Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm joined by somebody who I always enjoy talking to,
and she is with our friends over at Omaha's Henry
Dorley Zoo and Aquarium, and her name is jac Colson.
Jac thanks for coming back to the studio again today.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for having me again.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Okay, let's go ahead and start something this week that
was announced. We'll start right there. You have announced something
that's going to be very exciting that you guys are
building there at the Zoo. What exactly is it and
how is it going to help you guys at the zoo.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yes, so we announced our Bernice or our Bill and
Bernice Grucock Animal Hospital, which is super exciting. It's going
to be an all new, thirty two thousand square foot facility.
It's going to be located on the Zoo's northeast side,
so kind of between the Stingray Beach and the Asian
Highlands up on the hill there. And yeah, it's going
(00:48):
to be super exciting. It's going to be equipped with
all of the latest advancements in veterinary technology, and it's
ultimately it's really designed to meet the unique medical needs
of our over thirty nine thousand animals that are in
our care.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Think about that the number thirty nine thousands. I think
a lot of people are, you know, wondering on a
season of season basis, you know, how some of these
animals do. But you guys have so many great specialists
that take care of them. But before this gets built,
you know, some people might ask how we're animals getting
treated at the zoo before then, you know, you guys
number one zoo in the country. Surely there's some place
(01:24):
on the campus of the zoo that has taken care
of this. So what has been kind of the protocols
here before this incredible new, state of the art building
gets built.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, so we have a current animal hospital. It's located
kind of centrally within the zoo, so it's by the
exit of the Kingdoms of the Night, just kind of
right across the path there. But that building is pretty old,
almost thirty years old. And so we really as our
zoo grows, as our team grows, we're really just it's
(01:54):
time for a new facility. And again, this is gonna
be super advanced as far as technology. We're going to
have a CT scanner, which is something we haven't had,
which is going to really increase our diagnostic capabilities. It's
going to have specialized species specific care spaces, So we're
(02:17):
going to have a space with walk in coolers and
water features for animals like penguins and puffins, rooms with
graded floodable floors for animals like otters and ducks, and
even specialize aquatic habitats for hospitalized fission and vertebrates.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Which is awesome because you want the animals to feel
as comfortable as possible when they're actually getting the care
that they need. JAC call students to Communication Spanasure over
at omahas Henry dor Leizo and Aquarium joining us in
the studio here. Number one zoo in the nation for
a lot of different reasons, you know, always forward thinking here.
I think a lot of people are wondering about the
zoo this time of the year because most people are
(02:56):
used to seeing the zoo in the summertime when it's
warm and most of the outdome or animals are out
and about and they're wandering around. What's the zoo like is?
You know, the temperature is kind of cool down. What
are some of the differences that somebody might notice when
if they if they are trying to get to the
zoo at some point during the you know, winter type months.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah, there's plenty of opportunities to enjoy the zoo when
it's a little bit cooler out. So first of all,
during the day, we have seven acres of indoor exhibits,
so and many of them are centralized right at the
top of the zoo, so you really don't have to
spend too too much time outside and you'll still be
able to see a lot of cool animals within those
seven acres of indoor exhibits. And even more exciting, we're
(03:38):
almost upon the holiday season, which means it's almost time
for our holiday event, Zoo Lightful, which is a big
hit amongst our community. We call it Omaha's wildly bright
Holiday tradition tradition, and so I think folks are really
looking forward to that. Again, we're going to have the
amazing lights like people saw last year, some super fun activities,
(04:00):
and yeah, I think one of the coolest things about
when it cools down is that event. It means that
event is on its way.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Well, I was at that event last year. I made
a trip. It was kind of mind blowing how much
effort has been made to make it just the zoo
feels completely different. The lights are crazy. The Christmas trees
are insane. They're large. There's so many different spots to take,
you know, photos with you and your family, but also
(04:28):
all sorts of activities that you might not associate with
the zoo. I went and we brought some family friends
and they brought their littles in. Man, they were busy
the whole time. They were so excited about everything. So
for people who haven't gone before, you know, what are
some of the unique things that zoo Lightful can bring
to them.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yeah, so not only the amazing lights that we just discussed,
but we have a snowball toss which is going to
be really fun. So it's a snowball toss game. We
have our Virtual Reality sleigh ride, which is really cool.
