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!
VIEW BY AGE GROUP
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
One Cubic Foot has officially made it to the Genesee River! Photographer and environmentalist David Liittschwager and his team have been out on the river all week scouting the most biodiverse location for the one cubic foot frame and observing all the different species that move in and out of it in the equivalent of a 24-hour period. Soon, they will begin photographing and DNA bardcoding their findings and exhibiting the results.
We caught up with David right before his arrival in Rochester to learn more about how One Cubic Foot began and how it will adapt itself to the Genesee.
Q: This is the first time you are partnering with a Zoo to bring One Cubic Foot to a new environment. What about the Seneca Park Zoo Society and the environment of the Genesee River made you decide that it should be the next location for the project?
A: I am excited to collaborate with the Seneca Park Zoo Society to explore how much life we can find in one cubic foot of the Genesee River. I look forward to learning about the recovery of the river and appreciate the Zoo Society’s program that is making my participation possible.
The fact that the Zoo wants to make an exhibit and engage the community, continuing the project over time—that is just fantastic. It’s the first time that the project will be done in such a focused way in the community. Having the Zoo Society carry it forward is very exciting.
Q: Do you go into each new project with an idea of what you hope to find? What kind of research do you do leading up to placing the one cubic foot in a new habitat?
A: I just try to find the most diverse spot in the location. But environmental damage suppresses diversity. So we are going to try to find the most diverse spot along the river that we can.
Q: One Cubic Foot has both artistic and environmental goals. Did the project come about from your desire to create these unique photographs, and the scientific process followed, or vice versa?
A: My primary agenda is to show how beautiful the world is. That is born out of the fact that I don’t think I’m going to motivate anybody new by showing how damaged the world is. There is a place for pictures of damage—I spent 20 years photographing things on the endangered species list, so I’m quite familiar with the idea of damage. But the world is not used up. We’re in a position where we get to decide what we get to take with us into the future, and I think we will only take the things that we know exist and the things that we care about.
Q: So you’re conscious of presenting people with a positive image in order to inspire them to protect it?
A: I want to show people that nature is cool—to make it their idea that this thing is worth having. People don’t really like being preached at, and you can explain all of the intellectual reasons why we should conserve diversity, but some of them are pretty far out. If you explain to a young person that you don’t want to suppress diversity because it’s our storehouse for novel molecules that may be helpful for medications in the future, and at the same time this person sees the effects of climate change doing damage in a much shorter time period, they’ll be kind of indifferent—they’ll think, what about this other problem? We have a lot of problems, and you can get ground down thinking about all of them. But if the creature is cool and the place is their backyard, or someplace nearby that they can get to, then the view shifts to, “Well, while we’re trying to deal with all these other problems, let’s take care of what’s still here, still in our neighborhood.”
Q: How did you decide on the one cubic foot shape when you first began this project?
A: I started it because I wanted to show how much life occurs in a small place and in different small places. And in order for them to be comparable, I needed to use the same sample size. Since I work for National Geographic, I knew the experience of having the magazine open in your lap. Those measurements are 10 by 14 inches; round them out and that is about the size of the 12-inch cube. So I knew that what I wanted to show people could fit in that space—not literally, but emotionally. It was a manageable, personal sample size. It fits in your lap, you can put your arms around it. It’s on a human scale.
Q: What have you learned as your process has evolved over the years?
A: The original plan was to go to five different locations and finish the project in two weeks at each location, but I was never able to finish in only two weeks because as soon as you start looking carefully, there’s more and more and more. The first spot that I did, I stopped tracking things that were smaller than 2 millimeters—anything smaller than that I didn’t include. And the counts of the numbers of creatures that we thought existed in the cube over the course of a normal day were maybe 1,000. But the first time we put the cube in the water, there was all the plankton passing through, and the species count went up to 15 to 20,000 creatures per hour that were passing through. And then underneath the Golden Gate Bridge I found that if you go even smaller and include species like diatoms, the number escalates to 2.6 billion creatures—all of which you can see with the naked eye. So it turns out that the numbers get huge when you start to really look, especially when you’re in a habitat with a current.
The Genesee might have a current. We’re probably going to put the cube on a bank or a log—but we don’t know where we’ll find the best spot yet. So it’s going to be fun. It’s an adventure.
