PHOTO RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:

Barbara Russo – 718-265-3428; brusso@wcs.org

Max Pulsinelli – 718-220-5182; mpulsinelli@wcs.org

Photo Credit: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo Debuts Roosevelt Elk Calf

Roosevelt elk are the largest subspecies of elk and one of the largest North American mammals

Flushing, N.Y. – Aug. 4, 2015 – ATTACHED PHOTO: A Roosevelt elk calf (Cervus canadensis roosevelti) born at WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) Queens Zoo has joined the rest of the herd in the zoo’s woodland habitat. 

Born on June 25, the calf brings the total number of elk in the herd to six.

Roosevelt elk weigh approximately 25 pounds at birth. Adult bulls can weigh up to 1,100 pounds and females up to 700 pounds – making them the largest of all elk subspecies.

Ranging from Northern California to southern British Columbia, Roosevelt elk are one of the largest terrestrial animals in North America. They have distinct coats with a dark brown head and pale brown torso.

In stark contrast, the Queens Zoo is also home to the world’s smallest deer species, the pudu. A pudu fawn was born earlier this season. Adult pudu weigh only about 25 pounds and are native to Chile and Argentina.

For more information or to speak with a WCS expert, contact Barbara Russo at 718-265-3428 or brusso@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.queenszoo.com.

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; http://www.facebook.com/TheWCS; http://www.youtube.com/user/WCSMedia  Follow: @thewcs.

Special 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 wcs.org.

 

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