Pair of rare snowy owl babies hatch at a New York zoo

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A zoo in New York announced Monday that a pair of snowy owl babies hatched.

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In a news release, Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, New York said they welcomed two new snowy owl babies. The owls hatched on June 29 and July 4. Snowy owl hatches are rare in zoos and are the first ones hatched at the Seneca Park Zoo.

“The owlets are doing great. Both female and male adults, Winter and Tundra, bring them small mice. They are growing rapidly, and within a few months, we expect them to be indistinguishable from their parents,” said Seneca Park Zoo Director Steve Lacy in a news release.

The mother snowy owl, Winter, was hatched in 2011 and brought to the zoo in 2012 from the Bramble Park Zoo in South Dakota. The father, Tundra, was hatched in July 2013 and brought to the zoo from National Aviary in Pennsylvania, according to WROC.

The zoo said that the snowy owl was assessed for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2021 and is currently listed as a vulnerable species.

The owlets are now in the snowy owl habitats at the Seneca Park Zoo from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. To visit them or get more information, check out the zoo’s website.

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