Ethan Fulkerson will talk to us about plasma, why it's important, and how it is collected.

Ethan Fulkerson is a Hoofstock and Pinniped Keeper at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden (in South Carolina, USA), caring for a variety of species including the zoo's resident giraffe herd. Before moving down to South Carolina, Ethan graduated with a degree in Zoo and Conservation Science from Otterbein University, as well as completing several internships across the United States and even outside of the country. 

Ethan started his Animal Care journey in 2016 at Busch Gardens' summer programs. Throughout high school he continued to engage in different forms of animal care including at Cornell University's Raptor Program, and interning at The Belize Zoo and Downtown Aquarium, Denver. Entering college, Ethan was quickly pre-accepted into Otterbein University's competitive Zoo and Conservation Major and engaged with several organizations through the program like the Ohio Wildlife Center and Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Ethan was able to dedicate his summer months to interning at facilities including Denver Zoo, Montgomery Zoo, and Indianapolis Zoo. Ethan was able to get a large variety of experience with a large number of taxa but was excited to begin focusing his animal care with Hoofstock and Pinnipeds at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. During two and a half years with his team Ethan has been able to contribute extensively to the zoo's white rhino blood and plasma bank, lead enrichment building workshops with volunteers, and been a member of several successful giraffe procedures.

We’ll also have Junior Giraffe Club member, Lily, share her school project with us.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, November 23rd at 11am EST (Toronto/Canada)!

Not a member of the Junior Giraffe Club? Join today for FREE!

Why do females have a longer body than males? Why do males have wider necks than females? As a principal scientist for Wild Nature Institute and a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Zurich, Dr. Monica Bond will answer these questions and more as she tells us about her latest research, done in collaboration with Penn State University and led by Dr. Doug Cavener. The team measured differences in body proportions between male and female giraffes, both captive and wild. Their findings offer new insight into a long-standing question - why do giraffes have such looong necks?

Dr. Bond has been an animal lover for as long as she can remember. She became particularly interested in biology in high school, and discovered the world of wildlife science in college, after visiting a friend who was studying nesting of Peregrine Falcons in Great Smokey Mountains National Park. She loves to mix field research with writing and talking about the beauty and importance of wildlife and nature. She has lived and worked in Tanzania for 12 years.

Dr. Bond and the Wild Nature Institute team are studying more than 4,500 wild Masai giraffes in an area over 25,000 sq. km in Tanzania. This is the BIGGEST study of giraffe survival and reproduction in the world.

THE STORY OF GIRAFFE NECKS

 A giraffe's neck is about the same size as an elephant's trunk.  Like the trunk, the neck is a multipurpose tool, but sometimes a giraffe's neck isn't straight. Fred Bercovitch will discuss the evolution of the neck, some giraffes that had 'zigzag' necks, and how the word 'neck' was co-opted into multiple expressions.

 Dr. Fred Bercovitch is a comparative wildlife biologist, who has studied animal behavior, ecology, genetics, physiology, conservation, anatomy, and evolution. He earned his Ph.D. from UCLA based upon a two-year study of the reproductive behavior of baboons in Kenya. He studied giraffes at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, as well as in Zambia, Tanzania, and South Africa. In addition to studying baboons and giraffes in the wild, he has studied African elephants in Botswana, koalas in Australia, snow monkeys in Japan, and rhesus monkeys in Puerto Rico. When not working, Fred thrives on hiking, backpacking, traveling, reading, sports, politics, and the news.

Also, Mary Dagg, CEO of the Anne Innis Dagg Foundation, will tell us about her recent trip to South Africa. We’ll hear the final two giraffe stories from our writing contest and announce our next contest (you’ll be outdoors for this one!).   

We look forward to seeing you all again on Saturday, September 21st at 11am EDT (Toronto/Canada)!

Not a member of the Junior Giraffe Club? Join today and enjoy this together with us!

Guest speaker, DR. LIANA ZANETTE, is a Professor of Biology at Western University in London, Ontario where she teaches Conservation Biology and Population Ecology. Liana’s research examines the relationship between predators and their prey with a focus on the ‘Ecology of Fear’.

Imagine what you would do if you were in South Africa and a lion happened along. I am guessing, you would run. I know I would, a giraffe would, as would most other animals. That is what the Ecology of Fear is all about. Now guess what predator is scarier than a lion.  Liana’s research can give you this answer and you may be surprised.

