Volunteer Updates and Opportunities
Celebrating YOU!
Have you seen the latest Blog Post? We are celebrating the INCREDIBLE volunteers who make the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden extra special! If you have any friends or family members who are interested in volunteering at the Zoo, feel free to forward this article their way! We are currently accepting applications for several volunteer positions, and there will be more popping up over the next few months!
**********
INSPIRED Greeter Volunteer Opportunities
Have you been looking for some volunteer opportunities during the “off-season”? The Visitor Experience team is looking for some extra volunteers to help visitors during those busy Festival of Lights nights. To learn more about the INSPIRED Greeter position, check out the position description link below:
FOL INSPIRED Greeter_Position Description.pdf
The Visitor Experience Team has also put together these wonderful resources for Festival of Lights (FOL). Whether you are planning to volunteer or if you are just coming to FOL for a night of fun, you may find some interesting fun facts!
The volunteer opportunities are available for sign ups in Better Impact, if you are interested and having trouble locating the opportunities, please reach out to me and I will help.
Zoo Updates
Bowyer Farm Updates
***********
ZooTales Podcast
Anthony Stenger joins Cincinnati Zoo’s Tara Lay to talk about their work with the Texas Lobo Coalition and wolf recovery programs! https://cincinnatizoo.podbean.com/e/tara-lay-anthony-stenger/…
Plant & Animal Updates
Fritz & Fiona getting Bibi worked up
************
A devastating goodbye to Amali
We are devastated to share that 3-year-old bonobo Amali passed away. This loss comes after a week of supportive care, due to a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) outbreak within the bonobo troop.
RSV causes infections of the lungs and respiratory tract. It’s so common that most children have been infected with the virus by age 2. It can also affect adults, but symptoms are usually milder.
Bonobos are especially susceptible to the RSV and the secondary infections that happen alongside it. Younger individuals are at an even higher risk of complications.
One of her keepers shared this about Amali:
“People say the best things come in small packages, and after working with Amali I’m here to tell you… they’re right. Amali was small but mighty. She had a huge personality. “Lil Bit,” a nickname her keepers lovingly called her, was always eager to interact with keepers … so much so we’d routinely see her arm waving in the hallway trying to get our attention. The entire bonobo troop adored her; from our large adult males to her half-brother Bo, everyone was a playmate but made sure to be gentle and tender with her.
Bonobos are incredibly intelligent, and their social group is tight-knit. The Jungle Trails team allowed every member of the troop to say a final goodbye and start the grieving process after this unexpected loss. It’s hard for everyone, and while her keepers and troop continue to grieve the loss, we’re comforted by the idea that she is reunited with her father Vernon. And despite only being 3, she has inspired countless guests to take action to help wild bonobos. We ask you to join us in celebrating her life by sharing your favorite moments or stories of Amali, and continue to be a champion for bonobo conservation in her honor.”
The Jungle Trails team is prioritizing supportive care for the rest of the symptomatic members of the troop. We see signs of recovery and remain hopeful that the infection has mostly run its course.
*************
Violet Update
Violet’s quills are made of keratin, the same as our hair and fingernails. The unique thing about crested porcupine quills is that they all have different purposes. Some are really long and not sharp at all, those just make her look bigger to predators. Above the base of her tail are the big sharp ones which she would use to back up and poke into predators. Also, at the very end of her quills she is growing her hollow quills. She uses these to rattle together and it sounds just like a rattlesnake! She is just getting used to using them and sometimes will rattle them when she gets the “zoomies” and is excited to play. She cannot shoot her quills, that is a myth.
Violet still drinks bottles but is eating more and more solid foods each day.
*********
Beaudan Update
Beaudan is 5 months old today! His horns are really starting to come in.
***********
Oaks
Trees are vital to human health & our ecosystems. Did You Know: the oak tree is the national tree of the United States? 30% of all oak species face extinction. The CREW plant lab works to save oaks. Here are some different species growing in their tubes!
**********
Who Knew?
Okapi’s have tongues long enough to lick their own eyeballs!
*********
New faces in Night Hunters
Stop by Night Hunters and say hello to the new Fennec foxes, Comet and Astrid. Fennec fox are the smallest fox species in the world. They are known for their large ears, reaching 4 to 6 inches in length. Those ears not only help them listen for prey underground, but also serve to dissipate excess heat of the desert.
***************
Cheetah Chat
Cathryn the cheetah! Less developed whiskers around the face suggest that cheetahs are not as active hunting at night compared to other felids.
