Valentine's Day At The Zoo

Highly social animals, California sea lions prefer to be close. While on shore, they often lay packed together in colonies. In the water, a group may rest together at the surface in a “raft.”Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS

A Valentine’s visit to the New York zoos proves that romance really is all around us. As Cole Porter put it, “It is nature, that is all, simply telling us to fall in love.”

Gibbon mom Christine, AKA “Kicks,” seems fond of her new mate Milton, first-time father to this little one. Visit the happy family in the Bronx Zoo's JungleWorld exhibit.Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS

After a period apart, chinstrap penguins greet their mates with both loud cackles and soft humming sounds, swaying and bowing their heads towards each other. Meet our colony at the Central Park Zoo.Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS

Trumpeter swans form pair bonds and often mate for life. Pairs, including this one at the Queens Zoo's marsh, stay together throughout the year.Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS

The fastest way to a cat's heart may be through its stomach. This wrapped gift, enrichment for the Queens Zoo's Canadian lynx, is packed with a meaty treat.Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS

Birds do it, bees do it, and so do tomato frogs. Males make mating calls to attract females, which lay clutches of eggs that can number in the thousands. These Madagascar natives reside at both the Bronx and Prospect Park Zoos.Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS

Grooming is an important ritual for Hamadryas baboons, in the wild and at the Prospect Park Zoo. These primates also offer reassuring touches and embraces to maintain group bonds.Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS