U.S. Zoos Make Major Donation to China's Giant Pandas

$165,000 to Support Post-Earthquake Recovery Efforts

Silver Spring, MD (Vocus/PRWEB ) June 27, 2008 -- The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), in cooperation with The Giant Panda Conservation Foundation (GPCF), today abutting the Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Zhou Wenzhong, in announcement a $165,000 donation to the China Wildlife Conservation Association to abutment post-earthquake panda conservation.

Accredited zoos are capital to the attention of the behemothic panda We are beholden for this abetment and for the able attention affiliation with zoos in the United States. I am appreciative that AZA associates rose to the break to advice our all-embracing ally recover We will abide to abutment China in this important mission. The Smithsonian's National Zoo is committed to the accretion of the behemothic panda We abutment our committed colleagues in China, and allure the accessible to accomplish an online donation at www.nationalzoo.si.edu . "Accredited zoos are capital to the attention of the behemothic panda," said Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong. "We are beholden for this abetment and for the able attention affiliation with zoos in the United States."

The collective fundraising accomplishment of AZA and GPCF will abetment about-face efforts at panda attention accessories in Wolong and Chenghdu afterwards the adverse accoutrement of the earthquakes in Sichuan Province area they are located. These accessories accomplished cogent accident and the agents has met with cogent hardship, acute burning abetment to abutment their adeptness to affliction for the awful endangered behemothic panda population.

"I am appreciative that AZA associates rose to the break to advice our all-embracing ally recover," said AZA President and CEO Jim Maddy. "We will abide to abutment China in this important mission."

AZA-accredited institutions authoritative cogent contributions include: Smithsonian's National Zoological Park, Virginia Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Zoo Atlanta, Memphis Zoo, Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens, Zoo New England, and Audubon Zoo.

Through research, education, and attention efforts, AZA-accredited zoos accept played a above role in the Giant Panda Species Survival Plan (SSP). The SSP is a affairs that develops citizenry administration and attention affairs for imperiled breed in the affliction of accepted zoos and aquariums.

"The Smithsonian's National Zoo is committed to the accretion of the behemothic panda," said National Zoo Director John Berry. "We abutment our committed colleagues in China, and allure the accessible to accomplish an online donation at www.nationalzoo.si.edu ."

Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a nonprofit 501c(3) alignment committed to the advance of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. Look for the AZA logo whenever you appointment a zoo or aquarium as your affirmation that you are acknowledging an academy committed to accouterment accomplished affliction for animals, a abundant acquaintance for you, and a bigger approaching for all active things. With its added than 200 accepted members, the AZA is a baton in all-around wildlife conservation, and your hotlink to allowance animals in their built-in habitats. For added information, amuse appointment www.aza.org.

Contact:
Jackie Marks, AZA, 301 562 0777 ext. 236
Madame Xin Wei, Chinese Embassy, 202 328 2577
Pamela Baker-Masson, National Zoo, 202 633 3084

2008 Year of the Frog -- State of the Frogs

Report Shows Successes, Highlights Need for Conservation Efforts to Continue

Silver Spring, MD (Vocus/PRWEB ) October 21, 2008 -- The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) today appear a address on advance fabricated to date on amphibian attention as zoos and aquariums took up the claiming during 2008, the Year of the Frog.

AZA

AZA is appreciative of the accelerated and cogent acknowledgment of AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums to save frogs, toads, and salamanders There is abundant added plan to be done, and it will crop abounding years, but these success belief adjure to the key role that zoos and aquariums play in amphibian conservation. "AZA is appreciative of the accelerated and cogent acknowledgment of AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums to save frogs, toads, and salamanders," said AZA President and CEO Jim Maddy. "There is abundant added plan to be done, and it will crop abounding years, but these success belief adjure to the key role that zoos and aquariums play in amphibian conservation."

Zoos, aquariums, and abounding all-embracing ally declared 2008 the Year of the Frog to accompany acquaintance to the plight of the world's amphibians, and to barrage an burning accomplishment to save them. One-third of all amphibians are in crisis of extinction, in allotment because of a baleful bane overextension rapidly about the apple http://www.amphibianark.org/chytrid.htm.

Since the campaign's barrage on Leap Day, February 29, 2008, AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums and added organizations accept abutting calm to accouterment this attention claiming head-on. Highlights from the State of the Frogs address include:

1.   Mississippi Gopher Frog - Tadpoles (Memphis Zoo)
In February, the Memphis Zoo (Tenn.) acclimated in vitro fertilization to brand the alarmingly endangered Mississippi bagman frog, acceptable the aboriginal ability anytime to do so.

2.   Endangered Puerto Rican Crested Toad Population Grows (Forth Worth Zoo, Toronto Zoo, Dallas Zoo, Sedgwick County Zoo, Detroit Zoo)

Only two years into a abiding absolution program, advisers from the Dallas Zoo (TX) and Fort Worth Zoo (TX) begin developed Puerto Rican crested toads in the agrarian in arctic Puerto Rico. These toads originated as tadpoles hatched at AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums that were appear in 2006. This April, the Toronto Zoo (Ontario, Canada) beatific an added 2,600 tadpoles to the island to supplement the population.

In accession to the successes with the arctic toad population, Sedgwick County Zoo (KS) and Detroit Zoo (MI) beatific 2,600 Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles to southern Puerto Rico for absolution in May.

3.   Denver Zoo Builds Lab in Peru

The Denver Zoo (CO) is alive with the Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru to save the alarmingly endangered Lake Titicaca frog, begin on the apprenticed of Bolivia and Peru. The Denver Zoo agents is allowance the University set up a captivation and ancestry ability for the frogs to abutment conservation, ecological, and husbandry-related research. The Denver Zoo is aswell alive with two bounded Lima zoos to authorize frog displays that will brainwash visitors about the plight of this behemothic frog.

4.   New Headstarting Programs for the Oregon Spotted Frog (Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Oregon Zoo, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium)

Listed as an endangered breed in Washington State, the Oregon spotted frog is accepting a adventitious to balance its citizenry through a attention ancestry and reintroduction affairs activity spearheaded by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

In aboriginal bounce of 2008, WDFW biologists and volunteers calm frog egg masses from Oregon spotted frog populations in Washington and several hundred tadpoles accept emerged and are accepting aloft at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (WA) and at Oregon Zoo (OR). The adolescent frogs were appear this abatement at Fort Lewis and agnate efforts will abide for the next 5 years, with the ambition of auspiciously establishing a new, independent citizenry of Oregon spotted frogs in Washington. Additional abutment for this activity is accepting provided by Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (WA).

5.   Amphibian Course Brings Kihansi Spray Toads One Step Closer to Tanzania (Bronx Zoo, Toledo Zoo)

In April 2008, the Bronx Zoo (NY) and the Toledo Zoo (OH) took the aboriginal footfall appear sending the alarmingly endangered Kihansi aerosol toad aback to its built-in Tanzania by bringing two herpetologists from the University of Dar es Salaam to the United States to apprentice how to advance and brand the toads. The toad is anticipation to be abolished in the wild, afterwards architecture of a hydroelectric dam, abode destruction, pesticides, and, likely, the adverse amphibian bane Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) led to the toad's citizenry collapse. The alone accepted actual toads abide at the Bronx and Toledo Zoos, but affairs are in abode to forward some toads to Tanzania aural a year.

6.   Large-crested Toad Has Been Found (Africam Safari)
The large-crested toad, ancient to Mexico and threatened by baptize pollution, deforestation, and the development of coffee and bake-apple plantations, was believed to be abolished until rediscovered in 1998 in the Sierra Norte de Puebla. No contempo searches had been conducted for this breed until February 2008 if Africam Safari (Puebla, Mexico) put calm a seek accumulation and begin tadpoles and metamorphs appropriate area they were in 1998. In May 2008, Africam Safari and the Autonomous University of Puebla active an acceding to admit analysis focused on acquirements added about the species' biology, about density, spatial distribution, and abode characteristics.
7.   Ozark and Eastern Hellbenders Both Experience "First-Evers" (Saint Louis Zoo, Oglebay's Good Zoo)
Ozark Hellbender Successes (Saint Louis Zoo)
Building on the Saint Louis Zoo's (MO) success with the first-ever egg-laying accident by a hellbender beneath apish accustomed altitude in October 2007, the zoo continues caring for nine developed Ozark hellbenders and brought in 53 hellbender larvae from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)-Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery that had been calm as eggs by MDC and Saint Louis Zoo staff, and will be reintroduced to the agrarian in the future. The Saint Louis Zoo aswell afresh provided 19 captive-reared Ozark hellbenders to the MDC and Missouri State University to conduct radio tracking studies on these individuals in the wild.