Liana’s research has been featured in several documentaries including “Nature’s Fear Factor”, “Animal Espionage”, “Spying on Animals”, and “Cat Crazed”.

Liana received her BSc in Psychology from the University of Toronto and an MSc in Biology from Queen’s University. After that, she did her PhD in Australia where she conducted research on forest fragmentation and their effects on birds. This was followed by a Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of British Columbia and then a faculty position at Western University. Liana’s research takes her to many places in the world where she works on a variety of amazing animals from birds and bears in Canada, cougars in California, wolves in Poland, marsupials in Australia, to wildlife in Eswatini and South Africa.

Runners up from our writing contest, JGC members Assunta and Saumya, will share their stories with us. We’ll also talk about World Giraffe Week celebrations and the exhibit that recently opened, Giraffe I A Heightened Experience.

We look forward to seeing all of your smiling faces on Saturday, June 22nd at 11am EDT (Toronto/Canada)!

Not a member of the Junior Giraffe Club? Join today and enjoy this together with us!

Our guest speaker will be DR. PAUL ROSE, zoo biologist and lecturer in animal behaviour, zoo animal management and conservation biology. Paul is a lecturer in the Psychology Department at the University of Exeter where he specialises in animal behaviour. He also works for conservation organisation, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), where his remit is animal welfare operations and research. Paul teaches zoo animal management and welfare at MSc level for Sparsholt College Hampshire and as a member of Defra’s Zoos Expert Committee, Paul writes and reviews policy pertaining to zoo operations and licensing for the UK Government.

Paul is a member of the IUCN Flamingo Specialist Group and the IUCN SSC Giraffe & Okapi Specialist Group. He is involved in various zoo committees and working groups in the BIAZA, EAZA and AZA regions.

Paul completed his first piece of in-zoo research in 2002 and has been professionally involved in zoo animal behaviour and welfare in an academic and practitioner capacity since 2006. He published his first book “The behavioural biology of zoo animals” in 2022 and is currently working on a new text that focusses on zoo animal welfare. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. Paul’s research predominantly focusses on behaviour and welfare, and evidence for zoo husbandry, as well as exploring the value of zoos to society and their wider importance to human wellbeing and connection to nature.  

We’ll also read some of the stories from our writing contest! See you on Saturday, May 11th, 2024 at 11am EDT (Toronto/Canada).

Hello, Everyone!

We have two special guest speakers this month, photographer Patricia Homonylo and zoo veterinarian Chris McKinney, which we know you will enjoy!

We’ll honour our fearless leader, Dr. Anne Innis Dagg (1933-2024) and celebrate her amazing life. Join us as we come together as a group to learn, laugh and share.

PATRICIA HOMONYLO is a photographer and filmmaker based in Toronto, Ontario. Through her photography and filmmaking, she is determined to speak for the most vulnerable animals and give agency to the causes which drive her.

 She will do whatever it takes to bring a concept to fruition, so when she was called to advocate for wildlife conservation, it was natural for her to pick up a camera and add to her portfolio of skills. She has used her photographic and filmmaking talents to assist many animal and conservation efforts: The Mad Dog Initiative (Madagascar), Hope for Wildlife, Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Trumpeter Swan Restoration, Great Lakes Cormorants, FLAP and many more.

She has just completed the award-winning film, WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE for FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program) Canada.

Patricia achieved her BA in art history (University of Toronto), her BFA from the Ontario College of Art and Design, and her MFA (Concordia University, Montreal). While building her fine art career in the alternative gallery system, Patricia returned to Toronto and entered the Film Industry. Along with her active film career, Patricia persisted with her artistic life exhibiting, teaching and studying. Most recently, Patricia graduated from the Documentary Film Institute (Seneca College, Toronto).

Today, Patricia is a contributing member to Creatives for Conservation and WeAnimals.org. 

https://www.patriciahomonylophoto.com/

CHRIS MCKINNEY, DVM is the veterinarian for the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY.  Before deciding he wanted to be a veterinarian, Dr. McKinney pursued a degree in zoology with plans to become a zookeeper. After a zoo keeping internship that involved working with the veterinarian he learned that he really enjoyed that aspect of caring for animals and started on the pre-veterinary track in addition to zoology.

After veterinary school at the University of Minnesota, Dr. McKinney moved to Binghamton, NY to work at an animal hospital caring for dogs, cats, exotic pets, wild animals, and worked on zoo animals at the Binghamton Zoo. He returned to school at Tuft’s University and obtained a Master’s degree in Conservation Medicine studying White Nose Syndrome in bats. After this, he continued to work with pets and wildlife and assisted at the Buffalo Zoo and Seneca Park Zoo. After 12 years as a veterinarian, he was then lucky enough to be hired as the full time veterinarian for the Seneca Park Zoo. At Seneca Park Zoo, Dr. McKinney oversees the health of all the animals from the small lizards and rodents to the elephants and giraffes. He also gets to assist the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation with local wildlife conservation projects.

Not a member of the Junior Giraffe Club? Join today and enjoy this together with us!

Do animals have emotions? Dogs certainly show emotion when their owners come home. Are giraffes happy when they see a family member? Or sad when they lose a friend? Comparative wildlife biologist, Dr. Fred Bercovitch, will explore this intriguing topic. 

Also, we’ll watch JGC member Noah’s interview with Jimmy Sanders, a zookeeper at the Taronga Zoo in Australia. And JGC member Mariana will teach us how to make a giraffe out of materials we can find around the house.

Join us on Saturday, March 16th at 11am EDT (Toronto/Canada). 

We are very excited to have JOE MWAKIREMBA speak with the club! Joe works for OCEAN SOLE, a social enterprise that upcycles washed up flip-flops found along the beaches and waterways in Kenya. The flip-flops are turned into colourful works of art, which raises visual awareness of the pollution problem at hand. Ocean Sole aims to recycle a million flip flops a year, recycle over one tonne of styrofoam a month, and save over five hundred trees a year by using flip-flops instead of wood. OCEAN SOLE provides steady income to nearly 100 low-income Kenyans and 10-15% of their revenue goes to beach cleanups, vocational and educational programmes as well as conservation efforts.

We’ll learn how Junior Giraffe Club member, Noah, made an original work of art that features giraffes, and more!

Happy New Year, everyone! To kick off 2024, we are so pleased to have award-winning author ANITA SANCHEZ join us and read from her book, Save the Giraffes. Ms. Sanchez writes books on environmental science and nature for children and adults, including Meltdown and The Forest in the Sea. She is fascinated by plants and animals nobody loves: dandelions, poison ivy, tarantulas. And she loves to explore the under-appreciated wild places of the world, from glaciers to mud puddles.

We’ll also learn a few words in Swahili from JGC Facilitator Veila Makundi, chat about a fun giraffe video and announce our latest contest!! See you on January 20th!

ROB LAIDLAW has spent more than 40 years working to protect animals of all kinds in Canada and around the world. He is a Chartered Biologist, founder of the wildlife protection organization Zoocheck and in 2014 was awarded the prestigious Frederic A. McGrand Lifetime Achievement Award for substantial contributions to animal welfare in Canada. His work has resulted in changes to laws, regulations and policies throughout Canada. He is also a multi award-winning author of 11 children’s books about animal welfare and wildlife protection, including Bat Citizens, Saving the Ninjas of the Night, No Shelter Here, Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs, 5 Elephants and Wild Animals in Captivity, that are published in many countries, as well as numerous articles, reports, book chapters and other materials. He has spoken to hundreds of audiences of all ages throughout the world and appeared in a broad range of media stories and documentary films.

Fun fact: Rob wrote the forward to Anne’s non-fiction children’s book, 5 Giraffes! 

Junior Giraffe Club facilitator and giraffe enthusiast, Rieka Kanai, will talk about origami and show us how she makes an origami giraffe. When Rieka helps out with the Anne Innis Dagg Foundation’s special events she makes sooooo many giraffes! She has created a video that will be provided after the meeting so that YOU can make your very own, origami giraffe.

Junior Giraffe Club member, Aglaia, will tell us about a bracelet company she likes that supports wildlife conservation.

This month we’ll chat with Wendy Hapgood about her work saving wild spaces as co-founder of Wild Tomorrow. We’ll also learn about Dr. Dale Smith’s career as a veterinarian and professor, teaching in Zimbabwe, Uganda, Rwanda and Canada.

WENDY HAPGOOD is the co-founder of Wild Tomorrow, a wildlife conservation charity based both in NYC and South Africa, working to save and restore threatened habitat for wildlife. Wild Tomorrow is creating a wildlife corridor to connect wild space on South Africa’s “Elephant Coast” for the benefit of many threatened African animals including elephants, rhinos, and of course giraffe!

