Thanks to all who took last month's Survey!
We are using
your advice to improve the programs we offer our members. If you have a moment,
please take this month's survey. Only three questions!
Click here to participate.
What's Happening at the Zoo
The Zoo has a NEW Entry Policy for Zoo Society Members.
In an effort to help members enter the Zoo more quickly, the Zoo now requires Zoo
Society members to enter through the Express Entry, Member’s
Only Ticket Booths. These booths are on the far left when you approach a Zoo
entrance.
To speed your entry even more, be ready to show
your Society membership card and a picture identification card when you
arrive at the booth. We require a picture identification card when you
visit in order to protect the value of your membership. Your
cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Up-Coming Zoo Programs
March 29 & 30 -
S.O.S. – “Save Our Snakes”
Meet some keepers who keep some snakes—learn what's true, what's false and what's downright silly in the stories that you've heard about nature's sleekest hunters.
Keeper Talks from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Cypress Swamp, Streamside and the Sonora Desert.
At the Swamp, keepers will focus on fun snake facts.
At Streamside, the talks will turn to advice on living comfortably with the wild snakes that share our neighborhoods.
Outside the Desert, keepers will talk about a wild snake they have been tracking around the Zoo grounds for about a year. The snake—a mild mannered, resident Copperhead—carries around a tiny radio transmitter that lets our keepers find him wherever he goes. Learn how this special snake spends his time and how the keepers use telemetry to follow him around the Park.
Between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m., keepers will bring a live Ball Python out for a visit and a chat on a side deck at the African Pavilion.
From 10 a.m. through 3 p.m., youngsters can meet in kidZone to get crafty and make some snakes to take home.
April 5 - 6 It's Finally Here!
The Grand Opening of the Watani Grasslands Reserve
Meander down the exhibit’s new boardwalk, meet our elephant Mom, Tonga, and
her daughter Batir, climb aboard a field-researcher's helicopter in the new elephant tracking station and watch the Zoo's seven rhinos make the most of their expansive plains exhibit. The new exhibit complex is extraordinary. The only way to experience a more realistic safari would be to jet across the Atlantic to Africa.
Read more about the new exhibit.
Zoo Summer Programs
The Zoo's Education Office has scheduled summer programs and day camps for children as young as 4 and as old as 12.
For an overview of these programs, click here.
To learn about June Bugs -- programs for 4 and 5 year olds, click here
To learn about programs for rising 1 - 3 graders, click here.
To learn about programs for rising 4 - 6 graders, click here.
Up-Coming Programs for our Members
Call us to pre-register for one or all of our upcoming programs for members and their guests. We begin taking registrations six weeks before an event. Call Mrs. Karen Powell at 336-879-7262 to register.
May 5 Beginner Geocaching Program
Click here to learn more.Get going with GPS and lean how to call on satellites to find out where you are and how to get where you want to go. This family-friendly, hands-on workshop is suited for people who have never tried goecaching or using a GPS receiver. Grab your hiking shoes and some water bottles and join your family on a wild walk to learn how to never get lost again. (Bring your GPS equipment if you have it, otherwise, you can borrow ours.)
Fee: $10 Members; $15 Non-members. Register today!
May 5 Zoo Open Golf Tournament
Click here to learn more
Our 18th consecutive tournament offers a round of golf and a day of fun at Tot Hill Farms Golf Club. Lunch will be provided by Chick-fil-A and dinner will be served after the playing stops.
The proceeds from the tournament will benefit The Barbara Hobson Memorial Scholarship-a zoo-based program that supports interns and students who are working on projects that benefit the Park’s native wildlife or animals in the Zoo's collection.
The format is Captain's Choice. Play will begin with a single shotgun start at 9:30 a.m.
May 17 The Zoo Rocks
Geology at the Zoo in the morning and
a hike up a friendly Monadnok in the afternoon. (We'll even tell you
what a monadnok is and let you stomp on its rocks.)
10 a.m. program: Join Chris Tracker, "Dr. Geology," to learn about the rocks and geological history of the Zoo site. At 1:30 p.m., join us to caravan about 10 miles to explore Ridges Mountain, the Jewel of the Uwharries, where gigantic volcanic boulders dot the landscape. An easy, but oh so delightful, hike.
Travel with Curator of Horticulture, Gin Wall, to visit some of Raleigh's best and most interesting nurseries and gardens. Our shuttle bus leaves the Zoo at 8 a.m. and will whisk you to your destinations. Food and entertainment will be provide along the way.
Fee: $20 members; $30 non-members - register today!
More upcoming Society programs:
June 14 Children's Photo Safari
Our way of teaching children how to look at nature and capture what they see.
June 21 Things with Wings
Zoo-centered, grown up safaris in search of butterflies and dragonflies.
For more information, contact Karen Powell at kpowell@nczoo.com or (336) 879-7262.
Member Upgrades
Your N.C. Zoo Society Membership Gained in Value!
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) recently gave its stamp of approval and accreditation to the zoo at the Nature Science Center of Greensboro. The Center responded by joining AZA's list of members that grant free or reduced admission to members of other AZA institutions. As a reciprocating institution, the Science Center has agreed to give N.C. Zoo Society members a 50 percent discount on admission tickets. In return, the Zoo Society will provide a 50 percent discount to Center members.
The Zoo Society lists other reciprocating institutions on its Web site. Just click on the Partner Zoo's link our home page.
N.C. Zoo Society Secret Garden members have a new, exclusive benefit, too. They receive free property admission and free parking at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. The Arboretum houses demonstration gardens and an education center on its 434-acre site. Visit the Arboretum Web site for information on exhibits and activities. Click here to learn more about Secret Garden memberships.
Zoo Animal News
Artie (right), the only male among the four new elephants that have come into the Park, is currently being introduced to the other members of the Zoo's existing herd. In addition, our new Elephant mother (Tonga) and her 5-year old calf, Batir, are being introduced to the herd and the new exhibit, too.
During the official opening of the Watani Grasslands Reserve, expect to see Tonga and Batir in one section of the elephant exhibit and our old herd members (C’sar, Little Diamond and Rafiki) in the other section.
Chimps Aren't Us
An upcoming PBS series, The Human Spark, will explore the intellectual gap that separates humans from their closest relatives—the apes (Chimpanzees, Bonobos, Gorillas and Orangutans). Actor Alan Alda, will host the series.
In filming for this series, Mr. Alda visited the N.C. Zoo’s chimp exhibit in March to interview Duke University primatologist, Dr. Brian Hare. Some of Dr. Hare's work will be featured in the series.
Click here to learn more about the series.
Support the Zoo's Amphibian Breeding, Research and Conservation Center
The Zoo is preparing to build an off-exhibit breeding and research center to protect rare and endangered frogs from the southeastern United States. The Zoo Society is calling on its members and donors to help fund this important facility. Donate $5 or more to the Center on line and we will send big virtual frog kiss to your e-mail address as our way of saying thank you.
Click here to learn more.
Adopt an Animal for Mother’s or Father’s Day and Enrich the Lives of the Zoo’s Animals
Proceeds from these special adoptions buy tasty treats and toys for Zoo animals and support training programs that help our keepers provide the best care possible for the Zoo’s animals. Adoptions are $45.
Mother’s Day, May 11
Adopt an animal that describes what you love most about your Mom and we’ll embellish her adoption package with an insulated, canvas lunch bag; a personalized adoption certificate; and a fact sheet and a photograph of the animal you choose to honor her. We will even include a personalized message from you on the package.
So, pick an animal that describes your Mom’s personality
Butterfly – beautiful and delicate, yet strong-willed
Meerkat – affectionate and dedicated to her family
Elf Owl – wise and watchful—almost like she has eyes in the back of her head.
Father’s Day, June 15
Adopt a wild personality that matches your father's and he’ll receive a personalized adoption certificate, a fact sheet with a photograph of the adopted animal and a ball cap imprinted with the N.C. Zoo Society’s logo. Add a personal message and we will include it with the package.
Cougar – Strong and athletic
Peregrine Falcon – Distinguished and powerful
Gorilla – Gentle and strong
For more information or to order, contact Karen Brown, (336) 879-7289 or e-mail kbrown@nczoo.com.
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...
Family Comes First—Then Who Benefits From Your Estate?
Deciding
how to distribute your assets, who should get what, how much is enough and
when to disperse your estate.
More
Outright Gifts: Quick and Easy Tax Deductions
Learn some simple rules to keep
in mind when considering an outright gift to The North Carolina
Zoological Society, Inc..
More
Your Loyalty: Invaluable to Us—and Often Irreplaceable
We count on annual gifts to carry on the Zoo's important work—work that suffers when one of our loyal donors dies. By creating an endowment, our generous donors invest in the Zoo's future and establish a own lasting legacy of generosity and caring.
More
Russlings: Visit the Zoo Society Executive Director’s personal “blog” site for very current photos and discussions on the N.C. Zoo, animals and conservation. Click here
Reminders
To use the FOR MEMBERS section of the Society’s Web site, simply enter the password: elephant.
Travel With Us in 2008
Migration Safari to Kenya August 28 – September 9 with Zoo Director, Dr. David Jones – Only one space left!
Manitoba Adventure, November 6-12, to see Polar Bears
Start planning your wild adventures for 2009:
Journey to Costa Rica February 18-29, 2009
The Wonders of India March 5-22, 2009
Whales & Wilderness Adventure to Alaska August 8-16, 2009.
For prices and other information contact sgee@nczoo.com or call 336-879-7253.
Got a minute?
Please take this month's survey to help us continue to
improve the ways we make your Zoo membership worthwhile. Only three
questions!
Click here to take our survey.
Contact Info
Send questions and comments about the Z-mail, upcoming education programs, the Alive magazine, please contact Jayne Owen Parker at jparker@nczoo.com
Send other questions and comments to mmaclannahan@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.
