For Christmas last year, I had someone get me a Seneca Park Zoo animal adoption. It was for the opossum I handled during the stage show the past summer. Well, dear Louise has passed away and I got something different for Christmas. So it was up to me to decide if I myself wanted to purchase/renew an animal adoption. I decided to do it to support the zoo, but to be honest, to still receive the zoo's newsletter. The articles from zoo staff really allow members to know about the changes in the recent future. I just think it's so much more organized and engaging than the Buffalo Zoo's newsletter. On a side note, if anyone is curious what animal I adopted this year, it was Dorothy, the old aged Whited Handed Gibbon. She may be old, but her song is still fresh and beautiful to hear.
But back to the point of this post. Here are some updates for this little zoo:
* Brazilian agoutis and Pied Tamarins are being added to the South American exhibit. The zoo used to have agoutis in this area but all were old and died out. Most people wouldn't think much of the exhibit or really of the horribly outdated main building it resides in. But from what it used to be, it's come a long way. The wall between two exhibits was knocked down making more room for the South American inhabitants. Mulch, dirt, grass, and tree browse has been added to make the exhibit have a more natural look. Apparently there's also a small waterfall in the back corner of the exhibit. The sloths have a hammock and log to hide/sleep in, there's a rope for the tamarins to play with, little enrichment items here and there.
* The serval has been added to the main building right next to the South American exhibit. If I'm thinking of the right area, I don't think it's a very big space, but I have to see it for myself to be sure. But apparently the new change has done her well and she's enjoying her new surroundings and staying warm indoors in the winter. Annie, the serval was one of the stage show/education animals. She used to have an outdoor small cage area behind the education trailer where she used to reside. But she is now one of the exhibit animals and has retired from show biz. ;-)
* The aviary has had some recent sprucing up with new plants and some new birds arriving when the weather gets warmer. Birds they plan to exhibit are fairy bluebirds, white-crested turacos, crested wood partridges, and cape thick-knees. A few new unannounced bird species will be added to the South American exhibit as well.
* In Rocky Coasts, the penguin exhibit is still being remodeled. With a new water chiller and changes in husbandry techniques, the zoo staff is hopeful that the penguins will be swimming more in their new pool. They hardly did before and perhaps the new design will encourage them to do so. The design was decided on when the water filtration system needed to be replaced as there was a small leak in it causing a waste of water. There was a whole debacle about the carelessness of this and how the zoo knew, but I don't even remember the facts and/or opinions. The water chiller will also allow the zoo to house harbor seals to live with the sea lions and there's also talk about acquiring a female sea lion. Ariel passed away a few years ago and it's just been the two male sea lions, Flounder and Puff. I don't really see how all these aquatics mammals are all going to live in this one space, but maybe their exhibit is getting a redesigned too. They hope this project will be done by early summer.
* They have finally announced the wolf species that will be replacing the Arctic Wolves. The zoo will be getting Mexican Wolves. Changes have to be made to the exhibit to safely house these animals, as it was written that they can be known for climbing up fences to escape. They also have a surprise animal that will fill up the space of the old Amur Leopard exhibit. No details are given yet. I'm hoping it is a small animal as the cage is not a very big one, especially for a big cat.
* The elephant exhibit will be spruced up as well. Along with the sand floor added for the elephants inside their barn, sound proofing has been added to reduce the reverberations when people gather to see the elephants inside. More improvements to the barn and yard area are happening so they can eventually acquire another elephant. I think they hope to add a bull to the herd and are making the proper changes to house one. This should take place in early spring and they hope to complete it in autumn.
* Lastly, the biggest project of the year and perhaps in the past several years, the lion exhibit hoping to open in the summer. I'm skeptical they could complete this project so quickly, but perhaps they're going to have a busy winter/spring preparing. The current details of this project can be learned from the link that Snowleopard posted a few days ago.
This little zoo has a long way to go and needs some major renovations, but a thing I admire about the zoo is there's always small changes happening. It may be one exhibit at a time, or an addition of an animal, but they are always in the midst of some type of project.
He's really a smart otter. He didn't learn his trained behaviors until later on in his life. An ad lib I'd always liked to add to his otter demo was, "So you can teach an old otter new tricks."