JACKSONVILLE ZOO AND GARDENS
CELEBRATES

THE ARRIVAL OF ITS 31^st BABY GIRAFFE

January 13, 2012 – Jacksonville, FL – The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens announces the birth of a male reticulated giraffe on January 11 at 12:10 p.m.  The calf weighs approximately 145 pounds, is six feet tall and doing well.  Guests riding the Zoo Train may see the calf and its mother in the outdoor holding area, pending weather conditions or feeding or healthcare requirements. The naming rights for the calf will be auctioned off on April 28^th at ExZOOberation, the Zoo’s largest evening adult fundraiser.  

This is the second offspring for the mother, Naomi, a five-year-old, since she arrived at Jacksonville Zoo in October 2006.  The calf’s father is Duke, the 14-year-old patriarch of the giraffe herd, who has now sired a total of seven offspring since he came to the Jacksonville Zoo in April of 2003.  The Zoo now has nine giraffes in its collection. This is the 31st giraffe born at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.  

“The neonatal or ‘well baby’ exam has been completed, and the calf is off to a good start,” said Tony Vecchio, executive director of Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.  “The calf was standing on all fours within one hour of the birth and is now walking, sitting, standing and nursing properly.  The keepers and animal healthcare staff will continue to monitor the newborn closely,” he concluded.

 For nearly a century, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has been dedicated to inspiring the discovery and appreciation of wildlife through innovative experiences in a caring environment. Starting in 1914 with an animal collection that consisted of one red deer fawn, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens now has more than 1,500 rare and exotic animals and 2,000 plants. It has won national acclaim for its South American Range of the Jaguar exhibit and has the largest botanical garden in Northeast Florida. The Jacksonville Zoo is a non-profit organization and is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).  It is open year-round, seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Christmas Day, and is located on Jacksonville’s north side at 370 Zoo Parkway, one-half mile east from I-95.  For more information on the Zoo, log on to www.jacksonvillezoo.org.

January Jackpot Discounts at the Jacksonville Zoo!

January 4, 2012 – Jacksonville, FL – The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens announced January Jackpot special discounts for the month of January.  Start off the New Year right by saving money, and hit the jackpot in January…January Jackpot that is! In the month of January, 2012, come to the Zoo on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays and take advantage of special money-saving deals. January Jackpot discounts are as follows:

• $2 Tuesdays - Pay only $2 for general Zoo admission when you bring in the $2 coupon printed from jacksonvillezoo.org. Valid on January 3, 10, 17, 24, or 31, 2012 only.
• WACKY Wednesdays - Spin our prize wheel for the chance to win 10-75% off admission, free carousel or train rides, free giraffe feedings, free drinks or gift shop discounts.  Plus, go to jacksonvillezoo.org to check out the Grand Prize!
  One spin per family. Prize winner will be given a coupon redeemable at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens location specified. Coupons valid the date received only: on January 4, 11, 18, or 25, 2012 only.
• $3 Thursdays - Pay only $3 for general Zoo admission when you bring in the $3 coupon printed from jacksonvillezoo.org. Valid on January 5, 12, 19, or 26, 2012, only.
• $5 Fridays - Pay only $5 general Zoo admission when you bring in the $5 coupon printed from jacksonvillezoo.org. Valid on January 6, 13, 20, or 27, 2012 only.

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“The expression ‘win – win’ may be overused…” said Tony Vecchio, executive director of Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.  “…however, there’s no better way to describe these special January deals at the Zoo.  We usually see the lowest number of visitors in January--so, these promotions will get more people visiting at a time of the year that is perfect for a great Zoo experience.  And, these days, there are so many people looking for a great family activity at an affordable price that these deals will be irresistible.”

Coupons are required and must be printed from the website for each family discount except Wacky Wednesdays. Discounts offered in the month of January, 2012 only. Discounts cannot be combined with any other offer including Zoo Value Tickets. For more information, visit jacksonvillezoo.org.

