www.globalwildlife.com
Fall 2011 Global Wildlife Foundation Publication
From the President’s desk...
We are still proud to be celebrating our 20th Anniversary. It’s hard to believe it’s been two decades of “Conservation At Work!” The birth of our baby giraffe was a exciting and wondrous event. If you haven’t been out to see him yet, be sure to come soon…he’s growing fast. William Breaux a member of our board of directors was given the honor of naming him (Billy) the name suits him well. We are still working hard to continue renovations here at the Center. Thank you to Wainwright Construction for helping us achieve our goals through this renovation process. Global Wildlife Center will be closed on the following: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day so that the staff may enjoy the season with their families. Please allow me to take this opportunity to wish all of you, and your families, the most blessed and happiest of holiday seasons. A very special thanks goes out to all of our members who continually support Global Wildlife Center. With Kindest Regards,
African Sulcata Tortoise Habitat:
and Aldabra tortoises are the giant ones that you typically see in the zoos that get bigger Status: Common then the SulcaApproximate ta. Sulcata TorSize: toises also grow Can easily reach 18’ in shell very quickly, as length; 70-100 a desert species, lbs. in weight they have Food: evolved to deal Steady diet of fruit and vegetawith sparse and bles, grass hay, sporadic food grasses and plants supplies. It is very difficult to Fun Fact: Our newest members of the GWC Family is our African Sulcata Tortoises. A family of 4 were donat- determine Most African Sulthe ed to the Center by Dr. Landry and Dr. Schultis. cata Tortoises will sex of a Sulcata out live us all! AvTortoise. Tortoises instinctively pull erage lifespan is around 100 years. into their shells whenever they feel threatened. The action of pulling in its Other Information head and front legs compresses the Sulcata Tortoises are native to the semitortoise’s lungs, which causes them to exhale suddenly, and you will hear arid Sahel Region in Africa. It can be them making a hissing sound. That loosely defined as the Region just south does not necessarily mean that the of the Sahara Desert. They have evolved tortoise is angry or upset; it’s just to deal with a warm and dry environment following its instinct for selfwith lots of natural sunlight. Sulcata Torpreservation. Thank you Dr. Landry toises are the third largest species of torand Dr. Schultis our visitors have toises in the world—only the Galapagos enjoyed interacting with our newest family members at GWC! Sahel Region in Africa
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
▪ Animal Facts… bet you didn’t know and check out our newborns! ▪ Member Events… Beach Party and Fall Festival! ▪ Book Your Next Private Event... Ask about our Pinz Tours!
Global Wildlife News
Global Wildlife News
Animal Facts Bet You Didn’t Know
Patch, one of our newest Cattle is a mix between a Hereford and Brahma. He is about 8 months old and weighs approximately 500 lbs. Patch was donated to the Center by Finnegan Patrick Luke and a very special thanks to The Luke and Reimann Family for their continued support!
East African Crown Crane is native to East Africa. Crowned Cranes are usually found in pairs, but have been seen singularly and in small flocks. GWC has 2 East African Crowned Cranes. Each Crane has been spotted spending time with other GW herds. On your next visit to GWC will you be able to spot which herds our Crowned Cranes love spending time with?
Photo by Megan Ryburn
Photo by Nancy Ruiz
Red Lechwe are native to the marshy floodplains of rivers, swamps, and lakes in South Africa. The Red Lechwe are listed as conservation dependent by the IUCN Red List. Spotting a Red Lechwe at GWC is definitely a treat because they are often hidden among the trees of the wildlife preserve.
Scimitar Horned Oryx are native to North Africa and are listed as extinct in the wild by the IUCN Red List. Horns may be up to 4 feet long and the tips of the Oryx’s horns are so sharp that they have been used to make spear points.
Photo by Pat Bonish Photography
Photo by Megan Ryburn
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Global Wildlife News
Babies Babies Babies!!!
Exciting News at Global Wildlife more of the new babies born!
Father Rhea Bird and babies. Males will have up to 6 mates, all of which will lay eggs in a single nest, leaving him to incubate the eggs and rear the young. Photo by Nancy Ruiz
Baby Giraffe (Billy) being kissed for the first time by Mother Sandee! Photo by Brittany Thomas
Indian Blackbuck
Baby Kudu Photo by Nancy Ruiz
Baby Nilgai Twins! These babies are so cute and tiny...each baby from a set of twins weighs about 6-8 lbs. each. Photo by Megan Ryburn
This cute baby Cape Eland won’t be small for long! In fact, they are among the largest antelope in the world. At birth, a single young weighs around 25 lbs. Calves are dependent on their mothers for only 2 weeks and they form their own social hierarchy and will nurse from any female Photo by Nancy Ruiz
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Global Wildlife News
Global Wildlife News
EVENTS & HAPPENINGS The possibilities are endless with Global Wildlife Special Events! Spring Events booking fast! Book Global Wildlife’s pavilions and tree houses, with reasonable prices and a environment that is one-of-a-kind, this is the perfect party venue for any company picnic, sunset wedding, or special event! Contact Megan Ryburn and Nancy Ruiz at (985) 796-3585 extension 13 for all the information on this out-of-theordinary locale and all your party needs!
Phase Two of Renovations ...For those of you who haven’t seen our latest project!
Here are some pictures of the phase two renovations at the Center. We’ve added new cement entrances to the Center, updated the parking lots, gave our giraffe barn a new face lift by adding new siding, and we are happy to show our new pond walkway! This walkway is to ensure a opportunity for everyone to view and enjoy feeding our koi and catfish. The staff is so excited about these changes and improvements for our visitors! 4
Global Wildlife News
BACK TO SCHOOL BEACH PARTY! Sandy Beaches!
Mr. Frank took home the Drew Brees autographed Saints helmet!
Dennis & Charlie Beck
This years Beach Party was a BLAST! It was held on the evening of August 20th, 2011.The members who attended listened and danced along to great music, enjoyed delicious hamburgers and hot dogs, snowballs and popcorn for the kids! The adults mingled while the kids got sandy at the beach, took a splash down the water slides, got their faces painted, and had a chance at winning the hermit crab races! We are very happy at the turn out and would like to thank everyone for their support of the Foundation.
Water Slides!
Below: Paul & Rachel Beck, Jessica Braum, Nicholas & Tony Guagliardo
Hermit crab races! Smiling for the camera after having their faces painted! 5
Global Wildlife News
Global Wildlife News
GWC FALL FESTIVAL! Scavenger hunts!
Aisley painting her pumpkin!
A beautiful Global sunset!
Ed & Sue at the Photo Booth!
The Fall Festival was held the evening of Saturday, November 12th! Members who attended listened to great music, enjoyed delicious food, popcorn, and hot chocolate for the kids. Plenty of fun activities such as arts and crafts, pumpkin face painting, photo booths, scavenger hunts, sack races, marshmallow roasting pits, and a chance at wining some wonderful raffle prizes.
Justin & Sherry Tassin with Bryson Husser
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! Tylor, Skylor, and Bryson
Marshmallow Pit
Maddie & Jolie painting pumpkins!
Sack Races
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Global Wildlife News
Santa Clause is coming to town! Help Santa find his way to the Reindeer!
“I wo orang uld like to in the e headed see an l Meta gift shop and turtle ,” Jac irie, LA. k, 7,
bby, er,” A v e t s be “The tlake, LA. s e 8, W
“New animals = Flamingos, reindeer, ant eaters. This was awesome!” Trystin, 10, Denham Springs, LA
“I really enjoyed the ride,” Emma
“I liked the ride so much! I got to feed a lot animals a lot,” Karli, 7, Gretna, LA
t. I ed i ls,” v o l a “I anim e v lo ney Syd
WHAT ARE WE? WE LIVE AT GLOBAL WILDLIFE CENTER AND WE ARE THE DEER THAT RESEMBLES THE REINDEER THE MOST AND I CAN BE CALLED BY 2 NAMES? ___ ___ ___
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___ ___ ___ ___ Answer Key: Pere’ David Father David
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Global News GlobalWildlife Wildlife News
COLOR ME!
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Our Newest Global Wildlife Family Member. It’s a boy and his name is Billy! Born on July 31st, 2011 to the proud parents of Big John and Sandee, Billy was born weighing a whopping 175 lbs. and stood over 6 feet tall. He gets his size from his dad, Big John, who is approximately 20 feet tall and, his good looks from his beautiful mom Sandee. He was on his feet within minutes and under the protective guard of the entire Giraffe family. Billy brings the total to 9 family members of our gentle giants and was among the largest giraffes every born at the Center. A crowd favorite to all of the visitors to the center, Billy is never more than a few feet away from his mother and is very playful and curious. With over 900 acres to roam, Billy, can be seen playing with the Zebra’s or chasing the ducks into one of the many ponds. As we and our visitors watch him grow he will be a testimony to the work that is done at Global Wildlife.
Meet Office Manager Sara Coulon If there is one word that you would use to describe Sara it would be kind, sweet, helpful, gentle. Ok, we know that is more than one word, but it’s hard to just say one word about Sara. Sara’s career at Global Wildlife first started in 2000 working in the Safari Gift Shop. Due to circumstances out of her control she moved back to her home town of Gramercy. As fate would have it she meet and married her husband Thomas and moved back to Folsom and to our great fortune she came back to the Global Wildlife Family. Now 7 years later Sara is the Office Manager and we ask Sara what is the one thing you love about Global Wildlife? “Working with the staff and animals,” said Sara, “Where else can you work and have a giraffe walk right in front of you!? It never gets old,” and she looks forward to bringing her son, Matthew who is now one, on his first tour. When we asked which is her favorite animal at Global Wildlife she gave us the answer we always get, “That’s a tough one.” said Sara. After a few thoughtful minutes she told us that horses where her favorite animal and that “the Zebra’s reminder her the most of her horses.” Sara is also one of our favorites around Global Wildlife. She has an infectious smile, a contagious laugh, and makes everyone here at Global Wildlife feel special. We asked a few of the employees what do they like most about Sara: Monica P: “She is basically loveable” Brad N: “She is the Heart & Soul of GW” Dan B: “Always very involved” Mrs. Diane: “Very Patient never loses her cool” Brittany B: “She has a big heart and is very dedicated”
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Britt T: “Very Determined” Nick: Mr. Wes: “Hard Worker” Rhino: