Central New York Zoo News

Good news and bad news for two Central New York zoos.

The last Siberian tiger at the Utica Zoo has died. Monona was euthanzied due to complications from kidney disease, from aging. Her sister, Wingra died last year. The two tigers came to the zoo in 2001 (wow, they seem to have been there longer!). They were named for two lakes in Madison, Wisconsin, the location of the zoo where they were born.

We loved seeing the tigers at the zoo, it was always the highlight of every visit. Our last visit, about two years ago, we saw both tigers out and about. Usually, they are skulking behind trees, but that day they were walking around and playing with each other. It was great. I’m very sorry to see them go. You can read about our visits to the Utica Zoo here and here.

Such beautiful animals.

The Rosamond-Gifford Zoo in Syracuse has some good news– a new baby patas monkey was born this past month, on January 7th. The baby’s proud parents are monkeys Addie and M.J. Apparently, the baby is unnamed until the zoo crew knows whether the monkey is a boy or girl. The crew says they have a “hands off” policy so that the monkeys will bond to the baby. So far, Addie has allowed only her daughter to handle the new baby. Sounds like she’s a good mom. Lucky zoo visitors may get a peek of the new baby in the monkey section of the zoo.

Photo courtesy Rosamond-Gifford Zoo, photo by Amanda Beamish

You can read about our short visit to the Rosamund-Gifford Zoo here. It was short because a thunderstorm that day caused the zoo folks to close the zoo, as a precaution. So I never got to see the penguins.

Name the Syracuse Zoo Baby Penguin

This is so cute. The Rosamund Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY, has nine new baby penguins. The Zoo is asking for community input on naming the first penguin chick of 2010.

Syracuse, NY (May 25, 2010) – The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is pleased to announce the finalists in the penguin chick naming contest. On March 27, the first penguin chick of 2010, a male, hatched at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. The public was invited to submit name suggestions for the young chick and 607 entries were received. In addition to the Humboldt penguins’ native countries, Chile and Peru, entries were sent in from as far away as Connecticut, New Jersey, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

In an effort to provide a name for the chick which reflects his heritage, the judges carefully and thoughtfully selected a list of choices from all the entries received. Entries were judged on their creativity, as well as for their overall appeal; names with a Latin American influence were given a preference. Though they intended to choose five finalists, the judges decided to present six names to the community for voting.

The six names to choose from are:

Claudio (KLAHD-ee-o)
Submitted by Anonymous
“After Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) who was Chile’s greatest classical pianist. If ‘Claudio’ wins, could you please attribute this entry to ‘anonymous’ and then choose a needy kid or a teenager to be the penguin’s honorary parent for the year and to receive the private guided tour of the zoo? Thank you very much, and highest regards!”

Esteban (ess-TAY-bahn)
Submitted by Hannah Caccamo of Kirkville, NY
“I think the name Esteban would be a great name for the new baby penguin because it is Spanish for Steven and that’s my dad’s name. Since the daddy penguins take care of the penguin egg/babies, I think it would be cool to have a penguin named after my dad because he takes care of me. Especially since my dad’s dad (my grandfather) is named Fred and the baby penguin’s father’s name is Frederico. Plus, how cool would it be to tell my dad that a penguin at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo was named after him in June, which is when he is turning 40?”

Juntos (HOON-tos)
Submitted by Ashliegh Kinder’s kindergarten class at the International School in Antofagasta, Chile
“The same Humboldt penguins swim in the ocean-waters just outside our classroom. I explained to my Kindergarten students the exciting news of my hometown zoo and they have become obsessed with this pingüino and finding a suitable and worthy name. As you may know, several months ago Chile suffered a tremendous blow in the form of a devastating earthquake and tsunami south of us in the Concepcion region. In addition to contributing to the relief effort by fundraising and sending toys, we have also had discussions about patriotic unity and helping each other. So when I asked for suggestions of the baby’s name, I thought it was really special that they settled on the Spanish word meaning ‘together’ since Chile has come together after the earthquake. In the minds of my students, Chile and Syracuse are strongly linked already. We correspond with my nephew’s second grade class in the West Genesee school district and both groups are very excited about the possibility of our name being selected. They are hoping to visit the newest baby Humboldt soon and bring greetings from our Chilean classroom, too!”