It takes you on like this, It's on this big
sleigh that moves and then you put on your VR
goggles and you go on this whole journey. And then
(05:08):
of course we do have Santa on site for photos
to read your Christmas list to every single night.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
And you can't have a zoo Lightful without Santa Claus
being there. Jac Collson is joining us here. Now zoo
Lightful is happening, and that is how like on the calendar,
what is the days of the week? Is that kind
of an every night thing? Are there certain nights of
the week?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yep, it's every evening November twenty second until December thirtieth,
except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. But besides that,
there is an opportunity to come see zoo lightful and
see the zoo totally lit up every single night.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
It's really cool. So during the day hours are a
little bit shorter that the sun is out less and less, right, yep.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So our winter hours are ten am to four pm.
Last admission it for the grounds close at five, So
still an opportunity to visit us and check it out,
but with just those little bit shorter hours.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I do also want to talk about something else with
you while you're still here. You did Croctober is a
way or Croctoberfest as a way to kind of and
I know this was a couple of weeks back, but
during the month of October, you know, kind of an
ode to one of the most unique animals in the
Animal Kingdom, the crocodile. And you guys have very unique
(06:31):
croctilions in your care in the Kingdom of the night
and underneath the desert domes. So how did that event go?
And you know what were kind of the takeaways you
know from that when you guys did that in October.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, it went really well. Folks seem to really enjoy it.
One of the things that people loved the most was
just learning more about crocodilians and all of the wonderful
crocodilians that call the zoo home. So I think folks
really enjoyed it. Of course, our Late Nights at the
Zoo event series is very popular, and so that was
(07:06):
a great way to kind of end off the season
on a good note. And yeah, I think people just
really enjoyed learning more about alligators and crocodiles and all
those great animals that call the zoo home.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Yeah, and I had to I thought about this right,
It's like, wow, this is an awesome idea. What other
animals would I love to see kind of get that
spotlight at some point? Because you mentioned thirty nine thousand
animals that are under the care of people at the zoo,
what are a couple of the animals that you would
love to just kind of create a month's worth of
(07:41):
like late night spotlight on.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Oh, my gosh, that is such a great question. It's
so hard to pick favorites. Sometimes people ask me what's
your favorite animal at the zoo and I'm like, oh,
I don't even know how it would begin to pick.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
But especially when you're there every day, I mean like
that it's like your favorite song. It's probably just going
to like change on a day to day basis based
on how you're feeling that day.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Right. Well, luckily there's lots of awareness days for all
sorts of animals. So actually right now it's a Rangutan
Caring Week, and so we've been really excited to talk
about the orangutans in our care.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
And the brand new way that people can enjoy them
at the zoo.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yep are all new hybrid and ranguetan forests, and it's
been great to shed some light on those incredible animals
and also some of the things that impact them in
their native range. So one of those things is palm oil.
So palm oil is in so many of the products
that we consume on a daily basis. I mean, shampoo, mascara,
(08:38):
so many things that we use, and it's really important
when we're buying something that we put a lot of
emphasis on making sure that those products that we're buying
were created using sustainable palm oil. And so how our
friends that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo actually created an app that
you can scan the barcode on the item that you're
buying and it'll tell you whether or not that company
(09:00):
has sourced their palm oil sustainably. And so I really
recommend people this Orangutan Caring Week to use that as
an opportunity to make sure that you're supporting orangutans in
their native range.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
That is awesome, That is actually really incredible. And this
is one of the things about zoos that I think,
can you stick around for another segment? By chance, let's
go ahead take a break. I don't want to expand
my thought and then run myself a short of time,
but we'll just stay right there. I want to talk
a little bit about the modern definition of what like
a Zoo's mission is, because I think still there are
some people that just get that confused and hairlined with
(09:33):
you know, some stuff that they watched on Tiger King
or something. And we'll talk about that next year on
news Radio eleven ten kfab em Ry's songer sharing with
someone you Love on news radio eleven ten KFAB. I'm
joined here by the communications manager of the Henry Dorley
Zoo and Aquarium here in Omaha, Jc Colson and Jac
we were just kind of mentioning you talked about the
(09:55):
conservation of orangutans in the wild. Because it's a Orangutan
Care Week. You guys have that great new facility in
a way for people to enjoy the orangutanes at the
zoo that open this year. But I think it's important
to remind people kind of what the mission statement of
a modern zoo, especially one that's voted the best zoo
in America, and what that is. So can you kind
of explain what a zoo is in twenty twenty four
(10:17):
and how it's you know, maybe misunderstood a little bit
by people who haven't been to a zoo in a while.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yeah, So our mission in a literal sense is to inspire, educate,
and engage people to serve as lifelong stewards for the
conservation of animals and their habitats. And so really what
we're doing is in inviting people into our zoo to
see these animals in real life, animals that they likely
would never get to see otherwise, and we invite them
(10:44):
to educate or we educate them by you know, our
education programs and signage and all these things on how
we can how they can help animals in their day
to day lives. And really what we're hoping to do
is inspire people to care about animal and then teach
them how they can make changes in their life that
can better wild life and wild places.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Yeah, and you know, I think Tiger King was one
of those shows, you know, And I hate using that
as an example because I couldn't even really watch more
than just the beginning of the series. It was all
the rage when COVID started, and I was just like,
that's not a zoo, Like, that's that's something that's made
for profit to make people money. That isn't necessarily what
a zoo does these days, especially with as a accreditation,
(11:29):
which is a way that a lot of these facilities
are graded on animal care and what those missions are.
