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Category: Animals

Domestic Rabbit

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Domestic Rabbit

(Oryctolagus cuniculus)

The Zoo is home to one domestic rabbit as part of our Ambassador Animal collection. 

Animal Facts

Brown coat, with black and gray sprinkled throughout. Their underside is paler gray. This color helps them camouflage within their environments.
They have a short tail that has a white underside. The white undertail can serve as a beacon to warn other rabbits that a predator is there. Additionally, their tail can be used to confuse predators. The white tail will be a point of focus for the predator so as the rabbit zigzags and takes sharp turns it will be hard for the predator to keep focus on that one spot.
European rabbits are primarily crepuscular, being most active around dawn and dusk. They sleep on average 8 hours a day in short bursts. Additionally, they will sleep with their eyes open to keep an eye out for potential predators, using their nictitating membrane to keep their eyes moist.
Rabbits communicate with each other through physical, vocal, and chemical cues. One important physical cue would be standing up on hind legs, ears straight, and nose rapidly twitching. This signals to other rabbits that they need to be alert and potentially be ready to run because a threat may be nearby
Female rabbits experience postpartum estrus allowing them to reproduce quickly. Females are also capable of rejecting the fetus or reabsorb the embryo if conditions are not ideal for reproduction. Females can produce 7-8 liters per year.

Diet

Herbivore. Grasses, leaves, flowers, bark, roots, grains, vegetables, cecotropes, pellets, timothy hay, greens and veggies.

Status in The Wild

  • Endangered (native range)

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

Domestic rabbit natural habitats include grassland, shrubland, savanna, forest. Their range extends the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in Northwest Africa.

Introduced countries: Albania, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.

They prefer mixed habitats of Mediterranean oak savanna or scrub-forest, or areas with around 40% cover for shelter from predators and open areas that support their diet of grasses and cereals. They are also often found in areas with high density of managed farmland. Soft soil is preferred for building warrens and in rockier habitats they will often use scrubs as their shelter.

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Asian Common Toad

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Asian Spiny Toad

(Duttaphrynus melanostictus)

The Zoo is home to three Asian common toad, also known as spiny toad. This species resides in our Ambassador Animal collection. 

Animal Facts

Asian common toads are stout, mid to large sized toads with a modestly sized head and short limbs. They have thick dry skin with prominent cranial ridges and protruding parotid glands that secretes their bufotoxin.
Colors can be extremely variable from plain brick red to fully black, with the most common colors being pale yellow brown marked boldly with dark or reddish-brown streaks and spots.
Their backs are covered with a series of warts varying in sizes and are encircled with black or dark pigments and spine protrusions.
When it comes to choosing habitats, they prefer lowland areas such as lowland disturbed forests, forest margins, riparian areas, dense evergreen forests, gardens, and human dominated agricultural and urban areas.
Asian common toads are nocturnal, coming out shortly after sunset in search of insects to feed on. In human inhabited areas, large groups can be seen below streetlights collect the insects swarming around the lights.

Diet

Insectivore. Insects, various arthropods, crickets, mealworms, and occasionally pinkies.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

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

This species can be found in temperate, subtropical, and tropical habitats up to 2000 meters (1.24 miles) above sea level. Thier natural range extends Southern China, India, Southeast Asia.

There are no imminent threats to Asian common toad populations. It is sometimes found in the international pet trade but not at levels that constitute a major threat. They are also eaten locally in northern Thailand. Another minor threat would be water pollution having affects on eggs and tadpoles.

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Degu

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Degu

(Octodon degus)

The Zoo is home to three degus in our Ambassador Animal collection. As such they are not kept in public view, but available for various programs, classes, ZooMobiles, birthday parties etc. 

