Media Coverage
Collection of our coverage on established media institutions and outlets.
Media Coverage
2019
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Release New England Cottontails on Island Refuge
04.16.2019
Nomans Land Island National Wildlife Refuge will soon become home to the New England cottontail rabbit as part of an ongoing conservation effort to restore this rare species to New England and eastern New York.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), in collaboration with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), Roger Williams Park Zoo, Bristol County Agricultural High School (Bristol Aggie), and the University of Rhode Island (URI), is planning to release rabbits in...
Roger Williams Park Zoo ready to Party for the Planet
03.29.2019
Celebrate our world at Party for the Planet at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, April 16 and 17.
This year's event will highlight the Zoo's conservation and animal care while also giving guests the opportunity to join the zoo in engaging experiences that empower everyone to help conserve wildlife and wild places. The rain date is April 18.
Party for the Planet will include the...
Can a zoo boost the economy?
03.22.2019
The nation’s third-oldest zoo has grand expansion plans. Can it raise the $60 million needed to get there?
Adults and kids stare, almost unblinking, at the sleek bodies of giant river otters gliding dreamily in figure eights through their tank. The human faces…
Providence's New, Conservation-Minded Rainforest Exhibit Brings The Amazon To New England
02.28.2019
It's quite a thing to come face to face with a two-toed sloth, especially when you're the one disturbing him in his home.
But, even if he were inclined to reach out to you, you think to yourself, he'd do it so slowly that you've have plenty of time to duck.
Depending on what metric you use, Roger Williams Park Zoo in...
Welcome to the Jungle
01.31.2019
A brand-new rainforest exhibit at Roger Williams Zoo showcases tropical wildlife – and kicks off a 20-year Master Plan
The first thing you feel is heat. Step through the great wooden doors, and your skin turns warm and clammy. Glasses fog up. Winter coats feel heavy. Here, the 80-degree air contrasts starkly with Rhode Island winter. As you strip away gloves and wool cap, the rainforest emerges...
Amid frigid conditions, zoo staff taking special care of warm-weather animals
01.31.2019
As an arctic blast moves through the Northeast, Roger Williams Park Zoo is making sure its animals are comfortable for the rapidly changing weather conditions.
Diane Nahabedian, the zoo's director of public relations, said they have specific guidelines for each animal and what climates they should be kept in.
"If it's an animal like the red panda, the snow leopard, the moon bear, this is their weather, they would be out in this weather,"...
A Winter Visit to the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island
01.29.2019
When temperatures drop, the cold-weather animals come out to play at Providence’s Roger Williams Park Zoo.
Close your eyes and picture your perfect day at the zoo. Well, actually, don’t close your eyes – keep them open so you can keep reading this article. But do take a minute to envision walking the outdoor paths, taking in all the exotic animals, learning about new species, and exploring different...
Feeding the Elephants at Roger Williams Park Zoo
01.17.2019
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to stick your whole hand in a vacuum cleaner? That’s what it feels like to feed an elephant.
Roger Williams Park Zoo’s three African elephants are happy, healthy and thriving.
I spent the afternoon with Lisa Ruggiero and Jennifer Warmbold, two elephant keepers at Roger Williams Park Zoo, along with Ginny, Alice and Kate, the three female African elephants that...
Record-Breaking Year for Raising, Releasing Rare Rabbits
01.09.2019
More rare New England cottontails were raised at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence and the Queens Zoo in New York City and released into the wild than ever before, according to conservation officials.
The success is a positive sign for populations of the region’s only native rabbit, which had declined precipitously in recent decades because of habitat loss, hunting, and competition with the introduced eastern cottontail.
Seventy-seven New England cottontails were raised and weaned at...
2018
Roger Williams Park Zoo celebrates new rainforest exhibit
12.01.2018
Roger Williams Park Zoo held a press conference Friday to celebrate the grand opening of their new rainforest exhibit.
The staff at the zoo cut a ribbon for its new "Faces of the Rainforest" section, which includes a 40-foot-high glass atrium where monkeys and tropical birds can co-mingle.
The exhibit also includes a waterfall and pool for Amazonian giant river otters.
There will be 44 species in...