Happy Red Panda Day!
Your Saturday plans just got a whole lot wilder! Make the last weekend of summer count with a trip to the Central Park Zoo to celebrate International Red Panda Day with our pandas in the zoo’s Temperate Territory.
Our black and white ruffed lemurs are growing up fast!
This Thursday, we're throwing it back to our black and white ruffed lemurs first few weeks. They were born in June and are growing up fast! Visit these iconic but endangered animals in the zoo's Tropic Zone!
📸: Keeper Bianca
Penguin Chick Swim Lessons
Penguin chick swim lessons are now in session! Well, sort of. Most penguin chicks can swim naturally, but they can be hesitant at first and need encouragement to take their first plunge.
As you can see in this video, our macaroni chick takes to the shallow water pool of their behind-the-scenes area naturally. But our gentoo penguin chick took a bit more coaxing. After observing the macaroni chick swim for a while, our gentoo penguin learned from him. We supervise our penguin chicks until we see they are strong swimmers and can go in and out of the water on their own. According to their keepers, both chicks have passed the swim test and have 24/7 access to the shallow pool now. At this stage we can prepare them to join the rest of the colony on exhibit.
Brown bear cools off in waterfall
Oh, to be a brown bear with a personal waterfall to cool off. During the sweltering summer days, you can find our grizzly bears enjoying a refreshing dip in both shallow and deep pools in their habitat.
National Keeper Week 2024
Happy #NationalZooKeeperWeek to our amazing team of keepers at the Central Park Zoo. We appreciate your hard work, dedication and passion!
When you see a keeper, aquarist, or trainer at any of our New York City parks, make sure to say “thanks” for their hard work and dedication. #NZKW2024
Black and white ruffed lemur babies debut at Central Park Zoo!
We recently welcomed TWO male black and white ruffed lemur babies to our lemur family. The newest additions to our ruffed lemur troop, seen in their off-exhibit access area at the zoo, were born in June.
Our young lemurs are growing quickly thanks to the attention and instruction of their mother and our diligent keepers and veterinary team. In this video, you can see the infants and their mother enjoying a nutritious fruit and veggie salad. With these new additions, our ruffed lemur troop now consists of four males and one female.
🎥: Keeper Bianca
Macaroni penguin chick debuts at Central Park Zoo
We have just welcomed a macaroni penguin chick to our colony! In this video, the chick is under the close, watchful eye of mother Puttanesca and father Tortellini. The chick hatched on June 3, and this marks the first time we have had a Macaroni pair successfully raise their chick, in the past we have foster reared or hand reared macaroni penguin chicks.
Meet Bobbin and Sage our new harlequin lambs!
We have wonderful news! There isn’t just one new lamb at the zoo, there are now TWO.
Joining Bobbin and the rest of the flock in the Tisch Children’s Zoo is Sage, who is just three weeks old! According to keepers, the new lambs are out with the flock most of the day and have boundless energy, as shown in this video. Currently, the zoo has three breeds of sheep: harlequin, Shetland, and southdown.
Bobbin and Sage are harlequin sheep, a breed first introduced to the zoo in 2022. Our harlequin sheep came to us from a farm in the Shenandoah Valley area in Virginia, not far from where the breed was first developed. Harlequins are small, docile sheep with a calm disposition. They are best known for the variety of colors in their coats and their fine wool. Next time you visit, look out for our new lambs in the Children’s Zoo!
Three-banded armadillo using an exercise wheel
Feel the burn! This is a short video of our Southern three-banded armadillo “Leonard” on his specially designed exercise wheel. Leonard is part of our ambassador animal program at Central Park Zoo. According to Keeper Bianca, this wheel is one of many enrichment activities Leonard enjoys. It's a great tool to provide him some additional healthy exercise.
Sound on for armadillo-ASMR!
🎥: Keeper Bianca
Newborn lamb joins flock
Just in time for a Valentine's Day visit, the zoo has welcomed a newborn lamb to our flock of harlequin sheep. The lamb was born on Friday, January 26 to first-time mother, Thimble. According to keepers, the new lamb is out with the flock most of the day and has boundless energy, as shown by the gentle leaping throughout this video.
Harlequins are small, docile sheep with a calm disposition. They are best known for the variety of colors in their coats and their fine wool. Next time you visit, look out for the lamb in the Tisch Children’s Zoo.
Leaf-cutter ant colony at work
🐜 Feeling antsy? Come hang out with some of the coolest insects around – leaf-cutter ants!
A leaf-cutter ant colony has seven different castes or ranks, and each does a different job! Working together, they build and maintain the fungus gardens that provide their food. In this video, you can see the forager ants hard at work. Using their serrated jaws, they cut pieces of leaves off trees and other plants in the rainforest. Then they carry the pieces back to special fermentation areas in the colony’s underground nest.
Our staff cut browse for the colony daily from plants maintained by the horticulture staff on zoo grounds. We currently have an approved list of 64 different plants available for them!
Penguin Chick Makes His Debut
Penguin chick update! 🐧Our three-month-old gentoo penguin chick was recently introduced to the exhibit! The male chick (the first bird you’ll see in the video), the 20th gentoo in our colony, was carefully carried in by one of the keepers as was an adult penguin who’s been his buddy behind the scenes. It was the young penguin’s first time navigating the exhibit and meeting some of the other birds, including chinstrap, king and macaroni penguins. Keeper Kim tells us his introduction was a success and he’ll now stay with the colony full time. His next step? Making some new friends!
A Bear Ice Treat!
That feeling when you’ve found the perfect way to stay cool on a hot day… 📸Keeper John
Parents Feeding Baby Chinstrap Penguin
Keeper Michelle recently captured this clip of chinstrap penguin parents feeding their chick! The young penguin was born June 28.
Happy National Zookeeper Week!
Happy #NationalZooKeeperWeek to our amazing team of keepers at the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and New York Aquarium. We appreciate your hard work, dedication and passion. Thank you for taking such great care of our animals! #NZKW2023
Valens The Snow Leopard
Valens and his mate Asha enjoy exploring the waterfall and rocks in their habitat and like to hide in the lush vegetation when they’re not active. A pro tip from Curator Sue: the large rock under the overhang at the front of the exhibit is heated, providing a comfy place for the cats to snooze in bad weather! Stop by to spot our spectacular snow leopards for yourself. They tend to be most active in the morning, shortly after opening.
A Macaroni Penguin Building a Nest!
We can officially say that spring is in full swing now that our penguins are nesting! Keeper Angel captured this clip of a macaroni penguin adding a rock to its nest. Plants don't grow where Antarctic penguin species live, so those that build nests use small rocks that are readily available.
A Grizzly Bear Enjoying an Ice Treat
Happy #WorldBearDay! We suggest you follow Luna’s lead and celebrate with a tasty treat! (Luna is enjoying an ice treat filled with bear chow, but you might have different ideas!).
Brown Bear Sitting in the Sun
Enjoy a #MomentOfZoo with brown bear Treena. ❤️
Red Pandas Joanie and Pumori Share a Bamboo Branch at the Central Park Zoo
Love is in the air – we hope! Recently we introduced our female red panda, Joanie, to a new arrival, seven-year-old male, Pumori. We hope the two will hit it off, leading to future births of this endangered species. Our red pandas are part of a Species Survival Plan (SSP), a cooperative breeding program designed to enhance the genetic viability of animal populations in zoos and aquariums. Keeper Merritt captured this clip of Joanie and Pumori sharing a bamboo branch on the day they were introduced. It looks like things are going well so far! 📸mgrusecki