For over 96 years, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has been dedicated to inspiring the discovery and appreciation of wildlife through innovative experience in a caring environment. Starting in 1914 with an animal collection that consisted of one red deer fawn, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has become one of the best zoos in the nation with more than 1,400 rare and exotic animals and 1,000 plus unique plant species. The Jacksonville Zoo is a non-profit organization and is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).  It is open year-round, seven days a week, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. except Christmas Day and is located on Jacksonville’s north side at 370 Zoo Parkway, one-half mile east from I-95. For more information on the Zoo, log on to www.jacksonvillezoo.org.

JACKSONVILLE ZOO AND GARDENS
BREAKS ALL PREVIOUS ANNUAL ATTENDANCE RECORDS

Jacksonville, FL – October 18, 2011 – The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens announces that the Zoo has broken all previous attendance records for its fiscal year

October 1, 2010, through September 30, 2011.  The Zoo had 751,942 visitors during this time for a six percent increase over the previous best attendance record set in 2005/2006 when the Zoo opened its popular kids’ Play Park area.  The new record attendance was also close to a 12.5% increase over the previous year’s 688,848.  Credit for this achievement goes to the Zoo’s popular spring dinosaur exhibit, DinoAlive, and its 2010 Spooktacular Halloween event record-breaking attendance that led the fiscal year to its first ever 100,000 plus attendees for the month of October.

Tony Vecchio, Executive Director of Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, said “For the past decade, our staff and Board of Directors have worked so hard to make the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens into a cultural resource for which all Jacksonville citizens can feel proud.  To see the community respond by making us the number one most visited cultural attraction in our City is so rewarding.”

For more than 96 years, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has been dedicated to inspiring discovery and appreciation of wildlife through innovative experience in a caring environment.  Since its beginning in 1914, with an animal collection that consisted of only one red deer fawn, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has become one of the top zoos in the nation.  It now features more than 1,800 rare and exotic animals and over 1,000 unique plant species. Preservation of sustainable biodiversity is a key mission of the Zoo.  The Zoo is a non-profit organization and an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.  It is open year-round, seven-days-a-week, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is located on Jacksonville’s north side at 370 Zoo Parkway, one-half mile east from I-95.  For more information, go to jacksonvillezoo.org.

JACKSONVILLE ZOO AND GARDENS SUPPORTS

REGIONAL AND NATIONAL ECONOMY

August 3, 2011, Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens generates significant economic benefits locally, regionally and nationally, according to a new analysis conducted on behalf of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).  

“Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens supports the community in more ways than one,” said Jim Maddy, President and CEO of AZA. “Not only does the Jacksonville Zoo have a deep commitment to science education and wildlife conservation, but it also generates valuable economic benefits to the region.”  

AZA has commissioned a state-by-state economic impact analysis conducted by nationally recognized economist, Dr. Stephen Fuller.  AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums generated the following impacts for the State of Florida:

·      $1,104.8 million in economic activity (contribution to national GDP);

·      $407.9 million in personal earnings (salaries and wages); and

·      12,647 jobs. 

 “Zoos and aquariums, including Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens play a significant role in the economy of Florida,” added Maddy.

 Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is a valuable community resource, including visits by more than 90,000 school children every year, and a vital role in wildlife conservation. Beyond these important community benefits, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has the following economic impact:

 ·      Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens employs 250 people;

·      Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens spends $13.6 million each year on goods and services;

·      Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens serves nearly 700,000 visitors each year.

 Dr. Fuller writes in his report:

“Annual spending by zoos and aquariums for operations and capital projects generate significant economic benefits for their host jurisdictions. These benefits build from the initial outlays, as they are re-spent across the breadth of the economy.  These benefits accumulate and expand the economy’s total output as measured by their contributions to Gross Domestic Product and respective Gross State Products.  These benefits also generate new personal earnings to the benefit of workers residing in the host jurisdictions and support job growth locally, regionally and nationally.”

 The cumulative economic impact of 212 AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums as they serve more than 179 million annual visitors is as follows:

·      $16.0 billion in economic activity (contribution to national GDP);

·      $4.7 billion in personal earnings (salaries and wages);

·      142,000 jobs.

 A copy of the report can be found at www.aza.org.

 Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better future for all living things. The AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation, and your link to helping animals in their native habitats. For more information, please visit www.aza.org.

