Zoo Update with Connie Morgan

Campo Gorilla Reserve Welcomes Spunky New Resident
August 2, 2018

Animals & You Photo by Jamie Pham

Those of you who visit the Zoo frequently have probably noticed the many new opportunities we are offering to enjoy close-up encounters with some of our animal residents. From our varied Animals & You presentations and educational keeper talks to the giraffe feedings and hippo encounters. Our hope is that by truly connecting with animals, you will be as inspired by our conservation mission as we are.

Accredited zoos have never been more important for supporting efforts to preserve biodiversity. We work cooperatively with other zoos to manage healthy populations of rare and endangered species in our care. We recently welcomed a new female western lowland gorilla named N’djia from the San Diego Zoo in the hope that she and our silverback Kelly will hit it off and produce offspring. We sent male jaguar Lucha to Oakland Zoo as part of the jaguar Species Survival Plan because there is a female there who is a good genetic match for him. Zoos also maintain healthy populations in their care so that wild populations can be restored. Last month, as N’djia was meeting the rest of the Campo Gorilla Reserve family group, our animal care staff joined colleagues from the U.S. Geological Survey and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to release Southern mountain yellow-legged frog tadpoles that were hatched at our Zoo to parts of their native habitat in the San Gabriel Mountains, reintroducing them to areas where they had disappeared.

Your Zoo membership supports us by helping fund vital conservation projects and by demonstrating your faith in our mission to preserve wildlife for all of us.