Animal Facts

Degus have yellowish-brown fur on their heads and backs with lighter undersides. The fur above and below the eyes is also lighter, and their large ears are darkly pigmented and lightly haired. The tail is moderately long with a short, black tufted tip.
Long, comb-like bristles project over claws on the hind feet. They have five clawed toes on their front feet and four on the bristled hindfeet.
Cheekteeth are hypsodont (high-crowned teeth and enamel extending past the gumline) with the biting surface resembling a figure eight.
There is no sexual dimorphism, but males tend to be about 10% larger than females.
Degus are semi-fossorial (fossorial means adapted to digging and living primarily underground), and they form digging chains to excavate elaborate burrow systems.

Diet

Herbivorous. Grasses, leaves, and bark of shrubs and seeds in nature. Rodent chow, greens, vegetables, hay and seeds in conservation care.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

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

There are no imminent threats to the survival of common degus. However, they are sometimes taken from their natural range for the pet trade.

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Borneo eared frog

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Borneo Eared Frog

(Polypedates otilophus)

There are a few Borneo eared frogs at the Zoo that came to us in 2021 from Houston Zoo.

Animal Facts

Nocturnal or crepuscular, generally arboreal, found near water. Not poisonous.
Males call and females toe-tap in response when looking for mates.
Eggs are laid in a foam nest, above water in spring, tadpoles fall into the water, metamorphosis in 8-10 weeks.

Diet

The Borneo eared frog eats a diet of insects and other invertebrates, smaller frogs; as tadpoles they eat mainly algae
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Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

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

These frogs are found in the forests and wetlands of Borneo, Indonesia, and Malaysia. These frogs are arboreal and commonly seen clinging to vegetation, a few yards from the ground.

The population is decreasing, but this species is listed as Least Concern due to its wide distribution and tolerance for some degree of habitat modification.  Although the frogs are rarer within some areas of their range, the overall population is also presumed to be large. The principal threat to the species is rapid clear-cutting of lowland tropical rainforest in forest timber concession land and for large-scale oil palm plantations.  The species is also collected for the pet trade.

 

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Ring-neck Parakeet

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Ring-neck Parakeet

(Psittacula krameri)

Seneca Park Zoo is the home to one female ring-neck parakeet named Stella. Her habitat is inside the annex as part of the program animal collection.

Animal Facts

Ring-neck parakeets have a green body with a red beak. They have a long, pointed tail that can be up to 10 inches long, more than half of the body's length.
Gregarious and loud. These birds use a shared roost throughout the year. The number of parakeets in the roost during spring decreases dramatically because the female birds stay on their nests while the males return to the roost. They do not migrate and are well adapted to living in areas that are affected by humans.
They have been kept as pets since ancient Greek and Roman times. Alexandrine parakeets (a close relative of the ring-neck parakeet) are named after Alexander the Great, who transported these birds from India to Europe.

Diet

Ring-neck parakeets  are herbivorous, feeding on buds, seeds, grains, fruits, vegetation, and nuts.

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Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

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

Ring-neck parakeets range widely throughout Central Africa, India, and neighboring countries.

This parrot is not very picky when it comes to its habitat, inhabiting light secondary forest, riparian woodland, mangroves, savanna grasslands, and deserts. They are often found on farms, in urban and suburban environments, and in parks and gardens.

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Bearded Dragon

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Bearded Dragon

(Pogona vitticeps)

The Zoo is home to one bearded dragon as part of our ambassador animal program (habitat not on public display). 

Animal Facts

Bearded Dragons can grow as large as ten inches in body length or two feet in total length, including the tail. Males are larger than females
They are appropriately named bearded dragons because of their "beard," an expandable throat pouch with spikey scales.
When intimidated, bearded dragons flatten their bodies and stand erect with mouth gaping.
They are not able to change the color of their skin to camouflage with their environment, but they can change shades of color to regulate body temperature or depict an emotional state.
Males engage in combat involving beard flaring, signaling, circling and tail biting to establish mating rights

Diet

Omnivorous. Plant matter, insects, and occasionally small rodents or lizards.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

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

The bearded dragon is native to the deserts, dry forests, and scrublands of Australia. They prefer semi-arid forests.

They are found in eastern and central Australia from eastern half of southern Australia to the southeastern Northern Territory.  

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