WHAT'S NEW

The Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show - March 2 - 3 2013

The Greater Vancouver Zoo will be at the Outdoor Adventure & Travel show on March 2 & 3. This is a really great adventure show - BC's Largest Showcase of Outdoor Gear and Adventure Travel Experiences. If any of you are interested in coming - since we are an exhibitor at the event we are able to offer a $4 off coupon in conjunction with the show.  Here is the link to the coupon, please print off and do not forget to stop by and see us to say hello. We also have a draw and some coupons to the Zoo to give away form our booth.  We are located at booth #809 in the adventure side of the show, if you turn right when you enter the show we are in the 2nd last row - 4th booth down on the left side. Hope to see you there!

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2013 - Greater Vancouver Zoo Calendar

Our first ever Zoo calendar is here and on sale at our Front Admissions. And Hana is our Cover Girl for this year - ain't she adorable!

The cost is $10 each or you may purchase two for $16 total. 100% of the proceeds go back towards the building of a new enclosure for our porcupines.

All 12 months are extremely adorable - hope you like it!

Happy New Year...some interesting quotes to think about for this exciting 2013 year ahead!

Time is like a flowing river, no water passes beneath your feet twice, much like the river, moments never pass you by again, so cherish every moment that life gives you and have a wonderful New Year.   Unknown

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.
- Ellen Goodman

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November 10, 2012

Your loving support and well wishes since the passing of Jafari has been a great comfort  to everyone at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.  We are here because of our love of animals and all of the animals that live in our care at the zoo are an extended part of our family...so it is a extremely difficult time for everyone.

There has been so many wonderful messages, including this package of artwork we received today from the children of Sunshine Enrichment Center in Mission BC and we would love to share it with you as it truly touched our hearts

thank you....we will be displaying this outside the giraffe barn for the next little while. 

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Thank you to everyone who sent forward their name preference for our male zebra. 

The selected name was “Kito”, meaning “jewel or precious child”. Which we all think is a perfect fit for our young zebra boy!  To learn more and to see some photos of Kito please click here. 

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HELP NAME OUR MALE ZEBRA! BORN MAY 3 2012.... ITS SO EASY! click the link below to vote! 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/288RDMC

The contest is open until Friday, September 14, 2012 at 11:59pm PST. We will announce the winner on Sunday, September 16, 2012 during our Community Appreciation Day event at the zoo.

BRIDGE RENOVATIONS COMPLETED FEBRUARY 14TH 2012

We have renovated the our bridge which is located by our Arctic Wolves and near the Grizzly Bear/Eagle Habitat ahead of schedule by about 3 days!!  Thank you for your patience during the construction and we apologize for any inconvenience that this may caused you....

LIGHTS GO WILD - December 8TH 2011 - JANUARY 1ST, 2012

Stroll through the Zoo’s delightful holiday light wonderland, filled with animated light displays and seasonal sounds. 

Santa will be here on Dec 16-18 and Dec 22-24 so do not miss out on the jolly fellow along with some Christmas crafts!

Double-click on the media file for full-screen

TIME AND DATE of event:

• 5 pm - 9 pm (gate closes at 8:30 pm) - December 8th thru January 1st
• Zoo closed on Christmas Day (December 25th) evening and New Years Eve (December 31st) evening.

**Any guests visiting the zoo during the day, will be asked to exit the zoo by 4:30 pm at the latest; in order for us to prepare to re-open at 5 pm for the evening "Lights Go Wild" event.

ADMISSION PRICES are:

• children under 3 years - free
• children 3 - 15 years - $5 per person
• adults 16 - 64 years - $8 per person
• seniors 65+ years - $5 per person
• groups of 10 people or more will receive a 10% discount
• members of the Greater Vancouver Zoo - free

Free parking will be available at the zoo.

Looking for a few holiday gift items - we will have a holiday Zoo shopping gift table available to purchase: yearly memberships, day passes, adoptions, private viewings etc.