So how can you explain to people kind of what
that azya kind of accreditation means to what you guys do. Yeah,
So the.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
ASY is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, like you
alluded to, there's sort of the governing body and from
which we receive our accreditation, and so we go through
a thorough inspection. We actually just did that this year
and we were awarded accreditation yet again, and we go
through a thorough inspection that evaluates every aspect of our organization,
(12:03):
including animal care and conservation. And really what we believe
in at Omaha's Zoo and Aquarium is advocating for safe
and comfortable and appropriate living conditions for all animals, no
matter where they are. So really what we're what we're
for is the benefit of animals and making sure that
(12:26):
no matter where they are, that they're in species appropriate
living conditions.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
And JC Collson joining us here from Omaha's Henry Drualley
Zoo and Aquarium. It's a start contrast when you know that,
right when I first learned about kind of that accreditation
process and then even just you know, trying to like
animals just don't get to breed freely under your guys's watch.
That is done with a lot of care, and so
those animals who are then born have the proper genetics
(12:53):
to not just you know, be healthy, but to strengthen
their population.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Yeah, so that's part of the AZA, is this survival plan,
and the AZA recommends basically breeding pairs to ensure genetic
diversity in human care and make sure that these animals
are able to not only thrive in human care, but
(13:17):
can exist in human care for years and years and
years to come.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
I love what you guys do. I am a huge advocate.
I love making multiple trips to the zoo every single year.
Zoo Lightful is coming up. Your social media is very active.
You are always talking about all the different things that
are coming, including this incredible new animal hospital that it's
going to be on the way that you announced this week.
How can people learn more? What's the easiest way they
can learn more about what you guys do over there
at Henry dour Lei Zoo.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Yeah, you can follow us on Facebook at Omaha Zoo
or Instagram at the Omaha Zoo. If you're wanting to
come to Zoo Lightful in particular, it's omahazoo dot com,
slash de Lightful. And with the hospital that we just announced,
we are currently in the public phase of funding. So
this capital project is funded completely by private donations. And
so if you if you're if you have an inspiration
(14:06):
to support us and help us provide the absolute best
care for our animals. You can learn more at Omahazoo
Foundation dot org.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
And that's just a great way to put it as well.
And you talk about being a part of a community,
that's a great way to also branch that out. People
feel like they're really a part of it when they
have a chance to. Hey, I helped donate to make
that happen. And you guys are going to have other
projects that are going to come up in the future
as well. So thank you so much for coming in
and sharing some of that with us today, JC, and
(14:36):
I can't wait to chat with you again and I
can't wait to enjoy zoo Lightful once again here in
twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Yeah, thanks for having me. I'll look for you at.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Dolightful absolutely and hopefully we look for you out there
in radio land as well.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Henry Dooley Zoo and Aquarium. By the way, as you mentioned,
very easy to find. Omaha Zoo is kind of the
tag the Omahazoo on Instagram and you can just scroll
right through. They have all these different you know, things
of it, information of what's coming up, as well as
information about that brand new animal hospital that they announced,
and plenty more with all of the appropriate links, and
then of course photos and videos of your favorite animals
(15:10):
over there at the zoo and Aquarium
I'm joined by somebody who I always enjoy talking to,
and she is with our friends over at Omaha's Henry
Dorley Zoo and Aquarium, and her name is jac Colson.
Jac thanks for coming back to the studio again today.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for having me again.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Okay, let's go ahead and start something this week that
was announced. We'll start right there. You have announced something
that's going to be very exciting that you guys are
building there at the Zoo. What exactly is it and
how is it going to help you guys at the zoo.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yes, so we announced our Bernice or our Bill and
Bernice Grucock Animal Hospital, which is super exciting. It's going
to be an all new, thirty two thousand square foot facility.
It's going to be located on the Zoo's northeast side,
so kind of between the Stingray Beach and the Asian
Highlands up on the hill there. And yeah, it's going
(00:48):
to be super exciting. It's going to be equipped with
all of the latest advancements in veterinary technology, and it's
ultimately it's really designed to meet the unique medical needs
of our over thirty nine thousand animals that are in
our care.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Think about that the number thirty nine thousands. I think
a lot of people are, you know, wondering on a
season of season basis, you know, how some of these
animals do. But you guys have so many great specialists
that take care of them. But before this gets built,
you know, some people might ask how we're animals getting
treated at the zoo before then, you know, you guys
number one zoo in the country. Surely there's some place
(01:24):
on the campus of the zoo that has taken care
of this. So what has been kind of the protocols
here before this incredible new, state of the art building
gets built.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, so we have a current animal hospital. It's located
kind of centrally within the zoo, so it's by the
exit of the Kingdoms of the Night, just kind of
right across the path there. But that building is pretty old,
almost thirty years old. And so we really as our
zoo grows, as our team grows, we're really just it's
(01:54):
time for a new facility. And again, this is gonna
be super advanced as far as technology. We're going to
have a CT scanner, which is something we haven't had,
which is going to really increase our diagnostic capabilities. It's
going to have specialized species specific care spaces, So we're
(02:17):
going to have a space with walk in coolers and
water features for animals like penguins and puffins, rooms with
graded floodable floors for animals like otters and ducks, and
even specialize aquatic habitats for hospitalized fission and vertebrates.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Which is awesome because you want the animals to feel
as comfortable as possible when they're actually getting the care
that they need. JAC call students to Communication Spanasure over
at omahas Henry dor Leizo and Aquarium joining us in
the studio here. Number one zoo in the nation for
a lot of different reasons, you know, always forward thinking here.
I think a lot of people are wondering about the
zoo this time of the year because most people are
(02:56):
used to seeing the zoo in the summertime when it's
warm and most of the outdome or animals are out
and about and they're wandering around. What's the zoo like is?
You know, the temperature is kind of cool down. What
are some of the differences that somebody might notice when
if they if they are trying to get to the
zoo at some point during the you know, winter type months.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah, there's plenty of opportunities to enjoy the zoo when
it's a little bit cooler out. So first of all,
during the day, we have seven acres of indoor exhibits,
so and many of them are centralized right at the
top of the zoo, so you really don't have to
spend too too much time outside and you'll still be
able to see a lot of cool animals within those
seven acres of indoor exhibits. And even more exciting, we're
(03:38):
almost upon the holiday season, which means it's almost time
for our holiday event, Zoo Lightful, which is a big
hit amongst our community. We call it Omaha's wildly bright
Holiday tradition tradition, and so I think folks are really
looking forward to that. Again, we're going to have the
amazing lights like people saw last year, some super fun activities,
(04:00):
and yeah, I think one of the coolest things about
when it cools down is that event. It means that
event is on its way.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Well, I was at that event last year. I made
a trip. It was kind of mind blowing how much
effort has been made to make it just the zoo
feels completely different. The lights are crazy. The Christmas trees
are insane. They're large. There's so many different spots to take,
you know, photos with you and your family, but also
(04:28):
all sorts of activities that you might not associate with
the zoo. I went and we brought some family friends
and they brought their littles in. Man, they were busy
the whole time. They were so excited about everything. So
for people who haven't gone before, you know, what are
some of the unique things that zoo Lightful can bring
to them.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yeah, so not only the amazing lights that we just discussed,
but we have a snowball toss which is going to
be really fun. So it's a snowball toss game. We
have our Virtual Reality sleigh ride, which is really cool.
