Zoo York City: The Best Animal Stories Of 2011
15 photos
<p>No one animal <strike>stole our hearts</strike> terrorized us quite like <a href="http://gothamist.com/tags/egyptiancobra">the escaped Bronx Zoo Egyptian Cobra</a> did last spring. After nearly a week of panic, tweeting and pun-filled stories, <em>Cobra Watch 2011: Black Adder's RevengeâA Bronx Zoo Tale!</em> finally came to an end when the cobra was found "alive and well" by Bronx Zoo employees inside a nonpublic area of the zooâs Reptile House...not far from where she disappeared. She ended up being named Mia, although we were pulling for Hissni Mubarak.</p>
<p>Occupy Wall Street was all about protesting against the fat catsâso it makes sense there were a lot of dogs <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/10/19/early_addition_919.php">involved in the protest</a>. Some got <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/15/even_dogs_were_pepper_sprayed_at_zu.php">pepper sprayed by police</a>, some received <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/06/occupy_wall_street_gets_free_health.php">free health care</a>, and others were content to <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/04/video_triumph_the_insult_comic_dog.php">poop on the proceedings.</a></p>
<p>It was a busy year for the Bronx Zoo besides Mia the egyptian cobra: they <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/08/bronx_zoos_adorable_okapi_the_resul.php">welcomed a beautiful baby okapi</a>, a half-stripped "giraffid artiodactyl" born after a long, painstaking animal husbandry process. A baby Zebra <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/05/03/video_baby_zebra_at_the_bronx_zoo.php">named Terri was also born</a>, their lion cub triplets <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/05/24/photo_bronx_zoo_lion_cub_triplets_a.php">all turned one</a>, and their bears got into the fall spirit by <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/09/22/video_bronx_zoo_bears_get_into_the.php">playing with some pumpkins.</a></p>
<p>We sure love going to events where owners dressed up their pets in ridiculous costumes. Our favorites included <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/18/adorable_alert_meet_the_breeds_this.php#photo-1">the third annual</a> American Kennel Club/The International Cat Association <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/21/adorable_animals_reigned_at_meet_th.php#photo-1">"Meet the Breeds" event</a> at the Javits Center, and the <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/10/23/photos_adorable_return_of_tompkins.php#photo-10">21st annual Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade</a>, where dogs and humans alike <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/10/24/photos_more_dogs_in_costumes.php#photo-1">dressed up as</a> everyone from Lady Gaga (with meat dress!) to Donald Draper to Yoda. </p>
<p>Hurricane Irene brought a lot of drizzle and destruction, but it also brought some happy animal stories: during the middle of the storm, lamb "Irene Hope" <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/09/01/meet_the_central_park_zoo_lamb_born.php#photo-1">was born at the Wildlife Conservation Societyâs Central Park Zoo.</a> And a reader came upon "Reno," a yellow white cat lost in Clinton Hill, in the aftermath of the stormâhe was <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/08/31/happy_ending_hurricane_cat_has_been.php">happily adopted by a local couple.</a></p>
<p>This was the year we discovered all about <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/18/best_trend_ever_cat_agility_contest.php">"cat agility" contests</a>âand it was also the year that cat agility really seemed to come in handy. One little kitten <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/07/07/kitten_rescued_after_getting_tossed.php">was rescued after being tossed</a> from a car on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (and was later <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/08/24/cat_thrown_out_on_verrazano_bridge.php">adopted by Whoopi Goldberg</a>), while a 16-year-old cat <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/07/13/cat_survives_20_foot_fall_on_upper.php">survived falling 20 stories</a> on the Fourth of July with barely a scratch to show. Men <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/10/20/photos_men_wearing_cats_on_their_he.php#photo-1">wore cats on their heads</a> and Jack the Cat went missing from JFK Airport (and<a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/10/26/jack_the_cat_was_lost_but_now_he_is.php"> then was found</a>). Feral cats <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/08/14/feral_cats_are_taking_over_coney_is.php">took over Coney Island</a> while one <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/12/13/62_cats_and_counting_confessions_of.php">very weird serial cat killer</a> went around euthanizing stray cats. Best of all, we looked into <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/05/15/miss_your_cat_get_them_mummified.php">mummifying our cat</a>, and got to enjoy this year's <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/08/11/the_new_matilda_gets_her_first_cat.php#photo-6">cat fashion show.</a></p>
<p>In addition to Irene Hope, the Central Park Zoo <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/08/15/cute_alert_central_park_zoo_welcome.php">also welcomed Biru</a>, a one-year-old red panda who is here to mate with female red panda Amaya in the Temperate Territory. The <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/15/omg_cute_video_baby_penguins_at_cen.php">eight adorable chinstrap and gentoo penguin chicks</a> the Zoo are hand-rearing got some attention with their own blog: The Real Chicks of Central Park.</p>
<p>There were plenty of odd animal stories, including that of a 500-pound bear <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/12/15/reverse_goldilocks_sleeping_bear_re.php">who was found</a> in the basement of a Hopatcong, NJ home. It later turned out the bear <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/12/16/reverse_goldilocks_bear_lived_in_nj.php">was living there for weeks</a> and was getting ready for hibernation. Among the other odd stories: we learned what to do when <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/12/16/what_to_do_when_your_roommate_rescu.php">our roommate rescues a rooster</a>, and we watched as Juno the beluga whale <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/08/03/video_mariachi_band_serenades_juno.php">was serenaded by a Mariachi band.</a></p>
<p>There were plenty of escape artistsâmostly from the Central Park Zoo, oddly enoughâincluding the above male peacock <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/08/02/peacock_escapes_central_park_zoo.php">who escaped</a> his enclosure at the Zoo over the summer. Not that he did much with his freedom: <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/08/03/escaped_peacock_returns_to_central.php">he spent the majority of his time</a> perched on the ledge of an apartment building at 838 Fifth Avenue across from the park. At least people cared about him; not as many were quite <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/12/05/escaped_turtle_on_the_looseand_no_o.php">as concerned about Lionel</a>, the escaped box turtle from the Inwood Hill Nature Center. And we still don't know much about <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/12/15/turtle_spotted_on_brooklyn_subway_c.php">the <em>other</em> turtle who rode the subway</a> earlier this month!</p>
<p>This month, a mysterious, scared-looking (and illegal) wolf-dog hybrid <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/12/23/brooklyn_wolf_is_an_illegal_wolf-do.php">was discovered wandering</a> the streets of Brooklyn. Despite the fact that we had "Hungry Like The Wolf" stuck in our heads for days, it was all worth it when "Rosie" <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/12/25/video_brooklyn_wolf-dog_has_a_new_h.php">was able to find a new home</a> at Howling Woods Farm in Jackson Township, NJ. </p>
<p>In November, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/18/adorable_grey_seal_spotted_by_graci.php">a grey seal was spotted</a> on the rocks behind Gracie Mansion, the city's official mayoral residence. After a brief occupation, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/19/after_brief_occupation_near_gracie.php">the seal swam away</a>. It wasn't that surprising, considering <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/10/14/bloomberg_only_tolerates_his_girlfr.php">Bloomberg can only just about tolerate</a> the two really cute yellow Labradors named Bonnie & Clyde that his girlfriend, Diana Taylor, gave him for Christmas.</p>
<p>Not all the animal stories were happy unfortunately: a mountain lion, the first confirmed sighting of one in Connecticut in over a century, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/07/27/mountain_lion_walked_all_the_way_fr.php">was killed when it was hit</a> by an SUV driver in the New Haven suburb of Milford. It was an especially sad after it was discovered that the lion had walked to New England all the way from South Dakota.</p>
<p>And finally, nothing delighted us more than watching dogs and horses interact. On one occasion, we watched as <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/09/04/video_its_labor_day_weekendso_heres.php">an adorable bulldog got licked by</a> a cop's horse. And in the other, we watched as a French bulldog in a sweater <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/04/video_nypd_horse_and_civilian_dog_m.php">became fast friends with a police horse</a> at Wall Street.</p>
<p>And the best cat story of the year was Willow the cat'sâthe cat, apparently abandoned at a Manhattan animal shelterâwas <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/09/15/wow_missing_colorado_cat_found_in_n.php">discovered to be a cat missing from Colorado</a>. We found out that Willow, who escaped her house during renovations, did not walk from Colorado but was taken from the state by a <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/09/16/the_mystery_of_willow_the_cat_solve.php">New Yorker who lived in Brooklyn</a>. </p>