The BC Children's Hospital has been choosen as our charity of choice for the "Lights Go Wild" event, Partial proceeds from the admission tickets and donations collected at the event, will go back to help the kids at BC Children's Hospital.

Please note: the train will not be running for the "Lights Go Wild" event. Most of the zoo's animals will not be on exhibit during the evening.

***In case of inclement weather, we will make an announcement of any closure if needed on our website or through our local media.

40th WILD & WONDERFUL YEAR CONTEST - WINNERS

With over 68,000 entries into the raffle barrel and almost $70,000 worth of prizes...we know you all have been waiting to hear the news, but first can we would like to THANK ALL OF YOU for coming to visit the Greater Vancouver Zoo this year...everyone here really appreciates your support!!

So not to keep you in suspense any longer, we are happy to extend our congratulations to the following people:

GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF 2011 TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID - VAL FOSTER OF SURREY

CONGRATS VAL!

2ND PRIZE - ALASKAN CRUISE FOR FAMILY OF FOUR  - MARY FULTON

3RD PRIZE - DISNEYWORLD TRIP FOR FAMILY OF FOUR - TRACY GAUTHIER

4TH PRIZE - SAN DIEGO TRIP FOR FAMILY OF FOUR - TAMARA FINEGAN

5TH PRIZE - HAWAII VACATION FOR 2 ADULTS - CODY TUCKER

TWO SAMSUMG 40" HD LCD TV'S - JUANITA COLTMAN & MATTHEW DAWES

THREE "ACER NOTEBOOK COMPUTERS" - ROB BACON, KIM SLATER & BLAINE SMITH

TWENTY "CANON DIGITAL CAMERAS" - JASON BOOTH, NICOLE LEMAY, HEATHER PRIETO, TRACY JONES, MICAH REYNOLDS, NAVDEEP ATKAR, LOIS BRUCE, CARIN MCGILLIVRAY, BARB JOHNSON, DAN CAMPBELL, PAULETTE WEISMILLER, CARMEN NEUFELD, MIN SUNG KANG, STEVE WILSON, RACHHPAL SANDHU, MARLYN BERNAS, DANIELLE DIAMOND, LORRENA CLEARLY, CHIN HAN CHANG & JASON MCDOWELL.

TWENTY "SAMSUNG SD CAMCORDERS" - BRENDA RAAP, ASHTON WYLLIE, DEBBIE PATCHETT, DONNA FLETT, TYSON DRERNECHIK, SEAN NELISON, JAIMI  MOFFAT, ELISHA MEAD, GRAHAM, SHARON LAL, JASON CALDER, DAWNA DEISINGER, DAVID TINDALL, APRIL JONES, NAOMI NAKAGAUA, MIKE MICHALKOW, SANDY BURT, WEIJIA MAO, KYLE BROWN & LORRAINE BURNETT.

TWENTY "FAMILY YEAR PASSES" - NATASHA ARCHAMBOULT, PETER KEHLER, JUDY HSIEH, COLLEEN CROSSMAN, RHONDA LIZARDO, ALEX LATER, ERIN HEARD, SHAWN MCKNIGHT, GHISLAINE LAMBERT, PATRICIA EPPLER, AMY NORRIS, THOMAS CURTIS, CYNTHIA CHAPMAN, DAPHNE DOUGLAS, RAJWANT BRAR, CRAIG DRAPER, SAUDER SMITH, AGNES DODD, DALJETT SIDHU & AUDREY DUNARESG.

TWENTY "FAMILY DAY PASSES" - JESSICA MARTIN, LAYNE WARBINEK, CALEB BAY, MONICA YU, CASSIE BUCH, RANDALL FINES, SHANNON MITCHELL, K. YAMANAKA, ALEX FOSTER, DELORES NEZIL, JORDAN NEIFER, CURTIS SHULL, ALFRED BRIX, CAMERON MCNEIL, AMY CALHRON, ERIC LAWRENUK, MIKE WIKDAHL, KERRI ANN SAKAKIBARA, PAT FALK & JIMU T CHOU.

