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Category: Asia

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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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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Burmese Python

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Burmese Python

(Python bivittatus)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to two Burmese pythons, both males. Garrett and Caulkins, resides inside the Zoo’s Creatures from the River’s Edge building. They were hatched in 2016 right here at Seneca Park Zoo. Their parents were longtime zoo residents Abby and Mr. Slithers.

Animal Facts

The Burmese python is one of the largest of all snakes, growing up to 20 feet and weighing up to 200 pounds. It continues to grow throughout life.
Females are typically larger than males.
The Burmese python is not venomous; it kills its prey via constriction.
This species has a reputation for docility, but they are very powerful animals that can inflict severe bites.
These pythons reach adult size by age four.

Diet

The Burmese python eats appropriately sized mammals, birds and rodents.

Status in The Wild

  • Vulnerable

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

The jungles and scrublands of Burma, Malasia and Thailand compose the Burmese python’s habitat.

It has been slaughtered to supply the world leather market, as well as for folk medicines and captured for the pet trade. In recent years, extensive captive breeding has lessened the animals threat but unauthorized release of pet Burmese pythons in the Everglades has introduced an invasive species into a fragile environment.

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Fire-Bellied Toad

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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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New Caledonian Crested Gecko

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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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Red Panda

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Red Panda

(Fulgens fulgens)

The Zoo is home to two red pandas, a female named Raji and a male named Willie. Born in July 2022, Raji arrived at the Zoo in winter 2023 from the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse. Willie was born in 2015 at the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina and came to us in 2020 from Zoo Knoxville in Tennessee. Willie is distinctive from Raji based on his predominantly white face, while Raji’s face markings are more 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.
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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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