**********
Volunteer Picture Submission
Check out these beautiful photos submitted by Ernie Martin, Volunteer. Here is the message he paired with the photos, “I made a short visit to the zoo this morning. Some of our animal friends were soaking up the morning sun…………getting their Ds. I caught a couple in the act of Ding and one that got its head on backwards in a rush to get outside.“
If you catch any fun photos, don’t hesitate to send them my way so I can add them in the next update!
Conservation Corner
Harapan is a Dad!
In 2015, we made the very tough decision to send the third Cincinnati Zoo-born Sumatran rhino calf, Harapan, to Indonesia so that he would have the opportunity to contribute to his critically endangered species’ survival. We are so happy to report that Harapan is a Dad and we are celebrating all over the Zoo! On Saturday, November 25, 2023, a healthy male calf, sired by Harapan, was born! Check out the People Magazine to learn more about this FANTASTIC announcement!
Click Here to Read the Article
**********
Round Up for Wildlife
With the start of Festival of Lights, we want to kick off the season by celebrating the success of our Round-up for Wildlife Program by giving money to support some of our great partners and projects!
A special shout-out goes to our fabulous SSA and Visitor Experience teams that have put in so much effort to help raise these funds and support our wonderful partners through their asks. Every time a visitor made a food or retail purchase or bought a Zoo ticket/experience, they were asked if they wanted to “round-up” their purchase total for wildlife. And so many visitors in 2023 said YES to being conservationists and donating to help wildlife – over 34,000 people, in fact!! Without SSA food and retail staff and our Visitor Experience team doing this meaningful work, we would not be able to give the $25,000 that we are able to this year! We look forward to the opportunity to share these funds with some of our Global Partner Organizations. Stay tuned for more information on the partners that will be receiving the donations.
THANK YOU to every SSA and Visitor Experience team member for making these donations possible!
***********
Recycling Holiday Lights
As we start decorating for the upcoming holidays and find old or burnt-out string lights, please consider recycling them. Although they cannot go into curbside recycling, they can be dropped off to the Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub. From there, the Hub is able to send them to appropriate parties to make sure they are properly recycled and kept out of the landfill.
The Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub accepts drop off donations Thursday 12pm – 6pm and Saturday 10am – 2pm.
************
Winter ’23-’24 Coexistence Partners Webinar Series
With winter on our heels, it’s time for another webinar series featuring our coexistence partners from around the world.
We’ve begun confirming webinar days & times with our partners, which are featured below (and will continue to be updated as we confirm more).
These partners will present their projects, wildlife, communities, and conservation aspirations followed by a Q&A, where our partners will take questions from our CZBG community. Feel free to tune in from anywhere. These webinars are a chance to learn the stories of the conservation work the Zoo supports so you can share with our visitors and be advocates for the good work happening around the world.
Mark Your Calendars: ‘23-’24 Webinar Schedule
Wild Entrust – Dr. Tico McNutt
- Wednesday, 12/6 at 11am
- Key topics: Botswana Predator Conservation program, African painted dogs, tracking, bio-boundary program, human-animal conflict
- Zoom JOIN Link or Meeting ID 828 6583 2409 and Passcode 801788
SANCCOB (Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds) – Dr. David Roberts
- Wednesday, 12/20 at 11am
- Key topics: Coastal bird rescue & rehabilitation, monitoring with rangers, and education of local community
- Zoom JOIN Link or Meeting ID 894 9724 0205 and Passcode 615997
Tusk Trust – Bernadette Clemens & Rose Hancock Pook
- Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 11am
- Key topics: Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a campaign that connects rangers from 24 African countries
- Zoom JOIN Link or Meeting ID 822 1448 1140 and Passcode 359290
Friends of Bonobos (Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary) – Candor Bourne
- Wednesday, January 24 at 11am
- Key topics: Bonobo habitat protection, reducing threat of wildlife trade, community engagement
- Zoom JOIN Link or Meeting ID 856 2962 1232 and Passcode 676653
In Case You Missed it
The Giving Tree
If you are interested in contributing, you can see the available options by clicking the link below.
Click Here to Access the Amazon Wish List
***************************
Z-Mail
Click Here for the 11/23 Z-Mail
****************************
Complimentary Zoo Tickets based on Volunteer Hours
All of the Tickets have been sorted, delivered or mailed depending on how you requested them. If you chose to pick up your tickets in the Education Building, you can pick them up at the Reception Desk on the main level. Any tickets that are not picked up by Sunday, December 10th, will be mailed!
If you did not request your Volunteer tickets in the two months, it isn’t too late to receive them. Please send me an e-mail and I will work on getting them to you.