Bob and Zalie Linn of Manlius, supporters of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo for over 15 years, are putting their names on a new big cat exhibit at the zoo, Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo President and CEO Janet Agostini announced.
“Bob and Zalie have assisted the Friends of the Zoo with other important projects in the past, and now they’re providing a very generous donation for an exhibit that will bear their names,” Agostini said. “We are really thrilled that the new Woodland habitat will be named for a couple whose love for animals and for their community goes above and beyond.”
The new project will renovate the former African lion exhibit at the zoo for Amur leopards, a critically endangered species of big cat native to the forests of Siberia. The exhibit could potentially also be shared on a rotating basis with another endangered species of big cat, Zoo Director Ted Fox said.
The zoo began planning for a new exhibit when it joined the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for Amur leopards in 2018. The zoo welcomed Rafferty and Tria, a male and a female Amur leopard from two other accredited zoos, and the pair produced twin cubs, Milo and Mina, born June 19.
Agostini said the new habitat will provide the cats an outdoor space to include trees, climbing structures and a high mesh ceiling, as Amur leopards are acclimated to cold weather and are proficient climbers.
The Linns said they signed on to support the project as a gift to the zoo and their community. Bob Linn, an Albany native, and Zalie, a native of Wellsville, NY, have called Syracuse home since the early 1970s. They both graduated from Ithaca College with degrees in accounting and found jobs at Ernst & Young in Syracuse, where they met and fell in love.
While Bob had never had pets, Zalie grew up with dogs, rabbits, turtles and birds. She gave Bob an English setter puppy as an engagement gift, and they have had English setters ever since. They went on to support many animal-related causes in Central New York, including the zoo, the SPCA and Helping Hounds Dog Rescue, among others.
Over the years, the Linns enjoyed the zoo as members and donated to campaigns to build the zoo’s Penguin Coast, Primate Park and the Helga Beck Asian Elephant Preserve. Bob has served on the Friends of the Zoo board, which he chaired from 2009-2011, and on the Friends’ finance committee. The Linns are members of the zoo Circle of Friends and the Elephant Society for donors who have named the zoo in their will.
“We think the zoo is an extremely important part of what makes this community an attractive place to live,” Bob Linn said. “I think our community should be very proud of what the county, the Friends of the Zoo and its many volunteers have achieved. We are very excited for the future of our zoo.”