Roaring Twenties Party Will Benefit Buffalo Zoo
Buffalo, N.Y. (March 5 2014) – The Women’s Board of the Buffalo Zoo will host a Roaring 20s Party to benefit the Buffalo Zoo.
 
The event will take place at the Lafayette Hotel on Sunday, April 6 from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
 
This exciting party will feature live music from Rich Manzell, a prohibition wall, costume contest, Charleston dancing lessons, and more! Tickets to the 21-and-over event cost $40 and include two drink tickets, food stations, hors d’oeuvres, and secured valet parking.

For more information or to purchase tickets, please call (716) 995-6131 or CLICK HERE.
 
The Roaring Twenties Party is presented by Brady Workplace Safety Group. Supporting sponsors include Carmina Wood Morris, PC, Mack Services, Muscoreil’s Fine Desserts, and Studio M Hair Design

Buffalo Zoo and Kleinhans Music Hall Present National Geographic Live!
Buffalo, N.Y. (Sept. 12 2013) – 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.

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 at www.kleinhansbuffalo.org or by calling the Kleinhans box office at (716) 885-5000.

Buffalo Zoo Hires Buffalo Native as General Curator
Buffalo, N.Y. (Dec. 17 2013) – The Buffalo Zoo has hired Ms. Malia Somerville as their new general curator.

Ms. Somerville grew up in Buffalo and attended City Honors High School. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Psychology from William Smith College, and a master’s degree in conservation biology from American University. Throughout her career, she has worked for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and has been at the National Zoo in Washington D.C.

The general curator is responsible for managing the Zoo’s animal collection.

The Buffalo Zoo wishes a very happy retirement to Gerry Aquilina, the Zoo’s former curator, who has been working at the Zoo since 1975.

Buffalo Zoo Participates in Toad Conservation Efforts
Buffalo, N.Y. (Dec. 10 2013) – The Buffalo Zoo sent hundreds of endangered Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles to Puerto Rico in November as part of a major conservation effort.
 
The tadpoles were later released into sites in southern Puerto Rico where they will help repopulate the wild population there.

The Zoo’s actions were part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP,) which is designed to help a species maintain a healthy and stable captive population. The Buffalo Zoo, along with other Zoos and institutions, is dedicated to working to save the Puerto Rican crested toad.

The Buffalo’s reptile department’s long-standing breeding efforts have played a major role in helping to repopulate the species in the wild. Buffalo was one of 22 zoos to receive the North American Conservation Award in 2004 for the Puerto Rican crested toad Species Survival Program Conservation Partnership.

The Puerto Rican crested toad is found only in Puerto Rico. The toads are olive green and brown in color, with shades of yellow on their heads and rough, warty skin. They are named for the boney V-shaped ridge on their heads.

Buffalo Treasures Partners with The Buffalo Zoo
Great gift ideas for the holidays and beyond!
Do You Zoo? Are you a Buffalo Zoo fan or have a Zoo lover in your life? BuffaloTreasures.com has a vast array of great Zoo collectibles and apparel for your Buffalo Zoo aficionado. Prints, tshirts, coasters, and tote bags, there is something for all Zoo fans.
Visit www.buffalotreasures.com and use the code DO YOU ZOO? in the comment box with your order and 15% of the proceeds from your purchase will be donated to the Buffalo Zoo.

After Push, Senator Charles Schumer Announces Kali the Polar Bear Will Stay at Buffalo Zoo Until 2015 – Secures Commitment from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Keep Kali in Buffalo for Next Two Years, if Zoo Passes 2014 Inspection as Expected.
After Schumer’s Push, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Commits to Keeping Kali at the Buffalo Zoo Through 2015, Pending a Positive USDA Review of Enclosure in the Spring of 2014 – Kali Had Been Rumored to Be on the Move Before the End of Year, According to Buffalo Zoo

Earlier this Month, In a Personal Call to Director Ashe of the Fish and Wildlife Service – Which Owns Kali – Schumer Made the Case that Buffalo is the Best Home for Kali

Schumer: Decision to Keep Kali in Buffalo is Good for the Zoo, Good for Buffalo, and Best of All, Good for Kali

Today, at the Buffalo Zoo, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has committed to keep Kali the polar bear at the Buffalo Zoo until Spring 2015, pending a standard U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) review in Spring 2014.  Schumer noted that the Buffalo Zoo has just passed the same APHIS inspection as recently as October of this year and they expect to pass the pending 2014 review, thus keeping Kali in Buffalo until Spring 2015 at minimum.  Schumer personally weighed in with the Director of the FWS Dan Ashe in early November after rumors that the agency was under pressure to move Kali to another zoo, and made the argument that Kali was best served by staying put.  According to the Buffalo Zoo, there were serious concerns that Kali’s departure was imminent before Schumer stepped in, particularly because Kali has been sought after by other zoo interested in adding a polar bear exhibit. However, Schumer highlighted to Ashe that local veterinarians have attested to Kali’s improving health in Buffalo, as well as her friendship with the Zoo’s other polar bear, Luna.

