Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — Morning snowfall didn’t deter families from showing up to Rosamond Gifford Zoo minutes before it opened at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. A group of about 20 people stood shivering at the main entrance. When the doors were finally unlocked by the security guard, some kids let out a yell and rushed to be let in. Fifteen minutes after the doors had been opened, at least a dozen more families had passed through the admissions gates.
For the whole week, the zoo is hosting various activities because Syracuse City School District is on its winter recess. There’s also zoo-camp which kids are dropped off for in the morning for parents that have to work. On Tuesday, it was endangered species day, and because of the Australian bush fires, there was a focus on animals getting affected by it, including three species native to Australia the zoo housed.
For three weeks, Gifford Zoo has run a #Aid4Aus campaign that’s trying to raise money through selling t-shirts and sweatshirts. They can be bought online as well as at the zoo’s gift store. At an Association of Zoos & Aquariums conference, other zoos were exposed to these t-shirts and sweatshirts and also chose to pick it up. There are multiple other zoos also raising money for the Australia recovery efforts by selling them now.
Today’s Winter Break event at the zoo is Endangered Species Day. Come for our scavenger hunt & keeper chats focused on Australian species affected by the bushfires crisis. We have special events every day of Winter Break – see ’em at https://t.co/M11K5wRMSj. #bestdayever
— Rosamond Gifford Zoo (@SyracuseZoo) February 18, 2020
