What is #GivingZOOday?
The most generous day of the year is Tuesday, November 27th. After giving thanks, eating and shopping the sales, #GivingTuesday is a time to give back to your favorite nonprofit organizations. Here at the Zoo, we celebrate #GivingZOOday as conservation organizations like ours around the country call on supporters to help us save species from extinction — supporters like you!
DOUBLE DOLLARS FOR WILDLIFE
The Maryland Zoo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and your gift this #GivingZOOday will go twice as far thanks to a generous Maryland Zoo donor match. All gifts will be DOUBLED (up to $5,000) between 8 am and 8 pm on November 27th.
What does my donation support?
A wild Eastern box turtle fighting for its life was on the receiving end of some very innovative medical care from the Zoo’s veterinary team. They needed a way to lift the turtle off the ground for his bottom shell to heal, and together with a LEGO enthusiast friend in Denmark, they invented a special turtle “wheelchair” to assist with his recovery! “LEGO turtle,” as he is affectionately called here at the Zoo, should be fully healed and ready to be released back into his natural habitat in Druid Hill Park next summer. You can help support our innovative veterinary team with your tax-deductible contribution today!
Watch a video about the innovative wheelchair
When life hands you used firehose, you make lemonade, right? Well, sort of…here at The Maryland Zoo, when used firehose is donated from our friends at Hose2Habitat and the US Forest Service, our animal care team creates a variety of items to be used for animal enrichment. Some recent creations include this firehose bed for Makoda the badger and the hanging “vines” filled with browse for the giraffes. You can help support animal enrichment creativity with your tax-deductible contribution today!
Watch a video about creating enrichment
What do you feed a pregnant sitatunga? Do the sandhill cranes eat the same food as the wood ducks? The answer to any animal food-related question is found in the specific nutritional diet binder for each and every species here at the Zoo! Diet formulation and preparation is a very important part of the work the Veterinary and Commissary Teams do here to help ensure that the animals are receiving the best possible care. You can help support great animal nutrition with your tax-deductible contribution today!
Watch a video about the Zoo’s Commissary
Can we get a mic drop here?! Well, probably not because penguins love shiny objects and they would be all over the mic even during feeding time at Penguin Coast. Twice a day one of our staff members or volunteers narrate the penguin feedings and answer all of your burning questions about our African penguin colony. They play an important role in educating our guests about these birds from South Africa at Penguin Coast. You can help support our penguins and their devoted staff team members with your tax-deductible contribution today!
Learn about our daily penguin keeper chats
While they work in different departments, the animal care staff and the veterinary technicians both play a vital role in various aspects of animal care throughout the Zoo. Vet techs work with animal keepers on medical behavior training — helping to build relationships with the animals so the animals can participate in their own medical care voluntarily, such as allowing techs to collect blood samples, check blood pressure and do ultrasounds. Go team! You can help support our Vet tech team with your tax-deductible contribution today!
Learn about our animal care team
Can I do more?
Making a gift is the most important contribution you can make on #GivingZOOday, but there are other ways to help too…spread the word! Everyone loves animals, so tell your friends about the conservation work the Zoo is doing and encourage them to give today. One easy way to do this is sharing the Zoo’s #GivingZOOday posts on Facebook.
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and relies in part on donations to operate. Please make a fast, secure, credit card donation to the Zoo. Your contribution is also fully tax-deductible.
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