 “The confirmation that Kali will stay in Buffalo for the near future is a huge win all around, for the Zoo, for Buffalo, and most importantly, for Kali.  Now, Kali can continue his development alongside his friend Luna, in an environment to which he’s already adapted,” said Schumer.  “For frequent zoo visitors, and for the staff at the Buffalo Zoo who have watched Kali grow up from a polar bear cub, to see him go before he had a chance to reach adulthood would have been unbearable.  Now, as long as all goes as the Zoo expects with its 2014 APHIS review, Kali will stay in Buffalo until at least 2015, where he is safe, healthy, and has the potential to breed.”

"The Buffalo Zoo is grateful for Senator Schumer's active role in guaranteeing that Kali will not be subjected to any unnecessary relocations,” said the Buffalo Zoo CEO Donna Fernandes. “Kali and Luna have such a wonderful relationship that we are happy that they will remain together for this critical time in his development."

Kali was a wild polar bear who was rescued by the FWS after a hunter killed his mother, at which point they decided that the Buffalo Zoo was the best place to keep Kali.  Because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service owns Kali, unlike Luna who is owned by the Zoo itself, it can move Kali to other zoos in search of a polar bear if it so chooses.  Schumer explained to Director Ashe, however, that the same logic that applied when Kali was rescued should apply now – if the Buffalo Zoo is deemed the best place for Kali’s health and development, it should remain his home during this critical time in his development.  Schumer also pointed to the recent news that the Buffalo Zoo is on track to complete its new “Arctic Edge” polar bear exhibit, which he said added another reason for Kali to stay for a longer term.

The FWS has heeded Schumer’s call, and in a letter delivered to his office in response to his conversation with Dan Ashe, committed to keep Kali in Buffalo until Spring 2015 pending a positive APHIS review in 2014.  Schumer, standing in front of the current polar bear exhibit with the Buffalo Zoo CEO Donna Fernandes and representatives of the Buffalo Zoo, cited the Zoo’s recent positive APHIS review and the zoo’s confidence in the quality of their enclosure as a sign that they would pass a re-inspection in Spring 2014.  The Buffalo Zoo has constructed a temporary home for Kali and Luna as they begin construction on a new, permanent polar bear exhibit.

Schumer said that keeping Kali in Buffalo was best for the animal’s health and social development.  According to the Zoo’s veterinarians, Kali has adjusted well to his home in Buffalo after the traumatic circumstances of his rescue, and to move Kali in the near term would potentially hinder the 10-month old cub’s recovery.  Schumer made the case to Director Ashe that Kali should stay in Buffalo at least until reaching “adulthood,” which polar bears typically achieve at 2 years of age.  The commitment from U.S. Fish and Wildlife means Kali will stay in Buffalo until this critical threshold, at which point his chances of a healthy adult life will greatly increase.

With the Buffalo Zoo set to complete a brand new polar bear exhibit in September of 2015, Schumer hopes the decision to keep Kali in Buffalo in the interim greatly increases the chances of Kali staying in Buffalo long-term.m greatly increases the chances of Kali staying in Buffalo long-term.

Buffalo Zoo Celebrates World Rhino Day with Announcement of Rhino Pregnancy
Buffalo, N.Y. (Sept. 18, 2013) – The Buffalo Zoo’s Indian rhinoceros, Tashi, is pregnant.
The Zoo participated in an experimental Artificial Insemination (AI) procedure, and is one of the first zoos in the world to have a successful Indian rhino AI pregnancy. A team of keepers and veterinarians from the Buffalo Zoo worked with Dr. Monica Stoops from the Center of Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) based at the Cincinnati Zoo to help with the AI process.

The procedure took place in February of 2013. If Tashi remains healthy and the pregnancy successfully goes to term, keepers expect that she will give birth in June of 2014. The pregnancy is an important step towards global rhino conservation, and is already proving invaluable to the research efforts of CREW and the rhinoceros species survival plan (SSP.)

Anyone interested in learning more about Tashi’s pregnancy, or about global rhino conservation should attend the Buffalo Zoo’s World Rhino Day event. On Sunday, September 22, the Zoo will host a special lecture by Joe Hauser, the Zoo’s lead rhino keeper.

The event, which runs from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. in the Children’s Resource Center (CRC,) will also feature raffles and refreshments. Tickets are only $5, and all proceeds will benefit the International Rhino Foundation. Reservations are recommended, but not required. For more information, call (716) 995-6133.

World Rhino Day is a global day of recognition and celebration of the five species of rhinoceros. It was first celebrated by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) South Africa in 2010 and has since become a worldwide day of awareness and appreciation for these beautiful
animals.