Mother's Day: Meet New Moms at Lehigh Valley Zoo

Celebrate Mother's Day Sunday at the Lehigh Valley Zoo, and check out the zoo's newest moms and their babies.

It's been a baby bonanza at the Lehigh Valley Zoo with a new baby bison, prairie dogs and an aoudad born this year. No wonder the zoo will be celebrating Mother's Day, with music, vendors and a plant sale. Admission will be half-price on Sunday for mothers. Here's what's planned: The zoo also will have its annual plant sale on Saturday and Sunday. Zoo-goers can choose from Black-eyed Susan, Coneflower, Bee Balm, Canna Lily, Hens and Chicks, Liriope, Milkweed, and annuals. Horticulture experts will be on hand to offer advice and answer questions. The zoo is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is adults, $11.50, Children 2 to 11, $9.50; seniors (65-plus), $10.50. 

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Arbor Day: Lehigh Valley Zoo Celebration Saturday

Lehigh Valley Zoo celebrates Arbor Day on Saturday with a tree dedication, river otter and other activities.

The Lehigh Valley Zoo will celebrate Arbor Day on Saturday with dedications of a tree and a medicine wheel garden, a river otter watch and other activities. Here's what's planned: — All Day, get an underwater view of the zoo's river otter. —11 a.m. and 3 p.m., listen to a zookeeper talk and watch African Penguins get fed at the Jaindl Penguin Pavillion. —Noon, join in the Parkland Garden Club tree dedication. —1 p.m., join in the Parkland Garden Club's medicine wheel garden dedication. National Arbor Day, a day set aside for tree planting, is generally celebrated throughout Pennsylvania each year on the last Friday in April. The Lehigh Valley Zoo, at 5150 Game Preserve Road, Schnecksville, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

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Baby Bison Sticks Close to Mom at Lehigh Valley Zoo

Lehigh Valley Zoo officials think the bison calf born in the Trexler Nature Preserve is a boy but won't know for certain until he is examined by a veterinarian.

The American bison born last week at the Lehigh Valley Zoo debuted in front of the media, gamboling close to his mother's side Tuesday in the Trexler Nature Preserve. At least zoo officials think the calf is male. They haven't gotten closen enough yet to examine the baby bison because they want to give it time to bond with its mother, said President Richard Molchany. The bison's birth caught zoo officials by surprise. They didn't even know one of the cows was pregnant until the calf was discovered the morning of April 16 or 17, during a routine check. "It's very difficult to tell," said zookeeper Richard Rosevear. The zoo had brought in two fertile females to breed with Big Boy, the last bison to have been born at the zoo in 2004. The calf…

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Oh Baby! Bison Calf Born at Lehigh Valley Zoo

Lehigh County welcomes the birth of an American bison, the first in almost a decade.

Oh Baby! Bison Calf Born at Lehigh Valley Zoo

Lehigh County welcomes the birth of an American bison, the first in almost a decade.

Lehigh County welcomed the birth of an American bison on Tuesday, the first in almost a decade. No word yet on whether it's a boy or girl. The county, which owns the bison that are cared for by the Lehigh Valley Zoo, said the birth is the result of a bison management plan implemented under former county executive Don Cunningham. Not since May 20, 2004 had an American Bison been born to the herd that calls Lehigh County home, the county said. That bison is this calf's father, the county said.  Patch first told you about the bison management plan in 2011, when the Lehigh Valley Zoo at the nature preserve brought in two fertile female bison to join its herd. The staff was hoping for baby news. The breeding program was started as a way to …

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Susan Koomar

5:03 pm on Saturday, April 20, 2013

We hope to get photos this coming week. We'll post them on Patch as soon as possible. Thanks for asking!   more ›

Lehigh Valley Zoo Opens: Cloggers, Camels and Wolves

The Lehigh Valley Zoo opened for the season with fanfare on Saturday. Visitors were treated to the Lehigh Valley Cloggers, Native American chanting and all the zoo's stars—from African penguins to West African Crowned Cranes to Mexican Gray Wolves.

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Lehigh Valley Zoo Opens With Wolf Howling Contest

Celebrate the Lehigh Valley Zoo's season opening Saturday with the new North American Trail exhibit and a day of fun activities.

The Lehigh Valley Zoo's season opening begins Saturday at 10:30 a.m. with a celebration of the new North American Trail Exhibit where visitors can meet the zoo's newest residents, followed by a day of activities. Free admission is offered for Lehigh County children ages 2 to 11 and Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts in uniform with a printed ticket available at www.lvzoo.org. 11 a.m. Real Life Wolf Feed and Conservation Conversation (Mexican Gray Wolf Exhibit) 11 a.m. & 2:00 p.m. Native American Dancing by Ontelaunee Powwow Group (Birds of Prey Exhibit) 11 a.m. & 3 p.m. Zookeeper Talk/African Penguin Feeding (Jaindl Penguin Pavilion) 11:30 a.m. Wolf Howling Contest (near Mexican Gray Wolf Exhibit) 11:30 a.m. & 1 p.m. Program Animal Presentations…

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Lehigh Valley Zoo Season Starts Saturday

Celebrate the Lehigh Valley Zoo's season opening Saturday with the new North American Trail exhibit and a day of fun activities.

The Lehigh Valley Zoo's season opening begins Saturday at 10:30 a.m. with a celebration of the new North American Trail Exhibit where visitors can meet the zoo's newest residents, followed by a day of activities. Free admission is offered for Lehigh County children ages 2 to 11 and Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts in uniform and a printed ticket available at www.lvzoo.org. 11 a.m.— Real Life Wolf Feed and Conservation Conversation (Mexican Gray Wolf Exhibit) 11 a.m. & 2:00 p.m.— Native American Dancing by Ontelaunee Powwow Group (Birds of Prey Exhibit) 11 a.m. & 3 p.m.— Zookeeper Talk/African Penguin Feeding (Jaindl Penguin Pavilion) 11:30 a.m.— Wolf Howling Contest (near Mexican Gray Wolf Exhibit) 11:30 a.m. & 1 p.m.— Program Animal …

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Adopt a Penguin for Valentine's Day at Lehigh Valley Zoo

The Lehigh Valley Zoo's 'adopt a penguin' program gives new meaning to the term 'love birds.'

Looking for an unusual Valentine's Day surprise for your sweetie? The Lehigh Valley Zoo gives new meaning to the term "love birds" with its adopt-a-pengiun program. Cost is $50 and includes a valentine's day photo of your animal, an animal fact sheet, two child admission tickets to the zoo, a personalized Valentine's Day certificate and plush penguin. If you pick it up at the zoo, it comes in a Valentine's Day-themed animal carrier. For $90, you can receive two plush animals, two general admission tickets instead of two child admission tickets, and two names on your personalized certificate. To adopt a pengiun or get more information, send e-mail to araisman@lvzoo.org or call 610-799-4171, ext. 224.

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Bison Babes Hot to Trot at Lehigh Valley Zoo

Two fertile females arrived last week at zoo for trysts with a bull named Big Boy.

There are two new girls in town and they are hot to trot. Or so the Lehigh Valley Zoo hopes. The zoo in North Whitehall and Lowhill townships brought in two fertile female bison last week to join its herd. The staff is hoping to hear the patter of little hooves by next summer. The newcomers are going through medical tests to make sure they’re healthy and should be introduced to the rest of the herd, including the lucky male, Big Boy, within a week or two, according to Richard Rosevear, the zoo’s curator. This isn’t some eHarmony love match. Lehigh County, which owns the bison that are cared for by the zoo, decided last spring to reintroduce a breeding program, partly as a way of preserving the legacy of Gen. Harry Trexler, who brought …

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