Member Highlight Video - Hogle Zoo

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You never are too old to enjoy the zoo! For this member highlight we traveled to the mouth of Emigration Canyon to visit the extensive landscapes and diverse wildlife that spans the 42 acres of the Hogle Zoo. Walking into the zoo, we were immediately immersed in a variety of habitats from the African Savannah, to the Australian outback. Among our favorites was the Asian Highlights exhibit, re-creating a Himalayan village and housing five endangered species of Asian Cat. Our walk through the zoo led us to elephants, monkeys, birds, and a stop off to awe at the mechanical dinosaurs placed in various places around the zoo!

We had the opportunity to talk to Suzanne Zgraggen, the Academic and Community Programs Coordinator for Utah’s Hogle Zoo. She explained the zoo’s commitment to recreation, conservation, and education. The zoo works off the philosophy that the more people know and care about animals, the more willing they will be to take steps towards conserving them. There is certainly a lot to learn from the approximately 800 animals and around 250 species that are housed at the Hogle Zoo.

The Zoo’s initiative to “think globally, act locally” includes work from a green team to uphold the policy and follow the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Some of the conservation efforts include turning off engines when not in use, using compact fluorescent lighting, printing on both sides of paper, re-circulating water systems, harvesting solar power, using rechargeable batteries, and turning off computers when not in use. The Zoo has also become involved in a cell phone recycling program. The L.S. Skaggs Animal Health Center is the Zoo’s first LEED certified building using recycled materials from the old hospital in its place. The current building uses 40% less energy and 50% less water than the previous building. Their efforts have caused them to be recognized by the Recycling Coalition of Utah as the Thomas A. Martin Utah Recycler of the Year award in 2005 for a non-profit business. These are only some of the conservation efforts that the Zoo has in place. They have a constant and growing dedication to sustainability and waste reduction.

The zoo is a popular destination for school field trips and outreach programs with a variety of program topics including habitat, predator/prey relationships, adaptations, bugs, and animals in winter. The zoo also offers materials and resources for K-12 teachers including curriculum guides and workshops. For more information about teacher resources, follow the link below.

http://www.hoglezoo.org/education_programs/teacher_programs/open_house_workshops/

Programming doesn’t stop there, the zoo also has programs for community and civic groups, preschool groups, scout programs, corporate and birthday parties. The online events calendar shows times for daily programs as well as special events. Every day there are animal encounters, which can add an exciting event to your Zoo visit.

The zoo is open year round with many events and exciting activities going on every day! Check out www.hoglezoo.org for more information.