This is 5-year-old Lily and Mr Moo the Giraffe visiting Taronga Zoo for the first time. Years ago, Lily’s mother, Felicity, then a young girl herself, visited the Zoo and she decided she would raise money to go towards building a new Orang-utan exhibit.  After doing odd-jobs for her mother and collecting up the money she had saved from the tooth fairy she once again returned to the Zoo and proudly presented her life-savings to the Orang-utan keepers. Much to her delight, Felicity was then given a special behind-the-scenes tour where the keepers showed the Orang-utans the money Felicity had scraped together. Last Friday, Felicity brought Lily to the Zoo as Lily was desperate to introduce Mr Moo to our giraffes and she wanted to see the Orang-utans that she had heard so much about from her mother. Lily had a wonderful day and Felicity was thrilled with the Orang-utan exhibit her savings helped build.

As Taronga approaches its centenary, it’s wonderful to hear about connections to the Zoo that span whole generations of families.