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I Love Wildlife

@i.love.wildlife

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Hi, I’m @jessica_shahinian 👩🏻
Sharing my wildlife adventures from NYC and beyond to connect with others who love animals and nature 🦉🦊🦋🐅🦚

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Meet the Bronx Zoo’s newest snow leopard cub Sarka, born on May 31st. Her mother Dariga lovingly helps Sarka develop her skills through lots of play hunting and support as Sarka finds her footing in their rocky enclosure simulating the Himalayan Highlands.

The @bronxzoo has had more than 80 snow leopard births to date and participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program designed to enhance the genetic viability of the species.

In addition to the five AZA-accredited zoos and aquarium run by The Wildlife Conservation Society, the nonprofit has conservation projects around the world to protect wildlife and the ecosystems they inhabit.

Clips from 9/23, 9/29, 10/10 & 10/14, filmed on my iPhone, while Sarka was between 3.5 to 4.5 months old

She’s getting bigger by the day, so if you want to watch her grow into a big cat make sure to visit the Bronx Zoo soon!

📷 @jessica_shahinian @i.love.wildlife

@thewcs
#bronxzoo
#snowleopards
#snowleopardcub
#zooborns by @i.love.wildlife

Great Blue Heron recently spotted at Brooklyn Botanic Garden 🌸

I enjoyed watching this elegant bird for over an hour in the Japanese Hill and Pond Garden among the cherry blossoms, including catching a fish and showing off its 6-7 foot wingspan before settling in on a tiny island during sunset 🌅

📷 Wednesday April 1, 2026

@brooklynbotanic
#brooklynbotanicgarden
#greatblueheron
#heron by @i.love.wildlife

Green Araçaris at the Bronx Zoo’s World of Birds exhibit

The green aracari is a tropical bird named for its dark green back, wing and tail feathers. Its large bill is bright red, yellow and blue with a serrated edge. Males’ crowns are black (like the two featured in this video), while females’ are reddish brown (like the one at the end of the video).

They inhabit tropical forests in northeast South America, specifically Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.

At 30–40 cm (12–16 in) long and weighing 99 to 159 grams (3.8 to 5.6 oz), it is the smallest aracari in its range and among the smallest members of the toucan family.

Its diet consists mostly of fruit, including the fruits of Cecropia trees and the palm Oenocarpus bacaba. The serrated edges of the green aracari’s large bill help the bird to grip and gather fruit. They also eat nuts, eggs, insects, and small animals.

Breeding occurs from February to June. It nests in tree cavities (usually taking over an abandoned woodpecker hole), producing 2-4 white eggs. The parents cooperate in rearing their young.

📷 Sunday 3/8/26

@bronxzoo
@thewcs
#bronxzoo
#greenaracari
#toucans by @i.love.wildlife

Lions at the Bronx Zoo, sound on to hear them roaring at the end 🦁

The Bronx Zoo’s African Plains exhibit, which opened in 1941, was the first predator-prey exhibit in North America to display lions alongside prey animals, using deep moats to separate them and create a naturalistic setting for visitors to observe. This innovative design allowed for a panoramic view of African wildlife, with lions, giraffes, gazelles, and nyalas sharing the space, separated by the concealed barriers.

📷 video clips from September 17th & October 8th, 2025

@bronxzoo
@thewcs
#bronxzoo
#lions by @i.love.wildlife

Lesser Bird-of-Paradise at the Bronx Zoo’s World of Birds exhibit

🔊 Sound on to hear him vocalizing multiple times in between fluffing up his beautiful tail feathers!

The lesser bird-of-paradise is medium-sized, up to 32 cm (13 in), maroon-brown with a yellow crown and brownish-yellow upper back. Take notice of his dark emerald-green throat (especially as it catches the light), a pair of long tail-wires and ornamental flank plumes which are deep yellow at their base and fade outwards into white.

The males are polygamous and perform courtship displays in leks. The female usually lays two pinkish eggs with dark markings in a nest in a tree high above ground. Its diet consists mainly of fruits and insects.

This species is distributed throughout forests of northern New Guinea and the nearby islands of Misool and Yapen.

📷 Sunday 3/1/26

@bronxzoo
@thewcs
#bronxzoo
#lesserbirdofparadise
#birdofparadise by @i.love.wildlife

Croton Point Park during the Teatown Hudson River EagleFest on Valentine’s Day 🦅❄️

I loved the view of the frozen Hudson River with large chunks of ice pushing ashore and the winter wonderland of the snow-covered landscape. Bald eagles could be seen flying overhead or standing on the river ice.

Teddy & Brian Bradley of Skyhunters in Flight did a falconry demo with their Harris’s Hawks, Rip & Cash

For the rest of the live birds shows, check out my previous reel 🦅🦉

📷 2/14/26

@teatown_lake_reservation
@skyhunters_in_flight
@westchestercountyparks
@westchestercountytourismny
@crotonpointpark
@villageofcroton
#eaglefest
#crotonpointpark by @i.love.wildlife

The 22nd Annual Teatown Hudson River EagleFest at Croton Point Park on Valentine’s Day was a birder’s dream! 🦅

This wildlife festival celebrates the return of the bald eagle after conservation work brought the species back from the brink of extinction due to pesticides like DDT.

I watched many of the live bird shows and wanted to highlight some of my favorite moments for others to enjoy.

Species in order as shown:
1. Bald Eagle: watch to the end to see a wild one flyover
2. Eurasian Eagle Owl
3. Barred Owl
4. Red-Tailed Hawk
5. Cooper’s Hawk (taxidermied juvenile)
6. Turkey Vulture
7. Spectacled Owl
8. Great Horned Owl
9. Barn Owl
10. Peregrine Falcon
11. Eastern Screech Owl: gray & red morphs
12. American Kestrel
13. Broad-Winged Hawk
14. North American Porcupine

Wildlife Presenters in order as shown:
1. Myself as a volunteer for Bobby Horvath @bobbyhorvath, WINORR - Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation: photos of me with a bald eagle and Eurasian eagle owl by falconer Tania Scaduto @theraptornerd who’s also with WINORR
2. Brian & Teddy Bradley, Sky Hunters in Flight @skyhunters_in_flight
3. Maddy Schroeder @ol_mabby, Teatown Lake Reservation @teatown_lake_reservation
4. Brian Robinson
5. Christine Peyreigne, Christine’s Critters @christinescritters

The next reel I’ll post will feature the winter wonderland beauty of Croton Point Park as well as the outdoor falconry demo by Sky Hunters in Flight with two Harris’s Hawks!

Check my previous post for EagleFest photos!

Comment below with your favorite EagleFest moments from my video or what you enjoyed if you also attended the event ⬇️

📷 February 14, 2026 from 9am-4pm, all footage by me @jessica_shahinian @i.love.wildlife

@westchestercountyparks
@westchestercountytourismny
@crotonpointpark
@villageofcroton
#eaglefest
#teatownlakereservation
#birdsofprey by @i.love.wildlife

Croton Point Park yesterday during the 2026 Teatown Hudson River EagleFest 🦅❄️

I loved the view of the frozen Hudson River with large chunks of ice pushing ashore and the winter wonderland of the snow-covered landscape. Bald eagles could be seen flying overhead or standing on the river ice.

Pics 6-8: WINORR - Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation, posing with Montana the Bald Eagle and Augie the Eurasian Eagle Owl before helping @bobbyhorvath pack up his “Meet an Eagle” display. I’ve been grateful to volunteer for WINORR for the last 2.5 years. Thank you @theraptornerd for taking these pics!

