2010 Annual Report

2010 INDIANAPOLIS ZOO ANNUAL REPORT 1 1 Mission Statement The Indianapolis Zoo empowers people and communities, both locally and globally, to advance animal conservation. The race is on. SPECIES ON THE BRINK 1 1 Outrunning Extinction Even though 2010 was a difficult year in terms of the troublesome economy I’ve often said that the thing I like best about and the weather, amazing events did occur, and the opening of what experts working in Central Indiana is our incredible call the best cheetah exhibit in the world was one of them. I thought I’d balance between lack of cynicism and lack have to continue traveling to Africa to get this close to a cheetah; I was of naiveté. Communities that are too naive wrong. Anyone can get within an inch of a cheetah at the Indianapolis Zoo, waste resources, and communities that but more important, visitors learn about their story in the wild and can are too cynical have no hope. Hope drives become a part of the conservation victories we are winning. innovation and progress, and we need a lot of that right now. Conservation, Community and a Sustainable Future. The latest information from the International We also took the time in 2010 to continue the long-term planning process Union for Conservation of Nature Red List that is so important to the Zoo’s long-term sustainability. It’s not always of Threatened Species counts just over easy to see the future clearly, which is one of the reasons we reviewed and 17,000 species that are now threatened revised our Strategic Plan. Some of our plans have timelines that stretch with extinction. Of those, 3,325 species years into the future, while others live in the moment. are critically endangered, nearly 5,000 are endangered, and another 9,000 are Our Strategic Plan clarifies where we’re going and provides essential vulnerable. The prospect of saving them directions for short- and long-term goals as we advance our Mission. It helps is daunting, but the challenge of animal us avoid wasting time and energy and provides the kind of high-level view conservation offers opportunities and hope. that helps us travel at different speeds without bumping into each other Every member of the conservation community as we pursue both goals simultaneously. The plan also reminds us of the must play a part to increase the odds of connections that are vital to maintaining this kind of institution as a part, success, not least among them accredited and promoter, of our city and state. While our international pursuits focus zoos around the world, including the our attention around the world, those same pursuits focus worldwide Indianapolis Zoo. This annual report details attention on us—the Zoo as part of Indianapolis and as a member of the the Zoo’s cooperative efforts, which have larger community in our state and country. been designed to create mechanisms that ultimately will make the difference in the Maintaining long-term perspective and planning will make us more efficient, race for survival for wildlife and wild places. as well as more thoughtful. It allows us to envision wonderful new experiences that we could never even think about if we limited ourselves to thinking only about today. The future is now, and the operative word is “hope”—hope that we will deliver to our children a world filled with the spectacular diversity that the wild world offers, alive, well and, with luck, thriving. Thank you for your support. It’s making a real difference. Michael I. Crowther The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope. President & CEO Indianapolis Zoological Society 2 2 3 3 “ – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French philosopher, author and paleontologist ” Changing the Course It’s our responsibility to save the wonders of the natural world for our children. As a long-time member of the Board of Trustees, it has always been “ ” an honor to serve one of our city’s premier organizations. This past year, however, has brought an even greater sense of pride in what our team—the Board, Staff, Volunteers, Donors, Members, Sponsors, Partners, Vendors and Guests—has accomplished and While we are taking the right steps, we need to remember plans to accomplish in the future as leaders in our community. that we will face both profound challenges and rare I want to echo Mike Crowther’s thoughts regarding how the Zoo opportunities as we move deeper into the 21st Century. fits into a larger perspective. That means we need to keep up the pace, never slowing, and always changing, always improving. It’s our responsibility First, the Zoo is a wonderful place to visit and learn. But more to save the wonders of the natural world for our children than that, the Zoo is part of a community on the move and a city to enjoy. It’s our responsibility to be good stewards of that looks back only occasionally with genuine fondness and looks the Earth and good stewards of the support you have so forward to an ever-improving tomorrow. generously supplied to us. And we know how to improve tomorrow. We know how to Please accept my sincere gratitude to all the team members compete in the marketplace of public perception and expanding whose names are included in this Annual Report for expectations—a larger convention center, more great hotels, their support of conservation and the vital work of the increased green spaces and walkways, technology enterprise, urban Indianapolis Zoo. housing, economic development and a growing cultural community, among many other important steps taken by the citizens of Central Indiana. We are smart and forward-looking and understand the importance of working together for the common good. We know Mike Wells we must join hands to do the work (Community) of accomplishing Chairman, Board of Trustees the mission (Conservation) in such a way that we preserve the Indianapolis Zoological Society natural world for our children’s future (Sustainability). We lift each other up with truly extraordinary results. Nowhere else can you get in the water with dolphins, visit the world’s most important bio-science companies, check out a dinosaur crashing through a wall, join a quarter of a million fans at the world’s most well-known auto race, take your choice of major universities to attend, shop at Saks Fifth Avenue, go to the Super Bowl, and applaud as a member of the Order of the British Empire accepts the world’s leading award for animal conservation, the Indianapolis Prize. All found right here in our community. And that’s just a small snapshot. 4 Conservation, Community and a Sustainable Future. 5 5 Winning Defined The marquee events at the Summer Olympics are the The message and the method of this exhibit combine to sprints—the 100-meter dash for the runners and the 100- deliver the story of animal conservation through words meter freestyle for the swimmers. These races are exciting and and to implant those words through the emotional dramatic, but the victories the coaches and competitors truly impact of a close animal encounter. The signs tell the prize are the relays. Winning a relay race is hard and takes a story; the cats make the case. complex and delicate balance of strategy and teamwork. Do you put your fastest competitor as the lead off or anchor? With this exhibit, the public also has the opportunity Do you go out fast or pace yourself with even splits? How to contribute to the cause, immediately and directly. do you take advantage of each team member’s individual While it’s fun for the kids to “Race a Cheetah” on strengths and mitigate your weaknesses? the track marked with an array of LED lights set to the cheetah’s blazing sprinting speed, the racers know Defeating a threat as large and as complicated as potential that their 50-cent fee goes directly to the Cheetah extinction is like planning for a marathon relay race on a Conservation Fund (CCF) in Nambia, Africa. Two- global scale. Progress demands coordination among disparate time Indianapolis Prize finalist Dr. Laurie Marker, individuals and organizations around the world. It’s a relay executive director and co-founder of CCF, consulted race run at the speed of a sprint. To keep momentum going, with the Zoo on the design of the cheetah exhibit and zoos tackle the problem on multiple levels. continues to work with the A primary strategy is to both inform and inspire public staff on cheetah-related interest in conservation. The major event at the Indianapolis issues. In 2010, 22,000- Zoo in 2010 was the opening of the “Cheetah: The Race for plus kids tried their best to Survival” exhibit, and never has one exhibit so exemplified beat the cheetah’s time (our everything the Zoo stands for. This particular exhibit features records show the score is: one of the world’s most endangered animals in the wild—the humans 0, cheetahs 22,000), beautiful, elusive and increasingly rare cheetah—and presents which raised more than these animals in a way that directly impacts the Zoo visitor. $11,000 to support cheetah conservation. Up-close, eyeball-to-eyeball, whisker-to-whisker—the visitor- big cat encounters available here pack an emotional wallop as Special thanks go to our humans experience what it’s like to be close to one of nature’s partners in this exhibit, donors most fascinating predators. How could a person not be Polly H. Hix and Tony Fair, The changed after looking straight into the eyes of a cheetah and Tony Stewart Foundation and seeing the big cat’s elemental wild nature and observing at first Dr.

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