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“My Zoo is a sanctuary of happiness.”

Mya Santiago, ZooTeen Leader, East Irondequoit High School, class of 2018

I have come to the Seneca Park Zoo since before I could walk. I was raised by a single mom, so my grandma and grandpa helped raise me, and they brought me to the Zoo just about every day. They instilled a lot of my values in me.

My grandpa always taught me that things I want in life can happen if you work for them. So when my mom told me about the ZooTeen program, I knew I wanted to apply. Now I’ve been doing it for three years. I love educating people, and if they just learn one little thing about our animals and their conservation, I feel great.

Being a ZooTeen has helped me grow as a person, giving me an ability to talk to many different types of people. I’ve even had some ZooCampers who have come back and apply for the ZooTeen program because of things they learned from ME! That makes me feel great.

After high school? I really hope to get into Cornell for their Veterinary Program. I want to be a wildlife veterinarian.

“Being a ZooTeen has helped me grow as a person.”

Programs like ZooTeens, ZooCamps, and the ZooMobile create opportunities for young people in our community to not only learn about animals and conservation, but to learn about themselves.

Learn more about ZooTeen programs.

The fall season is one of the best times of year to visit your Zoo! Check out upcoming events this season and plan your visit today.

The Zoo will be open on Monday, July 4 and throughout the holiday weekend. Plan a visit as part of your celebration!SEE HOURS

This month, join Seneca Park Zoo for upcoming educational events that focus on conservation and the environment, across the world and in our own backyard.April 23: Earth DayCelebrate the earth by learning to live sustainably and by speaking with organizations that strive to do so every day.

Your Zoo helps conserve wildlife and wild places. Find out how by visiting our docent stations and enjoying our Animal Experiences. Collect a stamp at all five docent stations and receive a free sapling to take home (limited to 1,000), courtesy of Diamond Packaging.LEARN MOREApril 24: #ROC Clean Up DaySeneca Park Zoo invites you to be inspired to become active in caring for your environment.

Join Zoo staff and Maplewood Gorge Guides as they educate you on Genesee River health and conservation. You will be able to experience how individual and group actions can make a difference in your own backyard.LEARN MORE

April and May ZooClass schedules are here!

Classes are tailored to the learning abilities of your 2, 3, 4 or 5 year old, and feature an animal presentation, story, craft and snack.

Rainy spring days are the perfect time to head to the Zoo for an educational experience!

 

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Join us at the Zoo for Nature Career Day and be introduced to a variety of environmental and sustainability careers. Learn about ways to become involved in the field, including citizen science.VIEW EVENT

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks today announced that two of Seneca Park Zoo’s African lions, Savannah and Amali, will be leaving Seneca Park Zoo later this year. The two female lionesses are heading to Milwaukee County Zoo in Wisconsin as part of a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) for this vulnerable species.

“Our Zoo and its visitors have enjoyed the opportunity to watch Savannah and Amali grow over the past two years. It will be a bittersweet day when we say goodbye and send them off to their new home,” said County Executive Maggie Brooks. “However, their departure opens up opportunity for a new beginning at our zoo, and we are looking forward to the possibility of new cubs in the future.”

Savannah, born at Seneca Park Zoo in 2013 and named through a public contest, may receive a future breeding recommendation with one of the Milwaukee County Zoo’s male lions. She is particularly desirable because her parents, Chester and Asha — who will continue to reside at the Zoo — represent new genes in the North American population of African lions in conservation care.

Amali was born at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo in March 2013 and has resided at Seneca Park Zoo since July 2013. Because she has more relatives in the population in conservation care, Amali does not currently have a breeding recommendation. Her companionship to Savannah will play an important role in the move, however, as the lionesses behave as sisters.

“This move gives us the opportunity to once again allow our adult lions to reproduce and fulfill our ongoing participation in the African Lion SSP,” said Larry Sorel, County Zoo Director. “With fewer lions, the staff will be able to focus on providing increased enrichment and preparation for future additions to the Zoo family.”

Pamela Reed Sanchez, Executive Director of the Seneca Park Zoo Society, adds that Savannah and Amali have “connected hundreds of thousands of people to wildlife in wild places, providing transformational experiences for our visitors. The success of A Step Into Africa has set the standard for future additions to Seneca Park Zoo.”

Plan a Zoo visit so you can bid farewell to Savannah and Amali. They will be on exhibit from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. The Zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Once on grounds you may stay until 4 p.m. For admission rates and additional Zoo information, visit senecapark.wpengine.com.

The Zoo’s three timber rattlesnakes recently provided New York State Department of Environmental Conservation scientist Madeline Alfieri the opportunity to develop and validate an aging technique to be used in wild populations.

“NYSDEC has been studying Eastern Timber Rattlesnakes, a threatened species, for approximately five years. This year we have started looking at rattle segment widths as a form of age analysis. Getting a better grasp on age of the individuals in New York’s population is extremely important as it allows us to manage them in the best possible way,” says Alfieri.

Timber rattlesnakes add a new rattle segment to their tail when they shed, which may be every other year in their natural range.  So, why don’t biologists simply count rattle segments to determine age in wild populations?

It turns out that finding a snake with a complete rattle is very rare in their natural range due to normal wear and tear. Since our Zoo’s three timber rattlesnakes are known to be ten years old, are graced with complete rattles and are documented with an exact number of sheds, we are able to provide a benchmark for standardizing the age assessment by measuring width of specific rattles instead of number of segments.

What an impactful contribution our Zoo’s rattlesnakes have made to better understand and conserve their wild counterparts! New York’s timber rattlesnakes are isolated to southeastern New York, the Southern Tier and eastern edge of the Adirondacks. They serve a unique role in nature’s balance and deserve our utmost protection, admiration and respect.

On your next visit to the Zoo, be sure to visit the three highly-social timbers with their perfect rattles, near the first entrance of the Main Building.

 

–Dr. Jeff Wyatt, Director of Animal Health and Conservation