Q: What kinds of factors will determine exactly where you choose to place the one cubic foot frame?
Diversity, attractiveness, variety, accessibility, safety. And if I can avoid making too much of a mess.
Q: A kind of “leave no trace” approach?
A: I don’t think “leave no trace” is possible because a 170 pound mammal can’t do that—unless you only stay on the concrete path. That’s just the physicality of being a large animal. But I wouldn’t put the cube in a place where if we wanted to sift the soil it would create an instant erosion problem. I would choose a different spot. I choose spots where things will recover quickly, in short order and without a lot of trouble.
Q: Would you recommend a similar approach for budding citizen scientists?
A: I think it’s perfectly fine for a person, especially a child, to go out in the forest and turn over a log or two and see what cool critters are there. I think that is more worthwhile than not knowing that there are cool things under logs. It is much better to know that the world is a more interesting place.
Some people might have such a hands-off attitude that they would frown at somebody flipping a log to look at the creatures underneath. I think human beings have such power in the world, we can even change the atmosphere. And the only thing that’s going to make us not want to change things too much is if we care enough about the consequences. I think flipping a log and learning about what lives under there is one of the only ways to find out how fantastic the world is—and why we might not want to change it too much.
Q: Any other advice?
A: If you do flip a log in the forest, when you’re done, turn it back over carefully so that the next person can see something cool, too!
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Hear more about how everything went out on the river at the One Cubic Foot lecture at the George Eastman House on August 20, where David will be giving a lecture on his work documenting biodiversity around the world. Get tickets here.
And learn how to become a citizen scientist at our last two open late Tuesdays of the summer, August 18 and 25! As the project continues with exhibitions and events, you can find updated information here.
Photos by Pamela Reed Sanchez
Tomorrow, photographer and environmentalist David Liittschwager arrives in Rochester to begin his project One Cubic Foot in the Genesee River, in collaboration with the Seneca Park Zoo Society and about 35 community and regional partner organizations. In anticipation of this months-in-the-making initiative, we spoke with Zoo Society Executive Director Pamela Reed Sanchez about the origins of the Zoo’s partnership with Liittschwager, the health of the Genesee and all the ways you can learn about #OneCubicFoot in the next few weeks.
Q: How did the idea to bring One Cubic Foot to the Genesee River begin? Why is now the right time for the Zoo Society to partner on an effort like this?
A: I learned of David’s work last fall and fell in love with the concept and his photographs. We started thinking about using One Cubic Foot as a way to have visitors explore the biodiversity of the ecosystems we represent here at the Zoo, including Borneo, Madagascar, Africa, and the Genesee River. We’re in the process of creating a new interactive space at the Zoo called the Center of Biodiversity Exploration, and we wanted to use “One Cubic Foot” as an organizing theme. So I contacted David to ask for permission, told him of our plans and of the work the Zoo has been doing for decades to reintroduce native species such as North American river otters and lake sturgeon to the Genesee River.
David was thrilled to hear of our interest in his project and of our efforts in the Genesee, and he offered to come to Rochester this summer to replicate the project in the Genesee. As David has partnered with the Smithsonian Institute numerous times, it was natural for us to also bring in research zoologists from the Smithsonian to assist in DNA bar-coding. From there, we began enlisting the support of like-minded organizations in the region and suddenly we had a Community Advisory Committee of more than 35 people representing as many organizations committed to river health.
Q: What does the Zoo Society hope to accomplish by not only executing One Cubic Foot while David Liittschwager is here, but also continuing the impact of the event for months to come through photo exhibitions, lectures and other events? How exactly is the Zoo Society planning to do this?
A: We have many goals for this project. We hope to gain scientific knowledge of the biodiversity of species in the river that could provide information helpful to removing the Genesee River from the EPA’s Area of Concern list. We hope to foster a sense of regional pride in the Genesee — a river once rife with pollution that is now teeming with life again, thanks to the efforts of many individuals and organizations. We hope to inspire Rochesterians to reconnect with nature through actively monitoring the environment and participating in formal and informal citizen science programs. With the help of our partners, we will be creating curriculum for school children and nature programs for families and adults related to One Cubic Foot, and we will be replicating the project next summer in numerous spots along the Genesee River.
This fall, you’ll see the One Cubic Foot project represented at numerous community events, such as River Romance, on special cruises of the Sam Patch, at a public lecture hosted by the Audubon Society (November 16 at the Brighton Town Hall), and more. Our next big public event is David’s lecture on his past work, being held at George Eastman House on at 6 p.m. on August 20. Next February, his work in the Genesee River will be the subject of an exhibition at Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo) at the same time the Zoo prototypes the Center for Biodiversity Exploration.
Q: Why is the Genesee worthy of being the next environment on the One Cubic Foot list, which has included exotic international and famous locations?
A: Some might consider the north-flowing Genesee the perfect location, given the path it provides for many migratory birds and animals. Add to that the work that has been done to clean up the river and reintroduce native species and you have the makings of a mystery novel: what will we find in One Cubic Foot of the Genesee River?
The concept behind One Cubic Foot has little to do with exotic animals and locales. It is aimed at educating people about the range of animals and plants that coexist in very small places, and then having them think about what that means on a global scale. But first, they have to care about the small stuff.
David’s goal is to have people replicate this project on their own, and we will be sharing his video tutorials and having workshops on how to create your own One Cubic Foot at the Zoo (including at Open Late Night Tuesday, August 25).
Q: Why was it important to you to partner with other community organizations on this effort? How has the Community Advisory Board shaped the evolution of One Cubic Foot since the idea was first presented?
A: When I first began talking about One Cubic Foot, I noticed that people were surprised to learn of the role the Zoo has played in regional conservation, and I began to learn how many people have a vested interest in the health of the river. Taking on the project without partners would have been foolish, as together we can accomplish more and bring the message about river health and sustainability to a much broader audience.
Our Advisory Committee members have helped identify resources of all kinds, from financial support to scientific expertise, to the use of boats while David is on the river. Their enthusiastic ideas about community programming have helped shape the ongoing life of the project. It was the Community Advisory Board that suggested replicating the project in six places along the river in 2016.
Q: What has it been like for you to go out into the community and talk with people about One Cubic Foot as part of the Street Team of volunteers that has been active all summer?
A: The word that comes to mind is validation. I could have never predicted last fall that my fascination with One Cubic Foot would catch fire. Using art to connect people with the environment is very gratifying for me. Art provides us with “Aha!” moments that allow us to see the world a little differently. David’s photography is exquisite, and people of all ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds instantly connect with it. And when they find out he’s coming to Rochester, they kind of stand a little taller. They want to know what he’s going to find in that river.
Environmental conservation is a pretty serious topic and for people who don’t know much about it, it can be intimidating as a subject. But when you introduce them to the concept of One Cubic Foot, they just smile and they get it. And then we can deliver the messages about how to keep that river clean so that animals and plants can thrive.
Kira Hydock is an AAB Pre-Veterinary Fellow in Seneca Park Zoo‘s five-week, funded research and clinical fellowship for pre-vet college students this year. THe AAB Pre-Veterinary program exposes fellows to animal medicine and conservation through the completion of a research project, observation of clinical procedures and rotations through animal care facilities and laboratories. Read on for the first installment of Kira’s blog posts about her experience at the Zoo this summer:
As the morning sun gleamed through the clouds and cool mist sprayed my face, I peered closely at the ground, careful not to let a leaf or stone go unexamined. The group I was with consisting of students, a zoologist, a veterinarian, and a Seneca Park seasonal foreman followed close behind.
What were we doing you may ask?
Chasing the most endangered animal in New York: the Chittenango ovate amber snail!
Really, a snail?! Yes!
Despite their small size and their ability to discretely camouflage themselves on the rocks along the side of the Chittenango Falls, these little creatures hold a special place of concern in New York, particularly for snail enthusiasts, such as PhD-candidate Cody Gilbertson who has dedicated the past several years to surveying the falls for these snails and working to establish a captive population.
Cody’s passion and dedication demonstrates the importance of the Chittenango ovate amber snail and the efforts being pursued to preserve the species, which has been endangered due to habitat disruption and competition with an invasive snail species.
The entire experience, from learning about the snails to “scaling” (or in my case, clumsily crawling) the side of the falls to separating the collected snails by species and tagging the Chittenango ovate amber snails, exhibited the key components for field conservation work that can be applied to any species, be they small endangered snails on the side of a cliff or polar bears in the arctic.
Take home message: don’t discount a species just because it is small — we never know the full role they play in our wild ecosystems until they are gone.
— Kira Hydock, 2015 AAB Pre-Veterinary Fellow
Photos and headline by Dr. Jeff Wyatt
In their Department of Transportation hardhats and fluorescent vests, members of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) chapter of Seneca Park Zoo have been busy beautifying Bay Bridge overlook, adjacent to the highway sign “Seneca Park Zoo, ‘Grow Native’.” For the last decade, Zoo staff has picked up litter at the site and maintained a garden of wildflowers native to Upstate New York such as blue lupines, orange milkweed and yellow black-eyed Susans.
Our goal is to raise community awareness about the benefits of native gardening while cleaning litter from one of the most scenic meadows to be seen just before crossing above Irondequoit Bay.
Native flowers do not require fertilizer, which damages our waterways with excessive phosphorous and nitrogen, causing algal blooms which pose wildlife, pet and human health risks. Native flowers also do not require additional water given their acclimation to our Upstate environment.
Growing native flowers instead of exotic ornamentals will help displace and prevent aggressive, invasive plant species from harming habitat.
Not using fertilizer or additional water and displacing invasive plant species are all welcomed practices to protect our waterways and beautify our communities the “natural” way. Go native — grow native in your own yard!
— Blog by Dr. Jeff Wyatt, Director of Animal Health and Conservation
In my last blog post I invited you to throw a #partyformonarchs and share your gardens with us. The recent warmer weather has been teasing us, and while we haven’t quite entered the heart of the planting season, it is almost here.
In fact, the Butterfly Beltway Project will be planting our first garden of the season on May 9 at Midtown Athletic Club. This upcoming season looks to be an exciting year as we will be setting up gardens at private residences (maybe yours too?) and collaborating with schools, businesses and other organizations.
But there is more that you can do for monarchs. Scientists and lepidopterists (butterfly people) are looking for your help. By participating in one of two butterfly monitoring programs you can provide researchers with valuable information about butterfly populations.
If you participate in either of these programs, we want to know! Send me an email at [email protected] to tell me about your conservation efforts, to ask any questions or to get help setting up your #partyformonarchs.
And keep an eye out for more Citizen Science programs that the Zoo will need your help with in the near future. With your participation, we can make a difference!
– Tim Fowler, Outreach Coordinator
As one might imagine, a lot of preparation is needed to receive a nine-ton delivery or two. So when Seneca Park Zoo confirmed that Moki and Chana, two 9,000 pound African elephants, would be arriving in mid-April to join Genny C and Lilac, there was a great deal of planning to be done by the staff.
The Zoo has a large, modern facility capable of holding up to five elephants, but some of the holding areas still needed to be modified. Moki and Chana will be managed in restricted contact, so special barriers were put in place to facilitate this management style.
Closed-circuit cameras have been installed so that staff can record Moki and Chana’s behavior and interactions with Genny C and Lilac around the clock. The behavior of all four female elephants will be closely studied by staff to determine how best to physically introduce them to each other.
The food supply for elephants will be doubled. That means deliveries of 1,200 pounds of grain, 1,200 pounds of fresh produce and 360 bales of hay each month.
The most exciting part of the preparation was to actually visit with Moki and Chana at their then-current home, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Florida. In March, Elephant Manager Lindsay Brinda and I each had the opportunity to spend a few days in Jacksonville to get to know the elephants and learn how the staff there cares for them. Jacksonville Zoo welcomed us and allowed us to work closely with them as they shared training techniques, husbandry methods and personality profiles of the elephants.
Moki and Chana have been at Jacksonville Zoo for nine years, and their keepers are understandably deeply attached to them. One of the most difficult aspects of being a zoo keeper is sometimes having to say goodbye to animals that you have dedicated yourself to caring for, protecting, loving and sometimes fighting for. The Jacksonville staff are true professionals, though, and shared every bit of knowledge they had to ensure that Moki and Chana could have the same high level of care when they arrived at Seneca Park Zoo.
On your next visit to the Zoo, be sure to see our newest and biggest additions, and think about what it took to get them here. Believe me, it was all worth it!
– Mary Ellen Sheets, Elephant Handler
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