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This is Chris Redgrave for Zions Bank Speaking on Business.
We have around 2,000 wildlife places to visit in the U.S. and only 10 percent are accredited, one of which includes Utah's Hogle Zoo at the mouth of Emigration Canyon in Salt Lake City.
In meeting with Brad Parkin, marketing director, he said the process of getting Hogle Zoo on this important and prestigious accreditation list is a white-glove inspection. It takes place every 5 years, and important categories are evaluated like our veterinarian care, husbandry, marketing and guest services. You must excel in all these areas.
Because Utah's Hogle Zoo is on the map around the U.S., our zoo is part of the AZA, which is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. We are part of the Species Survival Plan, so we can continue to have these remarkable exotic animals, some of which are on the brink of extinction, for generations to enjoy and understand.
That's why 2009 was a record year for babies at the zoo, like the wonderful baby elephant, Zuri, who at 2,000 pounds looks small compared to her mom, Christie, and Dari who is the other adult elephant and is the oldest African elephant in any zoo in North America. Also, the three male Amur Tiger cubs born that summer are already full grown and among only 400 left in the wild.
To add to the program, we will soon have Rizzo, a female polar bear, who will be a part of the finest polar bear conservation breeding program in the country.
Hats off to Utah citizens and Salt Lake County who supported the largest and most important expansion of Utah's Hogle Zoo, which has been in the works since September 2010. Rocky Shores will be completed this summer, covering over 3 acres, and it will be impressive. The theme of this area will be a takeoff from the Pacific Northwest like Cannery Row with new concessions, grizzly bears for the first time and a water filtration system that will handle fresh and salt water . . . plus it will be recycled.
For Zions Bank, I'm Chris Redgrave, speaking on business.
Utah's Hogle Zoo 2600 Sunnyside Ave. Salt Lake City, UT 84108 1-801-582-1631 www.univeralcyl.com
