BlueCross BlueShield of WNY helps keep Polar Bears in Buffalo

--BCBS Employees Donate $5,000 for Construction of New Polar Bear Habitat--

 

BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York (BCBS) presented a check in the amount of $5,000 to Donna Fernandes, President of the Buffalo Zoo to help fund the construction of the zoo’s Arctic Edge Polar Bear Habitat. The $5,000 raised by BCBS employees, is in addition to the  company’s 5-year, $50,000 commitment to the habitat. 

Thursday’s presentation took place in the cafeteria at the BCBS headquarters in front of a large group of employees to honor them for their hard work. The money was raised through grass-roots efforts including a company bake sale and loose change jars. 

Steve Swift, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and a trustee of the Buffalo Zoological Society, presented the check, along with two adorable stuffed polar bears, to Fernandes.

 “As a company we have always recognized how important the Buffalo Zoo is to our community.,” said Swift, “Our employees did a great job to support this regional asset, and especially the polar bears.”

Celebrate the Polar Bear Cubs' Birthdays at the Buffalo Zoo!

Come to a special birthday party for Luna and Kali the polar bear cubs at the Buffalo Zoo!

The event will take place on Saturday, November 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be free with regular Zoo admission.

Polar Bear Cubs Kali and Luna (June, 2013)

There will be a variety of family-friendly activities in the Zoo’s reptile house, adjacent to the cubs’ current location in the tiger exhibit. Visitors will be able to warm up with hot chocolate, play pin the bear on the iceberg, sign a birthday card for the cubs, and learn about energy conservation while decorating light switch plates to take home.  There will also be special programs in front of the cubs’ exhibit during the event. The complete schedule follows: 

• 10 a.m. – Birthday cake for the cubs
• 11 a.m. – Birthday presents for the cubs
• 11:30 a.m. – Q&A with the cubs’ keeper and second mommy, Caitlyn
• 12 p.m. – Sing “Happy Birthday” to the cubs
• 1 p.m. – Birthday presents for the cubs
• 1:30 p.m. – Q&A with the cubs’ surrogate mommy, Alice

Luna was born at the Buffalo Zoo on November 27, 2012. She was hand-raised by the Zoo’s veterinary technician and keeper staff. Kali was orphaned in the wild and brought to the Buffalo Zoo in May. He is presumed to be about a month younger than Luna. The Zoo has decided to celebrate their birthdays at the same time with this special event for visitors.

The Buffalo Zoo 2014 Wall Calendar Is Here!

The Women’s Board of the Buffalo Zoo is pleased to present the 2014 Buffalo Zoo Calendar!

The wall calendar showcases the Zoo’s animals in stunning full-color photos taken during their annual photo contest. It highlights Zoo events as well as fun facts about all of the animals pictured.

Calendars are available for $10 each and may be purchased in the Zootique gift shop, by calling (716) 995-6131, or by mail using the form below. All proceeds from the wall calendars will benefit the Zoo’s Adopt An Animal program, which provides food for the animals.

Use this form if you want to order a calendar via snail mail!

The Buffalo Zoo would like to thank our generous sponsors of the 2014 calendar:

• Baby Room
• Blue Collar / Modern Nostalgia
• Bob & Johns La Hacienda
• Colvin Market Deli and Grill
• Ettore-Winter Photography
• Fairy Cakes Cupcakery
• Fleet Feet Sports
• Johnny’s Meats & Italian Specialties
• Markheim Tropical Fish & Pet Store, Inc.
• Michael Donnelly Interior Design
• Talking Leaves Books
• TreeHouse Toy Store

Want to see your photography featured in next year's calendar? Click here for more information about the Zoo's annual photography contest.

Tickets Now Available for Breakfast with Santa!

The Buffalo Zoo invites you and your family to celebrate the holidays with Santa and the Zoo animals!

