Flushing, N.Y. – Oct. 30, 2014 – The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo is home to five orphaned coyote pups. All were rescued and rehabilitated in Massachusetts.

All born in the spring, four pups are female; one is male. Without their mothers to protect and provide food for them, they would not survive in the wild on their own.

“The Queens Zoo educates visitors about animals from North and South America,” said Dr. Scott Silver, Director and Curator of the WCS Queens Zoo. “Coyotes range throughout North America including New York. Having these animals at the Queens Zoo is an opportunity for people to see coyotes up close and to learn more about these fascinating yet often misunderstood animals.”

The five pups were brought to Queens from a rehabilitator in Massachusetts after they were found orphaned at a very young age. At the Queens Zoo, they will live in an expansive, grassland habitat.

Coyotes are a resilient species of canine that can thrive and reproduce in urban environments and adapt well to areas inhabited by humans. As suburban expansion continues, coyote sightings are becoming more common. Coyotes are generally shy and tend to avoid people as much as possible.

WCS’s North America Program works to save animals and their habitats in regions of the U.S. and Canada where coyotes are abundant.

CONTACT:
Barbara Russo: 917-494-5493; 718-265-3428; brusso@wcs.org
Max Pulsinelli: 718-220-5182; mpulsinelli@wcs.org
The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo – Open every day of the year. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors 65 and older, $5 for kids 3-12, free for children under 3. Zoo hours are 10am to 5pm weekdays, and 10am – 5:30pm weekends, April through October, and 10am – 4:30pm daily, November through April. The Queens Zoo is located at 53-51 111th Street in Flushing Meadow’s Corona Park in Queens. For further information, call 718-271-1500 or visit www.wcs.org.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; facebook.com/TheWCS;youtube.com/user/WCSMedia; follow: @theWCS.

Note to the Media: If you would like to guide your readers or viewers to a Web link where they can make donations in support of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to www.wcs.org.