Zoo View - Fall 2023

MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES

Karen Bass

COUNCILMEMBER, FOURTH DISTRICT

Nithya Raman

LOS ANGELES ZOO COMMISSION

Karen B. Winnick, President Bernardo Silva, Vice President

Mark Gonzalez

Daryl Smith

Elnie Vannatim

Richard Lichtenstein, Ex-Officio Member

LOS ANGELES ZOO ADMINISTRATION

Denise M. Verret, Chief Executive Officer & Zoo

Director

Mei Kwan, Deputy Director

Beth Schaefer, Director of Animal Programs

Dr. Dominique Keller, Director of Animal Wellness Programs

Dan Keeffe, Director of Learning and Engagement

John Goodwin, Acting Construction and Maintenance Supervisor

Dr. Jake Owens, Director of Conservation

Carol Armstrong, Ph.D., Director of Sustainability and Capital Programs

Max Pulsinelli, Chief Communications Officer

GLAZA OFFICERS

Erika Aronson Stern, Chair

Rob Ellis, Vice Chair

Phyllis Kupferstein, Secretary

Matthew Wilson, Treasurer

Dawn Petersen-Amend, Interim GLAZA President

GLAZA TRUSTEES

Courtney Appell, Michael Armstrong, Alma

Banuelos, Shainaz Donnelly Burg, Esther Chao, Vivian Chow, Malissia R. Clinton, Marlyn Day, Wendy M. Denham, Brian Diamond, Rob Ellis, Justin Enbody, Sam Enoch, Heather Evans, Alfred Fraijo, Jr., Gregory D. Fuss, Cassidy Horn, Randy Hua, Tyler K. Kelley, Anthony Kitchener, Richard Lichtenstein, Alan G. Lowy, Patricia

Liu McKenna, Steve O’Connell, Beth Price, Marc

L. Sallus, Patricia Silver, Slash, Jay Sonbolian, Madeline Joyce Taft, Franco Terango, Ellia M. Thompson, Laura Z. Wasserman, Jennifer

Thornton Wieland, Matthew Wilson, Grant Withers

TRUSTEES EMERITI

Lloyd Levitin, Mrs. John F. Maher, Thomas R. Tellefsen

GLAZA ADMINISTRATION

Sara Rodriguez, VP, Operations and Events

Janet Dial, VP, Institutional Advancement

Rob Woolley, Associate VP, Advancement

Lisa Correa, Director of Membership

Kirin Daugharty, Director of Volunteer Programs

Eric Happe, Director of Finance

ZOO VIEW (ISSN 0276-3303) is published quarterly by the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association as a benefit to members.

For information about membership, visit www.lazoo.org/membership

Copyright © 2023 Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents of this publication without written permission is prohibited.

Periodical postage paid at Los Angeles, CA.

POSTMASTER send address changes to: ZOO VIEW, 5333 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027-1498

BIRTHS &

What’s in a Name?

This spotted thick-knee chick hatched at the Zoo in July. The species is named for its speckled plumage and the enlarged joints at the midpoint of its legs. But as with flamingos, what looks like this bird’s knees are actually its ankles.

Photo by JAMIE PHAM

HATCHINGS

FALL 2023 VOLUME LVII // NUMBER 3

THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF THE GREATER LOS ANGELES ZOO ASSOCIATION

EDITOR

Brenda Scott Royce

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Autumn Hilden

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Janet Dial, Dan Keeffe, Dr. Dominique Keller, Mei Kwan, Emily Marrin, Dr. Jake Owens, Max Pulsinelli, Beth Schaefer, Denise M. Verret

PHOTO EDITOR & PHOTOGRAPHER

Jamie Pham

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Lisa Brink, The Brink Creative

PRINTING

LithoGraphix

PROOFREADERS

Michele Goodman, Laura Parada

ON THE COVER

Rapunzel is one of seven western lowland gorillas who reside at the Los Angeles Zoo. Sweet and nurturing, she is often the mediator when there is tension in the group.

