Seneca Park Zoo announces Polar Bear Awareness Weekend

Two-day event to raise awareness for polar bear conservation

As a part of Defend the Ice Month, Seneca Park Zoo is hosting Polar Bear Awareness Weekend on Saturday, February 24 and Sunday, February 25. Free with Zoo admission, guests will enjoy interpreted enrichment demonstrations with Aurora, the Zoo’s resident polar bear, docent-led BioFact stations, and interactive games with ZooTeens. Guests will also learn about Aurora’s daily care, the Zoo’s five-year partnership with Polar Bears International to help save polar bears, and what they can do in their own lives to make a difference for this species.

Zoo members will get a special experience: Interpreted behind-the-scenes tours of the Rocky Coasts diet kitchen will be offered every half hour throughout the day.

On Sunday only from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Amerks players will be at the Zoo to help raise awareness for polar bear conservation. The players will be available for a special meet-and-greet and to sign autographs.

“Polar bears are a vulnerable species largely due to receding sea ice, which they depend on to hunt,” said Pamela Reed Sanchez, President and CEO of Seneca Park Zoo Society. “We hope this special weekend inspires guests to take action to help save sea ice and secure a sustainable future for polar bears.”

For a donation of their choice to Polar Bears International, guests can enter a drawing to win a variety of prizes, including signed Amerks merchandise and a behind-the-scenes tour of Rocky Coasts Gallery with the Amerks players.

Seneca Park Zoo is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through March 31, with last entry at 3 p.m.

# # #

About Seneca Park Zoo

Internationally, and in our own backyard, Seneca Park Zoo plays a key role in species survival. Chartered as an educational institution in 1957 by New York State, the Seneca Park Zoo Society plays an integral role in supporting Monroe County, the owners and operators of the Zoo. Together, we are working to bring animals back from the brink of extinction.