Wendy left her corporate banking career to instead dedicate her life to the protection of nature and the environment. It was the urgency of climate change that first propelled her to quit her job in 2015, complete a Masters Degree in Sustainability Management at Columbia University, and launch Wild Tomorrow together with her husband John Steward.

Wendy also teaches Sustainability Management at Columbia University, where she is helping to inspire the next generation of stewards for our planet. 

DR. DALE SMITH is a Canadian veterinarian who has spent her career working with all sorts of different animals. She started veterinary school with the intention of going into regular practice with dogs, cats, and maybe horses, but somewhere along the line she decided that something more exotic was in the plans!

After completing veterinary school, Dr. Smith spent four years doing specialized training in pathology (the study of disease) and looking after animals at the Toronto Zoo. When she finished she packed her bag and she and her husband moved to Zimbabwe in Africa. She taught veterinary medicine there for two years, and then the two of them spent a full year driving up through Africa in a Landrover and seeing wildlife in many countries.

Dr. Smith finally ended up full circle back at the University of Guelph in Canada teaching veterinary students at the Ontario Veterinary College all about animals that weren't dogs, cats, or farm animals and helping to train them to work with wildlife, exotic pets, and zoo animals.

Dr. Smith has travelled back to Africa a number of times to help teach a course on capture of wildlife in Zimbabwe and to assist with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project in Uganda and Rwanda.

She is now retired and living in Guelph, but still keeps involved with her students and with programs in Africa.

Welcome back, everyone! This month, we are excited to have two returning guest speakers.  

JASON POOTOOLAL
Zoologist, conservationist

Jason Pootoolal was the very FIRST guest speaker for the Junior Giraffe Club back in February 2021 - his enthusiasm and knowledge about giraffes was exactly what we had hoped for! Jason is a zoologist and conservationist from Ontario, Canada. He has worked in the management and care of animals for over 20 years and has been an active participant in conservation-focused research for over a decade. Although he has worked with nearly every animal species, he found his true passion is working with ungulates. Jason has dedicated his career to advancing the care of giraffes in human partnership and protecting wild giraffes and the ecosystem they share with so many unique people, plants and animals.

MONICA BOND
Wildlife biologist, biodiversity activist, author

We are so happy to have Monica back to speak to the club again! Last time, Monica shared her journey to become a wildlife biologist and told us about her work as a principal scientist for Wild Nature Institute. This time, Monica will be reading from her latest children’s book, Helping Brother Rhinocerous (Spoiler alert: there is a giraffe in the story!). Monica has been an animal lover for as long as she can remember. She became particularly interested in biology in high school, and discovered the world of wildlife science in college, after visiting a friend who was studying nesting of Peregrine Falcons in Great Smokey Mountains National Park. She loves to mix field research with writing and talking about the beauty and importance of wildlife and nature. She has lived and worked in Tanzania for 12 years, studying giraffes and promoting education and conservation of savanna wildlife.

Get ready for another fantastic get together with our special guest speaker ANTON BAOTIC and presentations from our JGC members and volunteers. This is our last get together before the summer break so we’ve filled it with lots of fun and facts!   

”Hi, I’m Anton! I’m a biologist and animal researcher, and spent the last twelve years successfully managing and leading international zoo and wildlife research. My core areas of expertise are bioacoustics, animal behavior, and animal cognition. My research interests primarily focus on vocal production mechanisms and acoustic communication in mammals, with an emphasis on determining the information content and biological importance of vocalizations. 

I’ve always had a love and passion for nature and wildlife, and I knew from a young age that I’d have to pursue a career and surround myself with things that make me happy and feel complete, even if it meant overcoming obstacles and going the extra mile. Until now, I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world, collaborate with numerous partners on common aims, and, most importantly, work scientifically with exotic animals in zoos and the wild. All of these experiences moulded me into the person I am today.

I am a biologist, scientist, conservation enthusiast, entrepreneur, innovator, and adventurer, and I’m proud of it.”

This month, we’re looking forward to talking with special guest speakers Jenna Stacy-Dawes and Fred Bercovitch.

JENNA STACY-DAWES serves San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance as a Researcher in Population Sustainability. Her research focuses on using socio-ecological methods to further understand and conserve reticulated giraffe populations in Kenya alongside a local research team, the Twiga Walinzi.

With her background in community-based conservation, spatial ecology, and geographic information systems, she is helping develop study methods for monitoring giraffe populations in northern Kenya. Jenna’s primary focus is coordinating and managing the day-to-day operations of the Twiga Walinzi Initiative in northern Kenya as well as designing and implementing research methods to better understand and conserve these endangered populations.

Jenna earned her bachelor’s degree in Zoology from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, her master’s degree in Biology through the University of Miami’s Advanced Inquiry Program, and a master’s degree in Environmental Geographic Information Science through Unity College. Jenna also serves as a member of the IUCN SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group. 

FRED BERCOVITCH is a comparative wildlife biologist, who has studied animal behavior, ecology, genetics, physiology, conservation, anatomy, and evolution.  He earned his Ph.D. from UCLA based upon a two-year study of the reproductive behavior of baboons in Kenya.  He studied giraffes at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, as well as in Zambia, Tanzania, and South Africa.  In addition to studying baboons and giraffes in the wild, he has studied African elephants in Botswana, koalas in Australia, snow monkeys in Japan, and rhesus monkeys in Puerto Rico.  When not working, Fred thrives on hiking, backpacking, traveling, reading, sports, politics, and the news. 

As well, JGC member, CLARE, will challenge us on our giraffe facts with a Quizziz and JGC member, AGLAIA, will fill us in on giraffe news.

Join us on Saturday, May 13th @ 11am (EDT)!

Get ready for another fascinating club get together! This month, we’ll be talking with special guest speakers, Tanya Sanerib and Anita Sanchez.

Tanya Sanerib is a Senior Attorney and International Legal Director at the Center for Biological Diversity, working to protect vulnerable species and biological diversity worldwide. Before joining the Center, she was a staff attorney with the Crag Law Center in Portland, Ore., and a partner at the public-interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks in Washington, D.C. Ms. Sanerib earned her law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School and received a bachelor’s in environmental science from Colorado College. We’ll learn all about what Ms. Sanerib is doing to help save giraffes.

Award-winning author Anita Sanchez will join us and read from her recently published book, Save the Giraffes. Ms. Sanchez writes books on environmental science and nature for children and adults, including Meltdown and The Forest in the Sea. She is fascinated by plants and animals nobody loves: dandelions, poison ivy, tarantulas. And she loves to explore the under-appreciated wild places of the world, from glaciers to mud puddles.

JGC member, Mariana, will show us how to make a DIY giraffe craft and JGC member, Aglaia, has created a fun giraffe quiz for us to do.

Join us on Saturday, April 15th (EST)!

Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, M.D., is a cardiologist and evolutionary biologist on the faculty of Harvard and UCLA. She received her B.A. and Master’s degrees at Harvard and her medical degree at UC San Francisco. For twenty years she practiced cardiology – taking care of patients with heart attacks – until zoos asked her to help out. Now she studies wild animals – their behavior and their bodies – to better understand and improve human health. In her books Zoobiquity and Wildhood Dr. Natterson-Horowitz explores health, illness and what it means to become an adult across species.

So, how can studying giraffe health benefit human health? We’ll find out when we chat with Dr. Natterson-Horowitz!  

Also, Kaitlyn Taylor, a Junior Giraffe Club facilitator, is currently in South Africa pursuing her Masters degree in Wildlife Science at the University of the Free State. Her research is focusing on how human sounds impact giraffe behaviour and if giraffes can become habituated to these noises. She will be talking about what it’s like to be a graduate student working with giraffes and her experiences so far (we can’t wait!). Originally from Mississauga, Ontario, Kaitlyn graduated from West Liberty University in West Virginia double majoring in Zoo Science and Applied Conservation, and Environmental Stewardship and Education.

 Join us for another fantastic get together with the Junior Giraffe Club! See you soon!

We are so excited to have George Lohay, PhD talk with us about his work collecting DNA from wild giraffes in Tanzania, how it is analyzed and what kind of information is learned from it.

George is a post-doctoral research scholar at Pennsylvania State University and works in partnership with Wild Nature Institute to develop techniques to non-invasively collect DNA from giraffe dung for a variety of genetic studies, including establishing pedigrees for giraffe in the Tarangire Ecosystem, and understanding historical and current gene flow across giraffe populations in Tanzania.

He has more than 10 years of research experience – he worked as a research assistant for the Serengeti Lion Project, conducted research on African Savanna elephants and Masai giraffes. He received a BA in Philosophy from Uganda Martyrs University, a BSc in Wildlife Science and Conservation from the University of Dar es Salaam, and a PhD in Biology from Pennsylvania State University. He hails from Singida in central Tanzania.

And, Samantha Beal, a Junior Giraffe Club facilitator, will also be talking about collecting DNA. Samantha was born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario and from an early age was drawn to oceanic animals. She moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to do an undergraduate degree in marine biology and is currently working on her Masters degree at Dalhousie University. In this degree, she is working on developing environmental DNA tools to detect the endangered Atlantic Whitefish in their natural habitat.

 See you on Saturday, February 11th!

We’re kicking off the new year with two special guests!

Author Karlin Gray will be reading her recently published book Anne and Her Tower of Giraffes. Growing up Karlin lived in 13 homes (three in Japan) and attended eight schools because of her family’s Navy life. She is the author of the picture books Nadia: The Girl Who Couldn’t Sit Still, An Extraordinary Ordinary Moth, Serena: The Littlest Sister and a graphic novel coming out this year. Nowadays, when she’s not writing, she shares her favourite biographies for kids at her TrueStory Bookshop and on TikTok.

Huntir Bass, is a third-year Mathematics PhD student at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, who found a way to bring together her love for giraffes and mathematics into her master’s thesis. She conducted research over mathematically modeling giraffe population dynamics. By incorporating mathematical reasoning and principles, she determined some conditions needed for giraffe populations to increase by modeling their population behaviors. Huntir received her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics while playing Division I volleyball from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Join us as we continue to learn more about different ways in which people are helping giraffes!

We are happy to welcome Kin Morandi as our special guest this month! Joining us from Ticino, Switzerland, Kin will talk with us about the research paper she recently completed on Masai giraffes (part of Wild Nature Institute’s Seeing Spots project). We will also learn more about Kin and her academic journey.

Kin was born 25 years ago in Ticino, the Italian speaking area of Switzerland. She grew up surrounded by dogs, cats and horses – which is where her love for animals began. She studied biology at the University of Zürich, with a particular focus on zoology, animal behaviour and conservation. In 2019 she had the wonderful opportunity to travel to South Africa and volunteer in a research center for big African cats. She fell in love with Africa and its fauna. When she went back to Switzerland, after an internship at the Zoo Zürich, she started her MSc in animal behaviour and behavioural ecology on the project about Masai giraffes. She submitted her Master thesis in 2021, and since then she has been traveling around Switzerland doing various internships for different zoological aspects, and is hoping to go back to Africa.

Anne & Mary just arrived back from their trip to Australia, Japan and Korea, where they visited schools and zoos, and talked about giraffe conservation. They met lots of wonderful people and learned so much along the way, which they will tell us about at the meeting.

Although this will be our last get together for 2022, we have an exciting 2023 to look forward to with many wonderful guests to learn from! We’ll provide a sneak peek at the meeting.

Join us for another fantastic Junior Giraffe Club get together!

Our special guest this month is Hope Swinimer. Born and raised in Argyle, Nova Scotia, she spent most of her time outdoors as a child enjoying everything the natural world had to offer. She knew that she wanted to work with animals in some capacity.

As a manager at Dartmouth Veterinary Hospital in 1995, she took in her first rehab animal – a robin that had been attacked by a cat. Later that year she became certified in Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation from the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Association. This was the beginning of something wonderful!

The Hope for Wildlife organization now takes in over 7,000 wild animals into its care each year. Thousands of visitors are welcomed to its facilities for guided tours, hundreds of offsite educational presentations are given to community and school groups, and a wide range of data is collected from animals treated at its rehabilitation centre.

Plus, we’ll check out some FASCINATING giraffe facts with JGC facilitator Shannon Rutherford. Her enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge is infectious!  

See you there!

JGC members have an exciting opportunity to draw a giraffe, guided by nature sketch artist Sue Macartney (with special thanks to the Bateman Foundation). This unique drawing session, inspired by renowned artist and naturalist, Robert Bateman’s, “Young Giraffe” painting, is sure to be a hit!

After the session, members can email their drawings to Mary Dagg, so that they can be featured as part of a special fundraiser for the Anne Innis Dagg Foundation. The beautiful drawings that are created will be used on notecards and will be sold over the holiday season. 

Welcome back everyone! We hope you had a wonderful summer. We can’t wait to see you all again!

