UTICA ZOO PREZOODENTIAL CAMPAIGN
Candidates Announced for 2026 Election
The Prezoodential campaign at the Utica Zoo has returned for 2026! This year, there is a stellar group of six candidates of six different species. Hazel the Miniature Donkey, winner of the zoo’s 2025 election, must step down and leave room for one of these worthy animals to step up: Xiao, Hamish, Spot, Shehariah, Charlie, or Evalyn.
Being Prezoodent is no easy feat, as they are employed to help spread the Utica Zoo’s mission and values all year long! With such a difficult decision to make, the zoo is looking to the public to assist with this election by sharing their input and voting for one of these candidates.
The candidates to consider for this election are as follows:
Xiao the Muntjac: The Utica Zoo is very “deer” to Xiao, and he’s ready to give “buck” what he can!
Spot the Burmese Python: It may be a “stretch,” but Spot thinks she’s got what it takes to “squeeze” her way into the prezoodency!
Hamish the Highland Cow: This cute little cow knows how to “moove” his way into our hearts and is ready for his first prezoodency!
Charlie the African Painted Dog: She doesn’t care if being prezoodent is a “paint” in the butt, she’s ready to go “wild” with it.
Shehariah the domestic Yak: Talking smack about our yak? Cut her some slack! Shehariah has a knack for getting the zoo back on track!
Evelyn the Karakul sheep: Don’t try to pull the wool over the eyes of this superstar! Evelyn is ready to win this race without using any “sheep” tricks!
“It’s already been such a blast creating the campaigns for each of these candidates, that I’m now fully invested in them all! I know we have some real contenders here, so I’m eager to find out who the public will choose to represent our organization this year” says Marley Hawthorne, Communications Manager at the Utica Zoo.
Starting February 1st, members of the public can start supporting a specific candidate by making donations to their election campaigns online. For every $10 donated, their candidate will receive five extra votes! Online voting can be found at uticazoo.org/prezoodent/
In-person voting at the Utica Zoo will be offered on Saturday, February 14th, Sunday, February 15th, and Monday, February 16th between 10:00am and 4:30pm. Visitors with paid admission on these days will receive a complimentary voting ballot to place in their preferred candidate’s box, with donations here also being counted as votes. The zoo’s Prezoodential winner will be tallied on February 16th in recognition of Presidents’ Day and announced to the public on February 17th! All generous donations to the Utica Zoo’s Prezoodential campaigns are greatly appreciated and are utilized for the ongoing care of these animals. The zoo is eternally grateful for the continuous support and participation from the community for initiatives such as this.
A tradition with Utica Zoo since 2023, they will award the fourth ever Prezoodent this year and are very eager to find out who the public collectively chooses!
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