| Seneca Park Zoo | |
|---|---|
 Entrance to Seneca Park Zoo | |
 Interactive map of Seneca Park Zoo | |
| 43°12′23″N77°37′26″W / 43.2065°N 77.6238°W /43.2065; -77.6238 | |
| Date opened | 1894[1] |
| Location | Rochester,New York, United States |
| Land area | 20 acres (8.1 ha)[2] |
| Annual visitors | 335,663 (2015)[3] |
| Memberships | AZA[4] |
| Major exhibits | Animals of the Savanna, A Step into Africa, Cold Asia, Genesee Trail, Rocky Coasts |
| Website | senecaparkzoo |
Seneca Park Zoo is a 20-acre (6.3 ha)zoo located in the city ofRochester, New York, US. The zoo is home to over 90 species including mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, fish, and arachnids. It is accredited by theAssociation of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The zoo is operated byMonroe County, with support from the Seneca Park Zoo Society. The zoo opened in 1894 in Seneca Park.
Seneca Park, designed byFrederick Law Olmsted, is located on the border of the City ofRochester and the Town ofIrondequoit, along theGenesee River. The park was opened in 1893, and animals started being displayed in 1894. The first major addition to the zoo was the Main Zoo Building in 1931. The building was home to a wide variety of animals.[1]
The Seneca Park Zoo Society was chartered as an educational institution by New York State in 1957. Since that time, the Society has evolved into a non-profit organization that supports and promotes the zoo by running educational programs, special events, marketing and public relations efforts, fundraising forin situ wildlife conservation, and food and gift operations. The Society offers memberships that are very popular with area families.[1]
In 1975, a polar bear grotto was opened to house the zoo's twopolar bears (Penny and Nickels), who had been acquired using pennies and nickels collected by local school children. In 1993, the zoo opened the $2 million Genesee Trail and Discovery Center—its first landscapeimmersion exhibit. This was followed in 1997 by the $8.2 million Rocky Coasts exhibit.[1]
On May 17, 2012, the zoo openedA Step Into Africa, which was designed to replicate a portion of theNgoroNgoro Crater in Tanzania. This section of the zoo housesAfrican bush elephants,olive baboons,Southern African lions, anddomestic goats.[5]
In 2018, the zoo began making arrangements to demolish the Main Zoo Building as it no longer meets today's standards of animal welfare. On June 2, the zoo opened a Cold Asia portion, featuring a new exhibit for the zoo'ssnow leopards and bringing inred pandas. During that same year, an extension ofA Step Into Africa opened with a new home for the residentsouthern white rhinoceros, and will feature new animals likeMasai giraffes,plains zebras,ostriches,naked mole-rats,rock hyraxes,Lake Malawicichlids, and many more.[6]
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TheRocky Coasts exhibit opened in 1997. It is an area dedicated to animals of the polar and temperate coastal regions of the world, includingAfrican penguins, a polar bear, California sea lions,snowy owls,Canada lynxes, andsandhill cranes.
A Step Into Africawas unveiled in 2012 and the exhibit includes a replicaMaasai hut, Dig Zone for uncovering casts of fossils, interactive learning tools, and a stationary safari bus from which the zoo's African lions can be viewed. The area is home to the zoo's African bush elephants, olive baboons, and (Southern) African lions in naturalistic settings. Seneca Park Zoo is home to the first three African bush elephants in New York State, and in 2018, the area was expanded with asouthern white rhinoceros named Jiwe,Masai giraffes,Grant's zebras,naked mole-rats, and birds.[7]
TheCold Asia exhibit opened in 2018, and housesred pandas,snow leopards,chickenhawks,wolves, and anAmur tiger.
In theCreatures By The River's Edge habitat, there arered-eared slider turtles, abald eagle,Panamanian golden frogs,lake sturgeons,Burmese pythons, andNorth American river otters.
The zoo's animal collection changes periodically with AZA recommendations regarding breeding through theSpecies Survival Plans (SSPs), animal deaths and births. The spring of 2013 proved to be a very fruitful time at the zoo as it welcomed two lion cubs, six African penguin chicks, onegolden lion tamarin baby, three domestic goat kids, a California sea lion pup and aBornean orangutan baby. In 2018, Seneca Park Zoo began its multi-year Master Plan improvement. The first elements of a Cold Asia area opened next to the animal hospital in June, which included new habitats for snow leopards and red pandas. In September 2018, the zoo opened up a new African exhibit called Animals of the Savanna. The five-acre area includes Masai giraffes, plains zebras, a white rhino, naked mole rats, an aviary, and some other smaller exhibits.
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Seneca Park Zoo reaches out to many communities in theWestern New York region to educate the public with regards to animal and resource conservation, environmental awareness and recycling programs. The zoo is a popular destination for school field trips and the zoo has created expeditions for schoolchildren to learn specific lessons in a zoo setting. The ZooMobile, sponsored by Wegmans, brings small, transportable animals to places like recreation centers, libraries, festivals, senior living facilities and schools. The Butterfly Beltway program, sponsored by the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation, is a program aimed at planting butterfly gardens to increase populations of monarch butterflies, vitalpollinators in the region. Additional programs such as summer programming, ZooCamp and ZooTeens give the community an opportunity to enjoy first-hand experiences with educators, zoo keepers and animals.
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Seneca Park Zoo hosts many events throughout the year including free-with-admission events such as conservation education days and daily 'Summer Experiences' from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day. Popular fundraisers include ZooBrew, Zoobilation (annual gala), ZooBoo (Halloween), and Breakfast with Santa. The Jungle Jog5K race that occurs in July of each year boasts a course that takes runners through Seneca Park and the zoo. This 5K is extremely popular with area runners and families.
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