MEDIA KIT: NEW AT THE ZOO IN 2010
MEERKAT EXHIBIT Exhibit Overview 2 Meerkat Fact Sheet 3 Support for Exhibit 5 Nocturnal Animals Join Adaptations Building 6
NEW WEST ENTRANCE Entrance Overview 7 Special Features 8 Sustainable Design 9 Support for Entrance 10
Summer Fun at Woodland Park Zoo 11 About Woodland Park Zoo 12 Available Images and Credits 13 Ryan Hawk
CONTACT For more information, photo requests or to schedule an interview with Woodland Park Zoo staff, please contact:
Woodland Park Zoo Public Relations | 601 N. 59th Street | Seattle, WA 98103 [email protected] | 206.548.2550 | www.zoo.org
Gigi Allianic, Public Relations Manager
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MEERKAT EXHIBIT OVERVIEW
Follow the pathway leading into a revamped Adaptations Building, and you’ll come upon some of the busiest animals at the zoo—the meerkats! You’ll find a mob of these mongooses dwelling in a newly renovated exhibit presented by U.S. Bank and The Seattle Times.
After a 10-year absence at Woodland Park Zoo, in 2010 we will welcome back eight of these highly engaging animal ambassadors to our living collection. Visitors will learn about the unique social and cooperative behaviors that allow wild meerkats to survive in the harsh, semi-arid savanna of the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa and the role that small mammals play in the fascinating African animal kingdom.
VISITORS WILL EXPERIENCE:
NOSE-TO-NOSE ENCOUNTERS: Visitors will watch attentively
as meerkats scamper into their tunnels, nurse their young, or stand at
attention atop the naturalistic outcroppings as sentinels of their new
habitat. A glimpse into a log den will create visual depth and give
visitors a peek at life inside meerkat burrows, which serve as nursery and nesting rooms.
Ryan Hawk
MAKE LIKE A MEERKAT: Kids can play sentinel and look out for predators, or pop up into a burrow and live the co-op life, in an all new play area located at the north entrance to the Adaptations Building. Encouraging full-bodied play, kids will connect with the fascinating lifestyle of these tunneling creatures.
Ryan Hawk
EXHIBIT PUBLIC OPENING May 1, 2010 LOCATION North end of Adaptations Building PROJECT COST $150,000 EXHIBIT DESIGNER Woodland Park Zoo PRESENTING SPONSORS U.S. Bank; The Seattle Times
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MEERKAT FACT SHEET
MEERKAT (S. SURICATTA)
CLASSIFICATION AND RANGE The meerkat belongs to the family Herpestidae or mongoose family. Meerkats are part of the group of mammals known as carnivores, which means they eat mostly meat. Meerkats dwell in the savannas and grasslands of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Angola.
HABITAT Meerkats live in the Kalahari Desert, which is not a true desert as it supports many plants and animals. Temperatures reach over 100oF in summer and drop down close to freezing in the winter. Meerkats will use their claws to dig large underground burrows, but spend much of the day outside foraging, babysitting, grooming each other, or playing, with a sentry keeping an eye out for danger. Meerkats are the most social of all the mongooses, and family groups live together in a pack or colony, which can contain up to 30 individuals.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION Meerkats have brown, yellowish, or gray fur, with brown stripes running up and down their backs. They have long snouts, black noses, black fur around their eyes and ears, and black tips on their long tails. Meerkats weigh less than 1.5 ounces at birth and just over 2 pounds as adults; they are usually 12 inches tall, with 8 inch long tails.
LIFE EXPECTANCY Meerkats have an average life expectancy of 12–14 years.
DIET Diet consists mostly of insects, but meerkats will also eat small lizards and snakes, scorpions, spiders, mice, eggs and some plants. Each colony has different food preferences based on the local environment. Meerkats forage in a group with one sentry on guard watching for predators. Adults teach pups how to catch insects and Ryan Hawk scorpions, and they begin foraging on their own at about three months.
REPRODUCTION Meerkats become sexually mature at 1 year of age. Each meerkat family is made up of a breeding pair and their offspring. Only the dominant pair in a colony are usually allowed to mate. Meerkats will mate any time during the year. Females give live birth after 11 weeks of gestation. A female can have one to five pups in a litter.
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LIFE CYCLE Young meerkats are called kits or pups. Pups are born inside the burrow hairless and blind, and do not come above ground until at least 21 days of age. They are fully grown at about 6 months old. Meerkats will take turns babysitting and even nursing the pups, and teach them how to catch food. Even with all of this care, it is estimated that only about 20% of pups survive to adulthood.
Meerkats must look out for predators like snakes and birds of prey. The sentry will make chirping calls to the colony, and all of the meerkats will run into the nearest burrow.
Meerkats often stay in the same matriarchal colony their whole lives, but male and female pairs may break off and form new families at anytime due to a fight or loss of dominant status, but it happens most often when a female meets a roving male.
COMMUNICATION Meerkat groups communicate using a wide range of body signals as well as numerous types of calls ranging from chirps, growls, trills and barks. They communicate in order to warn each other about predators or rival meerkat troops approaching the burrow. They will also vocalize during play.
Meerkats will let pups beg for food until a certain age, and then they stop responding to the pups’ demands. Some evidence suggests that after a certain age the sound of the pups’ begging chirps is no longer cute to the adult meerkats, it’s just annoying! Ryan Hawk WOODLAND PARK ZOO IS HELPING—WITH YOUR SUPPORT Woodland Park Zoo supports the International Field Training Programs in Conservation: Partnerships for the World program based in Southern Africa.
Each in situ project supported by the zoo aims to provide a broad, holistic approach to conservation, encompassing research, education, habitat and species preservation. This includes comprehensive, cooperative strategies to link the needs of animals with the people who share their ecosystems.
HOW YOU CAN HELP The effort to save animal species requires cooperation and support at the international, national, regional and individual levels. You can help in this cause. Join and become active in Woodland Park Zoo and other conservation organizations of your choice. Let your elected representatives know your views on protecting endangered species and wild habitats. Please do not buy products made from wild animal parts.
Contact Woodland Park Zoo at 206.548.2500 to find out how you can support conservation efforts at the zoo. 4
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SUPPORT FOR MEERKATS
Woodland Park Zoo is thankful to the following private supporters for bringing meerkats back to the zoo:
DONORS • Mylo and Marion Charlston
• Joan and Irwin Goverman
• In honor of Rick and Nancy Alvord
• James and Kalpana Rhodes Courtesy Oregon Zoo • Nancy and Ellsworth Alvord Ryan Hawk
SUPPORTER SPOTLIGHT • Our Wild at Heart annual donors and all zoo members
"U.S. Bank is very pleased to be the 2010 sponsor of the meerkat exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo," said Kenneth M. Kirkpatrick, President, Washington State, U.S. Bank. "The zoo has been a cherished community resource SPONSORS for more than 100 years and a point of pride for • U.S. Bank all of us who call the Northwest home. We share their zeal for doing everything we can to enrich the quality of life in our community, • The Seattle Times offer exceptional learning experiences and create memories that last a lifetime."
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NOCTURNAL ANIMALS JOIN ADAPTATIONS BUILDING
After meerkats debut to the public, they will be joined in summer 2010 by several new denizens of the newly improved Adaptations Building thanks in part to the generous gifts of the community and BNSF Foundation.
After closing the energy-inefficient Night Exhibit in March 2010, zookeepers and exhibit designers have modified the Adaptations Building to make room for several Night Exhibit transfers: Rodrigues fruit bats, springhaas, tamanduas and two-toed sloths.
Look for these animals to make their debut to the public in revamped exhibit spaces adjacent to meerkats.
ABOUT THE ANIMALS:
RODRIGUES FRUIT BAT
The critically endangered Rodrigues fruit bat lives only on the small island of Rodrigues, part of the nation of Mauritius. These islands are approximately 900 miles east of Madagascar in the southwestern Indian Ocean. To help protect these animals in the wild, Woodland Park Zoo provides financial support to the Rodrigues Environmental Educator Project.
Ryan Hawk
SPRINGHAAS These small rodents from south eastern Africa are strong leapers with kangaroo-like legs. Also known as springhare, these animals are in fact not hares, but members of the Rodentia order, with squirrels, gophers and beavers as their closest living relatives.
Wikipedia user: devonpike
TAMANDUA Tamanduas are semi-arboreal anteaters found in the Americas. These anteaters have small eyes and poor vision, depending primarily on their senses of smell and hearing to locate prey.
Ryan Hawk
TWO-TOED SLOTH
Native to Central and South America, two-toed sloths are rain forest dwellers, spending most of their time in the tree canopy. Two-toed sloths move through the treetops using hand-over-hand motion, and get their name from the two toes present on their forefeet.
Dave Pape
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WEST ENTRANCE OVERVIEW
Replacing the current North and West Entrances, the zoo’s all new West Entrance featuring sustainable design will be a great benefit to the more than one million visitors to the zoo each year.
At Phinney Ave. N. between N. 55th Street and N. 56th Street, visitors will first encounter the new Bank of America Commons before entering the zoo, complete with amenities including family restrooms, a convenient coffee cart and a safe, welcoming space for groups to gather before embarking on their zoo adventure.
Head toward the ticketing windows and you’ll find an all new entry system that will reduce wait times on busy days from 45 minutes to no more than 5 minutes. Plus, visitors will now have easy access to stroller or wheelchair rental, restrooms, coffee, souvenirs, and improved membership services, all enhanced with more than 58,000 square feet of landscaping and site improvements.
The new West Entrance is part of the zoo’s Long-Range Physical Development Plan, which was passed unanimously by Seattle City Council in October 2004 after an extensive, five-year public involvement process.
Rendering by Weinstein | AU
ENTRANCE OPENING May 1, 2010 LOCATION Phinney Ave. N. between N. 55th Street and N. 56th Street SIZE 8,275 square feet of building space including ticketing, visitor assistance and ZooStore; 50,000 square feet of landscaping and site improvements
PROJECT COST $7.5 million, second phase of $14 million penguin/West Entrance project GENERAL CONTRACTOR Unimark DESIGNER Weinstein A|U (exhibit); SiteWorkshop (landscape) 7 PROJECT MANAGER Monica Lake, Woodland Park Zoo
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WEST ENTRANCE SPECIAL FEATURES
BANK OF AMERICA COMMONS Come in off busy Phinney Avenue N. and find a welcoming space to gather with your friends and family before embarking on your zoo adventure. The Bank of America Commons features two family bathrooms available for zoo visitors outside of zoo gates. During the summer season, enjoy a cup of coffee from our gourmet coffee stand featuring environmentally-friendly, shade-grown blends from locally-owned Caffé Vita. Stop for a photo op with your family at an all new, signature Woodland Park Zoo feature sign. And hear the roar of the wild with state-of-the-art soundscaping that immerses you in the zoo experience, featuring real audio samples from Woodland Park Zoo animals.
ZOOSTORE Guests entering and exiting through the West Entrance will no longer have to trek to the ZooStore located in the South Plaza to take home a treasured souvenir of their exciting day at the zoo. A fully stocked second ZooStore location at the new West Entrance will feature the same popular clothing items, stuffed animals, books and jewelry enjoyed by guests, as well as Conservation Commerce items that help support conservation programs protecting wildlife, wild places, and Conservation commerce like this merchandise from Snow Leopard Enterprises will be available for sale at the ZooStore the people who depend on them around the globe. as a way for visitors to support conservation efforts world- wide. Photo by Ryan Hawk.
MEMBER AND VISITOR SERVICES OFFICES Members will be able to get their membership cards printed instantly at an all new, inviting membership services office. Get in-person customer service to answer all your member questions. Then, with membership card in hand, you’ll be able to practically walk right in and start your zoo adventure. And visitors can pick up information, access stroller and wheelchair rentals, or receive first aid at an all new visitor services office just inside the West Entrance.
HUMBOLDT PENGUIN EXHIBIT Upon entering the zoo through the new West Entrance, visitors will follow the sight and sound of an active blowhole to first encounter the state-of-the-art Humboldt penguin exhibit opened in 2009. This award-winning exhibit recreates the desert coast of Punta San Juan, Peru—home to the endangered Humboldt penguin—and gives visitors the chance to see penguins in action with nose-to-beak underwater views. Like the new West Entrance, the penguin exhibit was built with the environment in mind. Sustainable design allows the exhibit to save 3 million gallons of water and 22,000 kilowatt
hours of energy each year! Jennifer Svane 8
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WEST ENTRANCE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
As part of Woodland Park Zoo’s ongoing commitment to green practices, the new West Entrance is targeting Silver certification through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.
Sustainable highlights of the West Entrance and its construction include:
RAINWATER INFILTRATION The West Entrance is designed to infiltrate all rainwater that falls on the site and roofs through a large-scale infiltration system. By capturing rainwater and filtering it through the ground, the zoo will prevent runoff that could potentially pollute our natural water resources including Puget Sound.
TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES Visitors will be encouraged to reduce car trips to the zoo with a new entrance that features a landscaped path with access to an existing bus stop and signalized pedestrian crossing, as well as covered bicycle parking.
BUILDING DESIGN The exterior siding of West Entrance buildings is all Forest Steward Council-certified (FSC) wood protected with an environmentally friendly preservative that is non toxic to workers and the environment. Energy waste is reduced by passive heating and cooling of the new buildings; windows and skylights placed adjacent to work areas, allowing more natural light and reducing the need for artificial lighting; and bathrooms with low-flow toilets and high-speed, hygienic hand dryers that use 80% less energy than warm-air dryers.
ENHANCED LANDSCAPE This area of the zoo will be enhanced with the addition of more than 48,000 square feet of landscaping, featuring 80 new trees and numerous plantings. Such plantings will help to increase the overall zoo canopy—which has already more than doubled in the last 40 years—and add shelter and food sources for local wildlife. The plantings will also provide additional rainwater absorption and transpiration as part of the stormwater mitigation plan.
Aerial view of Woodland Park Zoo and its growing canopy taken in 2008. Photo by Ryan Hawk.
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SUPPORT FOR WEST ENTRANCE
Woodland Park Zoo’s new West Entrance was funded entirely through the generous gifts of private supporters.
Major supporters of the new West Entrance include:
• Bank of America Charitable Foundation
• An anonymous donor
• The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Joshua Green Foundation SUPPORTER SPOTLIGHT
• Mike Halperin and Jodi Green
• John C. and Karyl Kay Hughes Foundation
• Juniper Foundation The new West Entrance was made possible thanks in part to a $1 million grant by the Bank • Microsoft Corporation of America Charitable Foundation.
Bank of America supports non-profits serving • M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust as community anchors that drive economic, educational and cultural growth for a region. • The Norcliffe Foundation “Since opening more than 100 years ago, • PACCAR Inc Woodland Park Zoo has played a critical role in our community, spurring economic and • The Pigott Family educational growth for visitors from across the country and residents alike,” said Peter Joers, • The Ragen Family Washington Market President, Bank of America. “We are pleased to support the environmentally responsible features of this • The Seattle Times project and the enhancements that will improve the guest experience and update the zoo's • The Williams Family business-management abilities.”
• The Wright Family Photo: Bank of America staff pose with zoo officials at the con- struction of the Humboldt penguin exhibit, phase one of the penguin/West Entrance project. Photo by Ryan Hawk.
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SUMMER FUN AT WOODLAND PARK ZOO
Kick off the summer season with the return of meerkats. And now you can get there quicker with an all new, Daily Schedule more convenient West Entrance. You’ll also discover May 1 – September 30, 2010 how the zoo—and you—can share the habitat with animals around the world and in your backyard. 10:00-11:00 a.m. Giraffe Feeding* 10:30 a.m. Zoomazium Creature Feature
African Savanna Safari (begins near 11:00 a.m. Savanna Aviary, Wed-Sun only) 11:00 a.m. - Animal Contact Experience (Family Farm) 5:00 p.m.
Keeper Chat (See entry kiosk for daily 11:30 a.m. locations) 11:30 a.m. Shake, Rattle & Roar (Zoomazium)
African Village Storytelling (Wed-Sun Noon Ryan Hawk only) 12:30 p.m. Raptor Flight Program (Weekends only) During your visit: • Feel the breeze of the barn owl’s wings at our 12:30 - 4:30 p.m. Upapi! (African beading)* free-flight raptor program. Afterwards, learn how you 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Nature Exchange Trading can improve habitat in your yard or community for owls Keeper Chat (See entry kiosk for daily 1:30 p.m. and other animals. locations) • Hear a story about riding a giraffe from a Maasai 2:00 p.m. Keeper Chat (Elephants) interpreter. Then make a beaded bracelet to Wonderful Waterholes (Hippo Pool, Wed- support waterhole restoration for wildlife in Kenya. 2:00 p.m. Sun only) • Eat like an animal! In a fun education activity, Raptor Flight Program (Mon, Wed, Thurs, follow a “shopping” list and fill your basket with 2:30 p.m. Fri only) healthy choices for your species and the climate. Learn how the zoo has reduced the carbon footprint of our 2:30 p.m. Meerkat Keeper Chat (Weekends only) animal diets and how you, too, can eat a low carbon diet. 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. Giraffe Feeding* 3:00 p.m. Keeper Chat (Weekends only, See entry Plus: kiosk for daily locations) • Feed the giraffes 3:30 p.m. Raptor Flight Program (Weekends only) • Ride the historic carousel 5:00 p.m. Zoomazium Puppet Show • See a Zoomazium puppet show *Fee for participation • Hear fascinating animal stories at Keeper Chats
For fun, engaging encounters that the whole family will enjoy, there’s no place like Woodland Park Zoo in summer 2010.