FORTY "ADULT DAY PASSES" - JOE ESCARAVAGE, LAURA HOUSE, CARRIE METCALFE, JEFF KITSUL, FRANCES FORBES, JEN GRANT, KEN KELLY, ROBYN CHRISTIAN, BRANDON TIMMER, KATIE SPRIETSMA, CHRIS BARKER, JACQUELINE SALAZAR, JESSIE NG, KRISTINE HAHLEN, NICOLE MARTIN, LISHA HARDY, MARION BRACE, JUDY DAVIS, ASHLEY BOOTH, KIRK NOOSKI, DEB CAGE, STACEY MALLECK, DAVID DEKWANT, CIARA NYGAARD, LUISE TURNER, RYAN TIELMANN, BALJINDER DHOT, ASTAR HENRY, PRABHJOT KHURME, JOEY DANIELSON, LINDSAY ADAM, DARREN EASTMAN, SPANG, SUSAN YOUNG, REMCO BOSUELM, COLEEN DAVIDSON, PATTY MCCAMISKEY, LAURIE ROSS, SARA JARVIS & STAN COOK.

FORTY "CHILD DAY PASSES" - DAVE DANE, KAONU SAITO, PRAVEENA DINESH, ELAINE OSTEU, ANGELA WATTS, KIU WIEBE, MICHELLE CADOTTE, BRITTANY TOWSON, ABEL RAUCH, DEMETRIOS FOTIOU, PAULA OYKSHOORN, RHONDA KURUCZ, BALAJI, NEENA BAHIA, AMINDER DAL BAL, LORRAINE NOBLE, DIANE ZORN, DAREN WESTERLUND, AHSLEY OPITZ, JACQUIE, BRIAN FLEMING, WILLIAM WESTMAN, PATTI SOFIKITIS, TARA & KEVIN CYR, CHAD BRESSLER, MARIE FJELDSTED-PUCHALE, RICHARDO MEJIA, MATT WARFLOCER, CATHY BENNETT, JEREMY REMPEL, CARY HARRISON, SHELLEY LASPA, SUZANNE RINTOUL, JASON SIENAERT, PARK KI-KYONG, SYLVIA WORTH, ALEXANDR OGANOR, CORY REILANDER, STELLA WONG & SIGGY PETERS. 

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU BACK AT THE ZOO REAL SOON - REMEMBER WE ARE OPEN 365 DAYS OF THE YEAR...JUST BRING YOUR UMBRELLA IN THE OFF-SEASON AND DRESS WARM!

Our 40th Wild & Wonderful Year contest is now closed - thank you to all that participated!

Starting May 14th through October 31st we are pleased to officially launch our "40th Wild & Wonderful Year Contest" where you can enter to win such great prizes as: 2011 Toyota Camry Hybrid, Alaskan Cruise, trips to Disneyworld, San Diego & Hawaii plus many more.

Rules & Regulations for the 40th Wild & Wonderful Year Contest  (the “Contest”)

CONTEST PERIOD:

The Contest will start at 12:00 a.m. (PST) on May 14, 2010 and end at 11:59.59 p.m. (PST) on October 31, 2010. (the “Contest Period”)

HOW TO ENTER:

During the Contest Period, visitors of the Greater Vancouver Zoo (“GVZOO”) will receive raffle tickets (the “Raffle Tickets”) to enter into the Contest.  The visitors will receive the following number of Raffle Tickets for each admission purchased:

* must be 19 years of age & be able to provide valid government issued photo ID

A Raffle Ticket will contain a detachable stub for the draw (the “Stub”) which must be completed by an eligible entrant.  All entrants must be Canadian residents, 19 years of age or older as of the date that the winning Raffle Ticket is drawn.  Each entrant must supply his or her name, address, and contact information such as a phone number and/or email address on the Stub, and personally place the Stub inside the draw barrel (the “Draw Barrel”) located at a designated area inside GVZOO.  GVZOO will not accept any Stub by mail or place any Stub in the Draw Barrel on behalf of an entrant.  GVZOO is not responsible for lost, illegible, incomplete or mutilated Stubs. The entrants must retain and present the remaining portion of their Raffle Ticket with the ticket number in order to claim their prizes.

