Serious Business

“Fun on the outside, serious about animals on the inside.” We loved that sentence from the minute we first heard it from the creative director helping us design our new logo in 2015. “That’s us!” we said. And we’ve used it ever since to describe our personality and our culture.

But while we appreciate fun and light-heartedness, (and who doesn’t need that after the year we’ve all been through?), we realized that there is a time and place for us to talk seriously about why accredited zoos are important.

Some people love zoos, no reservations. Some people tell us zoos make them a little uneasy because they struggle with the thought of animals, not in their wild environments. Some people flat out dislike the concept of a zoo. We understand all of these reactions. Really. But we also realized that perhaps we had not been doing a very good job describing our reason for being, so here I am.

It’s our job as a modern zoo to provide the highest standard of care for the animals entrusted to us. It’s our mission to use our expertise in the care and breeding of endangered animals to save them from extinction. As a zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), we are part of the largest conservation movement on the planet. Through the AZA’s Species Survival Plans and Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) programs, we are working with partners in the field to advocate, educate and protect animals.

You will read about some of those contributions in this blog as we share our stories and I hope you will be proud of the impact Zoo Knoxville makes.

Here at home, we hold our role as a beloved community asset and cultural treasure very dear. We continue to delight our visitors when they visit the zoo, providing a perfect setting to share our passion for animals. We are an important education resource touching thousands of people with our wildlife conservation message in unique and interactive ways.

In closing, Zoo Knoxville works hard to be among the best zoos in the country and to be part of something bigger in wildlife conservation. But ultimately, we can’t do it alone. We need you to achieve our mission, as ambassadors, as constructive critics to help us improve, and as members and supporters. Because we all have to be zookeepers if we are going to succeed in saving wildlife and wild places.

Donate Here