This Just In
Two new giraffe youngsters just arrived at the N.C. Zoo. Both were born in May of last year. The new giraffes should be on exhibit by mid-April.
Another Polar Bear on the Way to the N.C. Zoo.
Wilhelm, the Zoo's beloved Polar Bear, has been taken off exhibit so that veterinarians can treat him for several medical problems. These treatments cannot be administered while Wilhelm has access to his exhibit pool. Because veterinarians do not know how long these treatments will take, the decision was made to bring Aquila, a 16-year old Polar Bear, back from the Cleveland Zoo.
Aquila was a former N.C. Zoo resident. He was loaned to the Cleveland Zoo more than six years ago, when the Zoo brought in Wilhelm and his former companion, Masha. If all goes well, Zoo officials hope that Aquila will be on exhibit in April.
Current Password for the members section: ribbit
Wake Up with the Animals
We're at it again—inviting our members to an early-morning, thank-you party on Saturday, April 4. Join us when we open the Zoo gates an hour early—exclusively for our Zoo Society members. The
party will begin at 8 a.m. at the North American entrance. McDonald’s
will make the party even more fun by continuing its tradition of
sponsoring a light breakfast for our guests.
Wake Up is free to Society members, who may purchase tickets
to bring non-member guests. An adult ticket is $8, a child’s ticket
is $4. Tickets for seniors are $6 each.
As a special treat, kidZone will be open for just two hours (8 until 10 a.m.) to offer members a special preview of the fun that the kidZone will offer throughout the summer.
To
attend, just register by March 13. If your group is made up entirely
of Society members, you can register by mail, by phone or by e-mailing
kpowell@nczoo.com. To bring non-member guests, call us during regular
business hours to pay with a credit card (336.879.7250).
What Else is Happening?
The rush is on for Zoo and Zoo Society employees to ready the Park for spring and for the crowds it will usher into the Zoo. Between the regular polishing and cleaning that fills the staff's winter schedules, staff is busy putting the final and nearly-final touches on a flurry of new additions to the Zoo.
Animal Additions:
Check your local news for information about new animals arriving in the next few weeks.
New Exhibits and Happenings for Everyone To Enjoy
Simex-IWerks Theater has moved from the Tram Stop in North 
America to the Junction Plaza (between the North American and African sections of the Zoo). The new theater is larger and is showing a new, original, High-Definition, 3-D film, Wild Earth Africa.
The new theater compounds the film’s high-intensity visual impact by introducing touch and scents to the audience experience. Snow, rain and wind blow through the theater when storms rage on film. And special instruments poke and tickle audience members at strategic plot points, treating viewers as if they are members of the cast.
The 10-minute movie plays daily between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tickets are $3 a person. Learn more about the storyline.
Staking Up A Place for Giraffes to Gather - Visit the Zebra, 
Ostrich and Giraffe exhibit and you will see contractors building a stairway into the trees. These stairs and their platform destination will turn into a Giraffe feeding station sometime in May. Once operational, the station will let visitors climb aboard to talk to giraffe keepers and buy browse to feed to the Giraffes.
Honeybees on Exhibit - Construction is moving along, too, for the 
Zoo’s new Honeybee Exhibit. The North Carolina State Beekeepers Association has been instrumental in funding this exhibit and in helping staff shape the exhibit's interactive, educational components. The new exhibit should be ready in early summer and will include a working hive and a bee-friendly garden.
New Wetland in the Works - Another construction project is installing a wetland beside the North American parking lots. Once working, the new wetland will intercept and filter rainwater running off the parking lots, protecting the Zoo’s internal waterways from pollutants. Two observation decks—and some interesting graphics—will be installed at the wetland, too. A great new place to cater a picnic.
A New Hiking Trail: The Zoo has opened a new hiking trail that 
follows alongside the roadway connecting the North American and the African parking lots. The trail meanders through the woods and offers a safe, shady walk to visitors who want to stroll back to their cars.
New Programs for the Very Young
Starting on June 1, the Zoo’s Play Leaders will be waiting at the kidZone’s Front Porch to welcome preschoolers and, sometimes, even younger youngsters into games that teach about nature and wildlife.
Each play session will begin at 10 a.m. and will last about 45 minutes. The schedule will follow the same routine from June through August, except from July 1 - July 6, when no programs will be offered. These play sessions are free to everyone and no one needs a reservation to join the fun.
Music Mondays - The day that offers fun-with-music sessions where 4 to 5-year-olds can sing, listen and dance to songs about animals.
Toddler Tuesdays - The day with special times for two-year-olds to move and maneuver while they learn about animals and nature.
Water Wednesdays - The day when three-year-olds can make a splash, test the water and explore where it comes from and who needs it, anway. (Children will not be able to put their heads underwater, but they should dress for getting wet.)
Nature’s Art - The day when 4-and 5-year-olds can practice expressing themselves with help from nature and the Zoo’s great Play Leaders.