May 24, 2011 – Jacksonville, FL – The trees in the Plains of East Africa at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens are once again alive with the chirping of wood stork chicks.  The wood storks have been building their nests annually at the Zoo since 1999.  The Zoo’s bird staff collects data on each chick, including size and health information, then bands and returns them safely to their nests each year.  

Wood storks are the only stork to breed in the United States.  They also breed in Central and South America from Mexico to Argentina.  The populations in the Southeastern United States are endangered, most likely because of the loss of optimal feeding habitat – easy access to shallow water where they have ready access to small fish.  The Zoo’s monitoring and banding data is reported to the United States Department of Interior’s bird banding laboratory.  The numbered bands allow researchers to identify individual storks as they move throughout the state and across their range.  The data is used for research purposes and to compare with other sites across the range of the species to determine how well the recovery effort is going.

“The sights and sounds of the large wood stork rookery at our Zoo make for a uniquely incredible experience,” said Tony Vecchio, executive director of Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.  “We’re very pleased that these wonderful Florida natives have chosen to allow our guests a glimpse of this spectacle of nature. It’s almost like they sense that they will be safe and protected by those who are dedicated to conservation.”

The wood stork rookery at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has had the highest productivity rate of all the colonies in Florida since 2003. Since 1999, 1,241 endangered wood storks have fledged, and another 260 are expected to fledge this year at the Zoo’s colony.  The rookery has grown from seven nests the first year to more than 116 nests this season.  

Wood storks are tall, white denizens of freshwater or brackish wetlands and swamps.  They can be identified by their long legs, featherless heads and prominent bills.  They fish with an unusual but effective method:  Opening their bills underwater, they wait for a fish to pass by then snap – like a mousetrap, the bill is closed.                                    

For more than 96 years, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has been dedicated to inspiring discovery and appreciation of wildlife through innovative experience in a caring environment.  Since its beginning in 1914, with an animal collection that consisted of only one red deer fawn, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has become one of the top zoos in the nation.  It now features more than 1,800 rare and exotic animals and over 1,000 unique plant species. Preservation of sustainable biodiversity is a key mission of the Zoo.  The Zoo is a non-profit organization and an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.  It is open year-round, seven-days-a-week, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is located on Jacksonville’s north side at 370 Zoo Parkway, one-half mile east from I-95.  For more information, go to jacksonvillezoo.org.

May 25, 2011 – Jacksonville, FL –   The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is celebrating the 30^th birthday of Quito, a silverback gorilla on Wednesday, June 1, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  There will be an information booth at the Great Ape Exhibit with fun facts about Quito as well as conservation information on gorillas. Guests are invited to come at 9:30 a.m. and sing happy birthday to Quito where he will also be given his birthday cake. Stop by the Great Ape exhibit to sign his birthday card, hear from Zoo Keepers about Quito throughout the day, enjoy gorilla enrichment and stop for a visit from Jazoo, the Zoo mascot.  A power point presentation will be provided throughout the day in the Samburu Room located at Main Camp, where guests can stop in to see pictures of Quito and learn more about his story. This event is free with regular admission into the Zoo.  

 April 26, 2011 – Jacksonville , FL – Officials at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens announced the birth of a rare female bonobo in the Zoo’s Great Apes night house the morning of April 19, 2011.   Lorel, the newborn’s mother and the matriarch of the bonobo group, was born April 17, 1969, at the San Diego Zoo and first came to the Jacksonville Zoo from the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta in 1998.  At the age of 42, she is the oldest bonobo to give birth to a viable offspring in North America and the third oldest living bonobo in the nation. DNA paternity testing with hair samples will be used to certify the identity of the youngster’s father. Mother and infant are doing very well and will rotate on exhibit opposite other groups as needed.  The newborn’s name, Baker, was selected by Sarah and Brooks Watkins.  The couple, which won the auction at the Zoo’s popular fundraiser, ExZOOberation, outbid all others to help support ape care.  They named the bonobo after their son.

 Bonobos were the last of the great apes, which also includes gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans, to be scientifically described, around 1929.  They are among the most threatened primate species, with as few as 20,000 surviving in a single dwindling region of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa .  There are only about 290 living in less than 20 zoos worldwide.

“Baker is a wonderful addition to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens’ family and a valuable asset to the conservation of the species,” said Deputy Director of Conservation and Education Dan Maloney.  “Bonobos are very special creatures, highly intelligent, highly endangered and thoroughly engaging.  We are very proud to be one of the few zoos to feature this amazing animal.”
 

April 29, 2011 – Jacksonville , FL – Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens’ female warthog, named Tale, gave birth to her first litter of four piglets on April 5, 2011. Tale was born in April 2007 and came to the Jacksonville Zoo in October 2008.  The infants’ one-year-old father, named Lenny, was born in April 2009 and arrived in Jacksonville in August 2010.  The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Yellow Species Survival Plan recommended the warthogs for breeding.  These four births bring the total number of warthogs born at Jacksonville Zoo to 15.  The mother and her piglets are doing very well and are now officially on exhibit in the Plains of East Africa at the Zoo.  

Names for the piglets were selected by the winners of a silent auction at ExZOOberation, the Zoo’s popular evening fundraiser, held this past April 16.  They are as follows:  

                        Idwal – named by Hugh and Mary Owen

                        Bodie & Chico – named by Katie Buckley

                        Frenchy – named by the Barrow family  

“Baby warthogs are a zoo director’s dream-come-true,” said Tony Vecchio, executive director of Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.  “They are so cute and so active they can’t help but draw a crowd of happy zoo visitors.” 

Although warthogs look fierce, they are actually herbivores who prefer to flee rather than fight.  Members of the same family as the domestic pig, warthogs present a much different appearance.  They have large, flat heads covered with “warts,” which are actually protective bumps, and four sharp tusks. They eat grasses and plants and use their snouts to dig or “root” for roots or bulbs.  When startled or threatened, warthogs can run surprisingly fast at speeds of up to 30 miles an hour!  

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has become one of the top zoos in the nation.  It now features more than 1,800 rare and exotic animals and over 1,000 unique plant species. Preservation of sustainable biodiversity is a key mission of the Zoo.  The Zoo is a non-profit organization and an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.  It is open year-round, seven-days-a-week, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is located on Jacksonville ’s north side at 370 Zoo Parkway , one-half mile east from I-95.  For more information, go to jacksonvillezoo.org.

March 15, 2011 – Jacksonville, FL – A male Grevy’s zebra was born at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens on Saturday, February 26. Eclipse, the 17-year-old mother of the foal, came to the Jacksonville Zoo from White Oak Conservation Center, where she was bred in January 2010.   Officials from White Oak advised that the father of the foal is an unnamed resident stallion born in 1999.  This is Eclipse’s sixth birth.  The foal weighed 108 pounds and stood at three and a half feet tall at the shoulders at birth.  Guests can see the foal frolicking after his mother in the Zoo’s Plains of East Africa exhibit.  Naming rights will be auctioned off at the Zoo’s annual ExZOOberation evening fundraiser on April 16, 2011. 

Unlike other types of zebras, Grevy’s zebras face a dire extinction crisis.  More than 15,000 of these animals roamed the savannas of Africa in the 1970s, but scientists estimate only 2,200 remain in the wild today.  The Zoo supports conservation efforts to save the Grevy’s zebra, including participation in a Species Survival Plan (SSP) through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).  This SSP allows the Zoo to work with other AZA-accredited organizations to help ensure the survivability of the Grevy’s zebra for future generations.  

 “It’s great to have a healthy foal because of the important contribution it makes to the conservation of the species,” said Craig Miller, curator of mammals at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.  “We look forward to following the next breeding recommendation from the SSP for pairing Eclipse with Mosi, our resident stallion.”

 The Grevy’s zebra is the largest of the three zebra species and originates from parts of northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia.  Although foals are born with brown stripes and fuzzy coats, they grow into their notorious black-and-white stripes by one year of age.  The stripe pattern is unique to each animal, much like fingerprints are unique to each human. They provide an important adaptation for the species that allows them to blend into their natural surroundings. 

 Foals weigh 80 to 125 pounds at birth, but can grow to be over 900 pounds as adults.   

Bring your still and video cameras as it also is a great place for pictures and videos to remember for a lifetime!

Take friends or a business client and their family for a laid back and educational day at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens!