NEWS 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

Look WHO’s New at WCS’s Queens Zoo

Just in time for Halloween, Queens Zoo debuts burrowing owls

As their name implies, burrowing owls dig deep holes for nesting and breeding

Unlike most other owls, burrowing owls are active during the day

WCS Newsroom: http://newsroom.wcs.org/

@WCSNewsroom: https://twitter.com/WCSNewsroom

Flushing, N.Y. – Oct. 30, 2015 – Three burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) have made their debut at the WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) Queens Zoo.
 
The trio of owls is all female. They share their exhibit with thick-billed parrots and roadrunners.
 
Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are awake and active during the day. They use their exceptional vision and hearing when they night to hunt.
 
Burrowing owls excavate holes in the ground for breeding and nesting. The owls are known to sometimes take over existing burrows created by prairie dogs or other ground-dwelling animals.
 
The species once ranged throughout the American West, but its population is declining due to habitat destruction for land development. The species can also be found in Florida and Central and South America.

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.

 WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)

MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 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: newsroom.wcs.org Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: 347-840-1242.

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.