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Category: Animals

Snow Leopard

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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!
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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..

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Snowy Owl

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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.
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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.

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Southern 3-Banded Armadillo

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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.

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Speckled Mousebird

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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.
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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.

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Cape Thick-Knee

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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.

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Spotted Turtle

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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.

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Superb Starling

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Superb Starling

(Lamprotornis superbus)

The Zoo is home to one superb starling, a male, who resides inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

Superb starlings have long, loud calls made up of trills and chatters. They can also mimic other birds.
Superb starlings are almost identical to Hildenbrandt’s starling, but have white eyes rather than red.
This species feeds on the ground.

Diet

Superb starlings feed on insects, small invertebrates, fruit and seeds.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

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

These birds are found throughout East Africa, ranging from Sudan and Ethiopia, south through Kenya and Tanzania.

They prefer open country and savanna areas, but have become accustomed to people among surrounding villages and cities.

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Masai Giraffe

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Masai Giraffe

(Giraffa tippelskirchi)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to five Masai giraffes, three females Iggy, and Pippi and two males, Olmsted (Olmy) and JD. Their habitat is north of the elephant barn in the Animals of the Savanna area. Iggy was born on June 4, 2017 at the Virginia Zoo and arrived at Seneca Park Zoo in August 2018.  Iggy had her first calf, male Olmsted, on April 29, 2022, and second, Pippi born in December 2023. JD came to us from The Wilds Safari Park in October 2023 and was born in September 2021. 

Animal Facts

The Masai giraffe has a distinctive star-like pattern, covering them down to their hooves, causing them to have a unique appearance from other giraffe subspecies.
Their markings allow them to be camouflaged with the trees where they feed, protecting them from predators.
Giraffes usually only sleep a few minutes at a time, and often while standing up. This helps them to keep an almost constant lookout for predators.

Diet

Giraffes are herbivorous, browsing mainly on leaves and buds from trees and shrubs, especially the acacia tree.
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Status in The Wild

  • Endangered

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

Masai giraffe are found in savannas and open woodlands throughout southern Kenya and much of Tanzania.

Endangered due to scattered and fragmented populations that have resulted from poaching, habitat loss, and human encroachment.

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Mombasa Golden Starburst Tarantula

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Mombasa Golden Starburst Tarantula

(Pterinochilus murinus)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to one Mombasa golden starburst tarantula, which can be found inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

This species is commonly referred to as the orange baboon tarantula, because of its color and confrontational nature.
Although their venom is not lethal to humans, the starburst tarantula has an extremely painful bite – known to be even more painful than a rattlesnake bite.
These tarantulas are typically bright orange in color, but are sometimes found in dark and red color variations depending on their geographical location.

Diet

As carnivores, these tarantulas feed on invertebrates and small animals such as lizards, rodents and birds.

Status in The Wild

  • Not Evaluated

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

These tarantulas are found in Angola, sub-Saharan Africa and the island of Zanzibar.

They are ground-dwellers found in a variety of habitats, including bushes, low trees and burrows under rocks.

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Mueller’s Clawed Frog

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Mueller's Clawed Frog

(Xenopus muelleri)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to a Mueller’s clawed frog. The habitat is located in the micro-habitat tree inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

The scientific name for this species is xenopus muelleri – the word xenopus means “strange foot”.
The frog’s front feet are small and lack webbing. They use their fingers to push food into their mouths.
Clawed frogs lack a tongue and vocal cords. Because of this, their calls are a series of clicks that are emitted underwater.

Diet

Mueller’s clawed frogs are opportunistic scavengers. They are carnivores that will eat living, dying, or dead arthropods, invertebrates, crustaceans, small fish, and freshwater snails.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

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

This species is found throughout sub-saharan Africa. As a water-dependent species, they occupy both temporary and permanent ponds, as well as rivers and streams in the dry season.

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