Clyde, our Beloved Rhino

November 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Dear Friends, with a heavy heart we are announcing the passing of our beloved rhinocerous Clyde. Clyde passed away last week of natural causes. Clyde lived far beyond his lifespan and was here at Southwick’s Zoo for over 40 years along with his mate Bonnie who passed 2 years ago. Bonnie and Clyde were named by Clarice Daniels Southwick all those years ago and were a favorite of all here at the zoo…. Clyde was a gentle giant who loved to get his back scratched. As soon as he heard the broom on the wall, he’d lumber over right away for a back scratch! Although we knew as the years went by that this was coming, we are all still saddened as Bonnie & Clyde were such a big part of the zoo, our lives, and the lives of our visitors. We’d especially like to thank Clyde’s zookeepers for their dedication and wonderful care, some who have shared his life for over 20 years and feel his loss.

 

Filed Under: Zoo News Tagged With:

Zookeepers Report….UPDATE: Clyde the male White Rhino over 40 yrs old passed away due to natural causes. He is greatly missed.

October 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We’ve had an exciting Fall so Far.  Zookeeper Duane reports that our new young female White Rhinos are doing great and adapting well to their new environment.  They’ve taken to Duane and the girls were a little fearful at first but have really warmed up to their home and are venturing outside more and more each day.  We are really grateful that we were able to help protect these amazing animals.  It has been a long haul for these girls and we are happy they are in a stable environment and we were a part of their species survival plan!  Zookeeper Michelle reports that a baby Schmidt’s Guenon was born 2 weeks ago and is doing really well.  Schmidt’s Guenons are an endangered species, so breeding in captivity is very promising for them!  They are a curious group and can be seen playing, jumping on each other, and swinging on each other’s tail! They are very curious about the new baby.  Some of the other females will help groom or hold the baby. We spied the toddler born last year pulling at the newborn’s tail!  Kids will be kids!

 

Filed Under: Zookeeper's Diary Tagged With: , , ,

Zookeepers Report

August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We feel very lucky that all of the animals, staff, and zoo suffered little damage due to Tropical Storm Irene.  We’d like to thank everyone for their concern and really appreciate your support.  We had a lot of clean up in the exhibits and in the park itself.  Many of the animals enjoyed the leaves, twigs, and branches that fell!  The hoofstock like the Giraffe’s, Warthogs, Aoudads, Goats, etc. love to eat the leaves and the primates love to play with the sticks and pull the bark off the branches!  All of our animals were very secure and the storm didn’t phase them one bit! We’ve had a lot of new babies in the last month or so and we are excited as fall rolls around the corner with the arrival of our new White Rhinos!  They are on site…when they get acclimated to their enviornment and to us they will go out into their new habitat!  We are very excited!

These pictures we took after the storm…see the zebras and ostrich grazing as soon as the sun came out!

Filed Under: Zookeeper's Diary Tagged With: , , , , ,