A Publication of the Seneca Park Zoo Society January 2018 a Spotlight On
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A publication of the Seneca Park Zoo Society OO OOZ A spotlightZ on polar bears N January 2018 Internationally, and in our own backyard, we play a key role in species survival. Marie Kraus Seneca Park Zoo inspires our community to connect, Executive Director’s Corner care for, and conserve wild Pamela Reed Sanchez Executive Director Seneca Park Zoo Society life and wild places. Seneca Park Zoo Society And in fact, the Animals of the Board of Trustees Savanna building will have one of the Gavin Brownlie, President only indoor giraffe feeding experiences Peter Lutz, Vice President of any accredited zoos in North Leonard Bayer, Secretary America. We will also have a tram in operation during our busy seasons, Stephen Brown Lawrence Sorel* moving you from one end of the Zoo Trisha Butera Gary Squires to the other. New food and gift options Linda Buttrill Lawrence Staub, Jr.* will also be available for you. Tim DeGrave Chris Stern Maureen Dobies Matthew Terp* • New personnel! You’ll meet a few Suresh Goel James Winebrake of our key new staff members in the Mary Ellen Brothers Debby Wilson pages of this ZooNooz, including Dr. Guon Keith Wilson The opening of a new calendar is Louis DiVincenti, Director of Animal Suzanne Hunt Ben Wood always a touch thrilling: the promise of Barbara Kelley Health and Conservation, and Kelly Eileen Kreutter* * Ex Officio a fresh year, new resolutions to be made Ulrich, Zoo Society Director of James McElheny, Esq. (and kept), new adventures to be had. Education and Visitor Studies. They Michael Morse The unknown of a new year can be filled bring fresh energy and ideas in a year David Riedman with promise. But this year, the known of already filled with newness. the new year at Seneca Park Zoo has us • New initiatives! Each year, the Zoo Seneca Park Zoo Society ecstatic with possibility. Society makes grants to international Trustees Emeritus Change is in the air, and we are excited conservation organizations working Ruth Baltzer William Strassburg to be sharing this momentous year with in situ to help save animals from Ralph Code III, Esq. Robert Stiles you. extinction. We fund those grants John Nuccitelli In the spirit of a happy new year, through the generosity of our guests, Zoo Society here are some of what is new in 2018 at event attendees, Zoo shoppers, and Seneca Park Zoo: special fundraising efforts such as Leadership Team Jungle Jog, and have contributed • New habitats! The beginning of an Pamela Reed Sanchez Sharon Peterson significant funds to Polar Bear introduction to the ecosystems of Sarah Hanson Tom Snyder International, the International “Cold Asia” launches this year in May, a Chuck Levengood Kelly Ulrich Elephant Foundation, SANCCOB, Snow long overdue shift in exhibits centrally Leopard Trust, Health in Harmony, located near the animal hospital, and and more. We will be taking on two County Zoo where our beloved snow leopards will new “causes” this year, as we work to reside. And of course, this summer, Leadership Team raise awareness in our community the expansion of A Step into Africa Monroe County Kristen Miles-Pavia of the plight faced by our animals’ Executive Lawrence Staub, Jr. will be revealed, with exhibits further counterparts in nature. This year, our Cheryl Dinolfo David Rinaldo exploring the Animals of the Savanna, members will be asked to help save Dr. Louis DiVincenti Lawrence Sorel and the opportunity to move our David Hamilton Gail Tabone endangered red pandas, and we will southern white rhinoceros Bill to a also be raising funds through Jungle larger, more expansive habitat. Jog and at the admissions gate for • New species! With new habitats giraffe conservation. Look for more What’s inside? arrive new species, with red pandas information about those efforts in in Cold Asia, and more than a dozen upcoming newsletters. Page 7... species new to Seneca Park Zoo in Also new this year: an additional issue Zoo Society honored with Animals of the Savanna. Included of ZooNooz, delivered to your mailbox. Environmental Excellence there in the outdoor habitats will be Last year we expanded to include five Award. Masai giraffe, plains zebra, and ostrich, issues, and this year there is simply too and indoors, you’ll encounter rock much NEW to share, so we have added a hyrax, naked mole rats, Lake Malawi sixth issue. And please – don’t forget to cichlids, and multiple species of birds, sign up for e-nooz and Member Connection reptiles, and amphibians. so you will always receive the very latest • New experiences! Our new giraffe information on what is happening in feeding platform will have you nose this incredible year of transformation at to nose (or at least neck!) with our Seneca Park Zoo. giraffes, and the Animals of the Cheers! Savanna building will provide guests with an indoor zoo experience unlike . 