Habitat 45 Summer 2016

2 | June/July/August 2016 During these busy days of summer, wonders abound at your zoo. Catching a glimpse of polar bears taking cooling swims, seeing the wolves basking in the sunshine, the butterflies dancing in our natural kingdom. The Polk Penguin Conservation Center is alive with plunging polar seabirds, and you can see mesmerized visitors experiencing this amazing facility for the first time. During days like these, it can be easy to forget how much is going on behind the scenes. It’s clear how we celebrate wildlife. The smiles on the faces of our visitors – especially the youngest ones – tell us we are achieving that goal. Our mission, though, is celebrating and saving wildlife, and that is at the forefront of our minds, even on the brightest summer days. It’s also front and center of our new advertising campaign, which you will see launching this month and on the next few pages of this magazine. The campaign is a unique blend of poetry, animation and art. Spoken through the hopeful and proud voice and eyes of a child, each execution tells the tale of aspiration, commitment and accomplishment. These are not just our ideas, but our ideals. Though in today’s world we face great challenges, from climate change to pollution to habitat loss to extinction to poaching and the exotic animal trade, there are things we can do that make a great difference. And we are doing them. From animal welfare efforts on a national and international level, to education here and around the world, to conservation and rescues, to our Green Journey, which includes powering the Zoo entirely through wind and a biodigester. The Detroit Zoological Society is making a difference far beyond our borders. It is our hope that people who see this new campaign will be motivated not only to visit us, but to join us on the journey, and commit to a better future for all of us. Our new campaign captures who and what we are and what we are doing, as we meet the challenge. Not just a Zoo that should or would. The Detroit Zoo is the zoo that could. 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.