To kick off the 2022/23 season, we’ll hear from:

JGC member, Aglaia, recently interviewed a giraffe enthusiast and retired teacher from New York. Irene has collected so many giraffe items that she has a Guinness World Record certificate to prove it!

We’ll get an update on JGC members Rebecca and Rachel’s Classroom Africa fundraiser featuring Marlyn the giraffe. Marlyn was made with repurposed materials and is 16 feet tall! It was built to bring attention to giraffe conservation and to fundraise for environmental clubs at rural primary schools in Tanzania near Tsavo Park, which is a hotbed for giraffe poaching.  

And, of course, we’ll learn more AMAZING giraffe facts, talk about our pen pal program in Tanzania and more!

We’re looking forward to a wonderful year ahead. Long live giraffes!!

Giraffe Week is just around the corner and we couldn’t be more excited!! In preparation for World Giraffe Week (June 20-24th, 2022), we have a great get together in store for you!  

We are very pleased to welcome Amy Phelps, Vice President of Animal Care at the San Francisco Zoo. She has more than 25 years of experience working with giraffes! Amy holds a special place in Anne’s heart as she was instrumental in bringing Anne back into the giraffe and conservation community and spearheading the award recognition Anne received in 2010. We are looking forward to learning about her career and asking her all about…giraffes!

We’ll also chat with Justin Mouledous, a student at the University of Oregon, about his studies and his LOVE of giraffes!

Don’t forget! Submissions to the World Giraffe Week drawing contest at Save the Giraffes must be sent in by May 31st, 2022. Winning submissions will be included as part of World Giraffe Week celebrations.

And, for those who live in the Toronto (Ontario, Canada) area, please join Dr. Anne Innis Dagg, her daughter Mary and other JGC members on Sunday June 19th, at the Toronto Zoo’s giraffe enclosure to kick off the upcoming World Giraffe Week!

Learn how to draw a giraffe with Cheryl Suitor! Cheryl is a recently retired elementary art teacher and a studio artist who teaches beginner painting classes at local venues in Berryville, Virginia (USA). Her love of the outdoors inspired her to paint a series of endangered animals to raise awareness of the need to protect our most vulnerable and majestic species. You can see her most recent works by visiting Strokes for Folks on Facebook.

Also, Lynette Hart will tell us what flehmen behaviour is, her research about it and how it relates to giraffes. Lynette is a Professor of Anthrozoology and Animal Behavior at UC Davis (University of California, USA), School of Veterinary Medicine, where she spearheads anthrozoology on campus, teaches courses, leads research, and mentors students on human-animal interactions and animal behaviour.

Join us for another fascinating Junior Giraffe Club with Cheryl and Lynette - see you there!

We’re excited to meet Matumaini, the new giraffe baby, at the Toronto Zoo in a special video. Matumaini, which means “hope” in Swahili, is Amani Innis Dagg’s brother. A big thank you to zookeeper Amy Gerditschke and the Toronto Zoo for this special opportunity. The Toronto Zoo is located in Ontario, Canada. Anne and Mary will talk about Anne’s research in South Africa to investigate what giraffes eat. And we’ll meet Cheryl Suitor, an artist and retired elementary school art teacher from Virginia, USA, who will tell us what we’ll need to prepare for May’s meeting when she will teach us how to draw a giraffe.

Photo: Matumaini, Toronto Zoo YouTube video.

James was born and raised in Singida, Tanzania. He went to the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and completed a bachelor of science degree in Wildlife Science and Conservation. He joined Wild Nature Institute in October 2017 as a volunteer for their education program before being hired as the Education Program Coordinator. He is currently organizing and conducting giraffe photographic data. He is the leader of team Twiga Team Alpha, WNI’s first all-Tanzanian research group. We are excited to have James join our get together! You can count on Giraffologist Anne Innis Dagg to be at the meeting and her daughter, Mary Dagg, is our fantastic host. See you there!

Amy Gerditschke, zookeeper at the Toronto Zoo, will talk to us about her work with giraffes Mstari, Kiko and Amani. We will also learn about Giraffe Fun Day, which took place in Tanzania at Esilalei Primary School. JGC Facilitator Veila Makundi helped with the WNI hosted community event. And Shannon Rutherford will wow us with another giraffe fun fact - you can bet it will be interesting and entertaining! Giraffologist Dr. Anne Innis Dagg is excited to attend each and every meeting and we always look forward to having her daughter, Mary Dagg, as the host. See you there!