Zoo News: Couple donates $1 million for Cougar Crossing
Larry and Phyllis Wojciechowski recently awarded a $1,000,000 donation to the Birmingham Zoo’s Cougar Crossing Capital Campaign. With an overall goal of $4 million, this donation will ensure that the project will move forward on schedule this fall.
“Larry and Phyllis have been amazing supporters of the good work we do since their first visit in 2017,” said Chris Pfefferkorn, Birmingham Zoo president and CEO. “Initially, they were moved by the extreme commitment of our zookeepers to provide the absolute best care for our animals, then they initiated an endowment for our conservation efforts. Today, they are invested in seeing the footprint of your zoo continue to grow.”
“We are thrilled to be able to invest in our zoo and its amazing staff,” said the Wojciechowskis. “The addition of Cougar Crossing will further expand education and conservation opportunities for children and adults. Bob the bobcat, and the new cougar to come, will have amazing habitats that allow all of us to learn how to live with these beautiful native animals in our great state.”
This donation, combined with grants from the Hugh Kaul Foundation, the Daniel Foundation of Alabama, the Susan Mott Webb Charitable Trust and the zoo’s junior board, have raised over $3 million towards the total goal.
The public phase of the campaign will kick off in April, with a groundbreaking ceremony later in the fall.
Barbara Ingalls Shook Foundation Primate Trek opens
The Shook Foundation has been a long-time supporter of the Birmingham Zoo, including funding for the Barbara Ingalls Shook Foundation North American Black Bear habitat and more.
The new addition to the Primates/South America building provides the zoo’s resident De Brazza’s monkeys access to a new outdoor habitat that stands free of the main building. In addition to more space for the animals, this new habitat has increased access for animal care professionals to interact with them, providing feeding and training opportunities that guests will be able to see for the first time.
According to Danielle Williams, the zoological manager of South America/Primates, “The open-air habitat allows the De Brazza’s monkeys to have a whole new view of the zoo and its visitors as they move around the viewing path. They will also get a visual perspective of the other animals adjacent to them that they have never had, which will be very visually enriching every day.”
The habitat has been designed for flexibility and with future expansion in mind, with overhead tunnels that can connect to the other indoor habitats. This would allow for other species to use this space or even add additional outdoor habitats in the future.
“We could not be more thankful for the generous donation by the Shook Foundation and their continued support of your zoo,” said Hollie Colahan, the zoo’s deputy director. “Work on this project began before the pandemic, so we are thrilled to have a new habitat to share with our guests and see our primates enjoying this new outdoor space.”
2 Eastern black rhinos welcomed
The zoo recently added two Eastern black rhinoceros to its family. This announcement also included the official public opening of the renovated Daniel Foundation Alabama Rhino Habitat on March 25.
The zoo joins fellow Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited zoos and aquariums around the world in participation with the Black Rhino Species Survival Plan (SSP).
A 5-year-old male Eastern black rhino, Moyo, came from the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri.
“Moyo means ‘heart’ in Swahili, and he has certainly stolen ours,” said Annie Kaspar, the zoo manager of Trails of Africa. “He really enjoys his training sessions and interacting with his keepers. He also loves wallowing in the mud in his habitat and eating all kinds of vegetation, especially browsing on larger branches full of leaves.”
Kesi, a 6-year-old female, came from the Pittsburgh Zoo.
Kaspar said that “Kesi loves splashing in the water, eating willow branches and spending time being brushed by her keepers.”
The Black Rhino SSP manages the captive black rhino population in AZA facilities and matches animals based on their genetic lineage. The SSP matched Moyo and Kesi and recommended that they move to Birmingham to breed and contribute to the population. With only about 5,500 individuals left in the wild, black rhinos are considered critically endangered.
“We have been working with the Black Rhino SSP to bring Moyo and Kesi here and hope for eventual breeding success,” Colahan said. “We are excited for everyone to visit both Moyo and Kesi here in their new zoo home.”
– Compiled by Leah Ingram Eagle.