The Zoo will host its annual Breakfast with Santa events on December 14, 15, 21, and 22. There will be two seatings each day at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Prepaid, nonrefundable tickets are required due to limited seating. Ticket prices for non-members are $15 for adults and $12 for children. Members will receive a $3 discount. Children under the age of 24 months will be admitted for free.

Tickets include a buffet breakfast provided by CJ’s Catering, family-friendly activities, and a visit with Santa!

For more information, please call (716) 995-6133. You can purchase your tickets below (or click here to purchase tickets)!

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Click Here to visit the Brown Paper Tickets event page.

Help the Bears Just by Helping the Planet!

Want an easy way to help the Buffalo Zoo build a new polar bear exhibit? We've teamed up with myActions.org, the social network for the planet to give you just that! By participating in our 15-day challenge, you'll be able to increase your own energy conservation efforts while helping us to raise money for the new Arctic Edge exhibit.

It's super easy! Starting on September 21, you can just click here to sign up and join the Arctic Edge challenge. Select one of our animal teams and then click the yellow "Sign up and Join this team" button.

The 15-day challenge is simple. All you have to do is complete 15 actions in 15 days. The actions can be almost anything that conserves energy, from riding your bike to recycling a can!  After joining a team, you can explore the site to see the categories of actions you and your family can start doing to help the planet (and save polar bears!) To choose an action, just click on the item that closely matches the action you have accomplished.

For every conservation action you do, myActions.org will donate up to $0.50 per action to the Arctic Edge exhibit. Not only will you be helping to protect the polar bears' shrinking natural habitat, but you'll be helping the Buffalo Zoo's polar bears too! Joining is free and easy, so please join the challenge today and become part of this great online green community!

Tashi is Pregnant! Celebrate with us on World Rhino Day!

The Buffalo Zoo’s Indian rhinoceros, Tashi, is pregnant.

Lead rhino keeper Joe Hauser, Tashi, Dr. Monica Stoops, and Dr. Kurt Volle

The Zoo participated in an experimental Artificial Insemination (AI) procedure, and is one of the first zoos in the world to have a successful Indian rhino AI pregnancy. A team of keepers and veterinarians from the Buffalo Zoo worked with Dr. Monica Stoops from the Center of Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) based at the Cincinnati Zoo to help with the AI process.

Tashi the Indian Rhino

The procedure took place in February of 2013. If Tashi remains healthy and the pregnancy successfully goes to term, keepers expect that she will give birth in June of 2014. The pregnancy is an important step towards global rhino conservation, and is already proving invaluable to the research efforts of CREW and the rhinoceros species survival plan (SSP.)

Anyone interested in learning more about Tashi’s pregnancy, or about global rhino conservation should attend the Buffalo Zoo’s World Rhino Day event. On Sunday, September 22, the Zoo will host a special lecture by Joe Hauser, the Zoo’s lead rhino keeper. The event, which runs from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. in the Children’s Resource Center (CRC,) will also feature raffles and refreshments. Tickets are only $5 at the door, and all proceeds will benefit the International Rhino Foundation. Reservations are recommended, but not required. For more information, call (716) 995-6133.

World Rhino Day is a global day of recognition and celebration of the five species of rhinoceros. It was first celebrated by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) South Africa in 2010 and has since become a worldwide day of awareness and appreciation for these beautiful animals.

Polar Bear Cubs Temporarily Off Exhibit

The Buffalo Zoo’s two famous polar bear cubs, Luna and Kali, will be temporarily off exhibit beginning on Thursday, September 19.

The Zoo is moving the cubs to a different area of the Zoo in order to relocate them to a larger exhibit space.

Zoo officials expect that the cubs will take about a week to adjust to their new holding area. After that time, the cubs will be back on exhibit in the Zoo’s current tiger exhibit. The tigers, which are a nocturnal species, will take turns on the exhibit with the cubs, and will have access to the exhibit in the evening and overnight.

The Zoo will announce when the cubs are on exhibit in their new space. Anyone who plans to visit the Zoo to see a specific animal is encouraged to call the Zoo before visiting at (716) 837-3900.