Get Ready for Polar Obsession! A National Geographic Live Event

The Buffalo Zoo will team up with Kleinhans Music Hall to present the Western New York debut of National Geographic Live: An Evening with Paul Nicklen.

The event will take place on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at Kleinhans.

Paul Nicklen is a renowned National Geographic photographer and biologist, working mostly in arctic climates. A unique childhood among the Inuit in Canada’s Arctic and a professional background as a biologist enable Nicklen to take on the most inhospitable places on our planet, often working in sub-zero temperatures. His images reflect a reverence for the creatures inhabiting these isolated and threatened environments, and he hopes that his work will put real faces on climate change, making it impossible to ignore.

Photo by Paul Nicklen. Courtesy of National Geographic.

Nicklen recently earned one of photography’s highest honors, the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year award (2012) for his photographs of emperor penguins under the ice, one of more than 20 top honors he has collected since he began his photographic career in 1995. He is the author of Polar Obsession (2009), a pictorial celebration of the polar ecosystems where he has spent most of his life.

The topic of Nicklen’s presentation will be Polar Obsession. The event will be an hour-long presentation with accompanying photography and video clips, followed by a question and answer session moderated by Dr. Donna Fernandes, President/CEO of the Buffalo Zoo.

General admission tickets cost $25. Members of the Buffalo Zoo and the Buffalo Museum of Science and Buffalo Philharmonic subscribers can purchase tickets for a discounted price of $20. Student tickets are available for $10 with a valid student I.D.

Special V.I.P. tickets will be available. The $75 package includes a one-hour meet-and-greet session with Paul Nicklen preceding the presentation, as well as refreshments, polar bear themed gifts, and priority seating. Tickets are available online or by calling the Kleinhans box office at (716) 885-5000.

Meet our latest addition!!

The Buffalo Zoo is celebrating the birth of a baby western lowland gorilla.

The baby was born on Wednesday, September 4 at 12:44 p.m. to first-time mother, 12-year-old Lily, and father, 26-year-old Koga. Lily has displayed strong maternal instincts and is taking great care of the troop’s latest addition. Keepers have not been able to get close enough to the baby to determine its gender, though they believe it is a girl. Both mother and baby are doing well.

Photos by Kelly Brown - Registrar, Buffalo Zoo

During Lily’s pregnancy, the keeper staff at the Buffalo Zoo was able to monitor the baby’s growth using ultrasound technology. Lily had been trained to present her abdomen to keepers and remain calm during the ultrasound process, so she did not need to be anesthetized in order to obtain images of the fetus. The team worked with Bridget Gilewski, RT, RDMS of Baby’s Bungalow in North Tonawanda, who volunteered to assist with the ultrasound readings. The Buffalo Zoo is one of the only zoos to have successfully measured the development of a western lowland gorilla in utero. Their research is important to the study and husbandry of gorillas.

The baby will join the gorilla troop, including her parents as well as females Sydney and Amari, in their exhibit daily. During this sensitive time, the gorillas will be given access to their interior holding areas, should they desire more privacy. Visitors are advised that the gorillas may not always be visible, but are encouraged to check back often!

The gestation period of gorillas is eight and a half months. Gorillas begin walking when they are between three and six months of age, and are weaned around three years of age.

Western lowland gorillas are found in the lowland tropical forests of central Africa. The species is critically endangered due to loss of habitat as well as the bush meat trade. 

Photos by Kelly Brown - Registrar, Buffalo Zoo

Shop for the Zoo Animals at Tops Friendly Markets

Help fill the pantry for the Buffalo Zoo’s animals this fall and winter! On Saturday, August 17, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., shoppers at participating Tops Friendly Markets locations will have the opportunity to purchase an extra gift for the Zoo to help keep the animals happy and healthy.

After selecting items from the Zoo’s grocery wish list, which will be provided at each location, shoppers can leave their gift with a Zoo volunteer in the store lobby. All of these generous donations will then be used as special enrichment treats to promote the animals’ natural behaviors and to stimulate them physically and mentally.

