Who’s New at the Zoo?
Sealing a Deal
Two eight-month old Harbor Seals arrived from New Brunswick, Canada, a few weeks ago.
These big-eyed, supercharged semi-pups pile up a Cute Quotient of at least 150. If all goes well, the two youngsters will splash into their exhibit (in the RJR Rocky Coast exhibit) sometime in mid-May.
Keepers will give the duo several days to swim in the exhibit alone—just to get used to their new surroundings. After that, keepers will begin introducing the two youngsters to our veteran California Sea Lions. We hope to have both groups sharing the exhibit by Memorial Day.
Keep checking the Zoo Society Web site’s Home Page for information about when these seals will make their debut. (Just in! The Harbor Seal youngsters should go on exhibit May 17!)
Tort, the gigantic Galapagos Tortoise, is back on exhibit in the kidZone, sharing his exhibit with two Aldabra Tortoises.
Zookeepers Melisa Barr and Paul Decker gently sweep an Aldabra Tortoise into its exhibit at kidZone. Two Aldabra and one Galapagos tortoise share this exhibit in the Zoo's North American continental region. (Photo by Tom Gelespie)
Tall Tales to Come!
Next Year, You’ll Have Giraffes Eating Right Out of Your Hand!
The
Zoo Society is extremely grateful to an anonymous couple for sponsoring
a Giraffe Feeding Station that will open in the Spring of 2009.
The
$200,000 construction project will begin after the Zoo brings in two
young Giraffes this fall. The youngsters will be between 8 and 11
months old when they arrive (and should stand about 10 feet tall).
Zoo staff wants to bring the youngsters in and get
them comfortable in the Forest Edge exhibit before building the new
feeding station. It turns out that Giraffes feel more relaxed and
comfortable around architecture if they can watch it being
constructed. After the feeding station is completed, visitors will be
invited to buy healthy selections of branches and other browse to feed
to the Giraffes.
Upcoming Programs for Society Members and Their Guests
What’s Happening in May?
Never Get Lost Again! This family-friendly workshop will link everyone into Earth’s global-satellite system to answer the age old questions of:
“Where am I?”
“Where am I going?” and
“Are we there, yet?”
Sign up to learn how to use Global Positioning System (GPS) devices to find
your way and locate mystery caches inside the Zoo and beyond. (Bring your GPS system, if you have one, or use one of ours, if you don’t.)
Mark MacAllister, the Zoo’s Online Learning Coordinator, will lead the workshop, guiding participants through the basics of hiking with a GPS and using the Internet to find, take, leave and track caches all around the country. This program is for people with no experience in Geocaching or using GPS systems.
Society member Program Fee is $10; non-Member Program Fee: $15 per person plus Park admission. Registration is required. Limited to 15 people.
Our annual golf tournament to benefit the Barbara Hobson Memorial Scholarship—a fund that supports student projects undertaken at the Zoo to benefit wildlife or conservation.
This year’s tournament will be held at Tot Hill Farm Golf Club. The Captain’s Choice tournament will begin with a single shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. Learn more by clicking here.
Corporate, Team & Single Player Packages Available:
$500 - Corporate Team; $380 - Regular Team; $95 - Single Player
Curator of Horticulture Gin Wall will lead this shuttle trip to Raleigh to visit some of the Capital City’s more interesting gardens and nurseries.
Our bus will depart from the Zoo at 8:30 a.m. Ms. Wall will be on board, with games and activities aplenty to keep travelers engaged along the route and between stops. Lunch is included.
Member Fee: $40. Non-member fee is $50. Registration is required. (Photo by Valerie Abbot)
Back by popular demand, Dr. Geology (Chris Tacker) returns from the N.C. Museum of Natural Science to talk some more about the Zoo’s rock, the tales they tell of ancient volcanoes and how we know that the Uwharries are NOT the world’s, the United State’s or even North Carolina’s oldest mountains.
Find out about the local Zoo rocks in the morning, beginning at 10 a.m. in the Stedman Education Building.
Join us for an easy (and, oh, so scenic) walk up Ridges Mountain (a spectacular, nearby Monadnock) in the afternoon. The hike is short -- just a bit longer than a mile -- and leads to some of the region’s most unusual, dramatic, gigantic and amazing volcanic boulders.
Society members may attend either program for $10 or both for $15. Non-Society member fees are $15 for each program.
Society Programs Set for June
Professional photographer Vinny Colucci will lead this always-popular photo safari for children. Suitable for 5 -12 year olds accompanied by a parent, our photo class begins at 1 p.m. in the Stedman Education Building. Please bring a camera for your child to use and wear comfortable walking shoes. Program begins at 1 p.m.
Dragonflies and Butterflies
We are offering two programs to examine these jewels of the sky. Butterflies open the day's programs with an 11 a.m. look at the local beauties and the plants that attract them.
Dragonflies follow at 12:30 p.m.
Both programs will begin in the Stedman Education Building and end on the banks of a Zoo pond.
An easy walk in the Park to meet, greet and get to know summer's winged wonders.
Society members can attend either program for $5 or both programs for $8. Non-member fees are $8 per program.
