New York, N.Y. –November 15, 2011– The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Central Park Zoo is letting visitors see how eight penguin chicks have been hand-raised on a new blog called The Real Chicks of Central Park. Beginning November 15, 2011 visitors can visit www.centralparkzoo.com/chicks to watch the four gentoo and four chinstrap penguin chicks as they are raised by animal professionals at the Central Park Zoo. The blog includes photos (chick pics), videos (chick flicks), and keeper interviews (chick lit) and updated continually for three weeks. Visitors can meet the chicks and their keepers, watch them grow, and see the painstaking care that goes into raising them. “We wanted to show people what goes into hand rearing the penguin chicks from day one and share the growth process,” said Jeff Sailer, Director of City Zoos. “These new additions to the penguin colony are a success in animal husbandry and reflect the bird expertise we have at the Central Park Zoo.” With a $10 donation to the care of the penguin chicks a “chick magnet” will be sent to the recipient of your choice just in time for the holidays. The magnet features a frame with a picture of one of “the real chicks,” and a space where you can put a picture of your very own chick magnet. Proceeds support the care of theses beautiful penguins and other wildlife residents of WCS’s Central Park Zoo. The chicks were born over the summer and can now be seen on exhibit in the Penguin House. In addition to the Central Park Zoo, WCS’s Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium have penguins on exhibit. The Wildlife Conservation Society works around the globe to save wildlife and wild places. Changing climate, overfishing, and habitat loss are some of the factors affecting penguin populations. Of the world's 17 penguin species, 12 are experiencing serious population declines with some facing extinction within the 21st century. WCS is committed to ensuring a future for penguins where they live, including Punta Tombo on the coast of Argentina, home to the largest colony of Magellanic penguins in the world.
Contact: Sophie Bass: 718-265-3428; sbass@wcs.org Max Pulsinelli - 718-220-5182; mpulsinelli@wcs.org Steve Fairchild – 718-220-5189; sfairchild@wcs.org
Special Note to the Media: If you would like to guide your readers or viewers to a web link where they can support these projects, please direct them to: www.wcs.org/donation. The WCS Central Park Zoo - Open every day of the year. General Admission is $12 for adults, $9 for senior citizens, $7 for children 3 to 12, and free for children younger than 3. Total Experience Admission is $18.00 for adults, $15.00 for senior citizens, and $13.00 for children 3 to 12. 4-D theater admission is $4.00 for members and $7.00 for non-members. Zoo hours are 10am to 5:30 pm, April through October, and 10am – 4:30pm daily, November through April. Tickets are sold until one half-hour before closing. The zoo is located at Fifth Avenue and 64th Street. For further information, please call 212-439-6500 or visit www.centralparkzoo.com The Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.
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