The Oceletter. April/May Ocelots Dinner Program

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1 The Oceletter Ocelots Dinner Program When: Thursday, April 9, 2015 Where: San Diego Zoo Safari Park Mombasa Pavilion Who: Michelle Handrus What: Shoebill Storks April/May 2015 Our Mission The Ocelots enthusiastically support the efforts of the Zoological Society of San Diego through active involvement, commitment to education, and fund-raising. 5:45 to 6:15 p.m. Check-in outside at Main Gate. 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. Cocktails and Opportunity Drawing ticket sales. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dinner and program. In This Issue Your 2015 Steering Committee Head Ocelot Report Mark Your Calendars Save The Date A Review of Our Last Dinner Meeting Ocelots Grants Program Report Grant Recipient Thank-Yous Support the Ocelots Grants Program All Year About the Ocelots

2 Page 2 Head Ocelot Report A huge thank-you to all of you who donated blankets and towels! Two overflowing carts were delivered to the Children s Zoo where they will be used to warm and cuddle baby animals. Rachel, our Adviselot, says they are most thankful. We welcomed 7(!) new members at our February dinner. I am pleased to welcome Kathy and Bob Glass, Linda Harris, Mary O Tousa, Janice Roudebush, and Laura and Norm Swauger. It is exciting to see Ocelot membership growing and exploring new venues as a result. By Kim Bidermann Head Ocelot I want to thank Jennifer Smith and her Grants Committee for all their hard work. We have a lot of fun in Ocelots while learning about and seeing wonderful animals, but being able to fulfill grants is why we exist. If you are interested in working on the Grants Committee this year, please contact Jen. See you at Mombasa to learn about storks (one delivered my second grandson earlier this year!). Thank you all for making Ocelots the vibrant and dynamic group that we are! Your 2015 Steering Committee Left to Right: Mary Falwell Programs Assistant, Karen Sharpe Secretary, Marcia Schofield Treasurer, Lew Goldman Past Head Ocelot, Chris Campbell Check-in Coordinator, Kim Bidermann Head Ocelot, Paul Brooks Oceletter Editor, Jan Billington Membership Coordinator, Helene Hoffman Programs Coordinator, Jen Smith Grants & Logo wear, Kathy Morrison Vicelot

3 Page 3 Mark Your Calendars You won t want to miss a single Ocelots event this coming year! April 9: Dinner Meeting, Safari Park. Shoebill storks, Michelle Handrus. June 11: Dinner Meeting, Sabertooth Grill. Giant Pandas, Megan Owen. August 13: Dinner Meeting, Treetops. State of the Zoo, Dwight Scott. October 8: Dinner Meeting, Safari Park. Cheetah Breeding Program, Matt Anderson. Ocelots Photo Contest. December 3: Holiday Dinner, Zoo Party Area. Children s Zoo Nursery, Janet Hawes. Dates, locations, speakers, and topics are subject to change. Contribute to the Oceletter! We invite you to submit articles and photographs for the Oceletter. All content should be submitted electronically to the Oceletter Editor, Paul Brooks, at pbrooksphotos@hotmail.com. The deadlines for 2015 Oceletter submissions: May 18 July 20 September 14 November 16 Contact Us The best way to reach a member of the Steering Committee is to use the following address: ocelotsbymail@yahoo.com. This account is monitored frequently, and questions can be routed to the member of the Steering Committee who should handle it. The following people can be reached directly: Kim Bidermann Head Ocelot (619) kim@bidermann.org Jennifer Smith Grants/Logo Wear (858) jaskitty@cox.net Paul Brooks Oceletter Editor (619) pbrooksphotos@hotmail.com Reminder The Ocelots Photo Contest will be held at the October dinner meeting this year. Further details and complete rules will be in the next Oceletter. Entry fee is $10/photo entered. Photos may be no larger than 5x7 inches. No photos of pets or domesticated animals. Photos may be of animals in the wild or at any zoo, aquarium, or animal park.

4 Page 4 Save The Dates!

5 Page 5 A Review of Our Last Dinner Meeting One hundred and sixteen attendees, including seven new members and twelve guests, enjoyed the February dinner program in the Zoofari Party Area. The stars of the animal presentation were two clouded leopard ambassadors, Haui-san and Ganda. By Mary Falwell Mark Stuart shared that $51 million of the $60 million needed for Africa Rocks has been raised Programs so there is only $9 million to go! The Foundation may offer a $1million challenge grant for Otto Center renovation. Thanks to the generosity of Denny Sanford, San Diego Zoo Kids TV aired in Primary Children s Hospital in Salt Lake City on February 11, and it is now in multiple venues in six states. Dr. Ollie Ryder, Mr. Frozen Zoo, reflected on the strength of the life force, particularly in the springtime. He discussed the language of species, including the songs of a whale and rhino, which sound similar. With the help of the Frozen Zoo, we may again be able to hear the songs of some extinct animals.