PRIZES  :

Grand Prize - 2011 Toyota Camry Hybrid - $34,000 

2nd Prize - Alaskan Cruise for family of four (2 adults & 2 children) - $6,000
3rd Prize - Disneyworld Trip for family of four (2 adults & 2 children) - $5,500
4th Prize - San Diego Trip for family of four (2 adults & 2 children) - $4,000
5th Prize - Hawaii vacation (2 adults) - $3,000

TWO - Samsung 40" HD LCD TV - $1,600
THREE - ACER Notebook computer - $1,680
TWENTY - Canon Digital Camera - $4,000
TWENTY - Samsung SD Camcorder - $3,360
TWENTY - Family Year Passes (2 adults & 2 children) - $3,000
TWENTY - Family Day Passes (2 adults & 2 children) - $1,300
FORTY - Single Adult Day Passes - $800
FORTY - Single Child Day Passes - $600

Beginning mid-June during different days and times, in addition to receiving the raffle tickets will also receive our "Greater Vancouver Zoo 40th Wild & Wonderful Year" t-shirt.

Plus many more prizes will be announced throughout the year! 

There are a minimum of forty (40) prizes available. All prizes must be accepted as awarded and are not transferable or convertible to cash.  The retail values indicated on the Raffle tickets and/or other promotional material are based on the approximate retail market value of the prizes at the time of printing that material.

THE CONTEST DRAWS:

The top five (5) prizes will be drawn between November 1, 2010 and November 30, 2010. The other thirty five (35) prizes will be drawn during the Contest Period.  The prizes will be drawn from the Draw Barrel in order of ascending value.  Before being declared a winner, each potential winner must first correctly answer, an unaided, time-limited, skill-testing question. 

The law firm of Hwang & Company, Barristers & Solicitors, of 711 Columbia Street, New Westminster, B.C. V3M 1B2 will act as independent contest organization and witness the draw for the top five prizes.

GVZOO reserves the right to require, at any time, proof of identity (government issued identifications) and/or eligibility to participate in the Contest. Failure to provide such proof in a form satisfactory to GVZOO may result in disqualification at GVZOO’s sole and final determination.

All personal and other information requested by and supplied to GVZOO for the purpose of the Contest must be truthful, complete, accurate and in no way misleading.  GVZOO reserves the right, in its sole and final discretion, to disqualify any entrant should such an entrant at any stage supply untruthful, incomplete, inaccurate or misleading personal details and/or information. 

ODDS:

The odds of being selected as a potential winner depend upon the total number of entries received during the Contest Period.

GENERAL RULES:

The Contest is open to all residents of Canada, 19 years of age and older. Prizes include applicable sales taxes to Canadian residents.

By entering the contest, entrants agree to abide by the contest rules and the decisions of GVZOO which are final.

Winners will be notified by phone and/or email by the GVZOO as to what they have won and where/how to claim the prize. If the potential winner cannot be contacted by mail, phone or email after 3 attempts by any combination of those methods within 30 days of any respective draw date or does not meet all of the contest conditions, then the prize is deemed to be forfeited and the draw will be null and void.  Prizes must be accepted as awarded and must be claimed within 90 days of the draw date..

All vacation prizes include roundtrip airfare, hotel, and accommodations for family of four unless otherwise stated.  All flights originate from Vancouver or Abbotsford, BC and are subject to availability. Blackout dates (all holidays and long weekends) and restrictions will apply. The “grand prize” winner of the vehicle prize is responsible for all required licences, insurance and vehicle pick up.

Employees of, members of the immediate family of, or those domiciled with an employee of the GVZOO or their affiliated or related companies, the advertising and promotion agencies of the GVZOO are not eligible to participate. Employees of GVZOO are described in this paragraph to those employees who are providing services in any way to GVZOO. “Immediate family” is defined as parents, siblings, children or spouse.

