-knee eats mostly insects; foraging for them by repeatedly running forward, stopping, then jabbing the prey with their bill. Cape thick-knees will eat a variety of different beetles, weevils, moths and butterflies. They will also eat small amphibians, small mammals, thread snakes and white-fronted plover eggs and chicks.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

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

From sub-Saharan Africa, the cape thick-knee is mainly found in open, flat habitats of southern Africa.

This species prefers dry grassland and savanna habitat, although it has been known to live in wetland areas and can be found in woodland fringes, low stony hills and urban habitats (parks, playing fields, etc.). Cape thick-knees show a remarkable ability to adapt to habitats altered by humans and because they are no longer considered a gamebird, they are unlikely to face any general decline in population.

Learn About Our Conservation Efforts

More Animals From Africa

Browse Animals

By Region

By Class

Spotted Turtle

Posted on by tgwadmin

Spotted Turtle

(Clemmys guttata)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to two spotted turtles that are a part of the Zoo’s ambassador animal program.

Animal Facts

The average adult shell of a spotted turtle is 3 to 5 inches in length.
When the female spotted turtle is ready to lay her eggs, she will dig her nest in well-drained soil in a marshy pasture in full sunlight. There, she will lay three to five eggs and cover them with soil and grass. The incubation period takes approximately 70 to 83 days.
Spotted turtles are shy creatures. If disturbed in the water, they will dive down and bury themselves in the mud. If disturbed on land, they will retract into their shells for protection.
Spotted turtles are creatures of habit. They have their own favorite basking sites that they return to day after day.
The spotted turtle only eats underwater because it cannot swallow its food out of water. When spotted turtles hunt on land, they will bring their catch back into the water for consumption.

Diet

Spotted turtles are omnivores. They eat algae, water lily seeds, worms, slugs, grass, mollusks and amphibian eggs.

Status in The Wild

  • Endangered

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

These turtles are native to New York State and the Midwest.

In these areas, fragmentation and loss of wetland habitats has resulted in the population decline of the spotted turtle. The loss of this animal is also attributed to them being used in the pet trade industry.

Learn About Our Conservation Efforts

More Animals From North America

Browse Animals

By Region

By Class

Seneca Park Zoo
Instagram Facebook Twitter

2222 St. Paul Street
Rochester, NY 14621

  • Phone: 585.336.7200
  • Fax: 585.342.1477

Contact
Careers
Volunteer
Membership
Donate
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions

Zoo Map
Zoo Policies
ENooz
Parking
Accessibility
FAQs
Sponsorships

Directions
Leave a Review

Seneca Park Zoo Society is a tax-exempt 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Seneca Park Zoo is a smoke-free facility.

Built with 🧡 by

Copyright © Seneca Park Zoo 2022