Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer
Student Ulysses Lopez, right, meets Sid the penguin during Endangered
Species Day at the Dallas Zoo’s Don Glendenning Penguin Cove on Friday,
May 15, 2015.
The Dallas Zoo wants people to see the problem of endangered animals as a black-and-white issue.
So on Friday, a curtain blocked the view of the zoo’s African penguins.
If visitors wanted to see the birds, they had to pledge to take steps that would benefit the endangered animal — such as eating sustainable seafood and conserving energy. Only then could they see the birds in the Don Glendenning Penguin Cove. “There’s a balance in nature, and it’s very evident that that balance is becoming imbalanced; it’s shifting,” said Ben Jones, senior director and dean of Wild Earth Academy, the zoo’s conservation education initiative that began in February. “We have to do our part to use the resources that we have but not use them up,” he said.
The Dallas Zoo was among more than 200 institutions that took part in such activities Friday for Endangered Species Day.
About 32 percent of the species represented in the Dallas Zoo population is endangered, threatened or near-threatened in the wild.
African penguins are at risk because of overfishing and changing ocean currents, which disrupt their feeding patterns.
At the penguin cove Friday morning, children clamored to see the birds. “It’s good to educate the kids on doing little things,” said Reena Bhalerao, who was on a field trip with her son, Nikhil.
Turning off a light is “just a very small step toward [reducing] global warming,” she said.
The zoo’s education efforts will continue from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with a focus on other species, including elephants, cheetahs, gorillas and monarch butterflies. The Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park is also participating and will focus on the threats to sharks.
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So on Friday, a curtain blocked the view of the zoo’s African penguins.
If visitors wanted to see the birds, they had to pledge to take steps that would benefit the endangered animal — such as eating sustainable seafood and conserving energy. Only then could they see the birds in the Don Glendenning Penguin Cove. “There’s a balance in nature, and it’s very evident that that balance is becoming imbalanced; it’s shifting,” said Ben Jones, senior director and dean of Wild Earth Academy, the zoo’s conservation education initiative that began in February. “We have to do our part to use the resources that we have but not use them up,” he said.
Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer
The Dallas Zoo's Amy Smith holds Sid the penguin as visiting youngsters put their thumbprints on a poster.
The Dallas Zoo was among more than 200 institutions that took part in such activities Friday for Endangered Species Day.
About 32 percent of the species represented in the Dallas Zoo population is endangered, threatened or near-threatened in the wild.
African penguins are at risk because of overfishing and changing ocean currents, which disrupt their feeding patterns.
At the penguin cove Friday morning, children clamored to see the birds. “It’s good to educate the kids on doing little things,” said Reena Bhalerao, who was on a field trip with her son, Nikhil.
Turning off a light is “just a very small step toward [reducing] global warming,” she said.
The zoo’s education efforts will continue from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with a focus on other species, including elephants, cheetahs, gorillas and monarch butterflies. The Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park is also participating and will focus on the threats to sharks.
source
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