New Arrivals

Update: Humboldt Penguin Chicks

Since the hatching of Pedro the penguin on April 21, four more penguin chicks have hatched at the zoo.  The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is holding a "name the penguin chick contest" for the third chick, a female, which hatched on July 22.  Click here for more information.

Green Tree Python

Visitors will now be able to view the green tree python in the Adaptations of Animals wing.  Green tree pythons are primarily arboreal, meaning they have adapted to live in trees.  These snakes have a special way of coiling themselves on a branch; once coiled they resemble a saddle. 

Green tree pythons are located in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia.  Their striking green color makes it easy for them to blend in with their leafy surroundings and fun for visitors to try and spot!

The largest threat to this species is habit destruction, particularly in Western New Guinea due to political conflict with Indonesia.  They're also eaten by the native Papuan tribes that still reside in the forests of New Guinea. 

Guanacos

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo welcomed a herd of guanacos on July 2, 2009.  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.

Humboldt Penguin Chick

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo welcomed  the newest member of the Zoo's Humboldt penguin colony on April 21, 2009.

"It's been four years since we opened the penguin exhibit here at the Zoo and 2009 marks another successful year for the penguin breeding program," said County Executive Joanie Mahoney.  "This is the thirteenth chick that has hatched at the Zoo."

The arrival of another chick further confirms the Zoo's commitment to conservation of an endangered species; the birds are well-established in the exhibit and are making valuable contributions to a national breeding program.  In March, three of the chicks hatched in previous years were transferred to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Wash. where they will continue serving as ambassadors for their species. 

Humboldt penguins are named after the Humboldt Current, a cold, nutrient-rich ocean current that flows along the west coast of South America.  Humboldt penguins are endangered with only 12,000 to 30,000 remaining in the wild.