CONSERVATION – A COLLECTIVE EFFORT
Did you know?
Twenty-five cents from every Louisville Zoo general
admission ticket and one dollar from every membership
now goes to conservation. Collectively, these quarters and
dollars can make a huge impact! Just by visiting the Zoo or
becoming a member, you play an important part in helping
vital conservation efforts around the world. Below, learn
more about two of our conservation partners that you help
support — Wildlife Conservation Society and Dian Fossey Gorilla
Fund International.
Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund International
Founded by Dian Fossey in 1978, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
International is dedicated to the conservation and protection
of gorillas and their habitats in Africa though promoting
continued research on gorillas and their threatened
ecosystems as well as providing education about their
relevance to the world in which we live. A staff of Rwandan
and Congolese trackers, educators and scientists are on the
ground every day in Rwanda and Congo protecting gorillas
against threats from poaching, loss of habitat and disease.
The Fossey Fund’s Karisoke Research Center has been protecting
and studying gorillas for nearly 50 years, never leaving even during the most difficult
times.
Find out more at gorillafund.org
Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), founded in 1895,
works to save wildlife and wild places around the world
through science, global conservation, education and the
management of the world’s largest system of urban wildlife
parks.
WCS is leading global efforts to save Africa’s elephants
and end the current poaching and ivory trafficking crisis. In
September 2013, WCS launched its 96 Elephants campaign to amplify and support
the “Partnership to Save Africa’s Elephants” by stopping the killing, stopping the
trafficking and stopping the demand. The WCS campaign focuses on securing
effective moratoria on sales of ivory; bolstering elephant protection; and educating
the public about the link between ivory consumption and the elephant poaching
crisis. Find out more about what you can do to help at 96Elephants.org.
As part of the
Association of Zoos
and Aquariums
SAFE initiative, (read
more about this at
louisvillezoo.org /safe),
the Louisville Zoo
and fellow accredited
institutions will also
celebrate two important
dates this summer:
World Elephant Day
August 12
World Gorilla Day
September 9
Please join us as we
celebrate the importance
of these two precious
species and spread
awareness about their
plight in the remnant
wild and what we can
do to help them.
More information
is coming soon at
louisvillezoo.org/events.
Photos courtesy
of The Dian
Fossey Gorilla
Fund International
and Wildlife
Conservation
Society
Inside your Zoo
Punch, our Asian elephant, has been at the
Louisville Zoo since 1973! Elephants are vanishing
from the remnant wild at an alarming rate due to
poaching for their tusks. I encourage you to support
the effort for a ban on ivory bought or sold in the U.S.
Visit 96elephants.org for more information.
Louisville Zoo Trunkline • Summer 2016 • 7