Asheboro, NC – Roam into the North Carolina Zoo African Region on Saturday to celebrate African Giants, which will highlight the largest animals at the zoo from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Children can create crafts, learn about natural history, enjoy face painting or African storytelling by Fred Motley and learn about African giants such as elephants, giraffes and rhinos and what the North Carolina Zoo is doing to help these majestic animals in the wild.
Elephants, rhinos and giraffes are all threatened by poaching, human population growth and habitat loss in the wild. The zoo is a world leader in trying to help combat dangers that African animals face in their native homes.
Throughout the year, staff members from the zoo travel to Africa to place satellite collars on elephants to track their movements in Nigeria and Cameroon. Information from the collars helps rangers monitor and protect the herds and reduce conflicts between people and wildlife. The zoo’s conservation team improves anti-poaching efforts by training wildlife rangers in Africa to use software that identifies poaching hotspots. Zookeepers have raised more than $145,000 in the last 15 years for rhino conservation through events like Bowling for Rhinos.
The North Carolina Zoo is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Donald R. van der Vaart, Secretary; Pat McCrory, Governor.
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