*All Society events and programs require pre-registration. Registration opens six weeks prior to the schedule date.
If you would like additional information on these programs, please contact Karen Powell at kpowell@nczoo.com or 336.879.7262.
Upcoming Zoo Programs
Zoo summer programs for kids are available to everyone and are listed in detail on the Zoo and the Zoo Society's Web sites.
The N.C. Zoo offers story hours for pre-schoolers, and day camps and overnight camping for rising 1 - 3 and rising 4 - 6 graders. Zoo programs are open to everyone. Contact Melinda.Prior@nczoo.com for more information.
Surprise Mom (or Dad) with a Bundle of Joy on Mother’s (or Father’s) Day and make a Zoo animal happy, too.
Honor your Mother or Father with one of the special adoption packages we put together for their special days.
Mom’s adoption arrives with a fashionable, insulated lunch bag and Dad’s comes with a Society baseball
cap.
Adopt any one of three feminine options for Mother’s Day (Butterfly, Meerkat or Elf Owl) and three masculine types (Gorilla, Cougar, Peregrine Falcon) for Father’s Day. We include your personal message in the adoption package, which contains an official adoption certificate and a fact sheet with a picture of the adopted animal.
Best of all, proceeds from these adoptions buy tasty treats and toys for the Zoo's animals and provide training programs that help our keepers provide the best care possible for the Zoo's animals.
For more information or to order, contact Karen Brown, (336) 879-7289 or e-mail kbrown@nczoo.com.
When we Talk About Training and the Best Care Possible, We are Talking About...
...things like beef-flavored toothpaste and lessons on calming a Grizzly Bear while brushing its teeth.
Our keepers are the best -- and our Animal Enrichment Programs keep our animals’ teeth and our keepers’ fingers intact!
To all of our adopting parents we say, “Thank You” for helping the Zoo provide humane, quality care to its animals and for helping us ensure that the Zoo's keepers have the tools and the skills they need to make life interesting, comfortable, fun and healthy for our animals.
If you haven’t seen Watani, You Haven’t Seen the Zoo!
The new exhibit is open and is nothing short of spectacular. Come and enjoy.
Meet the new elephants when you arrive. Your upcoming Alive includes a field guild to the Zoo’s elephants -- with tips on ways to recognize each of them. Click here to down load a pdf of these identification pages.
Join our Watch Out for Wildlife Campaign.
Coming soon, the Zoo’s roads, trams and parking lots will have signs asking our visitors to slow down and watch out for wildlife while driving through and around the Zoo.
Turtles, frogs, birds, rabbits, squirrels,and snakes use our roads, too, and we cherish every creature.
Please drive slowly and carefully inside the Zoo so that you won’t run over, kill or harm any of these wild animals.
Watch out for wildlife anytime you are driving, but please be especially thoughtful of the native animals living here in the Park.
Want to Do Some Good!
The Zoo's Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is always looking
for dedicated volunteers to help rehabilitate orphaned and injured native wild animals. These animals end up at the Center when caring people find them and turn to the Zoo for help.
This volunteer program is great for anyone who loves wildlife and is also an outstanding learning opportunity for high school and college students who dream of becoming a veterinarian, an animal keeper, etc. some day. To volunteer, call Toy Jarrett at 336-879-7712.
And, if you find an orphaned or injured native animal, please call the Center for help. The number is 336-879-7644. Staff is available at the Center from 8 a.m. through 10 p.m. The Center relies on dedicated volunteers and generous donors to provide free veterinary and rehabilitative care to North Carolina's native animals.
Links of Interest
Let our Web site help you find answers to your questions about estate planning, planned giving or your will. Every month we feature new articles and interactive features that examine these and similar topics. We hope you will find this information helpful. New This Month...
Act Now! Take Advantage of Higher Gift Annuity Payout Rates
Effective July 1, 2008, the suggested rates from the American Council on Gift Annuities will decrease because of current economic conditions. Therefore, if you are considering making this type of charitable gift, you can receive higher payments if you complete your gift prior to July 1, 2008.
Bequest Basics: Four Ways to Leave It All Behind
Learn how John F. Kennedy, Jr.; Babe
Ruth; President Richard Nixon; and Walt Disney transferred property to their
beneficiaries.
Tips for a Sound Estate Plan
The "80/20 Rule" states that
20 percent of what we do now affects 80 percent of what happens in the future.
Learn how to focus your estate planning efforts on the critical 20 percent.
Russlings – Visit the Zoo Society Executive Director’s personal blog for current photos and discussions on the N.C. Zoo, animals and conservation.
Reminders
Don’t Stand in Line at the Zoo!New Zoo policies that are designed to streamline the entry process for all Zoo visitors require that all members enter through Express Entry, Member’s only ticket booths.
So next time you visit, head for the Society ticket booth 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
The Zoo Society offers a travel program for people who care about nature and enjoy the company of expert guides who have a history with the N.C. Zoo Society.
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.
Contact Info
Send questions and comments about Web and Z-mail content to Jayne Owen Parker jparker@nczoo.com
Send other questions and comments 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.
