What is your favorite animal? I have too many favorites to pick just one! I love lions, tigers, and elephants, as well as dolphins and pandas. I have always loved animals. When I was in school at my university (quick! Who remembers what university I attended??), I studied science. My degree is in biological sciences, but more specifically, Zoology. This means I focused on the study of animals.
I am lucky that I got to grow up in a place like Tampa, which has multiple places people can visit to learn about animals, and help contribute to animal conservation and protection. This conservation and protection has always been really important to me.
One (1) of these places is ZooTampa at Lowry Park.
ZooTampa at Lowry Park
ZooTampa at Lowry Park is a nonprofit zoo located in Tampa. It used to be called Lowry Park Zoo (that's what it was called when I went to the zoo growing up). The grounds cover 63 acres (or 25 hectares), and there are over 1,300 animals there.
Like any zoo, ZooTampa has many animals that you can observe in artificial habitats, including giraffes, koalas, Malayan tigers, African elephants, and many more.
In addition to the normal animal exhibits, ZooTampa also has a hospital for Florida manatees, to take in injured animals, and then release them back into the wild after they have been treated. Florida manatees are endangered animals. Some of the threats to their existence include being hit by boats, loss of habitat, and red tide.
This hospital is the only non-profit hospital in the world specifically dedicated to critical care for injured and sick manatees.
The zoo is involved with the care and conservation of other animals as well. Some animals, like the manatees, are treated and then released back into the wild to live on their own. Others, which are unable to survive in the wild, may be kept at ZooTampa, or other zoos around the world.
One animal who couldn't be released was Walter, a Florida panther who was found with his leg stuck in a trap. The veterinarians at ZooTampa treated him, and now he lives at the zoo, along with two other panthers there.
Watch the video below about Walter!
1. What kind of animal is Walter?
2. Why did Walter need emergency care?
3. How many panthers has ZooTampa rescued and rehabilitated since 1988?
Because the zoo is a non-profit organization, they hold different events as fundraisers - to raise money so they can continue to help animals and contribute to wildlife conservation.
One fundraiser the zoo has every year is called Zoo Brews. Visitors can buy tickets to the event, and the money raised helps conservation efforts. The people who buy tickets get to stay at the zoo after normal hours and enjoy food, drinks, live music, and games, as well as getting to see some of the animals up close and exclusive shows and interactions.
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