Zoo Update

Another year has flown by and wow, are my arms tired! While you are groaning, just think about all of the great things that happened at your Zoo last year, including animal births, special events, a record-breaking Beastly Ball and much, much more. But let’s not look back, as it’s all documented in the Zoo View Annual Report edition. Instead, let’s look forward. Better yet, let’s make some wishes—not resolutions—for the coming year.

Let’s not look back… let’s look forward. Better yet, let’s make some wishes—not resolutions—for the coming year.

I wish that no more animal or plant species will be lost in 2018 and that poachers will find a new way to make a living. I wish to meet as many of you as I can when you visit the Zoo and thank you for your support. I wish that our new positions—animal nutritionist and the Species Conservation Action Network curator—will be filled with individuals as capable and passionate as all of our existing employees. I wish for animal programs to produce sufficient numbers of offspring to support our population sustainability goals. And I wish for the Zoo’s new vision plan for future development to be approved by the City of Los Angeles so we can begin the next phase of Zoo improvements.

Oh, and I also wish that you will take advantage of all the opportunities at the Zoo in January whether it’s a visit, education program, or Zoo Camp. For wildlife, don’t forget National Bird Day on January 5 and do your own backyard bird count. I am sure it is on your calendar along with January 18, which is National Thesaurus Day. (I wonder if it has another name?) But really, every day is a National Day at the Los Angeles Zoo, so celebrate every day by enjoying the outdoors and the species that inhabit it at the Zoo.

For National Bird Day, why not…

• Come to the Zoo and take in the World of Birds Show.
• Visit our new songbirds and other avian residents—see this month’s feature story to find out where they can be found.
• Sign up for the members-only Great Backyard Bird Count bird walk that takes place over Presidents’ Day weekend on February 17.