THE

Vol. 1, No. 1

CHILDREN'S ZOO PLANS

Zoo fans and animals will be able to mingle in the

$100,000 Children's Zoo now under construction. There will be no bars or cages to mar photographs. Animals such as sheep, goats, llama, deer, pheasants and peacocks will roam the compound, mingling freely with their human guests. Among the distinctive fea­tures will be three island homes for prai.ri e dogs, rabbits and chimpanzees, and three pavillions de­signed by Utica architects Jonza and Montany Associ­ates.

Visitors will enter through the smallest pavillion, where a choice of animal food will be available. Im­mediately in view will be the second pavillion, a con­tact area where animals such as raccoons, skunks,

small snakes, bunnies and guinea pigs can be d under supervision of a trained attendant. Up

ahead will be the third pavillion, asheltered rest area where visitors can observe the compound in com­fort.

From here the visitor can visit the baby elephant's home or stroll past the three islands. The path will lead to a foot-bridge over a natural ravine that has been dammed to provide a home for geese and ducks. Next in sight will be the farm are a featuring a cow and calf, several varieties ofhorses, and other farm animals such as chicks, sheep, piglets and Iambs. Be­side a barn will stand a silo, not for food but as a home for a working beehive.

Directors of the Utica Zoological Society conceived the idea of the Children's Zoo more than a year ago. Funds raised through s ociety memberships, annual an­imal fairs and the city will make it possible.

ZEJEJTieA an occasional publication of the

Utica Zoological Society

August 1966

DION ALBACH NAMED ZOO DIRECTOR

Dion Anthony Albach, 30, a zoologist at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois, has been named direc­tor of the Utica Zoo, effective immediately. The ap­pointment was announced by Mayor Frank M. Dulan, who was assisted in screening applicants by directors of the Utica Zoological Society.

As the first director of the Utica Zoo, Albach wi 11 be responsible for supervision of the Children's Zoo now under construction. He has held similar responsibilities at Lincoln Park.

Albach, a native of Chicago, has studied animal husbandry at Iowa State University, and he is cur­rently completing work toward a degree in biological sciences at Northwestern Universi .ty.

He joined the Lincoln park Zoo as a relief keeper in April 1959, and was assigned to the Chil -dren's Zoo that June. He was pro­

moted to acting senior keeper in June 1962, and to senior keeper six months later. Albach has been a zoologist since July 1964.

Among his duties at Lincoln Park was the direction of the Children's Zoo, the Zoonursery, and the Farm­in- the-Zoo. This included supervision and training of 18 full-time employees, plus 10 part-time si.U1IIIer employees.

Albach also formulated the diets for 35 species (ap­proximately 105 specimens), supervised their care and housing, provided periodic health examinations and simple medical care, and ordered all necessary sup­plies. He also is familiar with more complex medical care, such as use of a capture gun and in.Jecting drugs by a syringe.

In addition, Albach was responsible for public rela­tions. This included preparing publicity releases for ne ws media, lec t ures to school groups and civic clubs , periodic televisi on appearances, the develop­ment of educational exhibits , a nd answering special­ize d a nd detailed inquirie s from thepublic and other interested parties.

Alba ch is married and has two children, a son, R, and a daughter, 2.

2 THE ZOOTICA

Dear John,

Enclosed you By this time are a jaguar

will find a recent snapshot of yourself. you may have already learned that you

• and an important one, too!

The lady holding you is Mrs. Betty Mahaffy. She has been tending to your needs since six days after you were born on June 1. We think you will be pleased to know that you are getting the best of care. Dr. Alexander McCallum said, "If anyone can raise that animal, it's Mrs. Mahaffy."

Thank you, John, for making the Utica Zoo famous. Did you know that the Bronx Zoo was unsuccessful in raising two newborn jaguars?

How proud we are of the progress you've made! You were fed every three hours with a pet formula, and then burped. Mrs. Mahaffy says you'll soon be eating baby food.

You seem so fond of Mrs. Mahaffy. When you were a week old, you picked up your head at the sound of her voice. Now that you' r e walking so well on sturdy legs, you can follow her around the house.

We hope you didn't mind those three distemper shots. They were for you r own good.

Your survival has certainly been a challenge to Mrs. Mahaffy. It may interest you to know that she had to sleep on the sunporch with you so you could have con­stant care.

