LIVE FROM OAKLAND: COCKTAILS & CONSERVATION

Spirited Sharing of Insights & Updates

After months of virtual talks, Cocktails & Conservation returned with three sold-out evenings in 2022. Speakers and audiences enjoyed the interactive format and - of course- the customized cocktails. With engaging, hands-on activities, the Zoo and our conservation allies shared encouraging news from the field with the Oakland community. Proceeds benefited the Zoo's local and global conservation work.

In May, we brought Cocktails & Conservation (C&C) to Rocky’s Market at Brooklyn Basin. Speakers from the California Native Plant Society, Mountain Lion Foundation, and the Zoo’s Education Department explored climate change impacts on human and animal populations. Against a background of sailboats and seabirds, a spirited Q&A session on a difficult topic unfolded in a fresh, insightful way.

Surrounded by birdlife, Lake Merritt Sailboat House was an appropriate setting for September’s C&C topic: our Black-Crowned Night Heron Rescue Project in downtown Oakland. Oakland Zoo is proud to be a vital part of the work to ensure the City’s official bird continues to nest around Lake Merritt and downtown Oakland. The projects’ aims and achievements were presented by our partners, Golden Gate Audubon Society and International Bird Rescue, and by our own Heron Rescue Team and veterinary staff, who treat the rescued hatchlings before they are released. The highlight was learning that this collaboration saved 140 heron hatchlings that had fallen from their downtown nests during the 2022 nesting season. The October C&C season finale focused on gray wolves in California and the alliances necessary to allow the peaceful sharing of the wolves’ environment. Presenters included the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Working Circle, Project Coyote, and a professional rancher who spoke from experience about the difficulties of cattle and wolves sharing the same landscape. Earlier that day, stakeholders affected by the return to California of the gray wolf held a day-long summit, some coming together for the first time. This innovative gathering included an open discussion of how to create a sustainable vision to advance California gray wolf conservation.