Domestic Rabbit

Domestic Rabbit

(Oryctolagus cuniculus)

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

Animal Facts

Diet

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

Status in The Wild

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.

Asian Common Toad

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

Diet

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

Status in The Wild

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.

Degu

Degu

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

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

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.

Borneo eared frog

Borneo Eared Frog

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

Animal Facts

Diet

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

Status in The Wild

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.

 

Ring-neck Parakeet

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

Diet

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

Status in The Wild

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.

Bearded Dragon

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

Diet

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

Status in The Wild

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.  

White Rhino

White Rhino

(Ceratotherium simum)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to one southern white rhinoceros named Jiwe. He was born in December, 2016 at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas and came to the Zoo in 2020. The rhino habitat is located in Animals of the Savanna.

Animal Facts

Diet

Grasses, fruits and grain are the primary foods.

Status in The Wild

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

The squared lip that the white rhino is named for is an adaptation to the African grasslands that it grazes for food.

The rhino is built to graze the open grasslands and floodplains in pockets of eastern and southern Africa. When the rhino Species Survival Plan committee decides where to place rhinos in facilities, a number of factors come into play, including the rhino’s age, sex, genetics and exhibit availability.

Ball Python

Ball Python

(Python regius)

The Zoo’s male ball python was born in 2009 and came to Seneca Park Zoo in 2013. He is a part of the Zoo’s program animal collection.

Animal Facts

Diet

Ball pythons feed primarily on rodents, but will also eat other small mammals and birds. Ball pythons only eat once every few weeks; they can go up to several months with no food.

Status in The Wild

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

The ball python lives in western and central Africa. They can be found in open forests and dry savannas.

Usually they reside in areas near open water where they can cool themselves during hot weather.

Ball pythons are considered threatened in the wild. They are a highly-exploited species and are very important to the pet trade because of their beautiful skin. The ball python mates only every two to three years, so more effort is needed to protect and propagate this species.

Peppered Cockroach

Peppered Cockroach

(Archimandrita tessellata)

Seneca Park Zoo raises a colony of peppered cockroaches, both young and old and both males and females.

Animal Facts

Diet

Like other cockroaches, peppered cockroaches are decomposers, meaning they feed on dead and decaying organic matter. They are also omnivorous, feeding on both plant and animal matter.

Status in The Wild

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

Peppered cockroaches can be found in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, where they prefer to live among the leaf litter on the humid forest floor.

Although not yet assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the peppered cockroach is widely regarded as not threatened due to observable large population sizes. As decomposers, these cockroaches are important nutrient-cyclers in the local food chains.

More Animals From Central America

Buffalo Weaver

Buffalo Weaver

(Dinemellia dinemelli)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to two white-headed buffalo weavers. They reside in the aviary, which can be found inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

Diet

Buffalo weavers are omnivorous, foraging for fruits, seeds and invertebrates such as beetles and butterflies.

Status in The Wild

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

The range of buffalo weavers extends throughout eastern Africa, from Tanzania to Somalia.

They prefer savanna and shrubland habitat, using grass and thorny branches to weave elaborate nests in trees. Potential threats for this species are habitat loss and fragmentation.