Habitat 51 Winter 2018

2 | December 2017/January/February 2018 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 © 2017 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 Printed in the USA. To the everyday visitor, the Detroit Zoo is everything a zoo should be – a magical place to see exotic animals in naturalistic habitats, connect with nature, perhaps ride the Tauber Family Railroad and enjoy a picnic. But we hope they will also discover that their Zoo is and does so much more beyond our 125 acres to advance wildlife conservation, animal welfare, humane education, environmental sustainability and community service. In addition to our wildlife conservation efforts right here in Michigan, we contribute to conservation projects on six continents! Initiatives range from working to reverse the global amphibian crisis to rescuing and rehabilitating imperiled gorilla populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (for which we received an international conservation award). We have also provided sanctuary to many exotic animals in need of rescue – a polar bear from a tropical circus, lions from a junkyard in Kansas (and even one from an urban drug house!) and thousands more smaller animals in Texas in the largest rescue in U.S. history. The Detroit Zoo is home to the unique Berman Academy for Humane Education, offering a range of onsite and offsite programs with the goal of teaching people to treat other living creatures with respect, responsibility and compassion. And we have collaborated for two decades with an organization in the Amazon rainforest to bring education to underserved schoolchildren in this vital ecological region. We continuously advance environmental stewardship by implementing “green” policies in all areas of our operations and educating staff and visitors about reducing our ecological footprint. In addition to building the first zoo-based anaerobic digester in the country, we no longer sell bottled water on Zoo grounds – helping to keep more than 60,000 single- use bottles out of lakes, rivers and oceans annually. And we power our operations with 100 percent renewable electricity. For these efforts and others, we were recognized as the greenest zoo in the country. Whenever we talk about these mission-related initiatives, we look for ways to invite our community to join us – and you can join us on our Green Journey starting this holiday season. If you decorate, use LED lights instead of traditional lights – one string of traditional holiday lights uses the same energy as 42 strings of LEDs! Instead of buying decorations, deck the halls with natural materials such as gourds, branches and berries. Take reusable bags for holiday shopping. Combine holiday errands into one trip to reduce emissions. Reuse ribbons, bows and wrapping paper – or make wrappings from magazines, newspapers or cloth. In addition to helping wildlife and wild places, the Detroit Zoo makes an impact in the community in many ways, including contributing more than $100 million annually to the regional economy. We were the first organization to receive the Autism Alliance of Michigan’s Seal of Approval for our commitment to maintaining a safe and autism-friendly environment. We collect more than 9,000 pounds of food for Gleaner’s Community Food Bank annually during Bunnyville . Our twice-yearly Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo has seen more than 25,000 dogs, cats, puppies and kittens adopted since 1993. Our staff participates in plush animal giveaways at local children’s hospitals, food rescue at Forgotten Harvest and river cleanup with Friends of the Rouge, just to name a few, to give back to the community that gives us so much. The Detroit Zoological Society makes a tremendous impact in so many ways, both at home and around the world. We invite you to join us on our journey during this holiday season and year-round. From the Director Ron Kagan Executive Director Detroit Zoological Society The Detroit Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. The Detroit Zoological Society – a renowned leader in education, conservation, animal welfare and sustainability – operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Center.