Get Ready for Spooktacular Days!

Tickets are now available for Spooktacular Days at the Buffalo Zoo, a new Halloween event debuting this year.

Spooktacular Days will replace Howl-o-ween Hayrides at the Zoo.

Spooktacular Days at the Buffalo Zoo will take place on October 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, & 26. Activities will run from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Fridays, and 12 p.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, giving families the option to participate during either daytime or evening hours.

For the cost of regular Zoo admission, plus an additional $5, guests can partake in activities including indoor treat stations, Halloween-themed games, and free train and carousel rides. The experience will conclude with the fall favorites of donuts and apple cider.

Click here to purchase tickets, or call (800) 838-3006.

The event is designed to be fun and friendly rather than frightful. Spooktacular Days offer an early, safe, and fun Halloween experience for children of all ages!

The Spooktacular Days at the Zoo are sponsored by Tops Friendly Markets and 97 Rock.

Zooper Saturday with Dallas the Sea Lion!

The Buffalo Zoo will hold a Zooper Saturday event featuring Dallas, the California sea lion.

Dallas the sea lion

Zoo visitors can learn all about sea lions and get to know Dallas and his keepers during a day of keeper talks and enrichment activities on Saturday, October 4th. A full schedule of activities follows.

• 11 a.m – 2 p.m. – Face painting in NOCO Sea Lion Cove (rain location in M&T Bank Rainforest Falls)
• 11 a.m. – Sea Lion demonstration in NOCO Sea Lion Cove
• 11:30 a.m. – Keeper talk in NOCO Sea Lion Cove
• 12 p.m. –  Sea Lion enrichment in NOCO Sea Lion Cove
• 1:30 p.m. – Photo encounters in NOCO Seal Lion Cove (pre-registration required)
• 2 p.m. – Keeper talk in NOCO Sea Lion Cove
• 2:30 p.m. – Sea Lion demonstration in NOCO Sea Lion Cove
• 3 p.m. – Ice treat sea lion enrichment in NOCO Sea Lion Cove

Registration is required for the photo encounters. For a $25 fee, participants will be able to get up-close and personal with Dallas the sea lion, and receive a 4x6 photograph to take home. Anyone who wants to participate can register at the Zoo’s admission gates when they arrive. There are a limited number of reservations available.

Zooper Saturdays take place on the first Saturday of every month. Activities are free with regular Zoo admission.

For more information about the Zooper Saturday event, call (716) 995-6133.

The Buffalo Zoo thanks NOCO for their sponsorship of the Sea Lion Cove exhibit.

Meet Buffalo Bill Brandon Spikes at the Zoo

The Buffalo Zoo will host a special meet and greet with Buffalo Bills captain Brandon Spikes this weekend.

Spikes is partnering with the Zoo to chair their Adopt an Animal program. To kick off the partnership, he will make an appearance at the Zoo this Saturday, September 20, from 1:30 pm until 2:30 pm.

The Zoo will offer a special adoption package through the 2014-2015 football season, featuring a North American porcupine that the Zoo has named “Spikes” in honor of the Bills player.

Brandon Spikes bottle fed Spikes the porcupine at the Zoo earlier this month.

A limited edition adoption package will be available for only $10 during the event on Saturday. Anyone who purchases the package during the meet and greet will have an opportunity to have their adoption certificate autographed by Brandon Spikes.

The Buffalo Zoo has an annual grocery bill of around $250,000. The Zoo’s Adopt anAnimal program helps to pay for food for the animals throughout the year.

Meet our new Baby Snow Monkey

The Buffalo Zoo’s latest addition, a baby Japanese macaque, is now on exhibit at the Buffalo Zoo.

The baby was born to 16 year old mother, Debbi, on August 30. The baby’s father is eight-year-old Ketu, who has had one other offspring. This baby is Debbi’s fourth.

Debbi is proving to be a nurturing and protective mother. Keepers have not yet been able to get close enough to determine the baby’s gender.

Debbi the snow monkey with her baby.

Debbi and her baby are on exhibit daily in the Zoo’s Vanishing Animals Exhibit starting at 3 p.m.

Japanese macaques are often referred to as snow monkeys because their natural habitat is in the snowy mountain regions of Japan. The wild population of snow monkeys is threatened by the replacement of natural forests in Japan with lumber plantations and other developments.

Luna the Polar Bear Recovering After Fall

Luna the polar bear is recovering at the Buffalo Zoo after falling into a moat over the weekend.

The polar bear fell into the exhibit’s protective moat on Saturday afternoon. Luna was anesthetized, and a team of keepers were able to carry her out of the moat and transport her to the Zoo’s veterinary hospital. The Zoo’s veterinarian, Dr. Kurt Volle, took X-rays and determined that Luna had fractured her tibia and fibula above the ankle joint on her left rear leg. She sustained no other injuries from the fall. A pair of board certified veterinary surgeons from Sheridan Animal Hospital performed surgery to repair the fracture on Sunday.

Luna is recovering in the Zoo’s veterinary hospital. Zoo staff reports that she is alert and eating, and that she is able to walk. Luna will remain off exhibit for several weeks to restrict her movement while her leg heals.

Two Buffalo Zoo Employees Recognized as Leaders in Their Field

Two of the Buffalo Zoo’s animal keepers have been appointed to leadership positions in their respective fields.

Penny Felski, the Zoo’s herpetological manager, was recently appointed to the amphibian taxon advisory group (TAG) steering committee for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA.)

A TAG is responsible for the conservation of a certain species or group of species among AZA accredited institutions.

Felski participates in a number of reptile and amphibian conservation efforts including the Zoo’s Puerto Rican crested toad and hellbender head start programs.

Keeper Penny Felski. photo credit: Chris Baker

Joe Hauser, rhino keeper at the Zoo, was recently appointed to the International Rhino Keepers Association’s board of directors. The International Rhino Keepers Association (IRKA) is dedicated to the sharing of knowledge in relation to the five species of rhinoceros.

Hauser was implemental in the success of the artificial insemination procedure that led to the birth of the Zoo’s new baby rhino, Monica.

Keeper Joe Hauser. photo credit: Kelly Brown

“We’re very proud of Penny and Joe for their accomplishments,” said Donna Fernandes, President and CEO of the Buffalo Zoo. “All of our keepers work incredibly hard to take care of the animals and do so much behind the scenes to advance the conservation of a number of endangered species. Penny and Joe are a great example of that.”

To learn more about AZA taxon advisory groups, visit https://www.aza.org/taxon-advisory-groups.  For information about IRKA, go to http://www.rhinokeeperassociation.org.

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 16, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., shoppers at participating TopsFriendly 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.