Society NEWS

HAPPY NEW YEAR

from your friends at the Zoo Society

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To use the FOR MEMBERS  section of the Society’s website, simply enter the password: elephant.

Please Remember some “Life and Death” Business left from 2007:

N.C. Zoo Chief Veterinarian, Dr. Mike Loomis and Dr. Martin Tchamba, Director of the World Wildlife Fund Central Africa Regional Programme Office and long-time partner with the N.C. Zoo’s African elephant tracking and conservation program, are risking their lives for African elephants and many people in Cameroon.

“Dr. T” was gored and gravely injured by an elephant in 2005. Dr. Mike saved his life by performing field medical care during a rough, four hour trip from the bush to a small outpost hospital. Another elephant attacked Dr. Mike during another visit to Cameroon, and last year Dr. Mike was nearly done in by hundreds of “killer” bee stings. Yet Dr. Mike and “Dr. T” endure these hardships because their work saves the lives of both elephants and people.

You can still help ensure that more are saved by making a 2007 gift in support of their efforts.  Visit the Zoo Society Web site to help Dr. Mike and “Dr. T.”

Visit the Field Trip Earth to learn more about the elephants of Cameroon program, including photos and excerpts from Dr. Mike’s field journals.

Elephants at the Zoo

As a world leader in elephant and rhino conservation, the N.C. Zoo will open its new Watani Grasslands Reserve exhibit this spring to showcase these magnificent animals. Here, C'sar, a bull elephant, feels his way around the new exhibit for the first time. Keepers recently began allowing elephants into the new southern exhibit area to acclimate them to their new surroundings. C’sar shares the exhibit with six other elephants, nine rhinos and herds of antelope.

Donors through the N.C. Zoo Society’s “Project: Pachyderms” campaign contributed more than $7.2 million toward the $8.5 million needed to create Watani Grassland Reserve. The exhibit not only includes larger elephant, rhino and antelope herds, but features improved off-exhibit holding areas, educational exhibits and a visitor experience with an up-close view of the largest land animals on the planet. The elephant and rhino herds with their more natural family groupings will increase the likelihood that these endangered pachyderms will someday produce young at the N.C. Zoo. (NC Zoo photo by Tom Gillespie)

Don’t Forget…Members Get a Special Preview of Watani Grasslands Reserve

We usually hold Wake Up with the Animals—our annual members' appreciation day— in May. But we pushed the date forward this year to give our Society members a special preview of the Zoo’s new Watani Grasslands Reserve.

Make plans to join us on March 29, 8 – 10 a.m.,  at the Zoo’s Akiba Market (Africa entrance) for breakfast sponsored by McDonald’s and to preview the new Watani Grasslands Reserve.

Wake Up is free to Society members. Please let us know by March 7 if you plan to attend. To secure a reservation you can e-mail kpowell@nczoo.com, call 336-879-7250 or look for a reservation form in your March Alive magazine

Randolph Telephone Supports Watani Grasslands Reserve as Signature Sponsor for Zoo To Do 2008

Much of the support for “Project: Pachyderms” has come from our premier annual fundraiser, Zoo To Do. Last year, Zoo To Do raised $200,000 toward the project. For 2008 (and for the ninth straight year) Randolph Telephone has committed to be signature sponsor for Zoo To Do.  As signature sponsor, Randolph Telephone pledged a $30,000 gift. This continued and generous support has been a significant boost to Zoo Society efforts to provide the “lion’s share” of funding for Watani Grasslands Reserve.

Zoo To Do 2008, organized by Randolph Friends of the Zoo and the Zoo Society, will be held on September 6 and will feature live and silent auctions, fine cuisine and live entertainment. Funds from the event will again support Project: Pachyderms. For more information about Zoo To Do 2008 or Project: Pachyderms, or to be included on the Zoo To Do invitation list, contact the North Carolina Zoo Society at 336-879-7250 or e-mail zootodo@nczoo.com.

N.C. Zoo Breaks Ground on Honey Bee Exhibit

Too often, our hardest working allies don’t get the credit they deserve. The N.C. Zoo Society and N.C. Zoo are hoping to remedy this soon for one of the busiest friends we humans ever had – the honey bee. Not only is the honey bee the North Carolina State insect, but honey bees pollinate about one-third of the food we eat. The work they do is worth millions of dollars a year to our state.

Yet U.S. bee populations have been steadily declining for the past few years. Recently, beekeepers reported even higher than normal losses as a result of what scientists have dubbed “Colony Collapse Disorder.” The causes and potential costs of these threats are currently under study.

To help raise awareness about the importance of protecting this fragile resource, the N.C. Zoo broke ground in December on a new honey bee exhibit. The exhibit, scheduled to open in spring 2009, will introduce visitors to the vital role bees play in the ecosystem, the economy, and our daily lives. Visitors will explore a bee garden with flowers and common food plants that flourish because of pollination by bees. In the Bee Courtyard, children can step out the honey bee “dance” and view a giant model of a honey bee. Visitors can stroll through a “human-sized” honeycomb and don bee glasses for a bee’s-eye view of the world. The exhibit will also feature a working bee hive maintained by volunteers.  

Funding for the $160,000 exhibit was provided by private donations through the Zoo Society. Members of 32 Beekeeper Chapters from across the State raised $120,000 and 39 chapters of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation contributed more than $42,000.

Links of Interest

 
Do you have questions about estate planning? Planned giving? Your will?  Each month, we feature new articles and interactive features that cover such topics. We hope it will be a useful resource for you. New This Month...

Timing Year-end Gifts

Build Your Gift… Have you considered making a gift to us, but you're just not sure what type of gift to make? Our step-by-step guide will help you decide.

Russlings (http://russlings.blogspot.com/) – Visit the Zoo Society Executive Director’s personal “blog” site for very current photos and discussion on the N.C. Zoo, animals and conservation.

Reminders

Check our list of Partner Zoos Your N.C. Zoo Society membership allows you to visit over 150 other zoos and aquariums across the United States for free or for a reduced price. Reciprocal arrangements can change without notice so it’s a good idea to phone the institution you wish to visit to see if there are any restrictions.

Don’t Stand in Line at the Zoo!

Head for the Express-Entry, Member's only ticket booths on the left side of either Zoo entrance. Show us your membership card and a picture identification card and we’ll whisk you in and get you on your way. We ask for a picture identification card when you visit in order to protect the value of your membership. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

To use the FOR MEMBERS  section of the Society’s website, simply enter the password: elephant.

Travel With Us in 2008
*  San Diego Urban Safari   February 28-March 4
*  Tanzania Wildlife Safari    May 17-28
*  Migration Safari to Kenya   August 29 – September 9
    with Zoo Director, Dr. David Jones – Only one space left!
*  Manitoba Adventure   November 6-12, to see Polar Bears.

For prices and other information contact sgee@nczoo.com or call 336-879-7253.

Contact Info

 
Send questions and comments to Jayne Owen Parker or to mmcclanahan@nczoo.com.
 
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, please e-mail cparks@nczoo.com and type “unsubscribe” in the subject line.
 
Our mailing address is:  North Carolina Zoological Society, 4403 Zoo Parkway, Asheboro, N.C. 27205. Phone 336-879-7250, toll free 888-244-3736. Web address: www.nczoo.com.

 

Thank you for your continued support of the North Carolina Zoological Society

Last modified 01/30/2008 10:58pm.