Asian elephant twins Yaad and Tukada were recently spotted beating the heat at Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York. Born to parents Mali and Doc on October 24, 2022, the twins are coming up on their 1st birthday milestone!
Syracuse Zoo’s Ele Twins Yaad and Tukada are 6 months old! At 6 months old they have; more than doubled in weight, started to eat solid food, have much better control of their trunks, are starting to be more independent, and continue to be the cutest “little” things that we ever did see!
Oh brother! No matter the species, siblings always find a way to play – Rosamond Gifford Zoo’s #EleTwins are no exception! As the twins grow we continue to see their personalities develop. Twin two, Tukada, is proving to be the more dominant sibling, usually ending up on top when he and twin one, Yaad, start wrestling. Considering Tukada was the weaker twin at birth we are so happy to see him thriving and playing with his brother.
SYRACUSE, NY, November 10, 2022 – The Rosamond Gifford Zoo has made history. Male Asian elephant twins were born to parents Mali and Doc at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo on October 24, 2022.
The zoo is thrilled to announce that Mali and both her calves are currently doing well. For the past two weeks, the elephant care team has been monitoring the twins around the clock to ensure both are thriving.
Two Amur Leopard cubs born at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo on June 19 had their six-week health checks last week. This was the first time that the care team has handled the cubs, who have been bonding with their mom, Tria, behind the scenes. The cubs’ father is Rafferty.
Photo Credit (all except top photo): Maria Simmons
Amur Leopards are the most endangered of all big Cats, so this birth is a significant boost for the species. Fewer than 90 individuals remain in the wild in their native habitat in the Amur River Basin in Far East Russia.
The zoo’s care team has been observing the cubs via closed-circuit camera with minimal intervention to allow Tria to care for them undisturbed, and she has proven to be a great mom. Veterinary staff were able to administer the cubs’ 6-week vaccinations during the checkup, as well as weigh them and check their development. The male weighed 6.2 pounds, and the female weighed 5.6 pounds.
The zoo acquired Tria and Rafferty last year from the Greenville, SC. and San Diego zoos respectively as part of the Species Survival Plan for Amur Leopards.
This species faces extinction because of habitat destruction for logging and farming, overhunting of its prey by humans and illegal poaching for their beautiful coats. Those in the wild are now protected in a preserve established by Russia in 2012, but the wild population is so small that inbreeding has become another threat to the species’ survival.
Two Humboldt Penguin chicks hatched at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo on May 1 and May 4. The chicks made their public debut in early June.
The chicks are both males and are named Peru and Lima (“Lee-ma”) in honor of their native habitat off the coast of Peru.
Photo Credit: Maria Simmons
Both chicks are the offspring of Penguin parents Frederico and Poquita. Foster parents Venti and Isa are helping to raise the older chick, Peru, to give both chicks a strong start. The adults will feed the chicks until they are big enough to take fish directly from keepers. Penguins at the zoo are hand-fed twice a day so animal care staff can keep records of how much food each bird consumes.
Weighing only a few ounces at hatching, the chicks have grown rapidly. Each now weighs well over five pounds.
The new chicks bring the number of birds in the zoo’s Humboldt Penguin colony to 34. They will remain off exhibit with their parents until their waterproof feathers come in, then they will practice their swimming skills in the small indoor pool before joining the rest of the colony later this year.
Zoo Director Ted Fox said the new chicks were bred as part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for Humboldt Penguins overseen by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. More than 55 Penguin chicks have hatched at the zoo since it joined the SSP in 2005, and many have gone to other AZA institutions to help preserve the species.
Humboldt Penguins are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In historic times, their nesting grounds were destroyed by guano mining, where deposits of their excrement were dug up and sold as fertilizer. In recent decades, changes in ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, and overfishing in the Penguins' hunting waters have pushed populations even lower. Today, about 32,000 mature individuals are estimated to live on the coasts of Peru and Chile.
