Bronx Zoo Ships a Herd of Guanacos to Rosamond Gifford Zoo Zoo and Aquarium Visitor News

Bronx Zoo Ships a Herd of Guanacos to Rosamond Gifford Zoo

By Lorrell Walter

Syracus, NY - The Rosamond Gifford Zoo will officially open its new guanaco exhibit at 10:00 a.m. on July 2. The herd, which consists of eight males, came to Syracuse from the Bronx Zoo. Guanacos (Lama guanicoe) are considered to be wild animals, unlike llamas and alpacas, their domesticated relatives. They are also in the same family as camels and vicuñas.

Guanacos are slightly smaller than llamas, but are otherwise very similar. As one of the largest wild mammals in South America, Guanacos can weigh up to 300 pounds and are about 3.5 to 4 feet tall. They are slender, long-necked animals with pale brown backs, white undersides, a gray face and large, brown eyes.

The guanaco is wild and endangered in much of its range, although attempts are now being made to protect them. Guanacos are native to the arid, mountainous regions of South America. As both a grazer and a browser, guanacos are quite adaptable; some guanacos live in one of the driest deserts in the world (the Atacama in Chile) while others live in the wet archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, where rain falls year round.

Guanacos tend to live in groups of up to ten females, their young and one dominant male. Males without harems will form large groups of bachelors. When threatened, guanacos alert the herd to flee with a high-pitched warning call. The male will usually run behind the rest of the herd in order to defend them, running up to 35 miles per hour. As it so happens, guanacos are also excellent swimmers.

In order to accommodate the Zoo’s newest additions, the reindeer have been relocated and will share an exhibit with the yak. The new guanaco exhibit is located on the Wildlife Trail, just past the penguin exhibit.

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is focused on conserving, exhibiting and interpreting a living animal collection in order to promote public recreation, understanding of the relationships between animals and people, and action to sustain the environment we share. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $6.50 for adults, $4.50 for seniors age 62 and up and students age 16 to 21 with I.D, $4.00 for youth ages 3 to 15. Children two and under are free. For more information, call the zoo at (315) 435-8511 or visit the zoo’s Web site at www.RosamondGiffordZoo.org.

To view Rosamond Gifford Zoo's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-473-Rosamond_Gifford_Zoo

Share |

User login

Your Comments listed below have been added (Scroll down to add additional comments)

Irresponsible Board of Management

Maybe , just maybe The Toronto Zoo Board Is In The Middle Of A Financial Crisis And There Is No Place To Go But To City Council like a wayward son go to Mom and Dad for more money...

Although it was made clear by Shelley Carroll (the City's Budget Chief) that the Toronto Zoo has to behave more financially responsible, perhaps the problem is that there is no place else to go. The $250 Million fund-raising plans are a pipe dream (especially after firing the Zoo Foundation), it is not possible to raise admission prices any longer (or face a significant drop in attendance) and the "junkets" (especially to China for the Giant Pandas) by members of the Zoo Board can not be cut significantly for any reason. In other words, there is no place to go but City Council. What a crock! The Toronto Zoo Board needs a reality check, as it has become clear that they do not understand the problems they are facing. Perhaps the thousands of free Zoo passes given to Councillors on the Zoo Board could be cut to zero, perhaps the Zoo Foundation could be re-instated, and perhaps a citizen's advisory committee could be formed to provide much-needed guidance to the existing members of the Board.

This is Proof positive

that citizens should have more direct say in the budget process. Line item veto by a citizen's budget committee might get the desired cuts we must attain. The citizens of Toronto should stand with one voice that we just won't allow a property tax increase this year.

By Latinoboy in TORONTO

Ethyl Mercaptan

I would be quite interested in any reference you might have to the presence of ethyl mercaptan in carrion. Most literature indicates that dimethyl sulfide and methyl mercaptan are the sulfur containing entities involved. I had also thought that vultures, like many carrion eating and inhabiting species (flies, etc) were attracted to the rather bad smell of the nitrogenous materials (cadaverine, putresceine, etc) produced during decomposition.

Ant farms

Very nice ant exhibit! I wrote a small ant farm post with a reference to your article.

Train Business Directory Available for Visitors

A "Train Business Directory" shows over 850 locations near all of the Portland MAX light rail at PortlandLightRail.net.

Happy Birthday, Boomer!

You are a great ambassador for your cousins in the wild, Boomer!

Orangutans are critically endangered because of rapid deforestation and the expansion of palm oil plantations.

If nothing is done to protect orangutans, they could be extinct in just a few years!

Your fans can visit the Orangutan Outreach website to make a difference!

Orangutan Outreach
http://redapes.org
Reach out and save the orangutans!
Facebook Cause: http://causes.com/redapes

Venemous snakes?

What is it with people that want to exterminate venemous snakes? If they weren't an integral part of the food chain and ecosystem, they wouldn't be here! Evolution and natural selection has chosen them as survivors! The fact that they are "harmful" to humans is only a result of humans encroaching on their territories and habitats. Be mindful of your surroundings and situation and you can safely live with the so called "harmful" species that we share this planet with!

Local wildlife day

Good luck with the event. We have some fabulous wildlife in Devon that's really worth celebrating. We recently had a botanical survey of our small Devon nature reserve, which recorded more than 180 species in about 3.5 acres. And even more amazing was the depth of local knowledge the visiting naturalists had to share - on everything from obscure moths to lichens.

Local wildlife day

Sadly, a lack of common sense is the trend

What is sad to me is the lack of common sense regarding venomous snakes that seems to becoming more commonplace.

It has become trendy for government agencies to defend venomous snakes, saying they kill rodents, etc., but non-venomous snakes also kill rodents. I have not heard one logical argument as to what a venomous snake contributes to an ecosystem that a non-venomous snake doesn't.

Any non-biased biologist can affirm species extinction has always happened naturally. It's common sense to kill a venomous snake, rather than let it continue breeding and increase the potential for harm.

The unfortunate consequence of naturalists defending venomous snakes is they make them appear so necessary and harmless that both people and agencies--hospitals, for example--do not expect or prepare for snake encounters.

It's doubtful that many hospitals near the snakes stock the expensive antivenin. Governments should help fund snakebite treatment rather than fund snake protection.

Skype Usage

Very cool and novel way to use Skype. Glad to see that people are thinking outside the box with its collaborative application. If it's not too late, you may want to submit this to Skype as a good use of their software for the Skype in business contest they're running.

Shawn
OnState Communications

Word Oceans Day - June 8

And don't forget to "Wear Blue and Tell Two"

Another great way to celebrate World Oceans Day is to wear blue in honor of the ocean and tell people two things they likely don't know about the ocean and two ways they can take action. For more Information check out this website:

WorldOceansDay

User login

Links