It takes you on like this, It's on this big
sleigh that moves and then you put on your VR
goggles and you go on this whole journey. And then
(05:08):
of course we do have Santa on site for photos
to read your Christmas list to every single night.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
And you can't have a zoo Lightful without Santa Claus
being there. Jac Collson is joining us here. Now zoo
Lightful is happening, and that is how like on the calendar,
what is the days of the week? Is that kind
of an every night thing? Are there certain nights of
the week?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yep, it's every evening November twenty second until December thirtieth,
except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. But besides that,
there is an opportunity to come see zoo lightful and
see the zoo totally lit up every single night.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
It's really cool. So during the day hours are a
little bit shorter that the sun is out less and less, right, yep.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So our winter hours are ten am to four pm.
Last admission it for the grounds close at five, So
still an opportunity to visit us and check it out,
but with just those little bit shorter hours.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I do also want to talk about something else with
you while you're still here. You did Croctober is a
way or Croctoberfest as a way to kind of and
I know this was a couple of weeks back, but
during the month of October, you know, kind of an
ode to one of the most unique animals in the
Animal Kingdom, the crocodile. And you guys have very unique
(06:31):
croctilions in your care in the Kingdom of the night
and underneath the desert domes. So how did that event go?
And you know what were kind of the takeaways you
know from that when you guys did that in October.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, it went really well. Folks seem to really enjoy it.
One of the things that people loved the most was
just learning more about crocodilians and all of the wonderful
crocodilians that call the zoo home. So I think folks
really enjoyed it. Of course, our Late Nights at the
Zoo event series is very popular, and so that was
(07:06):
a great way to kind of end off the season
on a good note. And yeah, I think people just
really enjoyed learning more about alligators and crocodiles and all
those great animals that call the zoo home.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Yeah, and I had to I thought about this right,
It's like, wow, this is an awesome idea. What other
animals would I love to see kind of get that
spotlight at some point? Because you mentioned thirty nine thousand
animals that are under the care of people at the zoo,
what are a couple of the animals that you would
love to just kind of create a month's worth of
(07:41):
like late night spotlight on.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Oh, my gosh, that is such a great question. It's
so hard to pick favorites. Sometimes people ask me what's
your favorite animal at the zoo and I'm like, oh,
I don't even know how it would begin to pick.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
But especially when you're there every day, I mean like
that it's like your favorite song. It's probably just going
to like change on a day to day basis based
on how you're feeling that day.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Right. Well, luckily there's lots of awareness days for all
sorts of animals. So actually right now it's a Rangutan
Caring Week, and so we've been really excited to talk
about the orangutans in our care.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
And the brand new way that people can enjoy them
at the zoo.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yep are all new hybrid and ranguetan forests, and it's
been great to shed some light on those incredible animals
and also some of the things that impact them in
their native range. So one of those things is palm oil.
So palm oil is in so many of the products
that we consume on a daily basis. I mean, shampoo, mascara,
(08:38):
so many things that we use, and it's really important
when we're buying something that we put a lot of
emphasis on making sure that those products that we're buying
were created using sustainable palm oil. And so how our
friends that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo actually created an app that
you can scan the barcode on the item that you're
buying and it'll tell you whether or not that company
(09:00):
has sourced their palm oil sustainably. And so I really
recommend people this Orangutan Caring Week to use that as
an opportunity to make sure that you're supporting orangutans in
their native range.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
That is awesome, That is actually really incredible. And this
is one of the things about zoos that I think,
can you stick around for another segment? By chance, let's
go ahead take a break. I don't want to expand
my thought and then run myself a short of time,
but we'll just stay right there. I want to talk
a little bit about the modern definition of what like
a Zoo's mission is, because I think still there are
some people that just get that confused and hairlined with
(09:33):
you know, some stuff that they watched on Tiger King
or something. And we'll talk about that next year on
news Radio eleven ten kfab em Ry's songer sharing with
someone you Love on news radio eleven ten KFAB. I'm
joined here by the communications manager of the Henry Dorley
Zoo and Aquarium here in Omaha, Jc Colson and Jac
we were just kind of mentioning you talked about the
(09:55):
conservation of orangutans in the wild. Because it's a Orangutan
Care Week. You guys have that great new facility in
a way for people to enjoy the orangutanes at the
zoo that open this year. But I think it's important
to remind people kind of what the mission statement of
a modern zoo, especially one that's voted the best zoo
in America, and what that is. So can you kind
of explain what a zoo is in twenty twenty four
(10:17):
and how it's you know, maybe misunderstood a little bit
by people who haven't been to a zoo in a while.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yeah, So our mission in a literal sense is to inspire, educate,
and engage people to serve as lifelong stewards for the
conservation of animals and their habitats. And so really what
we're doing is in inviting people into our zoo to
see these animals in real life, animals that they likely
would never get to see otherwise, and we invite them
(10:44):
to educate or we educate them by you know, our
education programs and signage and all these things on how
we can how they can help animals in their day
to day lives. And really what we're hoping to do
is inspire people to care about animal and then teach
them how they can make changes in their life that
can better wild life and wild places.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Yeah, and you know, I think Tiger King was one
of those shows, you know, And I hate using that
as an example because I couldn't even really watch more
than just the beginning of the series. It was all
the rage when COVID started, and I was just like,
that's not a zoo, Like, that's that's something that's made
for profit to make people money. That isn't necessarily what
a zoo does these days, especially with as a accreditation,
(11:29):
which is a way that a lot of these facilities
are graded on animal care and what those missions are.
