Day Care Kids Help Taronga’s Gorillas

Day Care Kids Help Taronga’s Gorillas

#Taronga Zoo Sydney

Posted on 10th September 2012 by Media Relations

Environmental enrichment plays a crucial role in the day to day activities of our animals and on the primate division keepers are always trying to come up with new challenges for the animals they care for. Last week we had a helping hand from Abbotsford Long Day Care Centre children who  donated some of their old playground toys to the gorilla group.To show our appreciation, Primate Keeper Lisa went out to meet the kids in person. Lisa presented the children with a large photo of our gorillas to hang in their classroom and answered any questions they had. She also took this opportunity to teach  the kids about gorillas in the wild. Before leaving she set up a mobile phone recycling box to encourage the Centre’s families to recycle their old mobile phones. This is in support of the ‘They’re Calling On You’ campaign currently being run by Taronga Zoo in an effort to save gorilla habitat. As for our gorillas, they absolutely loved their new toys. The youngsters spent hours running, pushing and jumping through them. It was an absolute delight to see such a positive response to such a generous act from the community. It is actions like this that not only make a difference to the lives of our gorillas here at Taronga Zoo, but also help  educate the community, bringing  us a step closer to securing a future for the Great Apes in the wild. Click here to find out how you can help preserve gorilla habitatPrimate Keeper, Renae