Free Play Fridays - They day when kids of any age can join the fun inside kidZone as Zoo Play Leaders set up fun and games throughout the area. (Hop online to see activity locations set for every Friday.)
Got Birthdays Coming Up?
The Zoo Education Division offers hassle-free fun and educational birthday parties for children. The parties last up to an hour and a half and can be scheduled for Saturdays or Sundays at 10 a.m. or at 12:30 or 2:30 p.m.
Birthday parties are held in the Stedman Education Building, next to the North American entrance.
Zoo Society members receive a 15 percent discount on the cost of the basic party package.
Please click to the Zoo's website for more information.
Zoo Camps Will Soon be Back
Camp registrations will begin April 1. To learn more and, after April 1, to register
click here and you will be forwarded to the Zoo's camp information page.
Camp Name
|
Dates
|
Photo Safari
|
June 15
or Aug 5.
|
Cool Critters
|
June 17
or Aug. 6
|
Animal Tales
|
June 23 |
Buggin' Out
|
June 29
|
Feathers, Fur, Scales & Skin
|
July 1
|
The Scoop on Poop
|
July 9
|
Scutes, Scales & Skin
|
July 23
|
Arctic Adventures
|
July 29
|
Camp Name
|
Dates
|
ASI - Animal Scene Investigations
|
June 16
|
Tropical Treasures
|
June 18
|
A Day in the Desert
|
June 22
|
Carolina's Coolest
|
June 30
|
Going, Going, Gone
|
July 8
|
Zoo Do (All about Zoo jobs)
|
July 22
|
Amazing Adaptations
|
July 30
|
Herp Hideaways ,June 25-26 or July 15-16. This program includes a night hike
and an overnight stay. To learn more or to register (after April 1)
click here.
Animals on the Move
The Zoo is changing the nature of its African Pavilion—adding more interesting graphics and plantings, and removing some of the animals.
All but one of the Meerkats have left, and the Colobus Monkey is gone. Look for this space to grow more interesting as staff adds more family-friendly games and an even richer and more spectacular plant collection.
Can You Spare a Strike for Rhinos?
North Carolina’s Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers is hosting another Bowling for Rhinos event on Wednesday, May 13. Bowlers will start knocking back the pins at 7 p.m. (This will be the 19th event that the zookeepers have hosted!)
If you like to bowl (even if you rarely knock down a pin), you care about wildlife conservation and you are willing to find some people to sponsor your matches, then this event will be right up your alley. Even if you don't like to bowl, the keepers need volunteers to help run the event, especially to staff the registration table.
Proceeds raised at the event will support rhinoceros sanctuaries in Kenya and Indonesia. If you are interested in signing up or learning more, please contact Hannah Decker at 336.879.7659 or hannah.decker@nczoo.org or Aaron Jesue at 336.879.7672 aaron.jesue@nczoo.org.
Adopt a Plot and Help the Zoo Grow a Browse Garden
The Zoo is looking for a few dedicated families with children to help farm the kidZone’s Browse Garden. Kids that sign up will get hands-on, down and dirty classes on how to make a garden grow. These kid-wise sessions will be geared for children ages 4 to 8 but are open to everyone in the participating families.
The Browse Garden’s kids will start their new careers at a short, fun-filled orientation session. After that, the children and their families are free to attend any or all of 26 weekly, half-hour gardening and craft-making classes that Zoo staff will offer exclusively for these garden buddies.
Fee to Join: $100 - Joining families must have at least one child under the age of 10 and must agree to tend their Zoo Garden plot twice each month—on a Wednesday or a Friday—from April through September. Successful family gardeners will receive a certificate at the end of the season, along with a garden bag and the garden crafts they crafted during the spring, fall and summer.
Food and foliage harvested from the Zoo's Browse Garden is used to enrich the lives of the Zoo's animals.
To learn more or sign up, contact Ms. Jessica Hoffmire at jessica.hoffmire@nczoo.org. Please put "kidZone browse garden" in the subject line.
Update from the Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
Last year, caring people brought 718 injured or orphaned native animals to the Center for care and treatment. These animals arrived from 69 different towns and cities and included 87 different species.
Almost all of these patients had been harmed by people or their pets. Nearly 10 percent of the patients were injured by cars and another 2.4 percent were struck by lawnmowers. Pets took their toll, too. Attacks by Domestic Cats accounted for nearly 8 percent of the injuries, Domestic Dogs for another 6.7 percent. Fourteen percent of the patients arrived after falling from their nests or after their nests were destroyed. The cause of the injuries were unknown in more than 50 percent of the patients.
Donations to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center are vital to its operations and help provide medicines, foods, blankets and treatments for the injured and orphaned animals. Donations to the Center also underwrite much of the training the Center offers to aspiring veterinarians and actual veterinary students who turn to the Center to learn how to care for wildlife. The Zoo and Zoo Society deeply appreciate every gift that helps the Zoo continue this humane and important work.
You can help make the world better for wildlife by donating to support the Center.
SOCIETY EVENTS & PROGRAMS...
are for Zoo Society members and their guests. Pre-registration is required. We begin taking registrations six weeks before each event. To register, call 336.879.7250 during regular business hours.
MARCH
20 Friday Frog Walk*– 7 p.m. - Join us for a nighttime walk in the Park and a meeting with the Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles John Groves to learn to recognize the songs of local frogs. Fees: $5/member, $7/non-member.
APRIL
4 Wake Up With the Animals* – Our annual early morning
opening and breakfast thank-you for Society members.
4 GeoCaching* – Join Online Learning Coordinator Mark MacAllister to learn to use Global Positioning Systems and the Internet to explore the world. Fees: $5/member, $7/non-member. (We have GPS devices to loan for the class.)
18 Adult Photo Safari*– Spend the day with professional photographer Vinny Colucci learning ways to capture memorable photographs of wildlife. Fees: $40/member, $50/non-member. Lunch is included.
25 & 26 Zoo Snooze* – A members-only sleepover for parents and their children, ages 7-12. The evening includes a meeting with a giraffe keeper. Begins Saturday at 5 p.m. and ends Sunday at 9 a.m. Dinner, snacks and breakfast are included. Fees: $130 for one parent
child, $30 for each additional child.
MAY
16-17 Spring Zoo Snooze* – A members-only sleepover for parents and their children, ages 7-12. Dinner, snacks and breakfast are included. Fees: $100 for one parent and a child, $30 for each additional child
.
23 Turtle Tracking* – Join us to learn to use radio telemetry to track wild animals. A fun romp after a wild turtle. Fees: $5/member, $7/non-member.
JUNE
13 Children’s Photo Safari* – Professional photographer Vinny Colucci introduces 5-12 year olds to photography. A parent must accompany each child. Fees: $10 for a parent and child; $5 for an additional person.
* We begin making reservations six weeks before an event. To make your reservation, call Karen Powell (336.879.7262).
April is Zoo Fling at the Zoo
The Zoo has scheduled special events for every Saturday in April.
Click here to learn more about all the fun. Zoo Fling activities are free for everyone.
Expeditions in Waiting for 2009
Visions of Grandeur: South Africa **$6,595 
July 3-17
Your
host Rod Hackney, Zoo Public Relations Manager, will lead this safari.
Highlights
of this tour include Table Mountain, Cape Point, Kirstenbosch Botanical
Gardens, the Cheetah Outreach Center and Cape Dutch. Best of all, the
safari will also visit the legendary Kruger National Park and the
private reserve Botswana’s Tuli Circle. An optional extension to
Victoria Falls is available.
America’s National Parks *$3,967July 22-August 6
Curator
of Mammals Guy Lichty will lead this 16-day tour of some of America's
most majestic natural parks and cultural icons. The itinerary includes
Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Arches, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Bryce
Canyon and Zion national parks. The price covers 15 nights of lodging,
26 meals, 19 sightseeing tours, airfare and other taxes. Airfare is
included but could fluctuate until final payment is made.
Whales & Wilderness Adventure to Alaska **starting at $4,649 August 5-13
Join
Zoo Society Executive Director Russ Williams on his fifth trip down
Alaska's Inside Passage. The cruise ship is the 166-foot
Spirit of Discovery—small enough to
slip
into spaces that the big ships cannot and large enough to offer safe
and comfortable sailing. A four-day extension to Anchorage, Denali
National Park and Fairbanks is available.
* Based on Double Occupancy including airfare
** Based on Double Occupancy and land-only package
For more information, contact Stephanie Gee at 336-879-7253 or e-mail sgee@nczoo.com.
Planning a Legacy
Are You 70 1/2 or Older?
Thanks
to charitable IRA legislation enacted at the end of last year, you can
make lifetime gifts using funds from your individual retirement
accounts (IRAs) through 2009 without any undesirable tax effects.
More
Giving In Tough Times Can Provide More for Your Heirs and Cut Taxes
Americans
today are anxious about their money. Their stock values are falling and
their 401(k) plans are so low that it’s hard to open the quarterly
statements. It may be the wrong time to think about charitable
giving—or is it?
More
One Couple's Estate Planning Makeover
Gayle
and Andy Smith thought they had plenty of time to draw up an estate
plan. But then Gayle's mother died unexpectedly, and that rang a bell.
Maybe they weren't immortal after all. These are the five steps you
should take.
More
Organizing Your Estate Documents
Keeping
all your necessary estate planning paperwork in one place will help
your heirs carry out your wishes when the time comes. Check this list
to be sure everything is in order.
More
Send questions and comments about this Web site or Z-mail content to
Jayne Owen Parker, Ph.D. at jparker@nczoo.com.
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, please e-mail
Carolyn Parks at 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.
