Results tagged “zoo”

A drug bust in Springfeild Gardens led cops to a homemade zoo inside a home housing three geckos, two marmosets, three tarantulas, a monitor lizard, a snake, a baby caiman and two iguanas. Animal control was called in to bring in the illegal animals along with seven adult pitbulls, a bulldog and a puppy pitbull with cropped ears. An 84-year-old man who lives nearby said, "This is a nice block. Sometimes things like this happen, but I'm not leaving." [via NYDN]

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.

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."

Happy Halloween! Warning: These videos of various animals at the Wildlife Conservation Society's facilities may be too distractingly cute.

Move over Crazy Cat Ladies of New York, a West End Avenue tenant may just have you beat. The Post reports that court papers have been filed by a building owner against 71-year-old tenant Jacqueline Bartone, calling her apartment a "zoo" and listing the pets that reside with her -- including three dogs, several reptiles and cats, "and as many as a dozen birds, including an African Grey parrot and a macaw parrot."