While zoo visitors watched in awe, an American Bison calf was born on exhibit at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. New mother, Sue, went into labor around 11 a.m. and the baby was born at 12:30 p.m. on May 9.
The calf is the second Bison baby to be born at the zoo to Sue and male, Harley. Sue had their first calf, Abigail, in 2017. The new calf has been named Madison as part of the zoo’s “I Love New York” theme of naming new arrivals after New York cities and towns. Animal care staff are not yet sure of the calf’s sex.
Photo Credits: Rosamond Gifford Zoo
American Bison once numbered in the millions, but they came close to extinction by 1900, when only about 1,000 remained. Conservation efforts led by the Bronx Zoo have restored the population to about 500,000 in zoos, preserves and protected parklands. In 2016, the American Bison was named the US National Mammal.
“With this second Bison birth, we are doing our part to contribute to the health of this species,” said Zoo Director, Ted Fox. “It is a great experience to participate in the conservation of this iconic animal.”
Onondaga County Executive, Ryan McMahon, said the birth represents another achievement for the zoo. “Our zoo is doing great things to help save endangered species, and this Bison calf is one more success story,” McMahon said. “My congratulations go out to zoo leadership, the animal care staff and the Cornell University Veterinary team that assists in medical care at the zoo.”
With several school field trips visiting the zoo on May 9, a small crowd gathered at the Bison exhibit as onlookers realized an animal was giving birth. Zookeepers stood by, observing from several vantage points, while a couple of keepers answered visitors’ questions.
Many visitors refer to the Bison as “buffalo,” but only Bison are native to North and South America as well as Europe. According to Ted Fox, many people confuse the two species of hoofed mammal, but Buffalo only reside in Africa and Asia.
For information on the zoo, visit www.rosamondgiffordzoo.org . For info on zoo events, visit www.syracusezooevents.org .
A healthy Asian Elephant was born at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York, on January 15.
The male calf arrived at 5:30am and is the second calf born to female, Mali, and bull elephant, Doc (both age 21). At birth, the baby weighed 268 pounds and measured about 3 feet tall.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is among 30 accredited zoos that participate in the Species Survival Plan for Asian Elephants overseen by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA).
Photo Credits: Rosamond Gifford Zoo
“Asian Elephants are critically endangered in the wild, so it’s a huge accomplishment to be able to breed them in human care,” Onondaga County Executive, Ryan McMahon, said. “I congratulate the zoo and its dedicated animal care staff, as well as the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine team that assisted them in preparing for this birth.”
“An elephant’s gestation period ranges from 20 to 24 months. Mali’s pregnancy lasted an estimated 660 days,” said Zoo Director Ted Fox. “After determining the pregnancy was progressing well over a year ago, the elephant care and veterinary team began preparing for a Christmas 2018 due date,” Fox said.
In recent months, the team conducted birthing drills in the elephant husbandry barn, using a life-size inflatable elephant to represent Mali and a giant boat buoy to represent the baby.
Mali started showing signs of active labor at 5:30 a.m. January 15, and the baby was born less than a half hour later. Mother and baby are reportedly both doing fine, and staff will monitor them closely while giving Mali and her newborn time to bond.
The zoo will be posting photo and video updates on its social media platforms so the public can see the baby’s progress leading up to a springtime introduction to the public.
The zoo is in the midst of a construction project to expand its Asian Elephant Preserve from 4.5 acres to 6 acres and improve viewing access to elephants and other species on the Wildlife Trail. The construction is expected to be completed by Memorial Day weekend.
Asian Elephants are the species the Syracuse Zoo is most famous for helping to save as part of its AZA wildlife conservation mission. Of several thousand zoos and aquariums in North America, only 232 have passed the rigorous inspections required for AZA accreditation. Of those, 30 have Asian Elephants and only 11 have breeding programs for this endangered species.
The new addition brings the zoo’s elephant herd to eight animals, including a three-generation family group that includes Mali and Doc’s first calf, Batu, a male who turns 4 in May, and Mali’s mother, Targa, 35. The Preserve also is home to the calves’ three unrelated “aunties” -- matriarch, Siri, who turns 52 this year, as well as Romani, 41, and her daughter Kirina, 23.