Summer hours and fees (May 1 - September 30): 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m.; Adult (13-64) $16.50; Child (3-12) $11; Toddler (0-2) Free. Seniors and people with physical disabilities receive a $2 discount and zoo members receive free zoo admission year-round. Parking: $5. 11
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ABOUT WOODLAND PARK ZOO
Woodland Park Zoo saves animals and their habitats through conservation leadership and engaging experiences inspir- ing people to learn, care and act.
A SEATTLE TRADITION For 110 years, Woodland Park Zoo has served as an urban oasis, gathering generations of people together to enjoy the natural world. The zoo spans 92 acres, 65 of which are developed as exhibits and public spaces. The remainder is devoted to administrative offices, a buffer zone and a neighborhood park.
HOURS AND FEES Hours: October 1 - April 30: 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. May 1 - Septem- ber 30: 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Woodland Park Zoo is open every day except Christmas Day. Fees: October 1 - April 30: Adult (13-64) $11; Child (3-12) $8; Toddler (0-2) Free. May 1 - September 30: Adult (13-64) $16.50; Child (3-12) $11; Toddler (0-2) Free. Seniors and people with physical disabilities receive a $2 discount and zoo members receive free zoo admission year-round. Parking: $5. Brian Tyl
COLLECTION Animal care professionals at Woodland Park Zoo are experts in their field and provide the highest quality care for animals every day. The zoo manages the largest live animal collection in Washington state, with more than 1,100 animals, representing nearly 300 species plus 62 species of invertebrates. The zoo provides a home for 35 endangered and five threatened animal species. The zoo’s botanical collection includes more than 92,000 plants and trees representing more than 1,000 species.
FIELD CONSERVATION Through funding provided by the zoo’s Partners for Wildlife, Conservation Dues, Jaguar Conservation Fund, and the contributions of zoo members and donors, the zoo is supporting conservation of wildlife, preserving fragile habitats, and increasing public awareness for wildlife and environmental issues. The zoo currently partners with 38 field conservation projects taking place in more than 50 countries around the world. These include some of the smallest life forms, like the endangered Oregon silverspot butterfly, to the largest mammals on land, the African elephant.
EDUCATION As the Washington hub for excellence in conservation education, the zoo’s programs are grounded in an outcomes- based framework focusing on connecting children to nature, developing ecological literacy and providing pathways to conservation. From early learners to senior learners, and on and off grounds, the zoo’s developmental approach to lifelong learning is to foster empathy for nature, build conservation knowledge and skills, and increase people’s personal ownership for action that benefits wildlife and habitats. In 2009, more than 660,000 visitors participated in the zoo’s public programs and nearly 86,000 students, teachers and chaperones visited the zoo in school groups or received a zoo outreach program.
AWARD-WINNING EXHIBITS Woodland Park Zoo is famed for creating revolutionary naturalistic exhibits that began a shift that changed the face of zoos worldwide. The Association of Zoos & Aquariums has honored the zoo with six major exhibit awards: Jaguar Cove, Trail of Vines, Northern Trail, Tropical Rain Forest, Elephant Forest and African Savanna. 12
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AVAILABLE IMAGES AND CREDITS
Images are available on the media kit CD or by contacting Woodland Park Zoo Public Relations: [email protected] ; 206.548.2550.
Available Image File Name Caption Credit
west entry render- A rendering of the new Weinstein|AU ing_Weinstein AU, Stu- West Entrance, featuring dio 216.jpg the Bank of America Commons.
2010-03- Woodland Park Zoo’s Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo 16RHawk127Meer- mob of meerkats. kats_5x7.jpg
2010-03- Profile of a Woodland Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo 16RHawk147Meer- Park Zoo meerkat. kats5x7.jpg
2010-03- Close up of a Woodland Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo 16RHawk150Meer- Park Zoo meerkat. kats5x7.jpg
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Woodland Park Zoo saves animals and their habitats through conservation leadership and engaging experiences, inspiring people to learn, care and act.
www.zoo.org
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