Requested grocery items include: Kellogg’s Apple Jacks® and Froot Loops® or plain cereals; dog biscuits (all sizes); extracts and spices; peanut butter; plastic toys (Frisbees and balls); rawhide chews; Purina® Whisker Lickin’s® cat treats (soft); as well as a variety of other items. The items may be purchased at the following Tops locations:

• TOPS Friendly Markets 2101 Elmwood Ave. Buffalo NY 14207
• TOPS Friendly Markets S 6150 South Park Ave. Hamburg NY 14075
• TOPS Friendly Markets 1740 Sheridan Dr. Buffalo NY 14223
• TOPS Friendly Markets 2351 Maple Rd. Williamsville NY 14221

With an annual grocery bill of $250,000, providing food and treats for the 1,200 animals at the Zoo is a tremendous task. The Buffalo Zoo wishes to thank shoppers in advance for helping the animals and supporting Tops Friendly Markets, one of the Zoo’s most generous sponsors!

For more information about the Zoo’s annual adoption program, please call (716) 995-6131
or visit us online at www.buffalozoo.org.

Zooper Saturday Featuring Horticulture Tours and M&T Bank Rainforest Falls This Weekend at the Buffalo Zoo

The Buffalo Zoo will hold a Zooper Saturday event featuring the M&T Bank Rainforest Falls and the Horticulture Department on Saturday August 3.

The Zoo is home to over 300 species of plants! Learn about them on a special horticulture tour of the Zoo. Then, experience animal keeper talks and enrichments in M&T Bank Rainforest Falls. Zooper Saturday events are free with regular Zoo admission.

A full schedule of activities follows:

• 11 a.m. -3 p.m. ̶   Face painting in the M&T Bank Rainforest Falls lobby
• 11 a.m. ̶   Honey bee talk at Delta Sonic Heritage Farm
• 12 p.m. ̶   Behind-the-scenes horticulture tour (meets in front of M&T Bank Rainforest Falls)
• 1 p.m. ̶   Baby porcupine keeper talk on front lawn of M&T Bank Rainforest Falls (weather permitting)
• 1:30 p.m. ̶   M&T Bank Rainforest Falls keeper talk at the waterfall bridge
• 2:00 p.m. ̶   Giant anteater keeper talk & enrichment in M&T Bank Rainforest Falls
• 2:30 p.m. ̶   Vampire bat feeding & demonstration in M&T Bank Rainforest Falls
•  

For more information about the Zooper Saturday event, call (716) 995-6133 or visit
www.buffalozoo.org

Zooper Saturday Featuring Rhinos and a Barn Party This Weekend at the Buffalo Zoo

The Buffalo Zoo will hold a Zooper Saturday event featuring the Indian rhinos and Delta Sonic Heritage Farm on Saturday, July 6. Learn all about the Buffalo Zoo’s endangered Indian rhinos during a keeper talks, animal enrichments, and a rhino raffle. Then stop by the Delta Sonic Heritage Farm for their first ever barn party! There will be animal trainings, and musical performances. Zooper Saturday events are free with regular Zoo admission. July’s Zooper Saturday is part of Report Card Weekend sponsored by Winning Smiles. A full schedule of activities follows:

 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. - face painting

11:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. - rhino raffles

11:00 a.m. - rhino keeper talk & enrichment

 11:30 a.m. - rhino keeper talk & enrichment

12:00 p.m. - rhino keeper talk & enrichment

12:30 p.m. - rhino keeper talk & enrichment

1:00 p.m. - rhino keeper talk & enrichment

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. - Barn Party at Delta Sonic Heritage Farm

1:30 p.m. - pig training

2:00 p.m. - early american traditional folk musical performance

2:30 p.m. - mule training

For more information about the Zooper Saturday event, call (716) 837-3900 or visit
www.buffalozoo.org

A Party for the Planet!

The Buffalo Zoo and the WNY Earth Day Committee will host Party for the Planet on Saturday Jun 22, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Join area environmental groups to explore what we can all do to become more earth-friendly and how to protect our planet. There will be live performances by Mama Earth’s Kitchen Band with Sue Rotzler at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. All activities are FREE with Zoo admission.

Participants will include:

• Alexander School
• Batavia School
• Buffalo Museum of Science
• Buffalo Zoo Earth Smart Squad
• Compeer
• Daeman CSCCE
• Erie Co. Recycling
• Erie Co. Stormwater
• Food & Water
• Green Party
• Make N Mold
• Modern Waste
• Orchard Park School
• PUSH Bflo
• Recycling Alliance
• School House #8
• Sierra Club
• Solar Liberty
• UB Regional Institute
• Unitarian School
• Weather Medic/WNY Peace Center
• WNY Reading Council
• WOYP

 For more information about the Party for the Planet, please call the Zoo at (716) 837-3900.

The event is sponsored by the Buffalo Zoo, Daeman College Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement, and WNY Earth Day Committee, with special thanks to Star 102.5.

Zumba for Luna