Results tagged “bronxzoo”

Two women are suing the Wildlife Conservation Society because they spent five hours stranded on the Bronx Zoo's Skyfari one evening in July 2008. After a strong gust of wind knocked a cable car's wheel off track, stopping all cable car movement, some 37 zoo visitors were left with nothing to do but sit 100 feet above the ground (and lions and gazelles) alone with their thoughts—or, worse, other people. Robin Dean, 26, and her 27-year-old friend, Migdalia Arinegas, both teachers, have filed a lawsuit in Bronx Supreme Court seeking unspecified damages.

Sea Lions seem to be making all the headlines this year; this summer a baby one was born at the Bronx Zoo, and then the New York Aquarium started a new pricey Sea Lion program up for visitors. Now that the business world has been conquered, they're showing their creative side.

Despite rumors of animal layoffs, the Bronx Zoo has actually added two new animals: the first hyenas they've housed in 30 years. CityRoom reports that the brother and sister were shipped from the Denver Zoo in May, and are now available for viewing. They note, "The hyenas are also part of a managed program. The 17-month-old twin cubs were born on March 3, 2008, in Denver to parents named Ngozi and Kibo. The female hyena’s name is Kubwa, Swahili for 'Big,' because her head is bigger than her brother’s. The male’s name is Kidogo, Swahili for 'Small.'" They are being housed next to the African wild dogs, who allegedly used to be confused for hyenas by visitors, even though the Zoo curator says hyenas are more closely related to cats. Yes, just think of them as 250 lb, 4-foot-tall cats.

Awww, the Wildlife Conservation Society has released the first photos of the new Bronx Zoo sea lion pup! Born to mom Clarice on June 23rd, you can see the little one (and the other sea lions) get fed at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. We have yet to hear back about the name or sex of this new pup, what do you think (s)he should be called?

The Bronx Zoo wasn't joking around when they released a video of a porcupine being fired following some major budget cutbacks. The NY Post is now reporting that "the institution is closing four exhibits and shipping hundreds of creatures to zoos and aquariums around the country," including deer, bats, lemurs, antelopes, foxes and, yes, porcupines. Human lay-offs are also on the way.

Start your "awww"s now: The Bronx Zoo released a photograph and video of one of its newest addition: A baby Matschie's tree kangaroo! The joey was actually born on July 4 last year, but since they are delivered in an embryonic state, they crawl back into their mothers' pouches for another 39-41 weeks. This little guy started exploring his home in the Jungleworld exhibit this week, with mom Arboroo nearby. In this video, you'll see him emerge from Arboroo's pouch!

There's more bad news for New York's animals, and the humans that take care of them: The Daily News is reporting that Bronx Zoo and New York aquarium staffs are facing layoffs in light of the proposed budget cuts. "As many as 130 staffers could be laid off," they told the paper, who reiterates that "The Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the facilities, is facing $15 million in government funding cuts from its $103 million annual budget this year, and the state will cut off all funding in 2010." The layoffs will hit everyone (and the porcupine was already let go), from administration to sales to groundskeeping—sending both union and non-union employees to the unemployment office. The news was delivered to staff yesterday by WCS President Steven Sanderson, who told the paper that, in the end, if they can't afford to keep the animals, "then we have to try to find a better place for them."

Seems like just yesterday that the Central Park Zoo polar bears were opening Christmas gifts (video), but 2009 is proving to be a monetarily tough one for not just humans, but animals too. Last week Gov. Paterson's budget proposal was unveiled and included major cutbacks for zoos, aquariums, and even the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. So it shouldn't have come as too much of a shock to the Bronx Zoo porcupine when he was let go:

Yesterday there was word of Bronx Zoo funding going the way of the dodo, as Gov. Paterson’s budget proposal promises to eliminate it in two years. The Daily News reports that the cutbacks would also effect "museums across the state — including the New York Botanical Garden and Wave Hill in the Bronx." The Brooklyn Eagle has more today on cutbacks that will hit the borough, where the only good news is that the Prospect Park Zoo won't be effected. The paper reports that with the proposal the BBG's in-house exhibits and educational programs would suffer, and the institute's president said, "We can understand a reasonable reduction, but a 55 percent cut, followed by the elimination of the fund itself, is too much." All in all 76 zoos, botanic gardens and aquariums are on the funding chopping block—and the main problem here is, of course, that “animals don’t stop eating and don’t stop needing care."

Sure, the Bronx Zoo may be filled with cute and cuddly animals now, but in September 1906 there was a questionable inhabitant amongst them. Ephemeral NY looks back at the "Congolese pygmy named Ota Benga—who had been living in the Museum of Natural History" before moving into the Bronx Zoo’s Monkey House, where he was given a bow and arrow and "was free to come and go on zoo grounds." Ota Benga wasn't a paid employee, rather an exhibit, and the NY Times noted at the time that “Even those who laughed the most turned away with an expression on their faces such as one sees after a play with a sad ending or a book in which the hero or heroine is poorly rewarded. ‘Something about it that I don’t like’ was the way one man put it.” The exhibit only lasted a few weeks, and ten years later Ota Benga shot himself while living in Virginia. To this day a life mask and body cast of Ota Benga resides at the Museum of Natural History, but it's simply labeled "pygmy."

      

The Bronx Zoo animals have been frolicking in the city's first substantial snow. Here are some photos of the furry ones, including a few shots of the adorable snow leopards. (You're welcome.) In other Bronx Zoo news: José the beaver is back for the holidays, after a year-long hiatus; they say he's even "chomped down his own Christmas tree."

Three weeks after cable cars were stuck with passengers stranded for hours, the Bronx Zoo's Skyfari is up-and-running again. The ride was suspended as the Department of Labor investigated what caused the stoppage, and NY1 reports that issue is partly due to a derailed pulley as well as an electrical wire (the zoo has said the incident was due to the day's high winds). The Skyfari gives zoo visitors a chance for a bird's eye view of animals in their environments. Still, seeing them for hours left one stranded couple ready to sue.

Two days after being stuck in the Bronx Zoo's skyfari for five hours, one couple is suing for $10 million. The Post reports Damien Foster and Nandi Taylor--who is pregnant-- suffered "psychological trauma" because they were stranded for hours over the "fang-baring, flesh-eating baboons." They were ultimately brought back to the ground by emergency workers using cranes for high-angle rescues, but Foster and Taylor's lawyer said his clients "didn't know if they were going to live or die." It's believed a strong gust of wind knocked a cable car's wheel off track, which then stopped all cable car movement.

Yikes: A detail about last night's Bronx Zoo Skyfari cable car stoppage: Apparently the cable cars were "suspended 100 feet over the baboon habitat and the roaming lions and gazelles." While authorities say no one was in danger of falling (the stoppage was caused when one of the cars' wheels derailed), the State Department of Labor is investigating the incident (the DOL also investigated the Roosevelt Island tram breakdown in 2006).

The cable car system at the Bronx Zoo, better known as the Skyfari, gave passengers an unexpected adventure earlier this evening. Just before closing time, around 5:30 p.m., the system broke down leaving zoo patrons hanging above the wildlife below, but at least the bird's-eye-view was nice as they waited for firefighters to rescue them.

Governor Spitzer may have identified himself as a steamroller in his attempts to accomplish certain executive tasks, but he's got nothing on the former federal prosecutor and Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. The NY Times has a colorful profile of the the former Mayor as a man who used his offices as bludgeons, crushing anyone who crossed him.

When retired cop Paul Soto joined the force in 1993, he weighed a svelte 250 pounds. He now weighs over 500 pounds and is living off disability payments since maladies like narcolepsy, hypertension and, yes, morbid obesity, made his desk job unbearable. In 2006, he left the force, living off benefits which equal half his old paycheck, tax-free.

In the wake of the horrific tiger escape resulting in one death and two injuries at the San Francisco Zoo, zoos around the country are examining their tiger exhibit set-ups. Tiger Mountain at the Bronx Zoo has the following set-up, per the Post:

Tiger Mountain is surrounded by a moat about 10 feet wide and is enclosed by a fence that is 15 feet high and has a five-foot overhang. That means that the last five feet slant inward.

Continue reading "New Yorkers Not Worried About Tigers Escaping Zoo"

The Bronx Zoo is decked out for the holiday season through January 6th. Every animal under the sun has been recreated in twinkly lights, so bundle up and check out the sparkling safari. Giraffes and rhinos and peacocks, oh my!

Souvenirs are usually inanimate doodads, so we must update the story of the man who smuggled a pygmy marmoset from Peru under his hat. The monkey attracted attention not from airport screeners in Lima or in Fort Lauderdale (where Spirit Airlines Flight 180 connected) but from passengers on the flight to Laguardia who noticed the monkey hanging from the man's ponytail.

Witnesses said a man in his late teens or early 20s grabbed the helpless bird by its neck, struck it repeatedly with a baseball bat and kicked it in a Burger King parking lot on Page Avenue.

Continue reading "Bad Day For a Staten Island Peacock"

If you're cooped up in a stuffy apartment this muggy afternoon, consider visiting one of New York's many zoos. The cool customers pictured above are residents of the Central Park Zoo. There's also the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium at Coney Island. If you can't make it to any of those, you can always settle for the Penguin Cam.

Now we know what happened to the NYPD's 2003 pilot program to have some of its officers use Segways: The batteries (which were eventually recalled) would make the entire Segway stop when they were dead, so officers were fall off. Now, the NYPD has decided the newer models are up to snuff and will make like it's 2003 by having 10 Segways patrol various parts of the city starting today.

The areas being renovated include an Italian garden of boxwoods and roses; the Rockefeller Fountain, which has provided a welcome spritzing to many of the two million annual visitors; and a suite of Beaux-Arts-style buildings considered to be the heart of the 265-acre zoo.

Continue reading "Bachelorette Pad"

When we feel the need to get away from the city without actually leaving the city, we head up to the Bronx. Places like City Island, Wave Hill, The New York Botanical Garden, and The Bronx Zoo are some of our favorite places to visit in all of New York, and we realize that's only the tip of the iceberg when considering the Bronx's appealing features.

Around midnight, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus came into Manhattan with its traditional procession of elephants, other animals and performers through the Queens Midtown Tunnel towards Madison Square Garden. Kelly Loudenberg was on the scene and captured comments from the circus as well as protesters. She also writes:

City Council Member Rosie Mendez has introduced legislation to ban wild animal acts. The legislation would prohibit the display of wild or exotic animals for public entertainment or amusement. Recently, the Bronx Zoo decided that they would be closing their elephant exhibit after the death of one or two of its three aging elephants. John Philips, executive director for The League of Humane Voters says, "Not even the Bronx Zoo can provide for elephants' needs, why should we expect that Madison Square Garden can?"

Continue reading "Video of the Day: The Elephants Arrive"

- Monitor punches, pins to the floor and curses at elementary school student, then tells him: "I will murder you."There was also a story about a child's arm being broken. The Daily News got information about complaints, criminal histories of drivers and monitors, and pending lawsuits against the Department of Education only after filing a Freedom of Information act request.

A beloved Bronx Zoo grizzly bear died last week at age 13. "Jughead" had been ill for months and had also undergone surgery for abdominal abscesses according to the AP. The Bronx Zoo is planning a necropsy, and the zoo's director said, "Jughead was a wonderful, charismatic animal and he will be missed by all of our staff and visitors."

NY Mag's Best of New York is out. Want to know what's good in your hood? Here's a handy little chart that will direct you to just that. Here's a glance at some of the more fun categories:

It is a day for rodents, that's for sure. To the excitement of Big Apple animal lovers, the NY Times reported the first beaver in 200 years has been spotted in the city. A 2- or 3-year-old beaver has been seen in the Bronx River, doing one of two very New York things: Looking for a mate or trying to make his home better (the Times says he was spotted "looking for more material to insulate its home").