Eastern Hellbender Successes (Oglebay's Good Zoo)
In September 2007, afterwards several years of surveys and ache studies in the wild, Oglebay's Good Zoo (WVA) agents hatched out about 150 hellbender eggs that were harvested from an abandoned backup in a West Virginia stream, acceptable the aboriginal zoo in the apple to bear eggs from this breed in a zoo setting. Several zoos, including the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (OH), the Fort Worth Zoo (TX), and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (NE), are currently acceptable with the development of husbandry techniques for the appearance of these larvae, of which 90% will be alternate through reintroduction efforts to streams in West Virginia.

8.   Amphibian Rescue and Conservation in Panama (Houston Zoo, Zoo New England)

The Houston Zoo (TX) continues to alike amphibian accomplishment efforts in Panama on account of dozens of accommodating AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums. The arch focus charcoal the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center (EVACC), a research, holding, and apprenticeship ability that supports affirmation populations of 57 bounded amphibian species. Zoo New England (MA) and the Houston Zoo are teaming up to authorize a digital ability at Panama's Parque Natural Summit.

The amphibian bane Bd continues its adverse advance eastward. In an accomplishment to aegis some at-risk populations afore Bd alcove them, advisers calm amphibians in Bd-free areas in bounce 2008. Another bounce cruise was conducted as allotment of an accessible Discovery Channel documentary, The Vanishing Frogs, hosted by Jeff Corwin of Animal Planet. On these trips, added than a dozen newly-metamorphosed antic frogs were apparent alternating the streams of El Cope, a arena area the fungal catching had reportedly wiped out this species. The award gives biologists renewed achievement in the action to save crumbling amphibian populations.

9.   Year of the Frog Campaign Boosts Government-led Amphibian Conservation Programs (San Diego Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, Fresno Chaffee Zoo)

The 2008 Year of the Frog attack has animated acquaintance about the abundance yellow-legged frog accretion program, resulted in new allotment opportunities, and generated abounding new volunteers to help, according to the U.S. Geological Survey http://www.werc.usgs.gov/index.html. Once accepted in southern California, abundance yellow-legged frogs are now believed to amount amid 150-200 individuals advance a allotment of eight areas in the San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and San Gabriel abundance ranges. Several factors accept contributed to the frog's decline, including non-native trout, aerial pollution, the Bd fungus, and abode abolition from fires and flooding.

After a blaze and during a aridity in 2006, several dozen tadpoles were rescued from a dehydration streambed basin and taken to San Diego Zoo's (CA) centermost for Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES) area they metamorphed into 62 adolescent frogs that will be appear already abode altitude improve. This accomplishment is just one aspect of a collaborative accomplishment amid the California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service, and acknowledging zoos and aquariums, including the San Diego Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, and Fresno Chaffee Zoo.

10.   The Eleutherodactylus Partnership Project (Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens)

Since accepting its aboriginal coqui, the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens (FL) has become a key amateur in developing husbandry techniques for several breed in this brand of tiny frogs. Zoo agents is alive with Dr. Rafael Joglar and his acceptance at the University of Puerto Rico to advance husbandry protocols for three alarmingly endangered coqui species, anniversary of which has been afflicted in the agrarian by the Bd fungus, as able-bodied as two added accepted breed that are active and ancestry at the Zoo.

The Zoo's anniversary Fiesta del Coqui was captivated September 27-28 and Dr. Joglar and several of his acceptance will appear to accession acquaintance about the adverse bane and added factors affecting amphibians worldwide.

The abounding State of the Frog Report is accessible at http://www.aza.org/newsroom/PR_sotf/.

To accord online to the AZA Amphibian Fund, amuse appointment https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=22230.

Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a nonprofit 501c(3) alignment committed to the advance of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. Look for the AZA logo whenever you appointment a zoo or aquarium as your affirmation that you are acknowledging an academy committed to accouterment accomplished affliction for animals, a abundant acquaintance for you, and a bigger approaching for all active things. With its added than 200 accepted members, the AZA is a baton in all-around wildlife conservation, and your hotlink to allowance animals in their built-in habitats. To appointment the amphibians at a abundant zoo or aquarium abreast you, amuse appointment www.aza.org.

Contact:
Courtney Jordan
AZA
301-562-0777 ext. 235
cjordan@aza.org

Steve Feldman
AZA
301-562-0777 ext. 252
sfeldman@aza.org

Zoos & Aquariums -- One Stop Shopping for the Holidays

Avoid the mall, abutment wildlife conservation, and acquisition different gifts.

Silver Spring, MD (Vocus/PRWEB ) November 20, 2008 -- This year, do your anniversary arcade at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accepted zoo or aquarium abreast you. Gift shops are consistently abounding with fun toys, appetizing treats and different articles you won't acquisition anywhere else.

Association of Zoos and Aquariums logo

Spend Black Friday with a atramentous rhino, do your arcade at the zoo or aquarium Not alone will you acquisition ability that will accomplish your accompany and ancestors go wild, you aswell abutment agrarian abominable conservation. While others are herded through the capital like animals, you can arctic out with absolute animals - appear to the zoo or aquarium for a peaceful arcade experience "Spend Black Friday with a atramentous rhino, do your arcade at the zoo or aquarium," said AZA Senior Vice President for Marketing Jill Nicoll. "Not alone will you acquisition ability that will accomplish your accompany and ancestors go wild, you aswell abutment agrarian abominable conservation."

"While others are herded through the capital like animals, you can arctic out with absolute animals - appear to the zoo or aquarium for a peaceful arcade experience," Nicoll added.

Unique, affordable anniversary arcade account from the AZA-accredited zoo or aquarium abreast you:

Zoo or Aquarium Family Membership
Membership is the allowance that keeps on giving! Membership will accord an absolute ancestors one abounding year of chargeless access to the zoo or aquarium and lots of added abundant allowances such as annual subscription, in-store discounts, and appropriate contest tickets.

Children's Toys and Games
At the allowance boutique you'll acquisition toys for boys, toys for girls, and toys for kids adolescent and old. Whether your admired ones are into computer games, puzzles, blimp toys, or sports, you'll be abiding to acquisition a acceptable gift.

Eco-friendly Products
Zoos and aquariums are traveling blooming and accept the ability to prove it. With aggregate from adorableness articles and jotter to adornment and kitchen ware, the allowance boutique is the abode to go for environmentally affable gifts.

Holiday Cards and Ornaments
Decorate your abode with appropriate anniversary ornaments of your admired animals and forward anniversary greetings with animal-themed cards.

Educational Resources
Find books about baby animals or how to become an able birdwatcher. Whether you're affairs for a new clairvoyant or an ardent reader, the zoo or aquarium allowance boutique is apprenticed to accept a book that will absorption them.

Adopt-an-Animal
Give the allowance of honorary parenthood to your admired one. With your allowance the zoo or aquarium can buy treats, toys, and medical food for their appropriate animal.

Name-an-Animal
Name your admired zoo or aquarium citizen afterwards a acquaintance or ancestors affiliate and accord to the zoo or aquarium's attention efforts.

Enjoy a day at your bounded AZA-accredited zoo or aquarium this anniversary division and acquisition these ability and more. Many zoos and aquariums are accessible 365 canicule a year, including on Thanksgiving. Find the abundant zoo or aquarium abreast you at www.aza.org/findzooaquarium.

Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) alignment committed to the advance of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. Look for the AZA logo whenever you appointment a zoo or aquarium as your affirmation that you are acknowledging an academy committed to accouterment accomplished affliction for animals, a abundant acquaintance for you, and a bigger approaching for all active things. With its added than 200 accepted members, the AZA is a baton in all-around wildlife conservation, and your hotlink to allowance animals in their built-in habitats. For added information, amuse appointment www.aza.org.

Los Angeles Residents by 3-to-1 Majority Want LA Zoo's New Elephant Habitat Completed

Los Angeles, CA (Vocus/PRWEB ) January 26, 2009 -- Los Angeles city-limits association by an cutting 3-to-1 majority ambition the Los Angeles Zoo to abide to aggrandize and advancement its affliction for Asian elephants by commutual the new Pachyderm Forest rather than awkward construction, according to after-effects from an absolute polling firm, Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates (FMM&A), appear today.

Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association

The L.A. Zoo has gone to abundant lengths to architecture a accessible home for Billy and the added elephants it hopes to acquire. Los Angeles association are aflame about the Pachyderm Forest and are authoritative it bright they ambition this abode completed Not alone will it accommodate Billy with a ample active across area he will accept exceptional, accommodating care, but our new abode will accomplish Los Angeles a all-around baton in educating our next bearing of conservationists on the dangers these arresting animals face. No one can out-love us if it comes to elephants The albatross experts are the zookeepers and veterinarians at the Los Angeles Zoo, who eat beddy-bye and breathe top standards for abominable affliction and welfare. These are the absolute heroes, who plan harder every day demography affliction of Billy and the added animals. These poll numbers appearance all-embracing accessible abutment for the LA Zoo I've formed for abounding issues and acclamation measures over the years, including abundant measures in the City of Los Angeles, and I can say after a agnosticism that if the voters were asked to abutment the achievement of the Pachyderm Forest on a acclamation initiative, it would win in a landslide. The results, which appear on the eve of a Los Angeles City Council vote Wednesday on whether to abide the project, appearance 67% of Los Angeles association accept the zoo should enhance albatross affliction by finishing the habitat. Pachyderm Forest will abode Billy and added Asian elephants, whose approaching on our planet abound added ambiguous anniversary year, in a abode about the admeasurement of Dodger Stadium. In an beat Saturday absolute that Pachyderm Forest should be built, the Los Angeles Times wrote: "The L.A. Zoo has gone to abundant lengths to architecture a accessible home for Billy and the added elephants it hopes to acquire."

"Los Angeles association are aflame about the Pachyderm Forest and are authoritative it bright they ambition this abode completed," said Connie Morgan, admiral of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. "Not alone will it accommodate Billy with a ample active across area he will accept exceptional, accommodating care, but our new abode will accomplish Los Angeles a all-around baton in educating our next bearing of conservationists on the dangers these arresting animals face."

Just 22% of the respondents agreed with the baby accumulation of anti-zoo activists who are aggravating to burden the board into abandoning its 13-2 vote approving the project. After accepting reminded that LA City voters anesthetized a Zoo Bond Measure, with the apprehension that the funds would be acclimated to improve, advancement and aggrandize abominable exhibits to actualize a added natural, accommodating and safe ambiance for all animals, including the elephants, 69% agreed that the City Council should abide a baby accumulation of abominable activists who seek to annul the will of LA voters. In addition, registered voters who were surveyed advantaged commutual the Pachyderm Forest by a 4-to-1 allowance over those who ambition to stop construction.

Tellingly, a whopping 93% of Los Angeles association surveyed said that it was important to them that Billy be cared for at a accommodating ability that is appropriate to accommodated the top accreditation standards set by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which the Los Angeles Zoo is appropriate to do. None of the addition sites the anti-zoo activists adduce for Billy are appropriate to accommodated these standards of accountability, nor are their activities and veterinary accessories certified or monitored by an agnate able organization.

"No one can out-love us if it comes to elephants," said AZA President and CEO Jim Maddy. "The albatross experts are the zookeepers and veterinarians at the Los Angeles Zoo, who eat beddy-bye and breathe top standards for abominable affliction and welfare. These are the absolute heroes, who plan harder every day demography affliction of Billy and the added animals."

Other allegation of the analysis include:
 

Seven in 10 Los Angeles association agreed that closing the abode and shipment Billy to a abroad area will bankrupt bounded schoolchildren and their families of the befalling to apprentice about the blackmail of afterlife adverse Asian elephants today. Another 73% agreed the Los Angeles Zoo should body a new albatross abode as allotment of its role in teaching wildlife conservation, ancestry added Asian elephants and allowance anticipate the afterlife of the species. Nearly 7 in 10 Los Angeles association reacted abnormally to the hundreds of job losses that would aftereffect from shutting down the activity in the average of a abysmal bread-and-butter downturn. Through the activity of the activity as abounding as 1,000 architecture jobs could be absent if Pachyderm Forest is discontinued. Eight in 10 association accept a favorable consequence of the Los Angeles Zoo, with 3 out of 4 advertisement they visited the zoo aural the endure 5 years. Another 7 in 10 said they accept zoos play an important action and should abide open. Pachyderm Forest enjoys ample abutment by race, sex, age, assets and political affiliation.
The analysis was conducted in January by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates and complex a adumbrative sample of 500 about called Los Angeles city-limits residents.

"These poll numbers appearance all-embracing accessible abutment for the LA Zoo," said John Fairbank, arch in Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates. "I've formed for abounding issues and acclamation measures over the years, including abundant measures in the City of Los Angeles, and I can say after a agnosticism that if the voters were asked to abutment the achievement of the Pachyderm Forest on a acclamation initiative, it would win in a landslide."

For advice on the Pachyderm Forest, amuse appointment www.billyshome.com

Contact:
   
Laura Stegman
Laura Segal Stegman Public Relations, LLC
310-470-6321 (office)
310-991-2835 (cell)

Steve Feldman
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
301-562-0777 ext. 252 (office)
202-271-0722 (cell)

Source: Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn., Association of Zoos and Aquariums

Not Your Average Tot

SONIC®, Association of Zoos and Aquariums accomplice in wildlife attention acquaintance SONIC's Wacky Pack toys are consistently accepted with customers, but we apprehend these ZOO Tots to bound abandon from the drive-ins Thanks to the educational advice from the AZA, ZOO Tots accommodate a fun and alternate way for accouchement to apprentice about animals and how to bottle wildlife, abnormally those breed that are endangered. AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums affix accouchement to nature With Wacky Pack toys, Sonic is acknowledging this important could cause by giving kids wildlife attention advice that's fun and interactive.

Oklahoma City (Vocus/PRWEB ) April 1, 2009 -- In an accomplishment to accomplish acquirements about wildlife agreeable and cogent for children, SONIC® Drive-In and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accept partnered in a new ZOO Tot campaign. Fifteen costly ZOO Tots, accessible during the ages of April at accommodating Sonic Drive-Ins® with the acquirement of a Wacky Pack® Kids' Meal, are as ambrosial as they are educational. SONIC hopes the affiliation and advance will advice accession acquaintance about the accent of wildlife conservation.

"SONIC's Wacky Pack toys are consistently accepted with customers, but we apprehend these ZOO Tots to bound abandon from the drive-ins," said Tamara Stanley, director-customer accord and articulation marketing. "Thanks to the educational advice from the AZA, ZOO Tots accommodate a fun and alternate way for accouchement to apprentice about animals and how to bottle wildlife, abnormally those breed that are endangered."

Attached to all ZOO Tots is a hotlink to www.soniczootots.com, an alternate Web website area barter can apprentice added about their ZOO Tot abominable and habitat. SONIC has aswell produced bound quantities of ZOO Tots whose real-life counterparts accept bound numbers in the agrarian as a way to advice brainwash its youngest guests about the challenges adverse wildlife above the apple today.

"AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums affix accouchement to nature," said Dr. Paul Boyle, AZA chief VP for attention & education. "With Wacky Pack toys, Sonic is acknowledging this important could cause by giving kids wildlife attention advice that's fun and interactive."

Throughout the year, every Wacky Pack® Kids' Meal includes a toy that may be a bold or acquirements apparatus adapted for accouchement age three and up.

SONIC, America's Drive-In (NASDAQ/NM: SONC) started as a hamburger and basis beer angle in 1953 in Shawnee, Okla., alleged Top Hat Drive-In, and again afflicted its name to SONIC in 1959. The aboriginal drive-in to accept the SONIC name is still confined barter in Stillwater, Okla. As the nation's better alternation of drive-in restaurants, SONIC has added than 3,500 drive-ins bank to coast. More than a actor barter eat at SONIC every day; and with added alcohol combinations than any added quick-service restaurant - added than 168,000 - SONIC is Your Ultimate Drink Stop®. For added advice about Sonic Corp. and its subsidiaries, appointment SONIC at www.sonicdrivein.com.

Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a nonprofit alignment committed to the advance of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. Look for the AZA logo whenever you appointment a zoo or aquarium as your affirmation that you are acknowledging an academy committed to accouterment accomplished affliction for animals, a abundant acquaintance for you, and a bigger approaching for all active things. With its added than 200 accepted members, the AZA is a baton in all-around wildlife conservation, and your hotlink to allowance animals in their built-in habitats. For added information, amuse appointment www.aza.org.