Monthly Volunteer Meeting

Our monthly volunteer meeting was tonight at the zoo. We normally hold them in the greenhouse but couldn’t this time due to the pesticides they had to spray on the plants. So we met in the coffee shop instead. It was a little crowded, but we managed. The projector had to be pointed at the wall directly behind us, which made for a few kinked necks, unfortunately.

We had a special guest this time: Heather, our Volunteer Coordinator, brought her mother who is visiting from Washington. No one knew who she was at first, so she just sat in the crowd as if she were a new volunteer. When Heather introduced her, everybody turned and looked at her in surprise, “Oh, My! I didn’t even see you!”

We got the rundown on the Earth Day celebrations. Turns out we had the best attendance ever, in three years at the zoo! 2500 people showed up that day. I knew it was crazy…

See previous posting in this blog in APRIL titled “KIDS DAY AT THE ALASKA ZOO”

The Kids Fun Run will be happening on May 3 and Migratory Bird Day on May 11. Keep your eyes on this blog for more information on those events after they happen.

We have two new additions to our zoo family! Two little caribou calves were born, one on Saturday and the other on Monday. No word yet as to the sex of either of them, as their mothers are quite protective still.

We do have a new Sandhill Crane, whom the staff has named Fraser (Get it? Fraser Crane?) He will be put into Sandy’s old enclosure once the snow melts.

Our camel is still hanging out behind the moose enclosure. The person who donated the money to get him up here has named him Knobby 2 (apparently named after the lady’s husband) but the staff is leaning more towards Marley as he does seem to have issues with his hair.

The two tigers scheduled to arrive this month have been delayed due to logistical problems. In fact, there might even be a change of plans entirely, resulting in a whole different set of tigers coming to live with us. So far, we still believe we are getting a brother/sister pair of 3-year olds, named Romeo & Juliet.

And last, but certainly not least, we still have no word yet as to the pregnancy (or not) of the snow leopards. We do know they tried, and have been successful in past years – so the odds are good that we might get another chance at raising some kittens.