At first you were checked every half hour. Now that you're doing so well, she seems more confident to leave you alone.

We want to welcome you to your new world, John. We 'll be looking forward to your first birthday.

Sincerely,

The Zootica Staff

EXCITING NEWS

Here is exciting news for you, A baby jaguar was born in the zoo.

His name is John-- he's very dear, People come from far and near.

He was born on the first of June, Won't you come and see him soon?

-- Kim Lambert, age 10

UTICA ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY

1007 Parkway East

Utica, New York 13502

Board of Trustees

Mrs. A. Edward Allen, Jr .................. ............. President

Dr. Rex1ald Smith .................................... Vice President

Mrs. John Tenney .......................................... Secretary

Dr. John Millet .............................................. Treasurer

Mrs. Harold Baum ...................... Membership Chairman

Vincent Delorio Harry Duffy

Robert Edwards David Ehart E . Porter Felt

Joseph Ferrara Mrs. Watson Lowery

William Morehouse Frank Robilotta Robert Schubel

COMING SOON

Before the month is out the Utica Zoological Society

will have a baby elephant just like the one pictured

above . The Utica Mutual Insurance Company has pur­chased a little girl elephant

Utica. It is in Thailand right its quarters to be completed.

for the childr~~ now only wai tin~

All Utica area school children in the eighth grade

or lower will be eligible to enter a contest to name the baby. Utica Mutual is offering a prize of $100.

The winning child will also participate in a ceremony to name the baby elephant.

THE ZOOTICA 3

THE THREE BEARS One of the hi gnlignts o f the Utica Zoo's new look is

- hree young bears, a gift of the St. Eduards Zoo of

'Wiue bec, Canada, about 75 miles northeast ofMontreal. The only problem wa s transportation - - St. Eduards

Zoo i s a twelve hour trip from Utica. Mr. and Mrs.

Robert Schube l , members of the Utica Zoological So­

ci e t y , volunteered for the journey; the West End Brewing Company donated a truck. The remaining prob­

lem -- - cages for the bears -- was provided by the

Montre a l Zoo. Here is Mrs. Schubel's accountoftheir

trip.

It was a glorious June day and, a fter a successful

trip througn many detours, we arrived in Montreal.

We drove througn that beautiful city to the Pare La

Fontaine, called Jardin Des Merveilles or Garden of

Wonders, and it truly is.

Montreal's children's zoo is enclosed by a high,

rustic fence, and there is no strange perfume to in­

dica te what lie s on the other side. You pay 25 cents admission to a world that is clean, well organized

and sanitary. The kitchen, for example, gives no in­

dication of whether the food is being prepared for the a nimals or the zoo attendants themselves.

The next day we made the short trip to St. Eduards,

relatively new zoo but very, very large. This zoo

ies in the farmlands of Canada and many visitors

spend the· week-end there, camping on the outskirts. The variety of animals is amazing: ten elephants,

two polar bears, all kinds of birds, monkeys, rep­

tiles, foxes, t apirs, lions, and of course deer,

buffalo, seals and the like.

After loading the cages, we received a special gift,

a ma rmot. This is an animal that stays awake all

nignt and whistles -- a sound somewhat like a police­

man's whistle . We decided to stay overnignt in the

French village of Louiseville. We dined at the Hotel

Windsor and then were given permission to take the

ma rmot upstairs. Bob was afraid it mignt be stolen

from the truck.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO A PROSPECTIVE MEMBER POINT OUT THIS

We had plenty of time for our tour because it took

three hours to coax the bears into our cages. Jean­

ette, one of the female bears, was especially anta g­onistic. No amount of French could lure her out of her home. But at 11 o'clock, we finally boarded our

truck with three bears crying miserably. We fed them

apples and ice cre am cones to quiet them.

At the customs office, the y waited patiently while

we cleared their entrance into the United States.

Fortunately, they behaved themselves.

In spite of the late hour of our return, there were

many "Zooticans" to welcome Jeanette, Pierre and

Suzette. We only hope they enjoyed the trip as much

as we did.