Winners consent to the release of their names, addresses, voice, video and/or photos by the GVZOO in any publicity or advertisement carried out by GVZOO, without further remuneration except where required by law.

By accepting prize, winners release GVZOO, its affiliated and related companies, the prize suppliers, and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents, including but, without limitation, their advertising and promotional agencies and the independent contest organization (the “Releasees”), from any and all liability, loss or damage incurred with respect to the awarding, receipt, possession and/or use or misuse of any prize and acknowledge that the Releasees have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guarantee, express or implied in fact or in law, including but not limited to its quality, mechanical condition or fitness for a particular purpose. Winners will execute and deliver all such further documents and instruments and do all such further acts and things as may be required to carry out the full intent and meaning of this release and the rules of the Contest.

A list of all potential winners drawn will be published online at www.gvzoo.com by December 1, 2010.  A list of the winners of the top five (5) prizes will be published by as soon as they have been declared winners in The Province newspaper.

All entries become the property of GVZOO, which assumes no responsibility for any lost, illegible, incomplete or mutilated entries. GVZOO assumes no liability for any failure of its website, during the promotional period, for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or entry to be received by GVZOO on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination thereof.

Any attempt to deliberately damage any web site or to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws, and should such an attempt be made, GVZOO reserves the right to seek remedies and damages to the fullest extent permitted by law, including criminal prosecution. In the event of a dispute between entrants as to who submitted an entry, the entry shall be deemed submitted by the person whose name appears on the Stub. GVZOO may request the potential winner to provide proof that he or she is the owner or occupant of the address or the authorized account holder of the phone number or e-mail address shown on the Stub. If it be discovered that an entrant made fraudulent entries, that entrant will immediately be disqualified from the Contest, GVZOO reserves the right to disqualify all such entrants from future contests conducted by GVZOO without further notice. If due to an error, there are more claims for prizes than available prizes, GVZOO reserves the right to award prizes through a random drawing of eligible prize claims.  If for any reason a prize is forfeited, then GVZOO will draw another winner.  GVZOO reserves the right to suspend, cancel, or modify the Contest at any time if it determines that for any reason the Contest cannot run as originally planned or any other occurrence compromising the fairness or integrity of the Contest.

The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal law. Void wherever prohibited by law.

The GVZOO is committed to protecting the privacy of the entrants.  Information will only be obtained from the entrants with their express or implied consent.  Personal information such as name, address, phone number, and e-mail address provided to GVZOO by the entrants will be kept confidential and used only for processing tickets and providing the entrants with additional information about the GVZOO or upcoming special events at the GVZOO.

GOOD LUCK!!

Beloved Mama Lion is sadly no longer with us

March 4 2010 - Staff and volunteers are grieving the loss of a wonderful friend - Mama...an African Lion who was approximately 20 years old. 

Mama was in excellent condition until about a week ago when she developed a very mild limp in her right hind leg. The Animal Care Staff notified the Zoo's veterinarian Dr. Bruce Burton right away and she was prescribed medication, but then her appetite began to decline and she was examined again by Dr. Burton and taken to the veterinary clinic. 

"Under general anaesthetic it was found that it was a malignant tumor and that the tumor had in fact spread, not only to the abdominal wall, but to the liver and lungs. There was no possibility of her recovering so she was euthanized yesterday. Outwardly, she was in excellent body shape. Lions in the wild almost never get to be even 15 or 16 years of age and certainly don't remain in such good health if they do." said Dr. Bruce Burton, Greater Vancouver Zoo's Veterinarian.

Mama was captive born and arrived at the Zoo back in 1998 from the Okanagan Game Farm. She has been long time mate of Nagy, her male partner in life. Mama will be dearly missed by all...

We thank you for your words of support, any questions about Mama can be directed to Jody Henderson - Media Contact - Greater Vancouver Zoo 604.856.6825 ext 33 or jhenderson@gvzoo.com.