So how can you explain to people kind of what
that azya kind of accreditation means to what you guys do. Yeah,
So the.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
ASY is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, like you
alluded to, there's sort of the governing body and from
which we receive our accreditation, and so we go through
a thorough inspection. We actually just did that this year
and we were awarded accreditation yet again, and we go
through a thorough inspection that evaluates every aspect of our organization,
(12:03):
including animal care and conservation. And really what we believe
in at Omaha's Zoo and Aquarium is advocating for safe
and comfortable and appropriate living conditions for all animals, no
matter where they are. So really what we're what we're
for is the benefit of animals and making sure that
(12:26):
no matter where they are, that they're in species appropriate
living conditions.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
And JC Collson joining us here from Omaha's Henry Drualley
Zoo and Aquarium. It's a start contrast when you know that,
right when I first learned about kind of that accreditation
process and then even just you know, trying to like
animals just don't get to breed freely under your guys's watch.
That is done with a lot of care, and so
those animals who are then born have the proper genetics
(12:53):
to not just you know, be healthy, but to strengthen
their population.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Yeah, so that's part of the AZA, is this survival plan,
and the AZA recommends basically breeding pairs to ensure genetic
diversity in human care and make sure that these animals
are able to not only thrive in human care, but
(13:17):
can exist in human care for years and years and
years to come.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
I love what you guys do. I am a huge advocate.
I love making multiple trips to the zoo every single year.
Zoo Lightful is coming up. Your social media is very active.
You are always talking about all the different things that
are coming, including this incredible new animal hospital that it's
going to be on the way that you announced this week.
How can people learn more? What's the easiest way they
can learn more about what you guys do over there
at Henry dour Lei Zoo.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Yeah, you can follow us on Facebook at Omaha Zoo
or Instagram at the Omaha Zoo. If you're wanting to
come to Zoo Lightful in particular, it's omahazoo dot com,
slash de Lightful. And with the hospital that we just announced,
we are currently in the public phase of funding. So
this capital project is funded completely by private donations. And
so if you if you're if you have an inspiration
(14:06):
to support us and help us provide the absolute best
care for our animals. You can learn more at Omahazoo
Foundation dot org.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
And that's just a great way to put it as well.
And you talk about being a part of a community,
that's a great way to also branch that out. People
feel like they're really a part of it when they
have a chance to. Hey, I helped donate to make
that happen. And you guys are going to have other
projects that are going to come up in the future
as well. So thank you so much for coming in
and sharing some of that with us today, JC, and
(14:36):
I can't wait to chat with you again and I
can't wait to enjoy zoo Lightful once again here in
twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Yeah, thanks for having me. I'll look for you at.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Dolightful absolutely and hopefully we look for you out there
in radio land as well.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Henry Dooley Zoo and Aquarium. By the way, as you mentioned,
very easy to find. Omaha Zoo is kind of the
tag the Omahazoo on Instagram and you can just scroll
right through. They have all these different you know, things
of it, information of what's coming up, as well as
information about that brand new animal hospital that they announced,
and plenty more with all of the appropriate links, and
then of course photos and videos of your favorite animals
(15:10):
over there at the zoo and Aquarium
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