There’s an animal called zoo memberships?
Yes, several. And memberships help support them all. Zoos catch a lot of flack from some groups, but good zoos are helping to preserve endangered species through Species Survival Plans within zoos. Some zoos also perform important research and do field work as well.
Plus, there are many reasons spring is a good season to buy a zoo membership:
• Enjoy the outdoors and get exercise while the weather is moderate.
• See the zoo babies!
• Gaze upon the butterflies. (Many zoos have butterfly exhibits open only during the spring months.)
• Have somewhere close by …read more

So far in Hug This Animal, we’ve talked about the polar bear, cheetah and red panda.
Today, we’re going to Hug a Bird that is no longer threatened with extinction. The bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, is a conservation success story. It was one of the original species protected under the Endangered Species Act when it was started in 1973.
In June of 2007, the US Fish & Wildlife Service announced that the bald eagle was being removed from the list of threatened and endangered species. (The bird will remain protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection …read more

Too bad you can’t really Hug This Animal. It’s one of the most cuddly creatures I’ve ever seen. If you have red pandas at your local zoo, be patient and spend some time looking high up into the trees in their exhibit. They can usually be found up there.
Once, I saw one of my local red pandas on the ground. It was persistently chasing around the muntjac (also known as barking deer) sharing its exhibit. This comical scene forever endeared the red panda to me. All of the photos in this post feature one of my local red pandas, but …read more