NO NEED TO PACK A LUNCH

Hot dogs, soft drinks and other refreshments will be

offered at a zoo concession stand to be operated by

th~ Utica Zoological Society. Plans call for the sale of zoo buttons, animal food and children's

amusements. The hours will be 11:30 a.m. to7:30 p.m. All profits will go toward zoo improvements.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

YES . . . please enroll me as a member of the UTICA

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY- in the classification I have

checked at right:

NAME ............. . .......... .................. . .. . ....... ................... . .

(FIRM NAME) .. . .. . .. .. .. .. ... . ..... .......... .. ........ ... ... .... ... .. ... .

ADDRESS ... . . ....... . .................... .... ..... .... .. .. ......... .

Make checks payable to Utica Zoological Society

0 Family Membership - includes entire family . ............................. $5.00 Yearly

D Sustaining Member- for clubs, non-active members .............. $25.00 Yearly

0 Corporation Membership--for business organization support .... $100.00 Yearly

0 Life Membership- payable in 4 annual installments of $50 each .......... $200.00

0 Check enclosed 0 Bill me later

CUT ON DOTTED LINE AND MAIL TO 1007 PARKWAY EAST

4 THE ZOOTICA

IRAT'S Nil AT zoo

Lon ge r Hours -- Visi t ing hours at the zoo have been extende d. The new hours are 9: 30 a.m. to s: 30 p.m. daily.

See Ani ma ls Fed - - Hans Rosenberg, curator of the Utica Zoo, has a nnounced this time table for fe e ding t he ani mals: Lions , jaguars and bears, 10 a.m.; chi mpan zees , noon; monkeys, 1 p.m., and the lions and bears again a t 3 p.m. There are no Thursday feed­i ngs .

Con t act Ar e a -- The t e mporary contact area in the deer pe n is ope n fr om 2 to 4 p.m. each Sunday . It is he re , under supervise d care, that the tamer animals can be handled and fed by zoo v is i tors. Admission is 10 cents per pe rson with no charge to Utica Zoologi­ca l Soc iety members who show their cards. Animal f ood is sold i ns i de the contact area for a minimum fee. The ide a attracted thousands of visitors in July, the f i rst month it was tried. More than $70 f or zoo i mprove ments was collected August 24 alone.

Zoo come rs -- Among t he new animals are three small bea r s, t wo chimpanzee s, and a baby jaguar who will s oon have a permanent home at the zoo.

Const ruc tion -- Win te r quar te rs for the baby elephant a re no w being c ons t ruc ted in the area of the proposed ch ildre n' s zoo. The ele phant, which will be named in a conte st t o be conducted th i s fall, is agift of the Uti ca Mutua l Insurance Compa ny .

THE ZEJEJTieA UTICA ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY

1007 P ARKWAY EAST UTI CA, NEW YORK 13502

ANIMAL FAIR DRAWS RECORD CROWD

The second annual animal fair at the Utica Zoo dre· ­a record-breaking crowd of more than 30,000 children and adults to the two-day event. Bright sunshine on both days, following a week of rain, helped to pro­mote interest among residents who were weary ofstay-ing at home.

Between refreshment sales and amusement rides, $11,362.71 was raised, according to the co - chairmen· of the Animal Fair Committee, William Morehouse and Dr. John Millett. They said that, after expenses , the net prof! t was $5,273. 71.

Zoological Society directors said the funds would be used for the over-all plan of stocking the Chil­dren's Zoo and refurbishing the existing buildings.

The committee als.o expressed special thanks to the Utica policemen who helped the event's success by directing an unusually heavy flow of tra:ffic. Cars lined park roads in every direction and were parked bumper to bumper along Pleasant Street and the upper Corn Hill area. For our police officers, it was a tough job well handled.

ZOO MEMBERSHIP GROWS

The Utica Zoological Society's membership is growing by leaps and bounds . Since the kickoff rally April 19 in Holiday Inn, our membership drive has amassed more than 370 members. Of these, 21 have pledged life-memberships in the amount of $200 each.

Net receipts to date total $3,565 with pledges of $2, 195.

The drive is still on. If you know of any interested person, please give them the membership application form on Page 3.

The "Please Put Me in the Zoo" button is now in its third printing. Demand was such that at one point Bozo the Clown called to inquire about a button for himself. Buttons are still available at the zoo con­cession.

Bulk Rate

U. S. POSTAGE

PAID

Permit No. 71

New Hartford, N.Y.