Asian Elephants are classified as “Critically Endangered” in their native habitat in Asia and India due to habitat destruction and hunting and poaching by humans. Only about 30,000 are estimated to remain in the wild.
The zoo’s successful participation in the AZA Species Survival Plan, its state-of-the art elephant care facilities – including a 50,000-gallon elephant watering hole with green infrastructure – its experienced elephant care team and its Cornell Veterinary team set it apart as a model for elephant programs around the world.
Twin Red Panda cubs were born June 21 at Rosamond Gifford Zoo. The two healthy male cubs were born to the Zoo’s resident breeding pair: mother, Tabei, and father, Ketu.
The cubs are currently being hand-raised by keepers. Zoo Director, Ted Fox, shared that Tabei demonstrated some initial difficulty in caring for them on her own. Keepers are providing bottle-feeds every four hours and monitoring the cubs’ intake and weights.
Keepers have named the cubs ‘Loofah’ and ‘Doofah’, from the film, “The Land Before Time” (also a nod to the Zoo’s summer-long Dinosaur Invasion exhibit).
Photo Credits: Rosamond Gifford Zoo
Red Pandas are an endangered species, with fewer than 10,000 estimated remaining in the wild in the Himalayan Mountains. They are called pandas because, like the Giant Pandas of China, they eat primarily bamboo. The word “panda” comes from a Nepali word meaning “bamboo eater.”
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is involved in increasing the Red Panda population through the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for Red Pandas overseen by its accrediting organization, the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). The Red Panda SSP works to pair unrelated animals from a diverse gene pool in the interest of producing healthy offspring for survival of the species.
Onondaga County Executive, Joanie Mahoney, praised the Zoo for its success in breeding these endangered animals: “Having recently celebrated National Zookeeper Week, we can say that we are very proud of our Zoo staff and we appreciate their dedication and hard work on behalf of all the animals in their care.”
The new cubs are Tabei’s third set of offspring since 2015. Her first cubs, males Rohan and Pumori, went on to start their own families at the Central Park Zoo and the Erie Zoo. Ravi and Amaya, a male and female born in 2016, are now at the Detroit Zoo and the Sacramento Zoo respectively.
The new cubs will continue to be hand-fed and monitored by zookeepers while being kept in an isolette in the Zoo’s Veterinary Clinic. As they get larger, they will be moved to the glass-enclosed room off the Rosamond Gifford Zoo’s upper lobby. According to keepers, they should be ready to move to the Red Panda habitat on the zoo’s Wildlife Trail later this year.
A Red Panda cub appears to give its twin an earful as they make their media debut last week at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. The cubs were born on June 27, but they’ve still got a lot of growing to do before they enter their exhibit habitat to meet zoo guests.
The cubs, one male and one female, are named Ravi, which means “king,” and Amiya, translated as “delight.” Second-time mother Tabei has been caring for the cubs in an off-exhibit nest box since their birth. Their father, Ketu, is a second-time dad.
Photo Credit: Maria Simmons
Zoo keepers have been conducting regular weight and wellness checks to monitor the cubs’ growth and health. Daily observations will continue until they are weaned around five to six months of age. Right now, the cubs have opened their eyes and can move about, but aren’t quite ready to climb out of the nest box.
In the wild, Red Panda cubs begin leaving the nest for short periods when they are about three months old.
As an accredited zoo, The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan (SSP) for Red Pandas.
“The successful birth of these cubs is important to the North American population and comes after careful planning and preparation by our animal staff on the recommendation of the SSP. We are thrilled to share this good news and remain optimistic that the cubs will continue to thrive under their mother’s care,” says Zoo Director Ted Fox.
Red Pandas are listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with less than 10,000 individuals remaining in the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. The loss of nesting trees and bamboo due to deforestation has caused a decline in their numbers.