Year Round Gifts from the Central Park Zoo December 8, 2013

Giving and receiving gifts during the holiday is grand but at the Central Park Zoo gifts are given all year long.  This week’s photo montage salutes just some of the Zoo’s arrivals during 2013.  The twin snow leopard cubs made their public debut last month and continue to draw happy visitors. The arrival of a young sea lion pup increases our collection to four females. This year also saw the birth of banded mongooses, baby Patagonian cavies, an adorable chinstrap penguin chick, swan goslings, a Victorian crown pigeon chick and a baby lamb. The Central Park Zoo has 23 different duck species on exhibit and has the largest public collection of sea ducks both by number of individuals and species represented in the world. Most of the species are either uncommon in zoos or endangered in the wild. Some of this year’s new hatchlings include both Pacific Common and Spectacled eiders, Long-tailed ducks, Scaly-sided and Red breasted Mergansers, Falcated, Baer’s Pochard and Radjah ducklings. It was a very good year.  I cannot conclude today’s montage without including my own special gift, my two kittens, Audrey and Roberta below today’s montage.