Join us on May 19th and 20th for Wildlife Heroes weekend at the Houston Zoo. On May 20th we welcome Jeff Flocken, co-author of Wildlife Heroes: 40 Leading Conservationists and the Animals they are Committed to Saving for a book-signing and presentations by zoo staff on the focus species of the book. Wildlife Heroes will be available for sale at the zoo on May 20th, quantities are limited! Books are also available for pre-order on the Houston Zoo website at: http://www.houstonzoo.org/wildlife-heroes/for a dicounted price until May 17th.
My first heroes were animal people. When I went to zoos my heroes were the zoo keepers and when I watched animal documentaries the researchers were my heroes. We all need amazing people to inspire us and that is why the new book Wildlife Heroes is so wonderful.
The book includes 40 people overcoming impossible odds to save endangered species all over the world. If you are looking for real heroes for your children to look up to look now further!
The unique stories in this book of local communities becoming involved in anti-poaching, education and research efforts for wildlife in their own back yard are immeasurably inspiring! In one story a young boy, Thia grew up in Northern Vietnam watching his village hunt the very species he fights to save today. His passion to help a unique species called the pangolin will warm your heart!
I have had the honor of meeting many of the heroes in this book (including the authors) over the years and they inspire me to move forward in my own wildlife conservation work. These are real people making a real difference!
This book introduces readers to pollinator and amphibian decline and other environment issues that continue to threaten our world. But it also offers great messages of hope. In the last chapter Jack Hannah suggests ways the reader can help, and the good news is that by purchasing the Wildlife Heroes book you are already helping- 100 % of the proceeds go to the projects featured in the book. A win for everyone!
Hope to see you at the Houston Zoo for our Wildlife Heroes weekend May 19th and 20th!
When I was a keeper, I often spent my free time observing our large group of ring-tailed lemurs. They have a relatively peaceful, but comical society. Often disagreements are settled with the females with babies clinging tightly to their backs at the front lines (that’s how risky the disagreements are). And, their most effective weapon is..…smell. Males arm up their tails with scent from glands on their wrists and fling it in the opponents’ general direction with great vigor. The whole event usually involves some dancing around each other until a smell wins out. It is all very entertaining.
Ruffed lemurs are definitely one of my favorite species of lemur! They are terrible to clean up after, and horribly loud, but delightful characters. When I was a zoo keeper, I worked closely with the oldest Red-ruffed lemur in captivity at the time. I had to do some training with him once and the only reward he would consistently work for was his own reflection in a mirror. The fact that he appeared to adore himself made him even more adorable to me! 
