Tag: Wildlife Conservation Society

BABY. PORCUPINE.

On By scenebyginaIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

SQUEEEEEE!!

Julie Larsen Maher_1650_North American Porcupine Porcupette_CZ _BZ_08 07 15
Photos by Julie Larsen Maher © Wildlife Conservation Society

Julie Larsen Maher_1646_North American Porcupine Porcupette_CZ _BZ_08 07 15A baby North American porcupine was born at WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) Bronx Zoo and is on exhibit with its family in the newly renovated Children’s Zoo.

The young male porcupine was born on July 28 to mother, Alice, and father, Patrick. This is the pair’s third offspring.

The porcupine’s most recognizable physical characteristic is its spiky quills. They can have as many as 30,000 quills covering their bodies and use them as a defense against predators. Despite popular belief, porcupines cannot shoot their quills. The quills of the North American porcupine have a tiny barb on the tip that, when hooked in flesh, pull the quill from the porcupine’s skin and painfully imbed it in a predator’s face, paws or body.

At birth, the quills are very soft. They begin to harden a few hours after birth and continue to harden and grow as the baby matures.

Young porcupines begin eating solid food as early as three weeks old, but will continue to nurse for about three months.

For more information or to speak with a WCS expert, contact Max Pulsinelli at 718-220-5182 or mpulsinelli@wcs.org.

Joel Osteen Ministries Teams up With Hundreds of Teens in Bronx, NY for Generation Hope Project®

On By scenebyginaIn Education, family, New York, People, placesLeave a comment
The NYC area 'Night of Hope' is on Sat. June 7.
The NYC area ‘Night of Hope’ is on Sat. June 7.

I am NOT the type to post inspirational quotes on social media by the Dalai Lama, Joel Osteen, or even Bill Gates. (Ha.) But I will share this cool news (the part about 250 underprivileged kids) coming out of the Osteen camp because this is what it’s all about, in my opinion — spreading love by helping out! That, in itself, is inspiring; no quotes needed. Thanks to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Press Office for sharing this bit of news.

❤ –Gina

BRONX, N.Y. — On Thursday June 5, Victoria Osteen along with volunteers from The Generation Hope Project®, will take 250 underprivileged children to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo as a part of the activities surrounding this year’s “America’s Night of Hope,” at Yankee Stadium.

The third annual Generation Hope Project® will focus on mentoring—developing one-to-one relationships with young people who need strong role models. Volunteers will have an opportunity to share time with middle school children who might not normally get the chance to join in on the full zoo experience.

Generation Hope Project® will also work with organizations around the Bronx community on service projects including.

  • WCS’s Bronx Zoo – Volunteers will mentor and take 250 underserved middle-school age children to the zoo.
  • NYC Food Bank in Hunts Point – Packing food boxes to distribute in the community.
  • Community Kitchen & Food Pantry in Harlem – Stocking pantry shelves and food prep.
  • Green Pastures Baptist Church – Major cleanup of Hurricane Sandy damage, organization and rehabilitation of facility.
  • Bronx Christian Fellowship Church – Major cleanup and organization of warehouse, sorting donations, cleaning outside bays and church repair.
  • Latino Pastoral Action Center – Major cleanup of classrooms, painting, donation sorting, participating in children’s school activities.
  • Yankee Stadium Mentoring Baseball Game – Volunteers will accompany mentees and mentors to the game to highlight them and the programs in pre-game activities.

Generation Hope Project® is an outreach of Joel Osteen Ministries that engages young adults from around the country and around the world in service to communities in need. Through partnerships with local leaders, organizations, and other churches, GenHope has provided close to 3,000 hours of volunteer service, reaching thousands through its social media messages and bringing supplies and support to those in need. Learn more at www.generationhopeproject.com.

America’s Night of Hope will be held at Yankee Stadium on June 7, 2014 at 7pm. The event, which coincides with the volunteer projects, will draw more than 55,000 from across the nation for an evening of hope and celebration. This year marks the 6th annual event. The first was held at Yankee Stadium in 2009, then Dodger Stadium, US Cellular Field, Nationals Park, and Marlins Stadium in 2013.  For more information, go to www.joelosteen.com.

Joel and Victoria Osteen are the pastors of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas-America’s largest church with more than 52,000 weekly attendees and one of the nation’s most racially and socioeconomically diverse. Joel’s weekly television program reaches more than 10 million households each week in the US and is seen by millions more in over 100 nations across the globe.

 

Stop what you’re doing because: LION CUBS at the Bronx Zoo

On By scenebyginaIn Education, New YorkLeave a comment

 

Screen shot 2014-05-01 at 2.28.59 PM

Bronx, NY – May 1, 2014 – The lion cubs are out and about at the Bronx Zoo!

They debuted last fall and were announced by Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny via Twitter (@jimbreheny).

 

Born on Aug. 16, the litter is comprised of three males, Thulani, Ime, and Bahati, and one female, Amara. Their mother is Sukari (9 years old) and father is M’wasi (11 years old).  This is Sukari and M’wasi’s third litter.

 

Lions live in grasslands and open woodlands across much of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Bronx Zoo’s African Plains exhibit is a representation of the East African savannah. One of the most popular exhibits at the zoo, the African Plains opened in 1941 to record crowds and was the first zoo exhibit in North America to showcase African wildlife in a predator/prey setting, with the lions separated from their prey by a moat.

 

The Bronx Zoo breeds lions as part of the Species Survival Plan, a cooperative propagation program designed to enhance the genetic viability of animal populations in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

 

In nature, lion populations are drastically declining and African lions are designated as Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Info via Wildlife Conservation Society.

 

CUTE ALERT: Wildlife Conservation Society Debuts Three Primate Babies

On By scenebyginaIn New YorkLeave a comment

Bronx, NY – June 26  – Three primate species have produced offspring at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo._Julie Larsen Maher 9936 Mandrill and Baby CON BZ 06 04 13 _Julie Larsen Maher 3610 Silver Lear Langur and Baby JUN BZ 05 03 13 Vera, adult female

First Photo: A silver leaf langur (Trachypithecus cristatus) was born this spring in the zoo’s JungleWorld exhibit. Infants sport a striking orange-colored coat in comparison to the adults’ silvery gray color.   The coat will remain orange for three-to-five months before gradually turning gray. The baby stays very close to its mother, making it difficult to determine the monkey’s gender. Native to the rainforest canopies in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, nearly 80 percent of the langur’s diet consists of leaves. Silver leaf langurs are listed as “near threatened” by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). WCS’s Bronx Zoo has the largest breeding population of silver leaf langurs in North America.

Second Photo: A brown collared lemur (Eulemur collaris) was born this spring in the Bronx Zoo’s Madagascar! exhibit. Brown collared lemurs are primarily active during the day, but may move and forage at night.  They are native to the tropical forests of southeastern Madagascar, where their range is threatened by charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture.  This devastating loss of habitat is the primary reason the species is listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN.

Third Photo: The Bronx Zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest is home to a young mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) born last fall. The baby has grown quickly and is already running and playing in the exhibit with the rest of the troop. Mandrills are found inCameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Mandrills are listed as “vulnerable” by IUCN and are threatened by habitat loss and hunting for bushmeat.

All three births are part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a cooperative breeding program administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to maintain genetic diversity in zoo populations.

WCS works in the countries where lemurs, langurs, and mandrills occur in the wild to save these and other primate species.

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, 5:30 p.m. weekends from April to October;10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m November to March. Adult admission is $16.95, children (3-12 years old) $11.95, children under 3 are free, seniors (65+) are $14.95. Parking is $14 for cars and $16 for buses. The Bronx Zoo is conveniently located off the Bronx River Parkway at Exit 6; by train via the #2 or #5 or by bus via the #9, #12, #19, #22, MetroNorth, or BxM11 Express Bus service (from Manhattan that stops just outside the gate.) To plan your trip, visit bronxzoo.com or call 718-367-1010.

The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world’s largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.