Santiago (sahn-tee-AH-go)
Submitted by Bobbi Vergara of Clay, NY
“In Spanish, Santiago means ‘St. James’ and Santiago is also the capital of Chile.”

Sinchi (SIN-chee)
Submitted by Batja Bell of South Orange, NJ
“This comes not from Spanish. but from Quechua, the indigenous language group of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, etc. The word means strong, vigorous and valiant, as you would like all your young penguins to be.”

Talcahuano (tahl-kah-WAH-no)
Submitted by Mariah Dillon of Syracuse, NY
“Talcahuano is a city in Chile that was devastated by the 8.8 magnitude 2010 Chile earthquake and its subsequent tsunami. The city of Talcahuano is named after an Araucanian chief, Talcahueñu, who inhabited the region during the time when the Spanish arrived. In Mapudungun, the language of the indigenous Mapuches, Talcahuano means ‘Thundering Sky.’ I thought that was a good fit with the baby’s thundering sky coloring. While this is a BIG name for a baby penguin, I believe our little guy would grow into it, honoring both his native country and in remembrance of the people who have been affected by the devastating earthquake. Perhaps a shorter version might be Talca, another Chilean city not far from Talcahuano.”

Those interested in voting can do so by e-mailing contest@rosamondgiffordzoo.org. The preferred name should be placed in the subject line of the e-mail. Limit one vote per e-mail address. Facebook fans can place an additional vote on the Zoo’s Facebook page. All votes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on June 1.

The winning name will be announced at the zoo at 10:00 a.m. on June 3. The winner will receive a VIP tour of the penguin exhibit and will become a penguin adopt parent for a period of one year.

Humboldt penguins are an endangered species. There are 40 penguins living at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, nine of which hatched this year.

I am rather fond of the name Esteban, because I like the reasons given. It’s always fun to name little animals, so here’s your chance!

We visited the Rosamun-Gifford Zoo a few years ago. Unfortunately, we never got to see the penguins. A thunderstorm and power outage forced us all to evacuate. Someday we hope to go back, because I love watching penguins.

Rosamond-Gifford Zoo, Syracuse, NY

Before the Rosamond-Gifford Zoo was titled such, I knew it as the Burnett Park Zoo, or more casually to us who lived in the Central NY area, “The Syracuse Zoo.”

We visited the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse this time last year. We hadn’t been there in over ten years, and my youngest child had never been. Yet even though the forecast called for rain, we were undeterred; we packed up our umbrellas and ventured out.

I hadn’t been through Syracuse in years. I used to live in the general area as a girl. I was shocked at how much the city has changed, and not for the better. The Route 11 area used to be a tidy business area, filled with the hustle and bustle of mom-and-pop shops and hot dog vendors. The area today is pitiable! Almost half of the buildings were boarded up, most were crumbling, and the rest seemed to be either porno shops or bars. Homeless people with their busted-up grocery carts and tattered shopping bags wandered aimlessly across the streets. I know all of Syracuse isn’t this way, but enough of it was to make me feel sick.

The zoo was busy. It had just rained when we entered the city, so most of the zoo’s visitors were crammed in the Gift Shop and indoor animal areas. We followed the crowd into a cave-like hallway where we encountered loads built-in aquariums filled with fish, amphibians, reptiles, and creepy rainforest mammals (like bats). The fish section was amazing. I didn’t remember this from last time- they now have all sorts of exotic fish and marine animals, and I was fascinated. I always loved Jacque Cousteau TV specials as a kid, so this was a real treat! You can peer in on them at their level. I took several photos, but very few turned out because the “cavern” was dimly lit. Here’s one of the better shots of anemone:

An odd thing happened while we were leaving the cavern area– the power flickered and then with a zap, all the lights went out. We could still see where we were going, thanks to streams of daylight coming in. It was so ironic, however, because one of the animals’ display signs said, “This Rainforest brought to you by National Grid!” Haha! Read more