Good News: The Swap Shop Can Help You Save Wildlife

We hope you enjoyed taking a trip through the Zoo’s Swap Shop and meeting some of our Ambassador Animals on today’s Facebook Live! The Zoo is home to over 6,000 permanent residents (our animals) for whom we provide the highest standard in animal care. As you get to know each of these animal ambassadors, you’re not just learning about them, you’re learning about their relatives in the wild. Located in the Children’s Zoo, the Swap Shop is a great place to not only learn more about each of these animals, but also how to help save them in the wild.

Earlier today, you learned that the Swap Shop is a place where you can bring items you have found in nature and trade them for natural items in our collection at the shop. You may not be able to visit the Swap Shop right now, but there are plenty of actions you can take at home in order to earn points for use at the shop when the Zoo re-opens. View a list of items you can collect to earn points at the shop.

You can also earn points to spend at the Swap Shop by taking wildlife-friendly actions at home! Some of these wildlife-saving actions include:

• Carry your items you’ve collected to the shop in a reusable bag to save wildlife like otters
• Use a reusable water bottle at home and on your next trip to the Zoo to save sea turtles
• Take pictures of you and your family recycling to save bobcats.  Less in the landfills mean more space for bobcats to live.
• Collect items like toothbrushes, clean empty toothpaste tubes, or floss containers to recycle at the shop to save bald eagles.
• Collect old/used cell phones and small electronics to recycle on your next visit to the Swap Shop to save gorillas
• Become a Pollinator Pal to save birds and butterflies!
  • Take pictures of your garden and animals that visit it
  • Write a report about your wildlife friendly space sharing information on how your garden is doing or what wildlife you are seeing

Taking these actions at home helps to protect animals like sea turtles, gorillas, and monarch butterflies in the wild, and will earn you points at the Swap Shop. Every action we take can make a difference for the wild animals we love, and we can’t wait to celebrate your saving wildlife successes with you on your next visit – in the meantime, your support is more critical than ever. By supporting our Emergency Zoo Fund, you help ensure that we fulfill our mission of connecting communities with animals and inspiring action to save wildlife, even during these challenging times.