and Contributes to the Health of Wider Ecosystems and Economies “We Belong Together” Campaign Launches, Highlighting the Integral Connection between Endangered Bats, Local Communities, and the Restoration of Agave Habitat across North America. Over the past few years the Zoo and Bat Conservation International have been collaborating on a new effort to help endangered Mexican…
Author: elpasozoo
The El Paso Zoo Education team is dedicated to supporting the mission of the Zoo to celebrate the value of animals and natural resources and to create opportunities for people to rediscover their connection to nature.
Free Zoom Presentation on May 31 – Restoring Jaguars to the American Southwest
Check out the map below and see how close El Paso is to potential range of the jaguar! Jaguar conservation efforts in the Southwest are important to helping to protect the complex ecosystem so important to humanity. The Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition will sponsor a special virtual presentation by Michael J. Robinson of the Center…
What’s next for Castner Range National Monument
Photo courtesy Mark C. Clune Ever since Castner Range was established as a National Monument by President Biden on March 21, 2023 Frontera Land Alliance has been communicating with the Army helping to get some answers to all kinds of questions. Here is the latest information we have helping to answer some common questions about…
Fact: Children in El Paso love bugs. Make plans to attend the Zoo’s annual Bug Fest May 20-21
By Rick LoBello, Education Curator 21 years ago, when I first started working at the Zoo, Director Bill Torgerson arranged to have a group from Las Cruces present a special event all about bugs. A few months earlier I was hired to fill the new position of Education Curator and noted how our education animal…
Restoring Agaves for Pollinating Bats and People
Dr. Kristen Lear of Bat Conservation International seen in the above picture at Big Bend National Park will be a featured luncheon speaker at the Chihuahuan Desert Conference hosted by the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens on November 15-17, 2023. The deadline to submit presentation and posters proposals is on May 16. For more…
The Sky Island Firefly reminds us that we can help protect nocturnal animals and insects by shielding outdoor lights
by Stephen Hummel, Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition Fireflies are not an insect species commonly associated with the desert. They are typically found in humid, dark, wooded environments typically found in the eastern half of the United States and elsewhere. Relatively few fireflies can be found in the dry conditions of the western United States. One…
Hope for endangered giraffes born in El Paso
Baby giraffe born at the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens on April 16, 2023 In the last 30 years, the giraffe population in Africa has declined by more than 40% to approximately 100,000 animals. The City of El Paso Zoo & Botanical Gardens is thrilled to announce the birth of a healthy male giraffe…
Biodiversity of the Castner Range, a delicate balance
by Rick LoBello, Education Curator Now that the Castner Range has been designated a National Monument it is important for our community to understand the fascinating biodiversity of the Franklin Mountains. The Castner Range National Monument section of the Franklin Mountains is connected to the lands that surround it including private and public lands like…
Is the warming Arctic a Canary in the coal mine for El Paso and an early warning of danger?
Arctic Fox Many have heard the story of the canary in the coal mine and how years ago Canaries were used in coal mines to detect the presence of carbon monoxide. The bird’s rapid breathing rate, small size, and high metabolism, compared to the miners, led birds in dangerous mines to succumb before the miners, thereby…
Wild Animal Heath Fund helps zoo and wildlife veterinarians
Often the word “conservation” is synonymous with beach clean ups, recycling, planting trees, etc. What about “wildlife conservation”? Wildlife conservation is the preservation and protection of animals, plants, and their habitats. One component of wildlife conservation that is often overlooked is their health. Just like humans and our pets, animals like lions and dolphins get…
Big Bend Blooms!
Giant daggers at Big Bend National Park should reach their peak blooming period between now and Easter Sunday. Last year nearly 600,000 people visited Big Bend National Park and most missed seeing something truly spectacular, a forest of giant daggers in full bloom. NOW is a great time to see the giant daggers and Torrey…
Celebrate Lobo Week
It’s hard not to love them. They’re really just a big ol’ dog out there trying to survive in the wild and watching them hunt is fascinating. They work as a team like no other… skill, speed, power, teamwork… it’s amazing. Jacob Dillon, whiskeyriff.com Silver Anniversary: Celebrating 25 Years of Mexican Gray Wolves Back in…
El Paso celebrates Castner Range National Monument
Castner Range and Trans Mountain Road The Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition (CDEC) is pleased to announce the creation of the Castner Range National Monument in the Franklin Mountains. Over the past twenty years CDEC in collaboration with the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens and thousands of citizens in El Paso and across the country…
Orangutan SAFE: Saving wild orangutans through collaboration
Sumatran orangutan mother Ibu and Zaini, her new baby born on June 2, 2022. The El Paso Zoo is a proud supporter of Orangutan SAFE The Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s (AZA) Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) with the support of the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens focuses on the collective expertise within AZA-accredited…
You can volunteer at the Zoo as a Conservation Ambassador
Conservation Ambassadors help the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens with its mission of celebrating the value of animals and natural resources and in creating opportunities for people to rediscover their connection to nature. The Zoo has a new Chihuahuan Desert Exhibit and the City of El Paso Volunteer Program offers numerous opportunities to engage…
Galapagos tortoise movement ecology program update
Together with GCT, we were very pleased to release the Tessa book, and conducted a number of local activities with students. Tessa has been a great success already and we are planning to continue our outreach and education sessions in different islands! The El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens supports this important conservation effort to…
Wildlife Conservation Bloggers
El Paso Bloggers Unite! Over the past two years the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens has been blogging about our animals and conservation programs. The end result has been 550 blog posts reaching tens of thousands of people with news about the Zoo and more. If you love to write and be creative you…
Meet your neighbors: the Pyrrhuloxia
Pyhruloxia courtesy of Mark Cunningham Spring is in the air and now is a great time to watch for local birds getting ready to nest and sing away all across our city and the surrounding desert. One of our most beautiful resident birds is the Pyrrhuloxia, a very close relative of the Northern Cardinal often…
Call for Abstracts for Oral Presentations and Posters at the 2023 Chihuahuan Desert Conference
The Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park. Photo by Gary Nored, Wikimedia Creative Commons The Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition and the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens are teaming up to host a third Chihuahuan Desert Conference in El Paso on November 15-17, 2023. To learn more about the meeting visit the conference website at http://chihuahuandesertconference.org. …
Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of the wolf
Young Mexican wolf pup born at the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens in 2022. The Right to be Wild, a documentary by Madileine Torneman opens with a quote by Aldo Leopold “Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of the wolf.” Fifteen years ago I transferred to video…
Conservation Education 