Zoological Society of Milwaukee
Annual Report 2012-2013
CEO’s Letter The mission of the Zoological Society of Milwaukee is to participate in conserving endangered species, to educate people about the importance of wildlife and the environment, and to support the Milwaukee County Zoo. 2012-2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Gina Alberts Peter Directors Thom Brown Michael G. Carter Nate Cunniff Dr. Robert Davis Tami Scully Garrison Michael M. Grebe, Jr. John Grunau Karen Hung Katherine Hust Karen Peck Katz Maria Gonzalez Knavel Joe Kresl Caroline Krider James Kuehn Thomas (T.J.) Marini Allen Martin Quinn Martin Jack McKeithan Jay McKenna Kat Morrow Jill Grootemat Pelisek
Joan Prince, Ph.D. Scott Redlinger Harold Redman Lacey Sadoff Barry Sattell Kim Schaffer Rick Schmidt Ryan Schultz Thelma Sias Billie Jean Smith Roger Smith Jon Sohn Judy Holz Stathas David Strelitz Rich Tennessen* Brookellen Teuber** Tyler Vassar Gregory Wesley Jane Wierzba Ray Wilson
* Chair of the Board
** Associate Board President
Honorary Directors William J. Abraham, Jr. John B. Burns William M. Chester, Jr. Stephen M. Dearholt Tom Dempsey Richard A. Gallun Edward A. Grede John A. Hazelwood Robert A. Kahlor Ann McNeer Sandi Moomey William G. Moomey Jeff Neuenschwander Bernard J. Peck Kurt W. Remus, Jr. Jay Robertson John W. Taylor Allen W. Williams, Jr. Paul Wong Bernard C. Ziegler III
2012-2013 ASSOCIATE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kent Oren Directors
Peter Kordus Joe Kresl Quinn Martin Kat Morrow Katie Pionkoski Richard J. Podell Bunny Raasch-Hooten Arlene Remsik Barry Sattell Dan Schwabe Randy Scoville Judy Holz Stathas Jeff Steren David Strelitz James Szymanski Kathleen Toohey Jane Wierzba Ray Wilson
Meghan Shannon Michael Sheppard Tricia Shinners Brookellen Teuber* Eido Walny Mark Zimmerman
Honorary Directors Bob Anger David Batten Lori Bechthold Nora Dreske John Fleckenstein Mike Fox Linda Grunau Eli Guzniczak Lee Walther Kordus
* President
Dr. Robert Davis, Chief Executive Officer
2012-2013 FOUNDATION FOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, INC.** BOARD OF DIRECTORS Gerald Gerndt, Chair Judy Derse, Past Chair Michael Guzniczak, Vice Chair John Heindel, Secretary/Treasurer Gil Boese, Ph.D., President Robert M. Davis, DVM
**FWC has partnered with the Zoological Society to carry out and advance some of its major conservation, education, and research programs.
Michael Grebe Scott Haag Leander R. Jennings Karen Peck Katz Maria Gonzalez-Knavel Charles A. Krause
2012-2013 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY MANAGEMENT STAFF President/CEO Dr. Robert M. Davis Communications, Marketing & Membership Robin Higgins, Vice President
Development Karen Von Rueden, Vice President Finance/Administration John Heindel, Vice President
Education James Mills, Director Technology/ Membership Services Dominic Schanen, Director
Creative Marcia T. Sinner, Director
CONTENTS
Anthony Baish Michael Bark Brian Boecker Bill Bussler Matthew D’Attilio Cherie Eckmann Darryll Fortune Joseph Frohna Gigi Gamboa Nezih Hasanoglu Tony Hopkins Paul Hultgren George Justice Karen Loth Pat McQuillan Kristin Occhetti Jim Olson
To help support the Milwaukee County Zoo, the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) holds fundraising events nearly every month of the year. Our two biggest fundraisers are Zoo Ball in June and the Birdies & Eagles Golf Tournament in July. For each ZSM event we acquire sponsors, whose support adds to the bottom line of the event. Our “presenting sponsors” often provide leadership in making the fundraiser successful. Venue sponsors help support individual aspects of an event. Nancy Hill-Davis and Dr. Robert Davis In 2013 we celebrated our 30th with Gov. Scott Walker and Tonette Walker anniversary Zoo Ball, sponsored by U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and Wisconsin Energy Foundation. My wife, Nancy, and I were pleased to welcome Gov. Scott Walker and his wife, Tonette (photo above) to the evening gala. Three women executives at Wisconsin Rich Tennessen, companies chaired the fundraiser: ZSM Board chairman, takes Gina Peter, Thelma Sias, and Caroline on challengers Krider (photo on page 16). Peter is at our golf commercial banking director for fundraiser. Wells Fargo. Sias is vice president of local affairs for We Energies. Krider is a senior vice president at U.S. Bank in Milwaukee. These leaders are also on the ZSM Board of Directors. The Zoo World-themed evening, held June 22 at the Milwaukee County Zoo, featured a gourmet meal served in dining rooms supported by U.S. Bank, and live entertainment, sponsored by Johnson Controls. A late-night venue where the almost 830 guests could enjoy dessert, cocktails and dancing was sponsored by We Energies. The whole event raised $661,529. Our July 29 Birdies & Eagles Golf Tournament welcomed a new sponsor in 2013: Fiduciary Management, Inc. The tournament, held at the Ozaukee Country Club, drew 141 golfers and raised $101,511. The event is always lots of fun. In the photo above, Rich Tennessen, ZSM Board chairman, bests a foursome at the “Beat the Chair of the Board” hole. Standing behind Tennessen are (from left) Pat Jermain, Terry Braatz, Gary Stoltman, and ZSM Board member Caroline Krider. You’ll find more about our sponsors on page 11. Other contributors, donors and grantors are listed throughout this annual report. We want to say thank you to them all.
2012-2013 Annual Report introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7 Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Zoo Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11 Simba Circle/Endowments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Annual Appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Sponsor an Animal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Platypus Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15 Serengeti Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17 Financial Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Our Natural-looking Zoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The 2012-2013 Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s (ZSM’s) annual report is published online as of May 30, 2014. It is available in a PDF file for download at zoosociety.org/annualreport. The ZSM has headquarters at 10005 W. Bluemound Rd., Milwaukee, Wis. 53226-4383. Call (414) 258-2333 for information.
On the cover One of the Milwaukee County Zoo’s jaguar cubs nibbles on his mom’s ear. 2 Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013
Editor Paula Brookmire
Graphic Designer Roberta Weldon
Photographer Richard Brodzeller (unless otherwise noted)
Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2012-2013
Zooming in on Animals Stella the jaguar strolls atop the hill in her exhibit, her two cubs nearby. Suddenly one cub goes for her tail and nips at it. Then the other jumps on her back. The first one tries that, too. In a clever maneuver, Stella rolls onto her back, shaking off the cubs. Then she continues rolling over till she clears the cubs. She’s free. They’re still having fun because they can jump on each other. It’s endearing scenes like this that the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) brings to a wide audience through webcams, photos, social media and publications. Our focus is always on animals. In our fiscal 2012-2013 year, we offered you more ways to zoom in on your favorite Milwaukee County Zoo animals or babies, such as the jaguar cubs, born Nov. 13, 2012. We installed a camera in the jaguar den so people could watch the cubs frolic before they even went on exhibit. Then we added a camera in their indoor exhibit. The ZSM 2013 Annual Appeal raised money for a camera in the jaguars’ outdoor exhibit as well as webcams focusing on polar bears, elephants and brown bears. In fact, since we started a few years ago raising money for these “animal cams,” we have placed cameras that focus on orangutans, the fish of Lake Wisconsin, lions, tigers and all three species of penguins on exhibit at the Zoo: gentoos, rockhoppers and Humboldts. When bears go into their winter “sleep,” their camera is redirected to a more active animal, such as the mountain-climbing Dall sheep. As viewers get to know animals better, we find that they care more about wildlife, conservation and the Milwaukee County Zoo. They also want to learn more about wild animals. All of this fits our mission of conserving wildlife, educating people and supporting the Zoo. Here are other ways that we put the Zoo’s animals into focus during the 2012-2013 fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2013:
Above: Stella the jaguar is tuckered out from playing with her cubs. Left: You can view the Zoo’s gentoo penguins on webcam. Richard Brodzeller photos
• Calendar: At the very start of the fiscal year, the Zoological Society published its first Alive magazine calendar of animal photos from our longtime photographer, Richard Brodzeller. This hang-on-the-wall calendar filled with Zoo and ZSM events allowed members to keep animals in mind all year long. This issue was so popular that by the end of the fiscal year, we had just finished preparing a second calendar. • Facebook and Twitter: Starting in April 2013, we increased the number of animal photos on our social media outlets and increased the number of new Facebook entries from a few a month to nearly every weekday of the year. It’s a great place to learn about animal news in short bursts. • Website: The ZSM website is brimming with animal photos and stories. Look on our home page under hot topics, or search on What’s Gnu, or check out the publication archive (under Membership). Launched in fall 2013 was a dedicated website for the ZSM’s Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI) conservation project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Based at the Zoological Society’s Etate Research Station in the DRC, BCBI is a multi-faceted conservation program focusing on the study and protection of wild bonobos (see conservation section). • Education: The ZSM Conservation Education Department focuses on why animals are important, what we can learn from them, and how they fit into environments that we all share. Included in this department is a live theater program that brings child-friendly plays with a conservation message to a larger audience (see education section). • Publications: Our Alive magazine and Wild Things newsletter brought ZSM members stories about new animals arriving at the Zoo, from Ziggy the giraffe to Genghis the snow leopard. Then there were the babies: Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013 3
the jaguars, bonobos born in May and June, and four red-billed hornbill chicks that emerged from their nest in November. The publications are also a source for behind-the-scenes information, such as animal health care. Alive ran a two-part series (in January and in April 2013) on especially challenging cases of sick animals. • Volunteers: Few are as passionate about animals and the Zoo as the large cadre of volunteers in the ZSM’s volunteer auxiliary, Zoo Pride. You’ll find them giving tours, providing information near animal exhibits, answering your questions about conservation, helping at fundraising events, and aiding ZSM education classes, among other things. The Zoological Society helps animals and the Zoo through a variety of programs such as our Sponsor an Animal program and our Annual Appeal. Each part of the ZSM’s three-pronged mission of conservation, education and support of the Zoo is covered in the following pages. The ZSM’s total Zoo support in 2012-2013 was $7,011,750 (including direct project costs). That was an increase of more than $1.5 million from the previous year. For a financial summary, see page 18. Funding for our mission comes from a variety of sources, including: • Membership: The ZSM brought in $5,920,383 in Zoo Pass memberships in fiscal year 2012-2013. • Platypus Circle: Members of the ZSM’s premier annual-giving group donated more than $676,526 in cash or in-kind services to help the Zoo. • Sponsors, grantors & supporters: The ZSM acquires sponsors for most of the Zoo’s major events and attractions, and ZSM 2012-2013 direct cash sponsorship support to the Zoo was $340,798. Grants support education and conservation programs, and other projects. Grants brought in $761,668 last year. Sponsors and grantors at the $2,500 level and above are members of the Serengeti Circle (see pages 16-17). Additional support of $652,887 went to the ZSM’s live theater program (see education section). • Fundraisers run by the ZSM Associate Board: The 30th anniversary Zoo Ball, sponsored by U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and Wisconsin Energy Foundation, raised more than $661,529. The 24th Annual Birdies and Eagles Golf Tournament, sponsored by Fiduciary Management, Inc., raised $101,511. All other fundraising events run by the Associate Board – ranging from a Zoo campout to a September bike ride – raised $226,283. • The ZSM’s Sponsor an Animal program brought in $164,371 in the last fiscal year to support the Zoo’s animals. • Annual Appeal: The ZSM’s Annual Appeal raised $170,684 to install Web cams in several animal exhibits and to provide cash suport to the Zoo.
4 Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013
Ziggy the giraffe arrived at the Zoo in spring 2013. Richard Brodzeller photo
A polar bear takes a shower. Ralph Duram photo
Genghis the snow leopard arrived in November 2012. Richard Brodzeller photo
Above (left to right): Dr. Gay Reinartz (second from right in first photo) and staff find an elephant gathering place while on patrol. The Zoological Society provides GPS training for research-station guards. Patrick Guislain, field projects coordinator at the Zoological Society research station, holds an elephant bone, evidence of poaching. Bokitsi Bunda, Etate’s chief guard, examines confiscated animal snares. Left: It can take more than three days traveling in wooden pirogues by river to reach the Etate research station. Below: The Zoological Society provides supplies to Etate guards; shoes are especially welcome.
Conservation The Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) supports or directs important conservation programs and research internationally, in Wisconsin, and at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Its expenses related to research and conservation totaled $402,781 in fiscal year 2012-2013. Following are descriptions of various projects: For more information, go to zoosociety.org/conservation.
Wild Bonobos & Conservation in Congo Bonobos – an endangered species of great apes – are found in the wild only in the central rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Since 1997, through its Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI), the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) has been working in DRC to study bonobos and protect the species in their natural habitat. BCBI is directed by Dr. Gay Reinartz, ZSM’s conservation coordinator. BCBI partners with the ICCN (DRC’s park and wildlife authority) and other conservation organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund-US and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to conserve the bonobo and other wildlife in Salonga National Park. The Salonga, located in the DRC’s cuvette centrale (a region of forests and wetlands in the Congo River Basin) is an immense lowland forest ecosystem, home to the country’s largest bonobo populations and a remaining stronghold for the threatened forest elephant. In the national park, which is also a World Heritage Site, BCBI is headquartered at the ICCN/ZSM research station, Etate. Etate is also a patrol post manned year-round by a cadre of eight guards. In 2012-’13, incidents of bushmeat and ivory poaching remained under control along the lower and middle reaches of the Salonga and Yenge Rivers (Watsi Kengo Sector), where Etate guards concentrated most of their surveillance and where BCBI built a new patrol post, Lotulo, on the Yenge River. Thanks to the ongoing presence of a company of Congolese
soldiers (FARDC), the hard work of the park guards at Etate, and the effectiveness of the new patrol post, poaching and illegal fishing were all but eliminated. To further eradicate poaching, guards from Lotulo started foot patrols in a new area between the Yenge and Loile River – a first! The Zoological Society’s continued support of Etate and Lotulo guards included delivering field supplies and equipment such as flashlights, batteries, medicines, dry food stocks, shoes, waterproof bags and machetes. We also continued training guards in navigation and wildlife monitoring using GPS units and compasses. Our proficiency and success in training guards has become so well-regarded in the park that we were asked by park authorities to hold a three-day training session in April 2013 for 12 guard supervisors from four different ICCN Salonga stations. Considering the vast area of the Salonga (more than three times the size of Yellowstone National Park), not all news on the poaching front was positive. BCBI research teams found that far upstream on the Salonga and Yenge Rivers, where no patrol posts currently exist, wildlife are under severe hunting pressure. The region, known as Dar Dar, has been unprotected for decades. Since hunting goes mostly unchallenged, people enter the park on foot – some walking over 100 miles – to make semi-permanent hunting camps. It had been over 12 years since any survey teams had visited Dar Dar, and so the status of wildlife populations was virtually unknown. In 2013, ZSM research teams, accompanied by park guards, surveyed parts of the Dar Dar region and documented illegal human activity along the Salonga and Yenge Rivers. They found many poaching camps, trees that had been cut down and used to make wooden canoes called pirogues, countless animal snares and large caches of bushmeat – all disturbing signs of intense hunting pressure in an area rich in biodiversity. Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013 5
Based on these findings, BCBI and ICCN developed a plan to gain control of Dar Dar and send reinforcements. In May 2013, the ICCN and FARDC conducted a joint operation in Dar Dar. During the initial sweep, they destroyed eight large poaching camps/settlements, arrested two poachers, confiscated three military-style weapons, and seized over 100 pieces of bushmeat. This joint operation was supported by BCBI (fuel and rations), the World Wildlife Fund and the Central African Protected Areas Network. Subsequently, in July 2013, the ZSM was awarded funds from the Felburn Foundation of Ocala, Fla., to support patrols (rations, equipment, pirogues and fuel) that would travel 200 miles upriver on the Salonga and Yenge and transport guards to patrol Dar Dar. As a result, ICCN and BCBI scheduled eight such long-distance patrols to Dar Dar to begin in January 2014. Surveys and Research In addition to its support of park protection, the ZSM expanded the area of forest surveys in the Watsi Kengo Sector. As of September 2013, the BCBI team had surveyed about 3,610 square kilometers. Our preliminary analysis of survey data shows that the sector has one of the national park’s highest numbers of bonobo nests encountered by researchers (2.02 nests for every kilometer walked on a straight-line transect). Initially, we also found higher than expected encounter rates for elephant dung (0.44 dung piles/km), a positive sign that forest elephants have survived in this sector. The sector appears to be one of only a few areas left in Salonga National Park where bonobos and elephants occur in substantial numbers and where elephants still influence regeneration and growth of the rainforest.
including conservation groups such as the ZSM, representatives of public-interest groups, and government officials – who work on behalf of park management and conservation in the Salonga. • In September 2013, Dr. Reinartz received the Champions for Change Lifelong Commitment to Justice Award in the Animal Welfare Category from Community Shares of Greater Milwaukee (Wis). This organization is committed to raising money for its nonprofit member groups focused on social justice, animal welfare, and the environment.
Captive Bonobos The Bonobo Species Survival Plan (SSP) has been managed and coordinated by Dr. Gay Reinartz and the Zoological Society of Milwaukee since its inception in 1988. SSPs are animal programs managed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and many represent species that urgently need to be conserved and protected in the wild, such as the bonobo. SSP programs, as well as AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums, significantly contribute to field conservation efforts, species recovery, veterinary care for wildlife disease issues, as well as the genetic management of captive populations. As of September 2013, there were 81 bonobos at seven accredited zoological institutions in North America. The Milwaukee County Zoo has one of the largest bonobo groups in the world, numbering 17 as of September 2013. The Zoo reported two bonobo births during fiscal year 2012-2013: Nadine on May 8, 2013, to bonobo mom Elikia, and Nora Jan on June 29, 2013, to Tamia.
International connection: In addition to Community Assistance networking with the European Endangered The ZSM also continued to support Species Program (EEP), which manages Elikia the bonobo gave birth to baby Nadine May 8, 2013, primary-school education in three villages a captive population of 104 bonobos, at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Photo by Richard Brodzeller near the Etate research station. We continued to Dr. Reinartz and the AZA have worked with provide teacher salaries, books and materials, and student enrollment a Japanese institution seeking to start a bonobo group. In February 2013 in these schools increased from 400 in 2012 to more than 450 children the AZA approved an application for non-AZA member participation in in 2013. BCBI also continued to offer the community an adult literacy the Bonobo SSP from the Kumamoto Sanctuary at Kyoto University in program; we began new classes in the village of Tompoco with enrollment Uto, Japan. Shortly after, the Bonobo SSP recommended that six bonobos at about 50 adults, mostly women. In April 2013, BCBI held our second from the U.S. be transferred to Kumamoto Sanctuary: four from San Diego annual field day at Etate for 20 schoolchildren from nearby communities in October 2013, and two bonobos from Cincinnati in 2014. Why Japan? and their teachers. The Etate guards and BCBI research assistants planned Japanese researchers were among the first to explore Congo forests and the day’s lessons and led the class. The focus of the instruction was study the wild bonobo. Starting in 1973, their research, including that of poaching and wildlife protection in the park. Dr. Takayoshi Kano of Kyoto University, was pioneering in the field of Presentations & Awards in 2012-’13 • In January 2013, Dr. Gay Reinartz spoke to Professional Dimensions, a group of women professionals in Milwaukee (Wis.), on the goals and progress of BCBI. She discussed the importance of saving endangered animals such as the bonobo and also the value of helping people living near bonobo habitats, including BCBI support of a literacy program in DRC that had mostly women participants. • In March 2013, Dr. Reinartz spoke to the Salonga National Park Committee for Site Conservation at a meeting in Monkoto in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The committee is a consortium –
6 Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013
primatology and brought international attention to bonobos. As of 2012, however, no bonobo group existed in captivity in Japan. Meanwhile, in the United States, as the SSP bonobo population grew, space in which to house large social groups of bonobos became an issue. The Kumamoto Sanctuary, a former research facility revamped into a state-of-the-art sanctuary for captive chimpanzees, offered needed quality space for captive bonobos. Dr. Reinartz and the AZA believe that Kumamoto Sanctuary’s participation in the Bonobo SSP will provide a strong conservation, research and animal husbandry component that will offer a unique opportunity to strengthen international conservation of both captive and wild populations.
Apes The Zoological Society’s primary conservation support goes to its own great-ape program, the Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative (see pages 5-6). The ZSM funds several other conservation efforts, however, including spending $6,457 in the 2012-2013 fiscal year to support ape research and conservation projects: • Milwaukee Ape Heart Project, $5,000: The ZSM has funded efforts to delve more closely into the similarities and differences between heart disease in apes and humans. Human-heart-disease specialists have analyzed preserved bonobo hearts from the Milwaukee County Zoo. In 2013 these studies identified the cause of death for Lody the bonobo to be Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC). In humans, ARVC can be inheritable and causes replacement of the normal heart muscle with fatty tissue in the right ventricle, leading to heart disease, fatal arrhythmias and early death. The Zoo’s veterinary staff has been working with Dr. Matteo Vatta, director of the Cardiovascular Genetics
Section of the Molecular Genetics Diagnostic Laboratory at Indiana University, to search Lody’s DNA for potential genetic mutations known to cause this heart condition in humans and other animals. If genetic mutations are identified in Lody, who was a genetic founder of the Zoo’s bonobo population, Lody’s offspring and other founders will also be screened for these genes. • Ape studies at the Zoo, $457: Dr. Sarah Boysen, a great-ape behavior researcher, continued in 2012-2013 with her extensive research into the cognitive abilities of our Zoo’s three great-ape species: bonobos, gorillas and orangutans. To see a 2012 Alive magazine story on her research, go to zoosociety.org/Pubs/Alive/Spring-Summer-2012. • Lola Ya Bonobo, $1,000: This bonobo orphanage in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has acted for nearly 20 years as a sanctuary for orphaned bonobos, often because their parents were killed for bushmeat or because poachers wanted to sell the babies as pets.
Amphibians, Reef Wildlife, Reptiles Zoological Society funding of more than $14,556 supported 2012-2013 conservation projects and research involving amphibians, reptiles and fish. Milwaukee County Zoo staff were involved in most of these projects, which included: • Grenada frog research, $7,817: Conservation efforts have focused on helping a native frog species on the Caribbean island of Grenada fight off threats to its survival from an alien frog Above: A Grenada frog sits on a fern. species and from a deadly frog-killing Photo by Billie Harrison fungus called chytrid. The Milwaukee Right: A sea turtle rests on a Grenada beach . County Zoo and its collaborators began Photo provided by Ocean Spirits to develop a Conservation Action Plan Below: Dawn Fleuchaus of the Milwaukee County for the frog in 2010. In 2011, frog Zoo measures an iguana on Grand Cayman Island for research supported by the Zoological Society populations in Grenada appeared to of Milwaukee. Photo provided by Dawn Fleuchaus have stabilized, and in 2012 they seemed to be rebounding. Data from the 2013 research, however seem to indicate that both frog species may be experiencing a second wave of decline, reports Craig Berg, the Zoo’s aquarium and reptile curator. Continued monitoring will be necessary to verify this observation. • Iguana conservation, $3,267: Milwaukee County Zoo staff, with ZSM support, have been involved for many years in projects to give young, rare iguanas a head start and then release them back into the wilds of the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. In 2013, staff members Dawn Fleuchaus, Joan Maurer and Stacy Whitaker all traveled to the Caribbean to volunteer on iguana conservation projects. For more information on their projects, go to the home page of zoosociety.org and type in “iguana” in the search field at top. • Grenada Reef Study, $2,176: Since 2009, Zoo staff, with Zoological Society support, have joined the Wisconsin Lutheran College’s reef-
monitoring program in Grenada to compare the long-term health of reef corals and other ocean wildlife in marine-protected areas with areas that receive no protection. This research continued during 2012-2013. “We hope to demonstrate the economic benefits of protected areas to the tourist industry and fishing communities,” says Berg. • Endangered Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake brochure, $150: The Zoological Society helped finance an informational brochure to explain why these Wisconsin snakes are important
and have been revered by Native Americans. The snakes help control pests such as mice and voles, and the venom is of interest to scientists searching for human medical treatments. • Grenada Sea Turtle Tagging Project, $1,146: The ZSM collaborates with the nonprofit Ocean Spirits conservation organization based in Grenada, West Indies, to conduct leatherback sea turtle monitoring in Grenada. In 2013 the ZSM and Zoo Pride funded the purchase of 200 microchip tags to help continue Ocean Spirits’ long-term study of these endangered turtles. Ocean Spirits trains volunteers and staff members to measure nesting turtles, tag sea turtles, count nests (an average of 1,000 annually), count eggs, and record data under supervision. The microchip transmitters have recorded sea turtles diving as deep as 1.2 kilometers (0.74 miles), making the leatherback the deepest diving reptile in the world. continued on page 19 Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013 7
Education
For more information, go to zoosociety.org/education In the three-pronged mission of the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) – conservation, education and support of the Milwaukee County Zoo – education often is the linchpin of the other two. By educating children and adults about protecting animals and the habitats they share, we teach conservation. By offering extensive education programs yearround, the ZSM helps the Zoo maintain national accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Our offerings range from animalscience classes and summer camps to programs for disadvantaged youth, either taught in our eight-classroom facility on Zoo grounds or brought directly to schools. The ZSM Conservation Education Department also continues to offer animal-focused theatrical performances to Zoo guests in the summer and to the greater Milwaukee community throughout the year thanks to the multi-year partnership with Kohl’s Cares. Here are summaries of ZSM educational programs’ success:
Kohl’s Wild Theater For more information, go to wildtheater.org In July 2013 Kohl’s Cares announced a $1.5 million grant over three years to the Zoological Society of Milwaukee to continue the Kohl’s Wild Theater (KWT) program at the Milwaukee County Zoo into 2016. This live, interactive, participatory theater uses drama, puppetry and songs to bring conservation messages to children and families. The funding will allow KWT to expand its show repertoire to a total of 17 unique and original shows, add new puppets for stage and exhibit performances, and make improvements to the stage and theater area at the Zoo. The improvements include a more professional-looking stage made of natural materials, fabric shading of the stage, a new façade, and a theater green room for the cast. The KWT program was created in 2010, thanks to an initial $1 million donation from Kohl’s Cares, and has quickly grown to become the country’s largest zoo-theater program. In October 2012, KWT launched the second season of its highly successful outreach programming to schools and community organizations within a one-hour radius of the Zoo. Some programs consist of two short plays and a question-and-answer session. A particularly popular program, “The Reach of the Rainforest,” featured an orangutan puppet and time travel. The performance repertoire expanded from three 8 Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013
Left: Molly (center), played by Lindsey Gagliano, learns to be friends with Jane (Alecia Annacchino), who had acted like a bully. Then Molly, Jane and Michael (Sherrick Robinson, left) form a club. The performers are in a Kohl’s Wild Theater school-focused play called “Bullies and Bonobos.” Above right: Zoological Society Summer Camps, sponsored by Penzeys Spices, included Sharks & Rays, where kids aged 6 and 7 could touch sting rays. Here brothers Nathan S., 7, and Tim S., 6, meet a southern sting ray at the Milwaukee County Zoo’s special sting-ray-and-shark summer exhibit. Photos are by Richard Brodzeller
different shows in 2011 to four different shows in 2012. Added to the lineup was “Vampires vs. Aliens: A Wisconsin Wildlife Double Feature,” which included educational information about the benefits of bats and the harm done by “alien,” or invasive, species. The styles of performances were expanded by adding the shows “Bullies and Bonobos,” which was an original 40-minute dramatic play, and “The K-W-T Jamboree,” a series of short skits. The “Jamboree’s” quick pace was beneficial for young audiences with shorter attention spans and for smaller venues that didn’t have space for larger KWT sets. “Bullies and Bonobos,” a drama designed specifically for school groups, creatively combined information on bonobo conservation and school bullying. The play highlighted the capacity of bonobos to show empathy and used that information to reinforce an anti-bullying awareness message. It demonstrated to students simple ways to be inclusive and develop better understanding of their peers. Teachers praised the approach. One elementary school teacher commented, “The connection with bullying/recycling/animals was perfect. The students could follow along easily!” Another teacher said, “Great lesson on empathy. Great job tying in conservation and bullying.” In May of 2013, the third summer season of KWTperformances at the Milwaukee County Zoo began. The lineup of summer shows included past favorites such as “Journey to the Rich Coast” (a musical about bird migration) and “The Spot of the Jaguar” (a play about predator-prey relationships in the rainforest). New shows added to the repertoire included “Dr. McGhee Learns about the Sea” (a musical about ocean acidification) and “The Lizard of ooZ” (a musical about the risks of releasing pet frogs into the wild). One audience member said, “[The show was] excellent! We all learned something new, and I will pass on [the information] about the frogs. Thanks!”
The ZSM reached audiences with our conservation messaging not only through KWT shows at the Zoo but also through performances at libraries, community centers, schools and festivals such as Summerfest and the Wisconsin State Fair. Between summer performances at the Zoo and year-round performances through the free outreach program, more than 140,000 audience members viewed KWT in the 2012-’13 fiscal year – an incredible impact. Evaluation reports continue to indicate that audiences are learning important information about wildlife conservation when they view a KWT show. In post-show interviews conducted in summer 2013, audiences rated the educational value of a KWT show at 4.45 out of 5, with 5 being the highest possible rating. Similarly, the outreach program’s educational value was rated 4.84 out of 5. The likelihood that outreach venues would recommend the program to others was 4.93.
to help children earn badges. In fiscal year 2012-2013, the ZSM served nearly 400 Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.
Summer Camps
Summer Camps with Community Centers: Many children who normally couldn’t afford to attend summer camps could attend our 2013 camps, thanks to support from U.S. Cellular®, the Ralph Evinrude Foundation, the R.D. and Linda Peters Foundation, U.S. Bank Foundation, Dr. Joan M. Prince / Milwaukee Urban League, the Werner Family Foundation and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation – Alma Smith Wright Fund. In summer 2013, we served 421 children from seven Milwaukee-area neighborhood and community centers.
The Zoological Society’s Summer Camps, sponsored by Penzeys Spices, is one of the largest zoo- or aquarium-based camp programs in the nation. Our camps have the same lively format as our classes during the academic year, including songs, games, hands-on science, art and learning activities, and Zoo tours (for most classes and camps). Camps are offered for children ages 2-14, and some offer adult participation (with children ages 2-5). Our 2013 summer camps drew 11,512 participants: 8,537 children and 2,975 parents in 529 camp sessions. Our summer college-student intern program provided 20 students (including three college-student teaching interns) hands-on job training, thanks, in part, to generous support from the Antonia Foundation and the Jerome and Dorothy Holz Family Foundation.
September-May Programs Programs for the Public: In fiscal year 2012-2013, the ZSM served over 12,000 people in individual child or parent-child classes. These classes are offered six to seven days a week from September through December and February through May. They include art and learning projects, songs, games and Zoo tours. Education staff offer hands-on, interactive classes for families and children ages 2-14. Class curriculum addresses the intellectual, social and emotional development of child participants through science, conservation and art-based topics. Younger children (ages 2, 3, 4 and 5) attend class with an adult. If they’re ready, 4- to 5-year-olds have the option to attend without an adult. Classes for 6- to 14-year-olds are offered on weekends along with classes in which entire families can participate. School Programs: In fiscal year 2012-2013, Zoological Society-led programs offered at the Zoo or delivered as outreach classes reached 24,099 schoolchildren (in addition to students reached by Kohl’s Wild Theater outreach shows). Another 84,619 schoolchildren visited the Zoo on field trips and had ZSM curriculum available to them during self-directed tours. ZSM school programs help teachers meet science requirements set by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Making science fun by teaching about animals is the goal, with hands-on activities and Zoo tours. Education staff offer grade-appropriate programs for 3-year-old preschoolers through eighth grade, as well as conservationfocused talks for high school groups. Programs for schoolchildren were funded in part by gifts from the Ladish Co. Foundation; U.S. Bancorp Foundation; A.O. Smith Foundation; the Gene & Ruth Posner Foundation; and Stella Schmidt. Also, thanks to grants made to Milwaukee-area schools through the Kohl’s Cares Field Trip Grant Program in 2013, more schools could plan field trips to the Zoo for the 2013-2014 academic year. Scout Programming: The ZSM’s Conservation Education Department continued to offer programming designed specifically for scout groups
Programming for Disadvantaged Youth Animal Ambassador Program: This program teaches children about wildlife conservation over a semester. Then they graduate to become ambassadors for the Zoo’s animals, able to teach family and friends what they learned. Thanks to corporate, foundation or civic-group sponsors for each school, our Animal Ambassador and Continuum programs, which serve schools in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, reached 614 second-grade students and 679 third-grade students at 12 schools, and 1,276 fourth-grade students at 20 schools. An additional 545 students in five schools with smaller classes experienced a modified program.
Big Brothers & Big Sisters: The Zoological Society once again partnered with Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Greater Milwaukee, thanks to funding from U.S. Bank. We arranged a day for the adults and children – 318 people in all – to do a Zoo scavenger hunt and see a Kohl’s Wild Theater performance featuring jaguars as well as receive a book about Pat, the Zoo’s adult male jaguar, thanks to SHARP Literacy. The children also received school supplies.
Volunteers Members of Zoo Pride, the ZSM’s volunteer auxiliary, assisted with numerous classes and summer camps. Their help included the Eager Beavers committee that prepared numerous craft materials for use in class. For example, volunteers made construction-paper masks, paws, and tails for 3-year-olds to create a lion costume in Lions class. For the Outrageous Reefs class, volunteers made a necklace of eight tentacles for an octopus costume for children aged 4 and 5. In summer, high school students volunteered to help with ZSM camps and were trained to assist both college-student interns and Zoo Pride adult volunteers who conducted tours. In the last fiscal year, these high school assistants contributed 3,482 volunteer hours. Overall in the 2012-2013 fiscal year, total volunteer hours donated to the Conservation Education Department was well over 10,000.
Summary ZSM conservation-education programs served a total of more than 288,500 people in fiscal year 2012-’13. We reached thousands more with educational messages about conservation through: • Email news to members • The ZSM website, which averaged 32,711 visits per month (an increase of 8,838 visits compared to last fiscal year). • ZSM publications (each issue of Alive magazine and Wild Things newsletter reached more than 53,000 households, an estimated 222,600 people) • ZSM-designed signage, displays and videos at the Zoo • Zoological Society education programs in Africa (see Conservation) • Stories in the media about ZSM projects, and • Social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013 9
Zoo Support One of the most successful public-private partnerships in Wisconsin is the one between the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) and Milwaukee County, which runs the Zoo. County workers and the nonprofit ZSM work together to raise money for new animals, new exhibits and buildings; to provide education programs that reach thousands of people annually; to coordinate numerous events; to support wildlife conservation; to provide tours and behind-the-scenes experiences; and to plan for the future. While Milwaukee County cares for the animals, pays the county staff, runs restaurants and attractions ranging from a train to a carousel, and provides colorful plantings to create a remarkable park, the Society recruits sponsors and donors, helps support the veterinary program, runs an eight-classroom “school” and provides support services such as publications, graphic designers, information-technology expertise, and a host of volunteers. The ZSM’s Conservation Education Department runs almost all the education programs at the Zoo. The ZSM’s Creative Department handles projects for both the ZSM and the Zoo. It produces Zoo signs and banners, creates numerous educational videos and displays, keeps a photo database, and takes on special projects that enhance the Zoo such as dioramas. Zoo Pride, the ZSM’s volunteer auxiliary, makes possible numerous events that the Zoo holds, provides Zoo tours and animal talks, promotes the Zoo to the public through a speaker’s bureau, aids ZSM education programs, staffs fundraisers held by the ZSM and raises funds for conservation and Zoo exhibits. The Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) provided total Zoo support in 2012-2013 of $7,011,750 (including direct project costs). Here are reports on various ways the ZSM supported the Zoo. • Annual Appeal: The ZSM’s annual appeal raised $170,684 to install Web cams in several indoor and outdoor animal exhibits and to provide cash support to the Zoo. • Conservation and research: The Zoological Society’s total expenses in this area were $402,781 for the last fiscal year. Of that, $380,248 went to support the ZSM’s international bonobo-conservation project in Africa (see Conservation section). That project helps the Zoo in several ways. As part of the Zoo’s mission and also for accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Milwaukee County Zoo supports conservation efforts in the field to help endangered species. The ZSM’s bonobo project helps the Zoo meet its commitment to conservation. The ZSM supports the Bonobo Species Survival Plan, headed by the ZSM’s conservation coordinator, Dr. Gay Reinartz; that program helps manage the health and breeding success of bonobos in zoos. The Zoological Society also provides funding to conservation projects proposed by the Zoo, many involving Zoo staff (see Conservation section). That funding in 2012-2013 totaled about $22,533. 10 Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013
Above: Erica Bachinski feeds shrimp to a cownose sting ray at the Milwaukee County Zoo’s summer 2013 special exhibit, Sting Ray & Shark Bay, sponsored by Sendik’s Food Markets. Photo by Richard Taylor
Left: Families enjoy the PNC Sky Safari at the Zoo, viewing rhinos and wolves from above. Photos by Richard Brodzeller
• Education: By offering extensive education programs nearly year-round, the ZSM helps the Zoo maintain national accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). In total, ZSM conservation-education programs directly served more than 288,500 people in fiscal year 2012-’13 and reached thousands more with educational messages about conservation through publications and online media. • Exhibits and buildings: The ZSM gave $211,970 in direct cash support to Zoo exhibits, including $47,941 for the 2013 special summer exhibit: Sting Ray & Shark Bay, sponsored by Sendik’s Food Markets. The ZSM helped upgrade the Northwestern Mutual Family Farm entrance ($19,904) and the Black Bear Exhibit ($1,885, thanks to a grant from MillerCoors). Also, the ZSM donated payments for maintenance contracts on various Zoo buildings ($142,240). • Fundraisers run by the ZSM Associate Board: The 30th anniversary Zoo Ball – sponsored by U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and Wisconsin Energy Foundation – raised $661,529. The 24th Annual Birdies and Eagles
Golf Tournament, sponsored by Fiduciary Management, Inc., raised A pale-mandibled aracari at the Zoo. $101,511. All other fundraising events run by the Associate Board – Photo by Howard Frank including such events as a spring family evening at the Zoo, a Zoo summer campout, and a fall bike ride – raised $226,283. A peacock struts at the Zoo. Photo by Howard Frank • Platypus Circle: Members of the ZSM’s annual-giving group donated more than $676,526 in cash or in-kind services to help the Zoo. • Publications: The Zoological Society’s Communications, Marketing and Membership Department produced publications and other materials that promoted Zoo events and conservation programs and highlighted new exhibits and animals. These included Alive magazine, Contributors, Wild Things newsletter, and Platy Press newsletter for Platypus Circle members. In October 2012 the ZSM published an animalthemed calendar that was an immediate hit with ZSM members thanks to quality animal photos by Richard Brodzeller. • Signs, videos, interactive displays, Zoo printed materials, special projects: The ZSM’s Creative Department of five artists and A bongo rests at the Zoo. a researcher provides graphics and design support to the Zoo as well Photo by Don Enns as to the ZSM. Their vast array of projects range from 20-foot-wide banners to T-shirt designs. In the 2012-2013 fiscal year, the department produced 38 issues of various Zoo and ZSM publications, from full-color magazines to Zoo maps, from education class brochures to annual reports. The department also created 562 signs for ZSM and Zoo events, 156 animal-area banners and another 72 banners for events, 37 event invitations and programs for the Zoo A new Zoo Pride bird committee in 2013 put in and ZSM, 85 animal-information signs at various more than 1,300 hours meeting zoogoers inside the exhibits, 32 animations and 9 videos that are Herb and Nada Mahler Family Aviary, monitoring shown in the Zoo’s entrance atrium, 55 print flamingos, filling Zoo birdfeeders, and assisting Zoo advertisements, 20 website updates, 10 Powervisitors observing Zoo staff conduct annual bandings Point presentations, and 7 interactive displays of migratory birds. for the Zoo. • Websites and social media: The ZSM’s website • Sponsors, grantors & supporters: The ZSM averaged 32,711 visits per month in 2012-2013, acquires sponsors for most of the Zoo’s major an increase of 8,838 per month over the previous events and attractions, and ZSM 2012-’13 year. The site provides extensive information about direct cash sponsorship support to the Zoo the Zoo and its animals, including self-guided tours, was $340,798. Grants supporting education and event details, animal stories, and an archive of publiconservation programs as well as other projects cations dating to 1951. You also can find details brought in $761,688 last year. Additional about the ZSM’s large number of education programs, support of $652,887 went to the ZSM’s live its Zoo Pride volunteer program, descriptions of theater program (see Education section). ZSM conservation support, and children’s activities. • The ZSM’s Sponsor an Animal program In 2013 the ZSM developed a new section of its raised $164,371 in the last fiscal year to support website featuring its premier conservation project, the Zoo’s animals. the Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative (go to • Veterinary help: The ZSM provided $98,448 bonoboconservation.com). The ZSM’s Facebook Dr. Kay Elsen was recognized as the Zoological in funds to the Zoo’s veterinary staff by paying Society of Milwaukee’s (ZSM’s) volunteer of the page and its YouTube channel help promote the $43,924 for veterinary clinical residents and year Sept. 17, 2013, during the Platypus Circle annual Zoo, as do ZSM “tweets” on the social-networking recognition dinner at the Milwaukee County Zoo. $54,524 for a pathology resident. All of them site Twitter. The ZSM also assists with maintenance Dr. Elsen has been a member of the ZSM’s volunteer provided aid to the Zoo’s veterinary staff. auxiliary, Zoo Pride, for 37 years. Dr. Elsen is also a of the Zoo’s website. • Volunteer help: Zoo Pride volunteers provided long-time member of the Platypus Circle, the ZSM’s • Additional cash support: The ZSM provided invaluable help with Zoo and ZSM events, educa- major donor group. She is also a member of the $500,000 to the Zoo in a Zoo Pass price increase. Simba Circle (page 12). Photo by Richard Brodzeller tion programs, Zoo tours, and much more. Of 652 The total additional cash support that the Zoological Zoo Pride volunteers, 446 active members donated 50,872 hours in Society provided to the Zoo was $1,261,940. 2012-’13. In addition, high school student volunteers contributed 3,482 volunteer hours to help the ZSM professional staff with 2013 summer camps. Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013 11
Simba Circle The Simba Circle is a special group of donors who have included the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) as a beneficiary of a planned gift through a will, charitable trust, retirement plan, or life insurance policy. Gifts, once received, become a permanent asset of the ZSM’s endowment fund. Each year, earnings from your gift, along with other contributions to the fund, strengthen the Society’s capacity to fulfill its mission. Members of the Simba Circle enjoy benefits such as invitations to VIP premieres of new exhibits, lectures and the annual Simba Recognition Dinner. Following is a list of Simba Circle members as of Sept. 30, 2013. If you have already included the ZSM in your estate plans and are not listed here, or would like additional information, please contact simba@zoosociety.org or call Kim Peterson at (414) 258-2333, ext. 310.
SIMBA CIRCLE MEMBERS 2012-2013 Linda & William J. Abraham, Jr. Charles & Dorothy Aring F. Michael & Laura Arnow Dick & Yuko Baldwin John T. Bannen Dr. Gil & Lillian Boese Ronald & Jean Braund Jerry Brown Diane L. Brunner Sabrina Mia Bryant i Greg & Mary Budde i Judy Cafmeyer Mary Jo Crawford Cindy & Gary Datka Carl Diedrich Mary Dohmen Dr. Kay M. Elsen Jessie Franz David Glenn Lavonne M. Grenlie David & Kerry Grosse Linda L. Grunau Gary Hackbarth Jerry & Sandy Hafemann Arlene Hansen
Elaine V. Heckman John & Jeannie Heindel James Henry i Roxy Heyse Linda J. Hill Nancy Lee Horwath Kimberly Houk Carole F. Houston Maddy Howard Rose Marie Jashaway Dr. Lee & Susie Jennings Richard T. & Mary F. Johnson Rachel J. Jones Bonnie & Leon Joseph Joan Kalinoski Mary Kazmierczak Mary J. Kemnitz i Robert Koch Caroline V. Krider & Paul A. Smith Rachel A. Lauber Ginny Levenhagen Richard D. Lutz Dr. John & Kristie Malone Quinn & Jane Martin John & Judy McGourthy
Joseph & Christine McMahon Don & Shelley Mechenich Bary & Amber Morgan Family Donald & Nadine Mundt Fund In memory of Christopher Nast Nancy A. Neuwirth i Dr. Laura A. Owens Lygere Panagopoulos Margie Paur Mary T. & Konstanty Pawicz Jr. i Terrie Peschman Gina A. Peter Mark S. Poker Jim & Kathleen Polaski Betty Purdy Gordana & Milan Racic Jim Redding Jane E. Reilly & Jeffrey C. Glock Tomm Renk Jay Robertson Elizabeth Roesler Gayle Rosemann & Paul McElwee Al Rudnitzki Family Gayle Rzany i John & Linda Sapp
Judy and Barry S. Sattell Ronald L. & Debra Schmidt i Laura Skoff John & Carole Steiner Susan Steinman Dan & Patti Stotmeister Christine A. Strauss Chip & Joy Stringer Lois Tetzlaff Mary Krause Thiry Roselie A. Van Deuren Judy Van Till William J. Volkert i Karen Von Rueden Anne Wandler Lowell Warshawsky Kurt & Lisa Weisman Family Raymond & Kelly Wilson Darlene Winter Deborah J. Woelfel Dennis & Robin Zdroik Robert & Sandra Zodrow
i designates new members in fiscal year 2012-2013
Endowments The following donors are individuals whose legacies demonstrate their commitment to the Zoological Society in its support of the Milwaukee County Zoo. The Bertagnolli Endowment • Zoo Support
Bill Borchert Larson • Florence Mila Borchert Big Cat Country
Gordana & Milan Racic Endowment • Education Interns
The Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation, Inc. • Grants for Graduate Student Research
• Idabel Wilmot Borchert Flamingo Exhibit and Overlook
Reticulated Giraffe Endowment • Giraffe Exhibit
Roland & Florence Schroeder Cron Charitable Unitrust • Bonobo Species Survival Plan (SSP) Endowment Gretchen & Andrew Dawes Endowment Fund • Veterinary Intern Program Dohmen Family Foundation • Hippo Home Exhibit Robert T. Foote Charitable Trust • Zoological Society support Halbert & Alice Kadish Foundation Inc. • Student Intern Program Endowment Mary Ellen Bush & Donna Larsen Estate • Ornithological Intern 12 Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013
Liz Little Endowment • Student Intern Program Endowment
Elizabeth LaBahn Roesler Endowment • Zoo Support
Herbert & Nada Mahler Family Aviary Endowment Fund • The Aviary
Roswell N. & Leona B. Stearns Foundation, Inc. • Apes of Africa
McGourthy Family Endowment • Giraffe Exhibit
Liz Ziegler Giraffe Endowment • Giraffe Exhibit
The Dorothy J. Nelson Living Trust Endowment • Student Intern Program Endowment
Zoo Pride Endowment • Zoo Pride Support
The Philip Orth Family Fund Endowment • Annual Appeal Support
Zoological Society General Endowment • General Support
Annual Appeal Web Cams Bring Animals Into Focus Web cams focusing in on your favorite animals – that’s what the Zoological Society of Milwaukee raised money for during its last two annual appeals. The fiscal year 2012-2013 appeal raised $170,684. Most of that was used to install cameras in the jaguar outdoor yard, among other places. Viewers could watch the two cubs, born in November 2012, explore the outdoors for the first time. The Annual Appeal also raised money for cameras in the outdoor exhibits of the polar bears, elephants, Alaskan brown bears alternating with Dall sheep, and for the indoor gentoo and rockhopper penguin exhibit. Also,
$70,000 went to direct cash support to the Zoo. Over the years we have placed Web cameras to focus in on orangutans, the fish of Lake Wisconsin, lions, tigers and Humboldt penguins. Donors of $100 or more got early access to several of the Web cams as they were phased in and before they were available to the public. To view these Web cams, go to ZooView.tv. Donors of $75-$249 had their names listed on a sign; donors of $250-$499 received larger recognition on a sign; donors of $500-$999 received individualized recognition; donors of $1,000 or more received larger individualized recognition; and donors of $2,500 received individualized recognition on a Zoo bench.
Stella the jaguar cuddles with her two cubs. Photo by Richard Brodzeller
A Bactrian camel calf nestles between two adults. Photo by Howard Frank
Sponsor an Animal For information, go to zoosociety.org/sponsoranimal. The Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s (ZSM’s) Sponsor an Animal program benefits all of the animals at the Milwaukee County Zoo. In addition to offering individual and group sponsorships of animals at the Milwaukee County Zoo, this program raised money for Zoo animals through: • the ZSM’s Beastly Bowl-a-Thon in February 2013 • special animal sponsorship promotions during the year (such as for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, etc.) • the Kids Conservation Club • Animal Safari in August 2013, which offered behind-the-scenes Zoo tours to all animal sponsors and recruited several new animal sponsors. Animal Safari was sponsored by Welch’s and Pick ’n Save.
The Sponsor an Animal program also taught people about animals and conservation through: • fact sheets about the animals they sponsor • two annual workshops for members of the Kids Conservation Club and also via baseball-card-style animal cards offered to club members • a kids’ Green Art Contest open to all youth who were animal sponsors, with entries displayed at Animal Safari Animal sponsorships range from $20 for membership in the Zoological Society’s Kids Conservation Club to $2,500 for individuals who sponsor just one animal. In the 2012-2013 fiscal year, the Sponsor an Animal program raised a total of $164,371. Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013 13
Platypus Circle The Platypus Circle is composed of individuals, corporations and foundations who share the Zoological Society’s passion for supporting the Milwaukee County Zoo, conserving endangered animal species, and teaching the importance of preserving wildlife and its natural environment. Thanks to generous annual donations, the Zoological Society is able to offer programs ranging from summer camps for disadvantaged youth to bonobo-preservation missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The support of Platypus members also helps maintain Zoo exhibits and sustain our ongoing animal-conservation efforts. Platypus members receive unique benefits that include access to behind-the-scenes tours and invitations to exhibit premieres (see photo) and VIP events. For more information on becoming a Platypus member, please call the Development Department, (414) 258-2333, or check online at zoosociety.org/platy.
President’s Emerald
Leann Beehler i Canopies i OneTouchPoint Communications Group i Laureate Group, Inc. Sam’s Club 6324 i Dr. John Scheels i
President’s Platinum Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company i Carole F. Houston HUSCO International Dr. Mike Lasser i Marshfield Clinic Laboratories iu Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce i William J. Murgas u Rexnord Foundation Sigma-Aldrich Foundation Judy Van Till u Thomas & Anne Wamser Wisconsin Veterinary Referral Center i
President’s Gold
A.O. Smith Foundation, Inc. u Allied Insurance Centers, Inc. Mike & Nancy Carter JC Chupack Church Metal Spinning Company Clinicare Corporation Dr. Robert Davis & Nancy Hill-Davis Mary Ann & Tom Dyer Eye Care for Animals i Virginia Fifield Gebhardt Family GRAEF Michael & Kelly Grebe Harley-Davidson Motor Company u BMO Harris Bank u InPro Corp. Kalmbach Publishing Co. u Gerri Lietz-Staffileno Litho-Craft Co., Inc. i
Greater Milwaukee Foundation Luedke-Smith Fund Mr. & Mrs. Gerald E. Mainman Gene & Rebecca Mallinger Ronald McDonald House i Jay & Lisa McKenna MillerCoors u Mortenson Construction Musante-White Family Northern Trust PAK Technologies i PBBS Equipment Corp. Rick & Susan Pearson Bernard & Miriam Peck u Bill, Jeri & Teddi Penzey Gina A. Peter Harold & Tamara Redman i John & Cornelia Riedl Rockwell Automation Rosemann Family Foundation Michelle & Eddie Sauer Robert & Margaret Schuemann i Ryan & Kristin Schultz Gary & Sherry Sievewright Dale R. & Allison M. Smith S.M.M.S. 7th Graders Dr. William & Judy Holz Stathas Steren McDonald’s Restaurants u J.A. Taylor Family Foundation u Rebecca & Steve Verhagen Barbara Voight i Werner Family Foundation West Bend Mutual Insurance Company Zilber Ltd.
At the annual Platypus Circle Family Picnic, Latonia Bowie and her fiancé, Al Mitchell, enjoyed a hearty meal with Bowie’s daughters, Amaya, 12 (center), and Kylie, 5. The picnic was held at the Milwaukee County Zoo on July 9, 2013. Latonia Bowie is with DDN, a pharmaceutical group that is a Platypus Circle member.
Photo by Richard Taylor
ACL Laboratories iu Briggs & Stratton Corporation i Curtis Universal Ambulance i Bob Dohmen Jerome & Dorothy Holz Family Foundation Joy Global, Inc. Jack & Patti McKeithan Nicholas Family Foundation u NML Graphics i Abby O’Dess Dr. Harry Prosen i Samuel Wann, M.D. i Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Bluemound Campus i
Members of the Balistreri family reach into the pool at the Milwaukee County Zoo’s special summer 2013 exhibit, Sting Ray & Shark Bay, sponsored by Sendik’s Food Markets. The Balistreri family owns Sendik’s Food Markets, which is a member of the Platypus Circle. From left are Margaret Harris and her mom, Patty Balistreri; Margaret’s brother, Ted Balistreri, and his children Josie, 9, and Theo, 7.
Photo by Richard Brodzeller
President’s Diamond
Platy Silver
Ace World Wide Moving/Storage i Aim Transfer & Storage, Inc. Jo Ann Aiman Anthony & Lizabeth Baish Bank Mutual Janine F. Barre Dr. John Beltz i Bostik, Inc. u Bottoms Up Bartending i Diane L. Brunner Sabrina Mia Bryant i Dr. Craig Young & Dr. Sharon Busey Carla & Neal Butenhoff Centec Security Systems, Inc. Century Fence Co. CG Schmidt, Inc. u Computerized Structural Design Jerome & Melody Ann Czubinski Dedicated Computing, LLC Tom & Mary Jo Dempsey DentaQuest Derse Foundation, Inc. u DigiCOPY i Diversified Insurance Services Donald & Nora Dreske DuPont - Danisco Animal Nutrition i
14 Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013
Edstrom Industries Elliott Family Foundation Empowering Families of Milwaukee Ernst & Young Michael & Judy Fitzpatrick Suzy & Byron Foster Franciscan Villa i Fruit Ranch Market, Inc. iu Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan LLP Graymont Western Lime Inc. Arlene Hansen Leanne Harmann i Dennis D. & Patricia L. Harton Hawks Landscape Inc. i Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation u Helgesen Industries, Inc. James & Geraldine Henry Henry R. Marohl, Inc. HGA Architects, Engineers & Planners Jim & Kerrie Hoffman Holz Motors, Inc. u Home Depot - Wauwatosa Home Depot - Mukwonago i Home Depot - Waukesha Independence First Indulgence Chocolatiers i ISC International, Ltd. Jagemann Plating Co. Johnson Controls Inc. i
Trish & Drew Kagerbauer Cindy Kanzleiter Family Alan J. & Karen P. Katz u Nancy & Tom Kingsbury Robert Koch Krause Family Foundation u Caroline Krider Laacke & Joys i Eugene & Gwen Lavin u Liphatech, Inc. MacHealer Consulting i Mantz Automation, Inc. Manufacturing Services, Inc. Marcus Corporation u Dr. Leighton Mark i Quinn W. & Jane E. Martin u Materion McDonough Family Janet & Jim McKenna Don & Shelley Mechenich Megal Development Corporation u Mercer Human Resource Consulting Metals USA Michael Best & Friedrich LLP Midwest Auto Clubs, LLC Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. u Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin i Dr. George Morris i Mortara Instrument, Inc.
National Business Furniture u Nev 2/11 Foundation u Nevs Ink, Inc. Oak Crest Villa Orion Security Corp. John Oster Family Foundation u Park Bank Foundation Jodi Peck & Les Weil u Jill Pelisek The Pet Apothecary Nancy Pirkey PNC Bank Port Washington State Bank PPG Industries, Inc. Pricewaterhouse Coopers Dr. Joan Prince Professional Services Group, Inc. QLC, Inc. Quest CE R&R Insurance Services, Inc. Gordana & Milan Racic Marion C. Read Red Elephant Chocolate, LLC i Scott & Melinda Redlinger Roadrunner Transportation Services - Cudahy Roadrunner Transportation Services Milwaukee Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc. Russ Darrow Kia of Wauwatosa i Ryder Lacey Sadoff John & Linda Sapp Judy & Barry S. Sattell u Schregardus Family Foundation Sendik’s Food Markets/Balistreri Owned & Operated Thelma Sias Billie Jean Smith Jonathan & Kristin Sohn i Steele Solutions i Richard & Linda Stevens Strattec Security Corporation i SVA Tennessen Family Thomson Management Services, Inc. Rick & Carol Treadwell Tri City National Bank U.S. Bank u U.S. Cellular® U.S. Foods u United Heartland, Inc. United Press & Graphics i Barbara E. Van Engel u Tyler & Kathleen Vassar Lowell Warshawsky u WaterStone Bank u Jim & Jane Wierzba Ray & Kelly Wilson i Wildkat Wellness David & Dorothy Zellmer Zimmer Thomson Associates, Inc. u
Platy Bronze A Bit Above LLC A to Z Financial Planning LLC AIS Technology i Howard E. & Barbara A. Alcorn u Nikki & Timothy Allen i David Allen i J. Harvey & Judith Alligood Cathy Arney i Mike & Laura Arnow Marilyn Auer George Bailey
Joseph and Jennifer Kresl, longtime Kevin & Shelley Baker i Dick & Yuko Baldwin Platypus Circle members, received Carol & John Bannen the Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s Mark, Shannon & Jessica Behr (ZSM’s) highest award, the Emu Egg, Scott & Elizabeth Behrendt on Sept. 17, 2013, at the Milwaukee Rick Bloomquist Dr. Gil & Lillian Boese County Zoo. The award is presented for Deanna Braeger i exceptional contributions and commitDouglas & Barbara Braun & ment to the ZSM and the Zoo. Joe Kresl, Family who is president of Hawks Landscape, Richard & Diana Brodzeller Brian N. & Nicole L. Brzezinski Inc., is on the ZSM’s Board of Directors Jan & Rick Buckley and serves on its master planning comDr. Phil Burns mittee. The Kresls have sponsored the Patty Cadorin James C. & Kaye Lynne ZSM’s holiday Fantastic Forest at the Carpenter Zoo for 13 years, contributed to the last Brett & Jennifer Chapman capital campaign, and chaired Zoo Ball Jen Christianson i 2010. They received the award, a real Chubb Group of Insurance Companies u emu egg encased in glass, at the ZSM’s John & Vida Ciulik annual Platypus Circle dinner to honor Jason & Sarah Curtis major donors. The Kresls received DataComm Plus i previous ZSM awards in 2005 and 2008. DDN Drs. Thomas & Meridith Derrig Photo by Richard Brodzeller Ann L. DiCastri Koss Foundation u Ecker Envelope, Inc. i Melinda & Ken Krei Ellenbecker Adult Family Home J.P. Kucera i Dr. Kay M. Elsen La Causa, Inc. EMD Crop BioScience Dr. Norma & Glenn Lang Richard, Mary Ellen & Emily Enea Karen Loth & Douglas Smith Nancy Flagg & Joe Hegarty Mark Lowry i John Fleckenstein Arnold & Sarah Lueders Kenneth & Linda Footland Christopher & Lisa Lundberg Ty A. & Jodi A. Foren Jodi Majerus Jessie & Keith Franz Tony & Anne Mallinger Joy Freedman i Randall & Denyse Malone i John & Deborah Gebhardt T.J. & Lori Marini Gerald & Donna Gerndt Erv & Mandy Matsche Elizabeth H. Gjenvick u James & Susan McNeely Dr. & Mrs. Gerald G. Gleisner u Menasha Corporation Foundation i Karen Gosewehr u Meta House, Inc. Dr. Michelle Graham & The George L.N. Meyer Family Mr. James Hammond Foundation, Inc. Kerry & David Grosse Robert A. & Nancy S. Miller Grunau Company u Nettesheim Family Jim & Sandy Hanus Susan A. Niederjohn Christa & Rob Harlfinger i Brian & Lea O’Day Karen L. Hartenstein Danae Oldenburg Alan & Linda Harvey Kathleen M. Olejnik Hatco Corporation i Kenton B. Oren Elaine Heckman Ronald Ota & Amy Byrne John & Jeannie Heindel Dr. Laura Owens Bill & Barb Hess Bruce Paler Russell & Irene Heumann Michael Pazdan Roxy Heyse u Adam & Laura Peck Brian & Robin Higgins Family The Perlick Corporation u Erin Hochschild i Holger & Mary Beth Petersen i Andrew & Paula Holman Randy & Kim Peterson i Home Depot #4941 i Photography Atelier i Patricia Hutter i Robert M. Poehlein Jeffrey Janz i Mark Poker Mardy Johnson Family ProSelect, LLC i Rachel J. Jones George & Jan Rada Thomas & Ann Kamasky i Jim & Nancy Redding Patrick & Chrstine Keyes i Bill & Betsy Rezel Bridget & Mark Kirkish The Rohlen Foundation Dr. Patrick Knapp & Mike, Chris & Kate Santell Dr. Kristi Tolzman-Knapp Chris & Beth Schimel Maria E. Gonzalez Knavel Kristopher & Carrie Schroeder Linda Knee John & Tricia Shinners Arthur C. Kootz Foundation Lois Siebrecht Benedict & Lee Kordus Dan & Marge Korsi
Gary & Sally Sprenger John & Josephine Stahl Standard Electric Supply Co. Stanosz Family Barbara Stein Dan & Patti Stotmeister Fred & Anne Stratton Streich Family Foundation Amy & Dave Tamburrino Victoria Teerlink & Jeffery Drope i Lois Tetzlaff Brookellen & Robert Teuber David J. Thull TJ Printing i TMP Worldwide Usinger’s Famous Sausage William J. Volkert Karen Von Rueden Rebecca & Seth Wahlberg The Joel Wallskog Family Kristin Murphy Warfield & Andrew Warfield i Kurt, Lisa & Sydney Weisman Chuck & Trish Wikenhauser Lynn Wilding Rolland & Sharon Wilson Darlene Winter Wisconsin Jaguars Ltd. i Wisconsin Spice Inc. Mildred Wrench Hillary & James Wucherer Charles & Sandra Yanke Your Nurse Home Health Care, Inc. Elizabeth & Anthony Ziherl i Carol J. Zimprich Kelly & Scott Zygowski Kathy McConville & Denise Zylow u – Member for 25 years or more i – New Members H – Members who have made in-kind gifts of products or services
We apologize if we misspelled or omitted your name from this list and ask that you please bring this error to the attention of the Development Department at 414-258-2333.
Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013 15
Serengeti Circle The Serengeti Circle is an extraordinary group of corporations and foundations that support the Milwaukee County Zoo and the nonprofit Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) at the $2,500 level and above. Every year, numerous civic leaders choose to associate their companies or foundations with Wisconsin’s No. 1 single-venue attraction: the Zoo. This partnership with the Zoo and ZSM is accomplished through grants and sponsorships of our special events, traveling exhibits, attractions, conservation initiatives and education programs. This support of the ZSM and the Zoo puts our partners in touch with the Zoo’s almost 1.3 million annual visitors, demonstrates commitment to our community and identifies our partners with the fun, family lifestyle/culture the Zoo represents. All business partnerships include opportunities for inclusion in media (advertising, signage, website promotion, etc.), promotional presence on Zoo grounds, VIP customer hosting, Zoo admission and parking tickets, and negotiated consumer offers. For more information on sponsorship opportunities at the Zoo, please call Patty Harrigan Mills, (414) 258-2333, ext. 213. For information on grant opportunities, please call Averia Steinman in the Development Department, (414) 258-2333, ext. 309. Priceless Zoo Pride • Zoo & Zoological Society events and programs
$1,500,000+ Kohl’s Department Stores through Kohl’s Cares • Kohl’s Wild Theater
$250,000-$499,999
Briggs & Stratton Corporation • Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard at Zoo Terrace
Supercuts • Oceans of Fun Seal & Sea Lion Show
Clear Channel Media + Entertainment • Ride on the Wild Side H
Tri City National Bank • Sky Trail® • Sunset Zoofaris
Felburn Foundation • Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI) • BCBI - Park Support
MillerCoors • Black Bear Exhibit • Birdies & Eagles Golf Tournament H • Puttin’ on the Ritz H • Wines & Beers of the World H • Zoo Ball H • Zoo Brew H
Jerome & Dorothy Holz Family Foundation • Animal Ambassador Continuum • Animal Ambassador • Student Intern Program
$100,000-$999,999
Northwestern Mutual Foundation • Family Farm Renovation
Anonymous • Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI) Ziegler Family • Giraffe Acquisition/Endowment
$50,000-$99,999 The Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation • Operational Support Journal Sentinel, Inc. • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel a la Carte H Sendik’s Food Markets • Halloween at the Zoo • Summer Special Exhibit - Sting Ray & Shark Bay World Wildlife Fund • Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI)
$20,000-$49,999 Antonia Foundation • Animal Ambassador Continuum • Student Intern Program BMO Harris Bank • Gate Brochure At the 30th anniversary Zoo Ball, Rich Tennessen, ZSM Board chairman, was flanked (from left) by Zoo Ball co-chairs Caroline Krider, Thelma Sias and Gina Peter. In 2013 Krider was senior vice president at U.S. Bank in Milwaukee. Sias was vice president of local affairs for We Energies, and Peters was Wisconsin commercial banking director for Wells Fargo. Zoo Ball was sponsored by U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and Wisconsin Energy Foundation. Many Platypus Circle members attended the June 22, 2013, event, held at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Zoo Ball is the Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s largest annual fundraiser. Ari Rosenthal Photography / Richard Taylor
16 Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013
Ladish Co. Foundation • School Programs
Penzeys Spices • Carousel • Summer Camps Gordana & Milan Racic • Snow Leopard Acquisition Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc. • Animal Safari H • Egg Day H • Father’s Day H
David & Julia Uihlein Charitable Trust Foundation • Operational Support U.S. Bank • Animals, Backpacks and Crafts Day with Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Greater Milwaukee & Sharp Literacy • School Programs • Zoo Ball • Zoo Support U.S. Cellular® • Animal Ambassador Continuum • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel a la CarteLakeview Stage • Programs for Disadvantaged Youth Wells Fargo • Zoo Ball Wisconsin Energy Foundation • Zoo Ball Fred & Sandra Young • Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI)
$10,000-$19,999 Anonymous • Animal Ambassador Continuum Aldi • Lakeview Patio Umbrellas Fiduciary Management, Inc. • Birdies & Eagles Golf Tournament
Sadoff Family Foundation • Animal Ambassador
The R.D. & Linda Peters Foundation • Programs for Disadvantaged Youth
Sanger-Newton Donor Advised Fund • Great Ape Health Project
PPG Industries Foundation • Animal Ambassador
WaterStone Bank • Kids’ Nights
Greater Milwaukee Foundation Harry & Martha Walsh Fund • Animal Health
FOX 6 • Family Free Days H
We Energies • Zoo Ball-Late Night Venue & Photography/Parting Gifts
The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund • BCBI - Park Support