6 Visit our website Page 6 Maureen O. Duryee, the featured speaker, is a Senior Animal Trainer at the San Diego Zoo. She works with the Backstage Pass Program connecting people and wildlife through experiences with animal ambassadors. Maureen s topic was A Clouded Future. She shared experiences with her favorite animals, the clouded leopards. These cats are from Asia, including Borneo and Sumatra, and are typically solitary in the wild. There are two species of clouded leopards; Maureen focused on Neofelis nebulosa, the species at the Zoo. In managed care there are 277 individuals in 75 institutions, and fewer than 10,000 of both species remain in the wild. San Diego Zoo was gifted with a breeding pair of cloudys in 1974, and they produced one offspring. In 1985 we received a gift of a trio that charmed movie and rock stars in the Animal Chit-Chat shows. Another pair, Kya and Kilat, were the third generation of animal ambassadors. Maureen s turning point came in 2000 when a male clouded leopard, Norman, joined the animal ambassador program. Maureen and Norman shared a lot of quality time and built a relationship that was magic on stage. In 2012 Rikki-san and Haui-san arrived, followed by Ganda in This species is very shy, and San Diego Zoo is the only zoo that has clouded leopards on a leash in a show situation. This was possible through the work of Kathy Marmack, who exposed young animals to multiple stimuli when in shows or meeting people. Thanks to the relationships built with their trainers the cats would come out despite any new noises or situations. There are no plans for the Zoo to breed cloudeds at this time that would depend on an SSP recommendation. Right now our contribution is through education. Our goal is to inspire change we want Zoo guests leaving with the desire to do something to save these and other animals.

7 Page 7 The Clouded Leopard Breeding Consortium is focusing on efforts to breed and maintain clouded leopards in managed care. They are not being reintroduced to the wild because there is no safe place for them at this time. Maureen worked in Thailand studying methods for breeding clouded leopards. There have been over 50 births in managed care, a success aided by our own Janet Hawes (Children s Zoo lead nursery keeper) who devised milk formulas for newborns. Seven breeding pairs have been exported from Thailand. One of the greatest threats to these and other animals is deforestation caused by palm oil plantations. One thing we can all do is be aware of label ingredients and only purchase products with sustainable palm oil. There is an app, the Palm Oil Guide and Scanner, sponsored by the El Paso Zoological Society at: Additional information is available through the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo s website: The goal is to change our buying strategy. We can t stop palm oil, but it can be produced and used in a sustainable manner.

8 Page 8 Ocelots Grants Program Report The funds have been distributed and the thank-you are starting to come in See the following page to see a couple! Ocelots Opportunity Drawings Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20. We will have three amazing choices for you to win; including one of Karen s gorgeous jewelry creations, a delicate silver and purple butterfly necklace. All proceeds go toward supporting the Grants Program. Please remember to go green recycling the baskets. Ocelots Merchandise By Jennifer Smith Grants Coordinator Polo Shirts: You may order men s and women s polo shirts on an individual basis. Please see me at the dinner meetings to place your order. Limited-edition Framed Diego Photos with the engraved Ocelot name and logo are available for $20. Canvas Tote Bags are available for $10 each. We also have two embroidered, Nylon zippered top bags left for $20 each. If you have any other suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact me at jaskitty@cox.net, or come find me at our dinner meetings.. by

9 Visit our website Page 9 Grant Recipient Thank-Yous A sincere Thank You to you and to the Ocelot Donors who have graciously provided the means to obtain much needed kitchen utensils and supplies. These items will immediately be put to use and will greatly enhance our diet preparation efficiency. This supports our continual goal of providing High quality diets and service in support of our World Famous collection. Pictured from left to right Michelle Wilson, Fabian Monroy, David Granados, Crystal Turchen, Kelsey Frye, Lisa Czarniak and Cassandra Riggs. Four of our team members not pictured were Devin Deir, Emily Duax, and Stepahanie Gloede. Our Dept Manager, Sam Baker was behind the camera taking the photo. Here are some photos of the items we were able to purchase from our funding. The first is the Diffcount cell counter that we received an awesome deal on and the second are the blue cryogloves we were able to get with the savings. These items are used daily and are critical to the work we do. We are very appreciative for the Ocelots funding. Thank you very much for organizing this. Nicole Ravida Research Coordinator-ICR

10 Page 10 Support the Ocelots Grants Program All Year Set it and forget it! By donating monthly you are showing your steadfast support of SDZG s conservation mission and enabling the Ocelots to fund much-needed requests in all the departments at the Zoo, Park, and Institute. All monthly donations go to support our Grants Program. Go to your bank s Online Bill Pay service and set up your monthly payments today. BE SURE to reference OCELOTS in the Memo/ Account field. Monthly contributors will receive an Exclusive Ocelot Decal for their car. Another way to add to our SDZG matching challenge is to ask your company if they offer a matching charitable contribution program. You will get credit for the additional donation, although it will not appear on your tax receipt. As always, credit card payments may also be made monthly by calling our Adviselot, Rachel Poulsen, at , option2, ext. 4071, or her at rpoulsen@sandiegozoo.org. Monthly checks also may be mailed to the following address: San Diego Zoo Global c/o Rachel Poulsen, Development Dept. P.O. Box San Diego, CA All grant donations are confidential and tax deductible. (Note: Please consult with your tax advisor.) A letter listing the amount of your donation, along with your decal, will be mailed to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly, Jennifer Smith, Grants Coordinator, at jaskitty@cox.net.

11 About the Ocelots Ocelots While having fun at many enjoy a special relationship with San Diego Zoo Global. educational dinners and other special events at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, Ocelots raise money to support the Ocelots Grants Program. Departments within the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research are eligible to apply for these grants. Diego the ocelot, pictured above, was purchased for the San Diego Zoo by the Ocelots in Diego is a working member of the Education Department! Dafyd the ocelot, pictured above, lives at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in an enclosure funded by the Ocelots in 2011.