 HELP BALD EAGLES

Lying on the ground, injured and helpless Meredith was struck by a large truck on the highway and left for dead...luckily someone came by and brought her to the Greater Vancouver Zoo. The zoo veterinarian treated Meredith's injuries. But even after extensive rehabilitation, unfortunately it was determined that she would never be able to fly properly again. A home was then built at the zoo for Meredith to live with other injured eagles that have lost their ability to survive in the wild. 

Meredith has been with us for the last 23 years, then the winter storm of December 2008 hit! With the largest amount of snow in the last 40 years, Meredith's enclosure couldn't withstand the weight of it and caved in; but luckily she is a survivor. Now Meredith is without a proper home and she is looking for your help. 

There are a few sights more majestic that that of a Bald Eagle soaring effortlessly on outstretched wings. Unfortunately, the constant development of land for human population means that some eagles fall victim to road accidents (like Meredith), injuries on power lines or injuries fighting with other eagles over food. A great number of these disabled eagles would be euthanized as there are very few facilities to house them. 

We can help these injured eagles, but only with your help!
Our goal is to raise $40,000 for a new home at the zoo for Meredith and other injured eagles. 

No donation is too small and will make a difference, give today...the race is on!

To donate contact Jody Henderson at 604.856.6825 ext 33, via jhenderson@gvzoo.com or by using your Paypal account click on the link below.

Or if you have items to donate, we are looking for wire mesh fencing, glass, telephone poles, gravel and landscaping assistance.

NEW TRAIN ROOF FOR TRAIN STATION

After a crazy winter weather season, we had our train station roof collapse and had to rebuild a new roof. It has been completely rebuilt and we are 100% operational once again - we thank you for your patience during our reconstruction time.

 ZOO IS MOURNING THE SUDDEN PASSING OF ALBUS

Sunday January 18th, 2009 Zoo Staff are saddened by the sudden passing of "Albus" our rare Albino Black Bear. We believe Albus had complications during the hibernation period. All of the black bears at the zoo hibernate during the colder weather in the winter. They have a large natural enclosure where they dig their own dens and sleep when the weather is colder. When Albus chose a den to rest a month ago, he was content and had packed on his usual weight for the season; all ready for the colder days in the winter.

On Saturday he was discovered in distress, and despite the relentless efforts of our animal care staff and our veterinarian he passed away. A full necropsy is being performed, in hope that we can learn more about his death. All zoo staff and volunteers are extremely sad about the loss of our dear friend, but cherish the wonderful memories that he gave to us and many others.

Albus was 18 years old and was rescued by the Greater Vancouver Zoo as an orphan from the wild, when he was just a baby.

ALDERGROVE FAIR DAYS PARADE

The Greater Vancouver Zoo participated in the the Aldergrove Fair Days Parade through the main streets of Aldergrove. And the Zoo was thrilled to receive 1st Place in the category of Commercial Float, Home Built. Here are some of the photos from the day....

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS and a special thanks to all the participants on the float which included members, volunteers, friends of members and volunteers; and some staff! It was a fun day for everyone!

GREEN WAY OF APPLYING SEED & FERTILIZER

Recently at the Zoo we had a very generous offer come our way from a new partner called Quality Seeds West. They kindly offered to provide us with a new green alternative natural way of adding and applying seed, and fertilizer to some of our animal enclosures. The seeds and fertilizer were applied with a hydroseeder, which allows the seeds to germinate and establish a much better growing cycle.

Hari is applying the seeds with the hydroseeder at the amphitheatre.

Since the hippos love their grass we requested a mixture of tall fescue and perennial ryegrass that provides a combination of fast growing and stress tolerant qualities, along with 100% Natural Alfalfa Fertilizer.

The next enclosure to receive some new seeds was the Arctic Foxes, their enclosure area included hard fescue, sheep fescue, dwarf turf type tall fescue and alsike clover and naturalised widlflowers, along with 100% Natural Alfalfa.