Pic 10: Thank you @thehawkwardnaturalist for taking this pic of me along the river

Pics 12-13: “Birds of Prey” presentation by Brian Robinson with his Eurasian Eagle Owl & Turkey Vulture

Pics 14-16: “Hudson Valley Wildlife: Birds” presentation by Maddy Schroeder @ol_mabby from Teatown Lake Reservation with a Red-Tailed Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk (taxidermied juvenile), Barred Owl, and an Eastern Screech Owl (red morph)

📷 2/14/26

@teatown_lake_reservation
@westchestercountyparks
@westchestercountytourismny
@crotonpointpark
@villageofcroton
#eaglefest
#winorr by @i.love.wildlife

Bunnies 🐰🐇 In NYC, I’ve consistently spotted the most Eastern Cottontails at Wave Hill, but have also had multiple sightings at Van Cortlandt Park and the Bronx Zoo. Here’s some adorable highlights from the last year:

1. Oct 16th at Wave Hill: My favorite sighting, this rabbit hopped right up to me in the Wild Garden before freezing in the middle of the trail a while, then hopped to a different path where I spotted them again

2. July 18th at Wave Hill: this pair were enjoying a nice lunch of grass and leaves

3. June 27th at the Bronx Zoo: this little bunny was living their best life in the Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit munching on fresh grass and hay

Where were some of your favorite rabbit sightings?

@wavehill
@bronxzoo
#bunnies
#easterncottontail
#nycwildlife by @i.love.wildlife

Chipmunks 🐿️🐿️🐿️ Here’s some adorable highlights from various zoo and garden visits across NYC last year:

1. July 22nd at the Prospect Park Zoo: along the Discovery Trail, I watched this chipmunk spend a few minutes eating a cicada which was the longest I’ve ever seen a chipmunk stay in view while they could clearly see me

2. July 10th at the Bronx Zoo: freeze mode activated in the Gelada Reserve exhibit where I’ve seen the same chipmunk on multiple visits

3. Oct 15th at the New York Botanical Garden: one was vocalizing a chirpy alarm call as I approached in the Native Plant Garden, and another was foraging in the Perennial Garden

4. May 18th at Wave Hill: quick grooming session

5. March 13th at NYBG: gathering nesting materials

6. March 15th at Brooklyn Botanic Garden: popped out of their hole in the Native Flora Garden but was too shy to come all the way out

@prospectparkzoo
@bronxzoo
@nybg
@wavehill
@brooklynbotanic
#chipmonks
#urbanwildlife by @i.love.wildlife

Tiger Mountain is one of my favorite exhibits at the Bronx Zoo to frequent during the winter because the tigers are more active in the cold and snow 🐅❄️🐯

Amur Tigers, formerly known as Siberian Tigers, are the largest wild cats and tiger subspecies. Adapted to the harsh climate and long winters of eastern Russia, they are found in birch forests and mountain ranges, with a small population in China.

The exhibit also features Malayan Tigers, a smaller subspecies adapted to tropical environments, so your best chance to spot them is during the warmer months.

Each tiger’s stripes are unique like fingerprints, so see how many different tigers you can spot in this video! 🐅🔍👀

📷 Clips from Tues 2/3/26, Sun 1/18/26, Sat 1/3/26, Mon 12/1/25, and Thurs 12/26/24

@bronxzoo
@thewcs
#bronxzoo
#tigers by @i.love.wildlife

A Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk stopped by this morning and made me smile. I live near Fort Tryon Park but it’s been years since I’ve spotted any hawks in the alleyway. Glad to see one return ☺️

The Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) is a mid-sized, slender woodland hawk common across North America, known for its long, rounded tail and stealthy hunting of birds and small mammals.

Adult Cooper’s Hawks have blue-gray backs, reddish-barred chests, and red eyes. Juveniles show fine, brown, tear-drop streaking on their breast rather than horizontal bars, and their yellow eyes transition to red over several years.

They are expert maneuverers in dense trees, often found in suburban areas.

The biggest threats to birds of prey in urban areas are window collisions and rodenticide poisoning, so I hope this hawk will thrive 🤞🏼

Thank you @thehawkwardnaturalist for helping me to identify this species 🪶

📷 Wednesday 2/4/26

#coopershawk #hawk #birdsofprey

@forttryonparkconservancy
@nycparks
@nycbirdalliance
@audubon_ny
@audubonsociety by @i.love.wildlife