Wheaton Franciscan - St. Joseph and Wisconsin Heart Hospital Campuses • Ride on the Wild Side
Zoological Society of San Diego • Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI)
PNC • Sky Safari
Wheaton Franciscan Senior Health • Senior Celebration
H In-kind sponsorships
Welch’s • Animal Safari • Egg Day
Wisconsin Jaguars Ltd. auto club • Name-the-Jaguar-Cub Contest
Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort • Stroller Rentals • Wilderness Fundraiser Weekend Wildlife Conservation Network • Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI)
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board • Family Farm Weekend Greater Milwaukee Foundation - Alma Smith Wright Fund • Programs for Disadvantaged Youth
$2,500-$4,999
Zoo Atlanta • BCBI - Park Support
Anonymous • Education Programs
$5,000-$9,999
American Family Insurance • Kids’ Nights Entertainment
Anonymous • Animal Ambassador Continuum • Operational Support A.O. Smith Foundation • School Programs The Abraham Foundation • BCBI - Guard Training & Support American Transmission Company • Party for the Planet Hawks Landscape Inc. • Trim-a-Tree (Fantastic Forest) H Jenkins Jaguar • Name-the-Jaguar-Cub Contest Johnson Controls • Zoo Ball-Entertainment
Amica Insurance • Samson Stomp Arnow & Associates • Animal Ambassador Continuum
Briggs & Stratton was the new sponsor in 2013 of Zoo Terrace, which includes a stage, picnic area and bright red umbrellas. Its new name is Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard at Zoo Terrace. Richard Brodzeller photo
Briggs & Stratton Corporation Foundation, Inc. • Operational Support Greater Milwaukee Foundation - Marge & Fred Brossmann • Operational Support Chinet® • Father’s Day CNH • Family Farm Weekend - Mini-tractor Pull Contest
Joy Global Foundation Inc. • Animal Ambassador Continuum
Cooper Industries / Cooper Power Systems Division • Animal Ambassador
Old Orchard Brands • Snooze at the Zoo
Great Lakes Company • Northwestern Mutual Family Farm Renovation H
Peck Foundation, Milwaukee Ltd. • Animal Ambassador Continuum
Greater Milwaukee Foundation Robert A. & Verona D. Hein Fund • Operational Support
Dr. Joan Prince/Milwaukee Urban League • Programs for Disadvantaged Youth
Werner Family Foundation • Programs for Disadvantaged Youth
Humana • Senior Celebration-Entertainment
Racine Danish Kringles • Breakfast & Lunch with Bunny • Breakfast & Lunch with Santa
Charles D. Jacobus Family Foundation • Animal Ambassador
Ralph Evinrude Foundation • Programs for Disadvantaged Youth
Lifeway Foods • Kids’ Nights-Entertainment
Rockwell Automation • Animal Ambassador
Greater Milwaukee Foundation - Rodney F. Park & Betty Park Family Fund • Operational Support
Aldi, a popular grocery store throughout the metro-Milwaukee area, was the new sponsor in 2013 of Lakeview Patio umbrellas at the Milwaukee County Zoo. They made sitting outdoors next to Lakeview Place Restaurant on a sunny day much more enjoyable. Richard Brodzeller photo
Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013 17
Financial Summary Zoological Society of Milwaukee County (ZSM) – Year ending September 30, 2013
SUPPORT & REVENUE
COST OF SUPPORT AND REVENUE (Support Services)
MEMBERSHIP DUES from all ZooPass and Platypus Circle members
...........
$6,596,909
MEMBERSHIP DUES Expense of providing benefits to all ZooPass and Platypus Circle members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,666,164
CONTRIBUTIONS toward capital projects, specific programs and support . . . . $710,727
SPECIAL EVENTS/PROGRAMS
SPECIAL EVENTS PROGRAMS/SPONSORSHIPS including animal sponsorship, Zoo Ball, education, ZSM and Zoo special events, and sponsorships . . . . . . . . . . . $2,280,333 INTEREST INCOME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,629
Expense of providing and promoting ZSM special events/programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $497,584
TOTAL COST OF SUPPORT & REVENUE (Support Services) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,163,748
GRANTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $761,668
EXPENSES
TOTAL SUPPORT & REVENUE
DIRECT PROJECT COSTS
.....................
$10,358,266
Expenses relative to capital projects and specific programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $26,421
RECEIPTS
ZOO SUPPORT 64%
MEMBERSHIP DUES: 64% SPECIAL EVENTS/PROGRAMS: 22%
22%
CONTRIBUTIONS: 7%
7%
GRANTS: 7%
7%
Direct cash and in-kind support to the Milwaukee County Zoo, expense of providing, promoting and supporting education, graphics, special-exhibit projects, and Zoo special events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,985,329
RESEARCH/CONSERVATION Expenses relating to state, national and international programs supporting species preservation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $675,617
EXPENSES ZOO SUPPORT, CAPITAL & DIRECT PROJECT COSTS: 68% SUPPORT SERVICES: 21% RESEARCH/CONSERVATION: 7% GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE: 4%
African spurred tortoise Photo by Richard Brodzeller
18 Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013
68% 21%
GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE Expenses relating to daily ZSM operations
..................
$425,156
7%
TOTAL EXPENSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,112,523
4%
TOTAL COST OF SUPPORT AND EXPENSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,276,271
Conservation (continued from page 7) Birds • Humboldt Penguin Conservation and Research, Past Support: Since the 1998-’99 year, the ZSM has given more than $181,505 to projects that protect and study Humboldt penguins. The longest-term study has been of a breeding colony of Humboldt penguins in Algarrobo, Chile. Milwaukee County Zoo staff, led by veterinarian Roberta Wallace, have been involved in the research, and several journal articles and publications related to this study and the captive management of penguins were completed in 2013. • Migratory Bird Collision Abatement, $1,000: The Zoo is an active stopover or nesting site for 176 species of native migratory birds. To prevent birds colliding with windows of Zoo buildings, the Zoo and ZSM have applied predator decals, striping, netting and other distractions to windows, especially in larger buildings. Along with better planting practices, these window treatments, thanks in part to ZSM funding, have reduced the number of bird-related deaths due to window collisions. • Adopt an Ostrich, $500: During armed conflict in the Sahara in 1992, the small population of ostriches in Niger was nearly wiped out. The Ostrich Recovery Project in Niger has developed a captive-breeding program in hopes of reintroducing ostriches into the wild, and the ZSM has provided funds to assist the project.
Conservation programs supported by the Foundation for Wildlife Conservation, Inc. (FWC), a partner with the ZSM Belize
Africa • In Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the FWC supported the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International’s efforts to save the mountain gorilla. In northern Kenya, the FWC supported Lewa Wildlife Conservancy conservation, education and anti-poaching projects. Dr. Gil Boese, FWC president, serves on the boards of both groups and has worked with Lewa since 1974. • FWC hosted a natural history safari in January 2013 to Tanzania to observe the migration of wildebeest, zebra and other animals across the Serengeti. Part of the group continued to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya to observe the success of protecting 118 rhinos in the reserve, in addition to elephants and other endangered animals. The group saw up to 30 rhinos a day on the fenced-in reserve, but poaching continued to be a problem.
Wisconsin Dr. Boese continued a multi-year study of bird-population dynamics on Pewaukee Lake in the metro-Milwaukee area. He has documented that certain birds, such as the red-winged blackbird, red-tailed hawk and bald eagle are on the increase; others, such as cardinals, wrens and goldfinches, have been diminishing. Data collection was scheduled to continue in 2014, with a written report in 2015.
Photos by Richard Brodzeller
The FWC manages the 6,134-acre Runaway Creek Nature Preserve (RCNP, called a Reserve in Belize). The reserve has hosted several conservation programs, most managed by university researchers and done in collaboration with FWC and its Birds Without Borders/Aves Sin Fronteras (BWB/ASF) staff. Here are summaries of research and conservation studies on RCNP: • University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada) researcher Kayla Hartwell, as part of her Ph.D. work, spent six months at RCNP in Belize in spring and summer 2013 to study the changing relationship between howler monkeys and spider monkeys after a major hurricane took down parts of their forest. Howler monkeys seemed to have increased, perhaps because they like forest edges, which there are more of after the hurricane. She has noted more interaction between the two species, particularly among the youngsters.
• Lincoln Memorial University (Harrogate, Tenn.) researchers, who discovered a new snail species at RCNP in 2011-2012, studied another invertebrate at RCNP in 2013. This is a crustacean seen only during the wet season. It builds a cone of mud, emerges to forage, then returns to the cone and a ground tunnel during the dry season and seems to go dormant. • BWB/ASF staff (Reynold Cal, Wilbur Martinez, Stevan Reneau, and Dr. Omar Figuora) monitored the wildlife of RCNP, including monthly bird censuses (particularly during bird migrations) and camera trapping (remote photography of pumas, jaguars, pacu and tapirs). They also have discovered more archeologically significant Maya drawings in caves at RCNP. Dr. Figueroa, senior research associate, is also a consultant to the Belize government in an effort to develop a free-roaming corridor in Belize (including RCNP) for big cats so they will be less likely to raid farms and be killed.
Black rhino
Red-tailed hawk Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013 19
Our natural-looking Zoo If you want to enjoy summer year-round, visit the Milwaukee
like windows into mini-environments. The birds themselves,
County Zoo’s bird building. Inside the Herb & Nada Mahler
like these red-billed hornbill chicks, have fascinating patterns,
Family Aviary, you’ll find a solar-lit, free-flight exhibit full of
colors and behaviors. All the birds are presented in exhibits that
flowers, greenery and birds overhead (large photo below).
mimic the animals’ natural habitats. It’s one of the best ways
The shorebird exhibit gives you the illusion of being on the
to visit birds from around the world and peek into multiple
beach with the birds (below left). The tropical exhibits are
environments all in one day.
Red-billed hornbill chicks
10005 W. Bluemound Rd. Milwaukee, Wis. 53226-4383 (414) 258-2333 www.zoosociety.org
Zoological Society of Milwaukee Annual Report 2012-2013