2 . anything at Seneca Park Zoo before. AZA Accreditation: Why it’s important and how it works. Seneca Park Zoo is one of only 32 zoos globally that’s been continuously accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 1979. And in 2018, we’ll be undergoing the rigorous process to retain our accreditation for another five years. To put this recognition in perspective, there are about 2,500 organizations in the US who have a USDA license to have animals “on display, perform in public, or be presented for educational purposes”. Yet only about 230, less than 10%, earn accreditation from the AZA. Larry Sorel, Zoo Director, discussed the importance of AZA accreditation at Seneca Marie Kraus Park Zoo. “This is far more rigorous than USDA Animal care, animal welfare, and veterinary care are critical to accreditation. licensing,” Larry commented. “A critical self- Given the complexity of elephants, an elephant specialist will be part of the site evaluation, reinforced by a peer review covering review team for Seneca Park Zoo. every aspect of the Zoo and Zoo Society operations, helps our team, and our guests, have confidence that our programs are among the best AZA accreditation means members and in the world.” guests can be reassured that: Sorel also commented, “Accreditation also • We practice the highest safety standards connects us with a network of great professionals for animals, guests, and staff. in every area of discipline needed to run a zoo. • Animals at the Zoo receive the best care It also lets us participate in the Species Survival possible (from zoo keeper and veterinary Plan and in animal moves between Zoos. This staff). enables us to have endangered species like rhinos and elephants here at Seneca Park Zoo.” • We are constantly held to ever-growing standards on the scientific measurement The process and criteria for accreditation have of animal welfare efforts. evolved tremendously since our first accreditation nearly 40 years ago. The depth and breadth of • Conservation-focused educational inspection areas have grown immensely. “It programs are paramount to us. used to be just about safety, animal care and • We support real in-the-field conservation veterinary care,” Sorel noted. efforts. “Now there’s a tremendous expectation for zoos in terms “Seneca Park Zoo of conservation programs is one of only 32 and education as well.” zoos globally that’s Furthermore, the evaluation process is more standardized been continuously and uses science, not opinion. accredited by the Denny Lewis, AZA Association of Zoos Senior Vice President of an Aquariums Accreditation Programs (AZA) since 1979.” commented, “ We are continuously updating accreditation standards based on science, professional expertise and best practices. We are very transparent as well: We encourage people to look at our current accreditation standards, which Part of the accreditation process is facility review. The dated 1931 Main Zoo can be found at the AZA website.” Building has been a topic in our accreditation in past reviews. In alignment with AZA standards, the Main Building is scheduled to be razed in fall 2018. “I couldn’t be more excited to Welcome (back) Dr. DiVincenti! take on this role,” Dr. DiVincenti commented, “I have always wanted to be a zoo vet, and Seneca Park Zoo is the perfect size and culture to enable me to work closely with zoo keepers not only when animals are sick, but also on a day-to-day basis to improve animal welfare through our enrichment and training program.” Originally from Louisiana, Dr. DiVincenti volunteered and worked at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans before pursuing his Veterinary degree. He graduated from the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2010. After completing a residency in comparative medicine at Dr. DiVincenti in a 2017 trip to Nepal, University of Rochester, where climbing to the Mount Everest base camp. he worked with Dr. Wyatt, he was appointed to the faculty there. More recently, he was board Seneca Park Zoo is delighted to welcome Dr. Louis certified by the American College DiVincenti, D.V.M., M.S. as the Zoo’s Director of Animal of Animal Welfare, and is the only veterinarian in New Health and Conservation, as of January 1, 2018. York State with a specialty in animal welfare. Dr. DiVincenti is no stranger to Seneca Park Zoo, our “It’s amazing how much has changed even in the staff, or the animals in our care. In 2006, he served as the ten years since Aab Pre-Veterinary Fellow at the Zoo, a paid research and I was a fellow clinical fellowship at the Zoo for pre-vet college students. here,” DiVincenti Dr. Jeff Wyatt has served in this role in a part-time commented, “Not capacity for 35 years. Zoo Director Larry Sorel and Dr. only in the focus Wyatt together decided that based on the growing on the welfare of complexity of the animal collection, as well as the overall the animals in our growth and trajectory of the Zoo, it was time for a full- care but also in the time veterinarian.