Habitat 55 Winter 2019

The Detroit Zoological Society – a renowned leader in humane education, wildlife conservation, animal welfare and environmental sustainability – operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Center. Printed in the USA. 2 | December 2018/January/February 2019 From the Director Ron Kagan Executive Director/CEO Detroit Zoological Society The Detroit Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. You may know the Detroit Zoo was the first U.S. zoo to design and feature cage-less habitats for the animals under our care when it opened in 1928, so you can imagine how pleased we were to see Nabisco “uncage” the creatures on their animal cracker packaging this summer. More than two decades ago, we too believed the familiar red circus-animal box should be discarded and instead show wild animals in a natural setting. We commissioned a painting by artist Scott Greenig which does, in fact, abandon the old box. Created in 1995, Animal Crackers reflects our belief that we should view the animals with whom we share this planet as nature’s treasures, not objects of entertainment. That same year, the former bird house at the Detroit Zoo was transformed into the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery and became the site of the zoo world’s first permanent fine art collection. The glass-domed and inspiring architecture is also home to the Butterfly Garden, Science On a Sphere ® and an exhibit devoted to the Partula snail – a unique effort that highlights our commitment to conserving even the tiniest of creatures. The space was designed to start the Zoo experience by sparking imagination and interpreting the relationship between humans and the natural world over time and in different cultures. One way we do that is through art – and an example of this is Bullet Elephant , which appears on the cover. In commissioning this piece, we asked sculptor Mary Engel to consider the horrendous destruction of life caused by some humans, as elephants are shot (hence bullets) for their tusks (hence gold). Animal Crackers and Bullet Elephant are among the more than 140 works of art found throughout the Detroit Zoo. Establishment in 2001 of the Richard and Jane Manoogian Endowment for Wildlife Art and Interpretation ensures that we will be able to maintain our fine art collection, acquire new pieces, and deliver impactful and unique educational programs for interpretation for many years to come. As you’ll see in this issue, human constructions are abundant throughout the Detroit Zoo in the form of beautiful artwork – but the most precious works of art here consist of nature’s living, breathing creations. Habitat is produced quarterly for Members of the Detroit Zoological Society. PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT ArborOakland Group CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jennifer Thomas GRAPHIC DESIGN Jen Valente Design Copyright © 2018 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 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