New York attempts to save one of the world’s largest salamanders
By Phyllis Sena The WCS’s Bronx Zoo is joining the fight to save the world’s largest salamander, the Eastern Hellbender, by teaming up with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Buffalo Zoo in reintroducing 38 of these animals into wild streams in the state of New York. Juvenile eggs were collected from the Allegheny River drainage at the start of the program, and they were raised off-location...
Rare newts in Prospect Park Zoo may be extinct in the wild
By Phyllis Sena The Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn, New York City, is now home to five critically endangered Kaiser’s spotted newts (Neurergus kaiseri). These black, white, and orange amphibians are found only in a five-square-mile region in Iran. Severe habitat loss and the illegal trade of these rare amphibians has driven the species to possibly be extinct in the wild, and they are officially ranked as critically endangered by the...
Jaguars of Guatemala: elusive cats caught on film
By Phyllis Sena The Wildlife Conservation Society captured a photograph of a male jaguar using a remote camera trap, a unique contraption that is activated by motion or heat that takes pictures of animals in the wild that are normally hard to locate because of their elusiveness. Since each jaguar has a unique pattern of spots, the WCS has integrated camera traps into their manual of methods in order to estimate jaguar population in...
Beautiful leviathan: the leatherback sea turtle
By Phyllis Sena The gargantuan leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest of all sea turtles and according to the IUCN Red List, is also critically endangered with their population declining 90 percent in the past 20 years. This sea turtle got its name by having a soft, leathery textured carapace (top shell) instead of the common hard shell that other turtles have. This enormous species can weight up to 2,000 lbs....
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Gummy grin: colobus monkey born at ZSL London Zoo
by Phyllis Sena The ZSL London Zoo welcomes baby Anvil, an Eastern Black and White Colobus monkey who is the new pride and joy of her mother, Sophia. Even though there is a stark contrast when it comes to appearance between mother and daughter, the jet-white newborn will eventually become black and white and better resemble her mother once she gets older. Anvil’s aunty Thumbelina is the only member of the family that is allowed to...
The howler in the forest
By Phyllis Sena Nicknamed “Howlers”, Howler monkeys are famously known for their deafening calls that can be heard up to three miles (five kilometers) away in the jungles of Central and South America. A cacophony of loud cries can be heard during dusk and dawn in order to send a message to other monkeys that the territory is being occupied by their group. Howlers are also considered to be the loudest land mammal on Earth. Howlers are...
