Habitat 44 Spring 2016

2 | March/April/May 2016 Each year around this time, we recruit additional staff to work during the Detroit Zoo’s peak season – March through December. Our advertisement calls for smiling, energetic, friendly and enthusiastic individuals to fill a variety of roles, from guest relations supervisors and assistants to sales associates, park safety officers and Summer Safari camp teachers and aides. Pay rates and age requirements vary by position, and candidates must be available to work weekends, evenings and holidays. In comparison, imagine seeing this help-wanted ad posted just over a century ago: “Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success.” In response to this solicitation, polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was purportedly flooded with bids from more than 5,000 men eager to take their chances on a voyage to cross the icy southern continent of Antarctica. Shackleton’s 1914 expedition became what has been called the greatest survival story of all time – an 18-month struggle to lead his 28-man crew to safety after their ship, the aptly-named Endurance, was crushed in the pack ice. I read the saga of this harrowing journey when I was 10 years old and it made a huge impact on my young mind (I still have the tattered paperback). These many years later, inspiration born of Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic experience and epic crossing of the Drake Passage can be found throughout the soon-to-open Polk Penguin Conservation Center. The building’s dramatic exterior evokes a huge tabular iceberg with a crevasse and waterfall. The harsh and visceral ice world of the southern continent is recreated in a 360-degree 4-D entry experience that includes arctic blasts, waves and snow. A cool video feature called “projection mapping” depicts a phenomenon known as iceberg calving – one of nature’s most intense visual spectacles where icebergs split, sending massive cascades of ice crashing into the sea. If you would like to learn more about one of the most remarkable testaments to heroism and human endurance known to mankind, check out these documentaries: “Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure”, narrated by Kevin Spacey, and “The Endurance”, a slightly longer retelling starring Liam Neeson. I highly recommend them. Fortunately, you won’t have to endure the wait much longer to check out the most extraordinary conservation center for penguins in the world. The opening of the Polk Penguin Conservation Center promises to make 2016 a banner year, but there’s so much more in store. From Bunnyville through Wild Lights , we expect to be busier than ever – and we look forward to bringing new staff on board for this exciting journey. For information about employment opportunities or to submit an application, visit the Jobs link on our website. Safe return guaranteed! From the Director Ron Kagan Executive Director/CEO Detroit Zoological Society H ABITAT Celebrating and Saving Wildlife T h e M a g a z i n e o f t h e D e t r o i t Z o o l o g i c a l S o c i e t y Habitat is produced quarterly for Members of the Detroit Zoological Society. EDITED BY Graphinity, Inc. CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jennifer Thomas PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT ArborOakland Group GRAPHIC DESIGN Graphinity, Inc. Copyright © 2016 Detroit Zoological Society All rights reserved. PLEASE CONTACT: Detroit Zoological Society 8450 W. 10 Mile Road Royal Oak, MI 48067 Phone: (248) 541-5717 Fax: (248) 541-2489 www.detroitzoo.org For questions about membership, please contact: info@dzs.org. facebook.com/detroitzoo youtube.com/detroitzoo twitter.com/detroitzoo instagram.com/detroitzoo The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo. Printed in the USA. The Detroit Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.