Category: Conservation

June 10, 2020

In honor of Invasive Species Week, we would like to highlight some of Seneca Park Zoo’s Ambassador Animals. These animals join programs to help the Zoo tell the unique stories of their species.

Invasive species are plants or animal species that are not native to a location. They have been introduced to the area and often cause damage to that ecosystem.

A great example of an invasive that has wreaked havoc in areas around the world is the marine toad, also known as the cane toad.

Marine Toad

Marine toads have been described as “the most introduced amphibian in the world”. Originally from southern Texas down through northern South America, this species was introduced by humans for pest control into places that it normally wouldn’t be found, such as Puerto Rico, Haiti, Hawaii, Florida and Australia.

How can a little toad cause big problems in an ecosystem? In many ways.

Marine toads are highly toxic at all stages of their life – including when they are eggs. Each female marine toad can lay up to the massive amount of 40,000 eggs at a time. Toxic eggs, tadpoles, and adult toads cannot be eaten by predators. Predators in the marine toad’s natural range have adapted to dealing with the toxins, but predators in the introduced areas have not. This makes it so that nothing can control the marine toad population, and their numbers increase exponentially as they out-compete the native animals for resources. This causes harm to the native animal populations.Normally, amphibians find food by seeing movement – an insect crawling or flying by. Marine toads utilize their sense of smell instead, and will eat practically anything that smells good to them – plants, dead or live small animals, trash, pet food, etc. Since they will eat almost anything, food is never limited. This gives them a high chance of survival, helping their populations to boom.

At Seneca Park Zoo, we have marine toads Bubba and Gump. As Ambassador Animals, they join outreach programs as well as programs within the Zoo. Bubba and Gump are wonderful ambassadors, bringing the messaging of invasive species to our community.

New Caledonian Crested Gecko

Seneca Park Zoo has another Ambassador species that helps to tell the tale of invasives.  While New Caledonian crested geckos are not an invasive species, they have been greatly impacted by one – almost to the point of extinction. 

These geckos are only native to the island of New Caledonia, off of Australia.  They were thought to be extinct until 1994, when they were rediscovered.  What would cause an entire species to seemingly disappear and then come back from the brink of extinction? The little fire ant.

These ants were able to travel to the island of New Caledonia by latching onto human supplies such as boots and suitcases.  Enough of these invasive ants arrived in New Caledonia to create a viable invasive population.  The fire ants prey on the geckos, with groups of ants stinging and attacking.  The ants also compete with the geckos for food by preying on the native insects.  The predation and competition were thought to have brought the geckos to extinction, until a few were found in select areas of the island in 1994.  

At Seneca Park Zoo, we have crested geckos Crazy Eye and Hopscotch, who are Ambassador Animals, just like Bubba and Gump.  Crazy Eye and Hopscotch are amazing animals, helping to educate our community on the impact of invasive species. 

Join us on our webpage and social media during Invasive Species Week to learn more about invasive species in our area, and how you can take action to help to lower their impact.

– Rhonda McDonald

*Banner photos by Elesa Kim (Marine Toad) & Wayne Smith (New Caledonian Crested Gecko)

April 25, 2020

As a Zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, we participate in the AZA’s SAFE Programs.  SAFE stands for Saving Animals from Extinction. The AZA SAFE African Penguin program is a collaborative initiative with other zoos to aid in the efforts of in situ conservation programming. Zoos and aquariums like ours have joined forces with organizations in South Africa such as  SANCCOB to develop ideas and implement projects in an effort to stop and reverse the threat of extinction for African penguins.

These initiatives include

• Disaster response projects, which are creating more standardized protocols for oil spill response.
• Artificial nest projects are creating new nesting sites for birds in areas that have been depleted of proper nesting materials.
• Identification projects are tagging penguins and then tracking their movement.
• The marine movement project is following fish to see where and how well the penguins are feeding.

Additionally, considerable focus has been put into Robben Island, which is located off the coast of Cape Town and is home to a colony of African penguins as well as other seabirds at risk. Health monitoring projects have helped establish a permanent Seabird Ranger on Robben Island to provide immediate care for injured or ill birds before transport to SANCCOB. Andile Mdluli has been living on Robben Island for two years as the island’s first Seabird Ranger. His role on the island is to provide continuous monitoring of the birds. He looks for birds that are injured or in distress and can provide immediate stabilization care, checks nests and identifies the birds using microchip and GPS technology. Andile can note chicks in the nest and check those nests frequently to ensure the chicks are safe and growing. He has become active in placing GPS trackers on birds to follow their movement while at sea.

 

But Andile’s job does not end with hands-on monitoring of the birds. Tourism on the island is high and this has caused conflict between people and the birds. Tours gave very little information about the penguins and areas where the birds were nesting had little protection from cars and other dangers. Andile has been working with the tourist company and the security on the island to enhance measures that put the well-being of the birds as a top priority. He has developed programming that educates the tourists about the birds and worked to increase awareness of the bird’s movement around the island. Having Andile on Robben Island had become invaluable for the penguins and seabirds that live there.Seneca Park Zoo has been a supporter of this Robben Island Ranger program.  It’s through donations like yours, at the Zoo and especially on World Penguin Day, that projects like this are possible.

– Robin English, Veterinary Technician

April 22, 2020

There’s a good chance you have picked up some sustainable behaviors – intentionally or not – as you’ve adjusted to a new routine during the COVID-19 pandemic. As many of us are sheltering in place, we are no longer driving our cars every day, we are shopping less, and we are carefully planning out our meals. You may have even picked up a new hobby that involves stepping away from your screens or getting outside. As carbon emissions decline, our planet is showing signs of a temporary rebound. We are seeing clearer skies, cleaner waterways, and signs of hope for our Earth. This poses the question – what could our world look like if we lived sustainably? During this time, we have an opportunity to look at our personal lifestyles and find ways to form sustainable habits, and keep them after the world returns to normalcy.

Our current society often falls victim to a culture of excessive consumerism, which damages planetary health on multiple levels. We want stylish clothes, the newest technology, Pinterest-worthy home décor, the best foods, and a thriving social life. We don’t always pause to think about the pollution created by factories as our new clothes and furniture are produced, or the fact that constantly buying new electronics is causing rapid destruction of gorilla habitat. We don’t read all the labels on our food to find out if it’s contributing to the decline of animal populations, or think about the destructive carbon emissions that transportation methods create when we travel. However, once we come to these realizations, we become aware of the impact our individual lifestyle has on our earth’s health.

“We humans are part of the natural world—we relate to each other and with all the other animals who inhabit the planet with us.” -Dr. Jane Goodall

The human race has a responsibility to care for our planet, and to make it better for not only our future generations but also for the natural world we depend on. Our actions create a ripple effect, and we choose whether they are helpful or harmful to the environment. This poses the question: where and how do we start becoming sustainable? You may not be aware of it, but you have probably already started. Compare your current routine to your pre-pandemic routine. If you are carefully planning your meals and making less trips to the grocery store, you are likely reducing your food waste. If you are unable to shop for new goods, may find yourself upcycling items around your house or fixing things you would have otherwise thrown away, reducing factory demand. If you are going stir crazy indoors and have found a new outdoor hobby, you are saving electricity. Take some time to evaluate your current “new normal”, discover the sustainable habits you have picked up, and plan to incorporate them into your post-pandemic lifestyle.We have the ability to spend this time creating a better plan for the future of our planet. We are learning that what we thought may have been impossible measures, are very possible. This is the time to take action – educate yourself on sustainability, and choose to conserve our planet.

– Annie Wheeler, Lead Naturalist for ProgramsHelpful resources on sustainable living:

• Greenhouse Matters
• Biological Diversity

March 31, 2020

As a part of Zoo Projects at home, we’re bringing our Animal Programs to you. In our first virtual program, ‘Animal Movements’, we introduced you to four very different species and learned about the ways they move. As an extension of the program, we’re sharing conservation information about each species and actions you can take to help protect their counterparts in nature. Did you miss the videos? Watch them below!

PART I:
New Caledonian crested gecko (Hopscotch)

The  IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has categorized the crested gecko as Vulnerable, and their population is continuing to decrease.  The crested gecko was actually thought to be extinct, until some were accidentally found in 1994 in New Caledonia. The invasive fire ant had previously been brought to the island and had caused the rapid decline of the gecko population. Since finding the geckos again in 1994, the population began to rebound, but the pet trade and habitat loss are now causing another decline.

Ways you can help crested geckos:

• Become a responsible pet owner. Make sure you know the source of where your gecko came from and that the source is a responsible breeder. Never have a pet that came from their natural range since that encourages people to take animals from their habitat, which harms populations. Also make sure that geckos are a good fit for your lifestyle before getting one. Do your research to learn about all of their needs and upkeep.
• Help reduce habitat loss by recycling paper and cardboard, and by purchasing pre-owned items when possible to lower factory demand.
• Be aware of how you may spread invasive species (like the fire ant that caused the believed extinction of the crested gecko). Make sure to brush off your hiking boots and clean off boats before going to new areas.

Mallard Duck (Ernie)

While Ernie is a domestic mallard duck, meaning he lives with or around people, there are many species of wild ducks throughout the Northern Hemisphere.  Ducks face threats such as urbanization and habitat loss, as well as pollution.  Ducks need to migrate to warmer temperatures, which means they need access to natural areas with fresh water such as ponds, lakes, and rivers.  Ducks are greatly affected by pollution, as their main sources of food are found in and along waterways.  If a water source is polluted, then the fresh water plants, bugs, and fish that the ducks feed on may no longer be available, or may  make them sick from the chemicals.  Ducks may also eat litter, thinking that it may be food, and may also get caught in things such as fishing line and soda six-pack rings.

Ways you can help ducks:

• Make sure to look up your county’s recycling protocols and be aware of which products are recyclable.  Set up a recycling station in your house and encourage your friends and family to recycle.
• Be aware of what goes down the storm drain.  To keep pollution to a minimum, make sure only rain goes down the storm drain.  Wash your car at car washes, rather than in your driveway.  Car washes have a process to properly filter their waste water.  Soapy water from your driveway will go into your yard, local waterways, and the closest storm drain, and can negatively affect the ecosystem.
• Cut your soda six-pack rings and make sure they go into a waste receptacle.

Part II:
Marine Toad (Cane Toad) (Bubba)

Marine toads are an invasive species, meaning they are not native to many of the areas that they are found, and cause harm to those ecosystems. The marine toad’s native range is Texas down through Mexico to South America. In these areas, the toads have a niche in the ecosystem. However, areas like Hawaii and Australia, where the marine toad have been introduced, are suffering huge disruptions in their ecosystems. Marine toads are opportunistic, meaning they will eat almost anything that they think smells good. This means they can cause a lot of damage to prey species population numbers.

Also, marine toads are poisonous for their entire lifecycle, even when they are eggs. Predators that live in these new ranges are not used to this, and often become sick or can die when they eat a marine toad, causing damage to predator population numbers. When predators learn to avoid marine toads, the toad population increases to numbers that can’t be controlled, especially since marine toads can lay up to 40,000 eggs every time that they reproduce.

You can help prevent the disruption of ecosystems by invasive species:

• Learn about which invasive species are moving towards your area, or are now found in your area. Help identify and report these on imapinvasives.org.  Your reports can help environmental and governmental organizations control these species and therefore decrease environmental damage.
• Be aware of how you may spread invasive species. Make sure to brush off your hiking boots to stop seeds and insects from spreading to new areas.  Clean off boats to prevent seeds and aquatic animals from spreading to new areas.

Burmese Python (Garrett)

Although Burmese pythons are an invasive species in the southern United States (mainly due to the pet trade), their species numbers are declining in their native range of southeast Asia. Burmese pythons, as well as many more snake species, face the threat of poaching (illegal hunting).  Snake skins are used to create products such as purses, boots, belts, and hats. Snakes also face fear killings. Unfortunately, throughout history, humans have viewed snakes as scary, and sometimes even as evil.  Snakes are actually a very important part of the ecosystem, and don’t actively seek to harm others. Without snakes, the rodent and insect populations would increase to a point that may make the ecosystem unstable.  Seeing a snake in your yard means that there are less chances of insects and rodents invading your home.

Ways you can help Burmese pythons and snakes:

• Don’t buy products that support poaching.  Find alternatives to snake skin products.  If you aren’t sure if something is snake skin, ask the seller.
• If you see a snake in nature, leave it alone.  The snake will not harm you unless it becomes threatened by you.  Leaving the snake alone will allow it to do its job in the ecosystem.

 Follow Seneca Park Zoo on Facebook for the latest Zoo Project and animal news.

– Rhonda McDonald, Program Manager & Annie Wheeler, Lead Naturalist for Programs

September 4, 2019

For 8 weeks this summer, we welcomed Kailer Riedman, a junior at North Dakota State University, as the 21st Aab Pre-Veterinary Fellow. Made possible through a generous gift from the Aab family in 1998, the program is the only funded internship for pre-veterinary students in the United States. It gives a pre-veterinary student the opportunity to participate in all aspects of the zoo’s veterinary and conservation program to help him or her decide if zoo medicine is right for them. Although not all graduates of the program have gone on to become veterinarians, many have (including me), and all work in some area of public health. A truly special program, the Aab Pre-Veterinary Fellowship is just one more way Monroe County’s Seneca Park Zoo is a leader in conservation education.

Dr. Louis DiVincenti, DVM, MS, DACLAM, DACAW
Assistant Zoo Director – Animal Care & ConservationOne Amazing Summer Internship!Most students go into their summer internships with the burning question, “Is this career for me?” I was no different when considering if zoo medicine was right for me, landing at Seneca Park Zoo as the Aab Pre-Veterinary Fellow under the expertise of the sole veterinarian, Dr. Louis DiVincenti. Not only was my time incredibly informative, but also extremely revealing. Before I arrived, I had my doubts about the profession. For example, zoo veterinarians have to work with hoofstock like zebra and giraffe, and I was afraid that type of large animal medicine wouldn’t interest me. I also suspected there would be big differences between zoo medicine and small animal medicine, with which I was much more familiar before I started the internship. Fortunately, all these worries were put to rest within my first week. I found that hoofstock animals are extremely interesting creatures and require a completely different kind of medicine that is exciting in its own way. In addition, Seneca Park Zoo utilizes the same Fear Free® practices familiar to me from my previous experience in a small animal clinic (I was surprised to learn that Dr. Louis is actually Fear Free certified®), and I experienced the staff’s consideration of animal welfare in every decision. I also came away from this internship with the certainty that I want to be a zoo veterinarian when I finish veterinary school. Long story short, spending my summer at the Seneca Park Zoo made it unforgettable and without a doubt changed my life for the better.Even though I can’t pick a single experience to call my favorite, there are a select few that easily stand out. First, while it was not with the animals themselves, the keepers and all the zoo staff were very welcoming. From the moment I entered the gates, I was greeted with kindness and understanding. They taught me how to interact with the animals, embracing my initial lack of knowledge of daily zoo functions, and helped develop a strong insight for animal behavior and welfare. Participating in the routine veterinary care with Dr. Louis was an especially rewarding part of the internship. Examining Chester, the 400lb male African lion, was by far the most exciting. Not only was it interesting to see how  both a physical examination and diagnostic testing are performed on such a large, potentially dangerous animal, but witnessing the vast planning and teamwork among animal health, animal care, even facilities staff to simply moving him safely and effectively was especially revealing about the role of a zoo veterinarian. Chester’s exam, and the time I spent shadowing James, the lead lion keeper, also tied into my summer research  project titled “Determination of pregnancy throughout gestation, and review of contraception methods in the female African lion (Panthera leo).” This project allowed me to hone my scientific writing skills with Dr. Louis, who has authored multiple publications himself.Finally, I had the pleasure of working with one of the Zoo’s four elephants, Chana, who has a persistent issue in one of her nails. Because we visited Chana almost every day, I connected with her on an individual level and witnessed her incredible intelligence. That was one of many personal connections strengthened throughout the summer, with humans and animals alike; seeing that the animals somehow knew that I was helping them made my summer at Seneca Park Zoo more rewarding than I could have imagined, and I can’t wait to come back in the future!

-Kailer Riedman

Featured image: Kailer assists Dr. Dawn Dittman during a lake sturgeon habitat assessment and population survey in the Genesee River.

May 22, 2019

Seneca Park Zoo is committed to its mission to conserve wildlife and wild places, and we achieve that mission through partnerships with conservation organizations like International Elephant Foundation (IEF). For the last five years, the Zoo has dedicated funds raised during summer ZooBrews to support the International Elephant Foundation’s work conserving elephants and their habitat in Africa.  A major initiative funded by Seneca Park Zoo is the Mounted Horse Patrol Team. The Team operates around the Mount Kenya National Reserve, an area of approximately 1,300 square miles that is home to more than 2,600 African elephants. The use of horses allows the team to reach more remote areas of the reserve and to enhance the efforts of the Kenya Wildlife Service. Our funds support the care of the 10 Ethiopian ponies on the Team, including food, veterinary care, and housing costs, as well as provide the annual stipend for five Patrolmen.The success of the team has been impressive. The team patrols an area in the high-altitude zone of Mount Kenya in which poaching had become a big problem. The team disarms and removes traps, as well as snares placed by poachers to catch a variety of animals for bushmeat. Since the patrols started, there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of traps and snares found. The team has also arrested a number of poachers attempting to sell ivory from killed elephants. The Team’s efforts are paying off – only 15 snares were found in 2017 (versus 283 in 2016). The number of illegal poaching camps has also dramatically decreased to only one identified in 2017.Most important, the Mounted Patrol Team also engages the community. By employing men from the area, the Team provides an important source of income, and team members serve as conservation ambassadors. The Team serves as an early warning for other threats like bushfires and illegal logging or grazing, provides valuable medical treatment to animals caught in traps and snares, and helps destroy poacher camps. Earlier this year, the Team found and controlled a 3,700-acre fire set by arsonists for illegal cattle grazing.Your support of Seneca Park Zoo, and visits to see Genny C, Lilac, Moki, and Chana, allow us to support successful conservation organizations like International Elephant Foundation. Make sure to join us for ZooBrew this summer, where fifty cents of every ticket, and 100% of barn tour sales, directly supports this conservation action project!

– Dr. Louis DiVincenti, Assistant Zoo Director – Animal Care & Conservation

Featured image: Members of the Horse Patrol Team at Base Camp in Mount Kenya with recently installed signs recognizing Seneca Park Zoo’s support.

March 25. 2019

On Friday, March 22, Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo & Seneca Park Zoo officials announced that the Zoo partnered with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) to participate in the development of assisted reproductive technologies by artificially inseminating Anoki, the Zoo’s 22-year-old female polar bear.

Seneca Park Zoo has a history of working with CREW on polar bear reproduction. Aurora, the Zoo’s prior polar bear and Anoki’s mother (through natural conception) was the first polar bear ever to undergo an AI procedure in 2012. This is the third attempt of artificial insemination with Anoki. The first two procedures were conducted when Anoki lived at the Maryland Zoo. CREW has attempted artificial insemination on seven bears since 2012.

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VideoPress ReleaseCheck out the local news coverage below.

WXXI: Seneca Park Zoo polar bear part of a conservation project 

WHAM: New technology used to artificially inseminate Seneca Park Zoo polar bear

WHEC: Could a polar bear cub be coming to the Seneca Park Zoo?

WROC: Polar bear numbers in US zoos plunging

Democrat & Chronicle: Seneca Park Zoo’s polar bear, Anoki, artificially inseminated

Rochester Business Journal: Zoo tries to impregnate polar bear

November 27, 2018

Lions are one of Africa’s most iconic predators. Over the past century, the population of this incredible animal has plummeted from over 200,000 to an estimate of about 20,000 today. Conservation of this species is very complex, with one recent report estimating a cost of over 1 billion dollars per year to save this important apex predator. Population decline, habitat loss, poisoning, and hunting are all problems that need to be addressed. These multi-faceted problems require elaborate processes and collaborations between governments, NGO’s and private citizens to amend.

Dr. Craig Packer, renowned author and director of the University of Minnesota’s Lion Research Center, is one of the world’s leading lion researchers and ecologists and has dealt with these problems first-hand. On Saturday, December 1, Craig will be present at The Little Theater in Rochester for a screening of the documentary Trophy, which begins at 2:00 p.m. The screening will be followed by an open discussion with Dr. Packer about the African hunting industry and complexities of wildlife conservation. The ZooShop also has copies of Dr. Packer’s book Lions in the Balance: Man-Eaters, Manes, and Men with Guns.As Africa continues to grow in both population and agriculture, there is a need to protect people from the dangerous animals that inhabit the continent while also protecting natural habitat for the animals to thrive in. As humans encroach into lion territory, natural prey species are depleting which leads lions to seek out livestock as a source of food. Since rural people depend heavily on their livestock, lions are killed in retaliation or even pre-emptively because of the perceived threat.

In an attempt to create a mutually-beneficial solution, many reserves have fenced their boundaries. Although this may sound like an easy solution, fencing in habitat can produce an array of its own problems. Fences help keep lions in the reserve but also cut off the potential of new genetics being introduced to the existing populations.Fenced reserves also demand a higher level of human monitoring to maintain the balance in the ecosystem, which is especially challenging in a time that conservation funding is virtually non-existent in many African countries.

Another growing threat to lions is the unsustainable hunting industry. Trophy hunting is a controversial concept that if done correctly, can strengthen lion populations and fund conservation. However, working with government agencies and NGO’s for lion conservation becomes complex when there are often competing purposes. And that is what the film Trophy conveys – the complex issues surrounding trophy hunting.With all the threats facing the African lion, it is impossible to find a single solution to solve every problem. However, in protected areas where human pressure has been reduced, lion populations are bouncing back. To secure the future of the African lion, research must be done to find the best way to manage protected areas. Seneca Park Zoo partners with the Lion Research Center by supporting SnapshotSafari, a camera trap initiative that relies on volunteers to classify thousands of images. Researchers then use these images to find which reserves have balanced ecosystems and implement conservation strategies from those areas into unbalanced reserves.

Learn more and be a part of the solution by visiting snapshotsafari.org.

– Annie Wheeler, Lead Zoo Naturalist for Programs
Tickets for the screening