Quality Seeds West is accredited by the Canadian Seed Institute and is a Registered Seed Establishment and Authorized Importer under the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR JOCKO - MAY 11, 2008 AT 1:30 PM

A memorial service has been planned for Jocko our male spider monkey who was killed earlier this week at 1:30 pm on May 11th at their enclosure. In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted for the continued enhancement of the lives of our other primates at the Zoo or Spider Monkey Conservation efforts in the wild.

REWARD BEING OFFERED FOR KIDNAPPED MONKEY

As of May 9, 2008 the Zoo has set up a reward "in trust" fund for the information leading to the safe return of Mia, our much loved female spider monkey. In addition to the public offering donations to this cause, the Zoo has also agreed to match the reward fund up to $3,000. You may donate to her safe return by going to any Vancity branch and making a donation to:

• branch #23 and account #251132

We are urging the public not to reach out to touch Mia if found, as we are sure she is traumatized and might react, but instead call the RCMP at 604.532.3200 or the Zoo at 604.856.6825 immediately. If you know anything at all, we are begging you to call.

SPIDER MONKEY HAS BEEN KILLED & ANOTHER IS MISSING

Today in the early morning of May 7 2008, we were devastated to find that someone had broken into the Zoo and cut into the Spider Monkey enclosure killing our beloved male (Jocko) and our wonderful female (Mia) is missing. Both Jocko and Mia had been a couple at the Zoo for the last 15 years and all staff, volunteers and valued guests are shocked and saddened by this act to our dear members of our Zoo family.

We are pleading to the public to keep their eyes and ears open, and if you spot our beautiful Mia anywhere to contact the RCMP at 604.532.3200 or the Zoo immediately at 604.856.6825. Please do not approach her as we are sure she is traumatized and will possibly react by injuring you.

For further details, please click on our Press Release that was issued today.

MIA - missing as of May 7/08

PLEASE HELP US FIND OUR DEAR MIA!

WELCOME DUMA

Duma (his name means cheetah in Swahili) came to the Zoo in March 2008. Duma was hand raised at the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust in Harbeespoort, South Africa and brought to our Zoo to assist their organization, and as well to emphasize the overall focus on raising awareness about the plight of the African Cheetah.

The De Wildt Cheetah Centre was established in 1971 with the aim of breeding endangered species. Over the years many changes have taken place at the centre, but the commitment and compassion for saving the native wildlife has not changed. The centre breeds many cheetahs and has been instrumental in assisting with the conservation efforts of saving the cheetahs from extinction. Some of the cheetahs that are raised are released back into the wild and others are sent to Zoological Centres around the world, to be used to introduce the public by means of educational talks about this wonderful animal; and in hope that the efforts and message of the De Wildt Cheetah Centre will continue world wide.

"Over the last two years approximately 150 cheetahs have either been shot by ranchers and thrown into rivers or buried illiegally or unethically traded."

To learn more about the conservation efforts at the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust or to help with the "Race against Extinction", please visit them by clicking on their link below.

AMRYN IS HERE WAITING TO MEET YOU!

Our baby giraffe born on December 20, 2007 at approximately 3:10 pm is now waiting for you to come see him! Amryn who weighed 144 lbs at birth and was 6'1" in height, is now 242 lbs and over 7' tall (as of February 20, 2008). Proud parents are Eleah (mother) and Jafari (father) are getting to know Amryn better through some safety barriers in the heated giraffe barn.

With the nice weather recently, Amryn also enjoyed his first day outside and was found gleefully jumping around along with snifting and licking everything he came across. As the days hopefully get warmer you will see him outdoors more, but if the weather is cold he will be waiting for you to come see him in the heated giraffe barn so he doesn't catch a cold!

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ZOO RECEIVES CAZA ACCREDITATION!

Greater Vancouver Zoo is pleased to announce that as of February 1, 2008 we have officially received our CAZA Accreditation. For more details from our Press Release please click here and if you want to learn more about the Canadian Association of Zoos & Aquariums click on their logo below.

UNIQUE GIFT IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS

Ho, Ho, Ho....still looking for just that right gift for that special friend or loved one. Well if they love animals or you just want to help out a good cause, look no further we have the following great gifts to choose from: