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• 2007-2008 Annual Report

While reflecting on the events and accomplishments of the past year, I was reminded of the proverb, “Little by little, the bird builds his nest.” Many days, we are so consumed with the busy work of our daily lives that it doesn’t seem like we’re making much forward progress. It is not until we take a moment to step back that we can see the great strides we’ve made or the nest that we’ve built.

This year at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, we’ve been busy building and strengthening our “nest,” beginning with the completion of our new gorilla habitat, Campo Gorilla Reserve. The 26,000-square-foot reserve was inspired by the species’ native habitat, the West Central African rainforest. Patriarch silverback Kelly returned with our two females and a delightful baby from their extended stay at the Denver Zoo. In addition, two young bachelors arrived from Disney’s Wild Animal Park. All are thriving, and the new exhibit has drawn thousands of new patrons to the Zoo.

We are equally committed to seeing the other projects currently in design or construction through to fruition, beginning with the Asian elephant habitat, Pachyderm Forest. The habitat will highlight what is special about Asian elephants and the threats they face while encouraging the visiting public to help conserve elephants.

We celebrated numerous births this year, including a pair of Tadjik markhor, two peninsular pronghorn fawns, and several rare reptiles. Our new arrivals include some unusual species that you should check out if you haven’t already—the axolotl, the rock hyrax, and the steenbok. Big charismatic animals like the gorillas, elephants, and giraffes tend to get a lot of attention, but there are many other fascinating creatures to get to know here at the Zoo.

As we build our nest at home, our staff continues to travel to other regions of the world to participate in field research and conservation projects. During the past year, members of our staff assisted with conservation efforts in Mexico, Africa, Australia, and South America, bringing the knowledge they gained through these endeavors back to the Zoo.

Thank you again for your ongoing support of the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Working together we can continue to have a positive impact on the conservation of wildlife and wild places.

John R. Lewis
Los Angeles Zoo Director

	Click here to read the 2007-2008 Annual Report

What an incredible year this has been. Our attendance reached 1.6 million—an increase of close to 100,000 visitors, proving yet again that the Los Angeles Zoo is an affordable place for families and individuals to come and learn about wildlife in an environment that is peaceful and inspiring.

In November 2007, the highly anticipated Campo Gorilla Reserve opened—a fabulous space for our lowland gorilla troop. This new habitat would not have been possible if not for the generosity of GLAZA donors, who contributed $7.5 million toward its construction.

In 2006, we committed to raise $4.5 million for the Pachyderm Forest project, a state-of-the-art habitat for Asian elephants. This year, we not only fulfilled that commitment, but also pledged significantly more funding. This habitat is of vital importance to us, to our community, and to Asian elephant conservation. We are working diligently to ensure its completion.

Thanks to a grant from the Ridgestone Foundation, we recently introduced a new on-site interpretive tool, an audio cell phone tour that is also downloadable from our website. The “Weird and Wonderful” tour introduces you to unusual animals such as the axolotl, Sichuan takin, and fossa. The tour is free, and narration is available in both English and Spanish. Download it before your next Zoo visit: www.lazoo.org/fun/audio/.

The Zoo’s veterinary staff is benefiting from a generous gift from Suzanne Gottlieb for new ultrasound and radiology equipment. The state-of-the-art equipment has portable components that enable staff to make diagnoses on site, rather than having to anaesthetize the animals and bring them to the Gottlieb Animal Health and Conservation Center.

GLAZA continued to fund conservation projects both here at the Zoo and in the wild, providing 23 grants to 17 organizations, including an emergency $25,000 donation to help rebuild panda preserves severely damaged in the devastating earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan province in May 2008.

Our ongoing education programs were bursting at the seams last year. More than 50,000 students enjoyed docent-led tours. Nearly 4,000 schoolchildren participated in our ZooPals program, which offers free admission, transportation, and tours to schools from under-served districts. ZooMobile, which visits classrooms, libraries, community centers, and neighborhood events, reached 12,500 people at 85 locations. Of these, more than 1,200 people had access to ZooMobile visits that were free to their schools or communities, thanks to the generosity of GLAZA funders.

We received more than $2.3 million in estate gifts, which will provide for the Zoo into the future. We are grateful to our members who are demonstrating their pride in the Zoo by making provisions in their wills and trusts. We are proud of our achievements this year and even more excited about what’s in store for the future. We are particularly excited about forthcoming habitats including Pachyderm Forest, Rainforest of the Americas, and the Reptile and Insect Interpretive Center, and the educational opportunities these facilities will offer. Thank you for your continued support.

Connie Morgan	Tom Mankiewicz
President	Chairman of the Board