This May, we celebrated Cinco de Rhino all month long at the Zoo! The zookeepers held a bake sale fundraiser and displayed rhino artwork on May 5 and 6, provided fun enrichment for our rhinos, and made a commitment to donate 25% of all May proceeds from Rhino Encounters towards rhino conservation efforts. With your help, we are proud to announce we raised more than $600!

Want a chance to meet our rhinos up close? The Zoo offers Rhino Encounters daily from 12 to 1 p.m. The cost is $15 per person, and $10 per person for Zoo members. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets can be purchased at Kayak Beach, located in Expedition Africa.

For more rhino fun, click here to see Max the Rhino meet a new friend, the Triceratops!

Running Zone recently presented a check for $7,500 to the Zoo, a donation from proceeds received from the 3K race held at the Zoo on Saturday, March 3. This year’s race, the Raptor Run, took runners along the main entrance, down the service road to the back side of the Zoo, and then into the Zoo - around the main loop and through Paws On. From there, runners headed into Wild Florida and out onto the Dinosaurs: Dead or Alive? exhibit trail before circling along the back of the Zoo to the main entrance and the finish line. Animals were stationed along the course for runners to view along the way. Runners also caught a glimpse of the temporary dinosaur exhibit which closed on Monday, May 28.

The races at the Zoo are always animal-themed and bring a variety of participants, including children and families. More than 1,368 runners registered to participate in the race this year including 386 kids under age 14. This is the sixth year Running Zone has hosted a race at the Zoo and donated the net proceeds. In the past six years, Running Zone has donated a total of $34,000.

Join us in June for the Zoo's annual conservation series, where we invite conservation and research experts to share their experiences from the field, each Wednesday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Nyami Nyami River Lodge.

June 6: “The Florida Manatee: A Native American.”
Ann Spellman, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

June 13: "The Bottlenose Dolphins of Sarasota Bay - Lessons Learned from 4 Decades and 5 Generations."
Dr. Randall Wells, Sarasota Dolphin Research Program

June 20: "Marine Turtles and Other Wildlife of the Archie Carr NWR: Their History and Future."
Dr. L. M. Ehrhart, University of Central Florida Marine Turtle Research Group

June 27: “Coral Replanting: Hope for Florida’s Coral Reefs”
Ken Nedimyer, Coral Restoration Foundation

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