Photo by: Jamie Pham

LET’S BE SOCIAL

Follow us @LAZoo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TheLosAngelesZoo on YouTube. Share your memories and photos on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook using #LAZoo

ZOO BRIEFS

4 ZOO HEROES HONORED

4 OUR VISION AND MISSION

5 ZOO ON THE MOVE

5 MOVING FORWARD DEPARTMENTS

6 ZOO-M IN Members’ photo gallery

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

15 WHERE CREDIT IS DUE California Credit Union

FEATURES

8

ALL IN FOR APES

The way the Los Angeles Zoo cares for gorillas—and their wild counterparts—has evolved in exciting ways.

11

BUILDING BRIDGES

The L.A. Zoo teams with GRACE Gorillas and others to create a key biodiversity corridor for gorillas while also uplifting local communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

14 PIP, PIP, HOORAY!

The Zoo’s Paid Internship Program opens doors to conservation careers for students from historically underrepresented communities.

Zoo Heroes Honored

In June, the Beastly Ball—our largest fundraising event—raised more than $1.6 million, an impressive total that came close to breaking our all-time record. The after-hours event honored GLAZA trustee Diann H. Kim, who has dedicated the last 12 years to helping shape the future of the Zoo. The late Tom LaBonge, the largerthan-life L.A. City Councilmember who represented the Zoo’s district for 14 years, was posthumously awarded the Betty White Conservation Hero Award in recognition of his unwavering support of the Zoo and Griffith Park. Funds raised by the Ball support the Zoo’s conservation and education efforts.

OUR VISION AND MISSION

IN JULY 2023, THE LOS ANGELES ZOO UNVEILED new mission and vision statements, the result of lengthy, strategic conversations among various stakeholders. The new statements reflect the Zoo’s core values, its commitment to conservation, and its evolving role in the communities of Los Angeles.

VISION: Creating a just and sustainable world where people and wildlife thrive, together.

MISSION: Through the passion of our team, the Los Angeles Zoo is leading the way in saving wildlife and connecting Angelenos to the natural world by providing exemplary animal care, delivering distinctive and diverse learning opportunities, and creating unforgettable experiences.

Saving Wildlife. Enriching Our Communities. Creating Connections to Nature.

LEFT: Beastly Ball honoree Diann H. Kim, former GLAZA President Tom Jacobson, Zoo Director & CEO Denise Verret, and Brigid LaBonge, wife of the late Tom LaBonge.

Zoo On the Move

Over the course of nine weeks, the Zoo’s Learning & Engagement (L&E) outreach team visited 34 libraries throughout Los Angeles. The branches visited were primarily located in neighborhoods designated by the County’s Parks Needs Assessment study as having high or very high park needs. Through a combination of story time, nature-themed crafts, and outdoor activities, the program introduced library patrons to the Zoo’s history and mission—and encouraged them to spend time exploring nature.

“As a kid I spent most of my summers in libraries, so it was really special to return and spend this summer with the next generation of learners,” says instructor Laura Frost. “Our team was welcomed and respected at every library we visited, and we made such incredible connections.”

Nearly 1,200 library patrons participated this summer, and the program is expected to continue next year. “I’m excited to see how the relationship between the Zoo and the Los Angeles Public Library develops, and grateful to have been a part of it this year,” says Frost. “I’d also like to give a shout out to L&E Curator Renae Cotero, who planned and coordinated this program and accompanied me to all the libraries. She really reads a great story and plays excellent music in the ZooMobile. We love us some Dolly Parton!”

MOVING FORWARD

IN AUGUST, THE L.A. CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY

APPROVED the Revised Final Environmental Impact Report and the certification of the Los Angeles Zoo’s Vision Plan Alternative 1.5: The California-Focused Conservation Alternative. The plan increases space dedicated solely to animals and their welfare by 162% and preserves the majority of native trees on the Zoo’s undeveloped land. It accomplishes both these objectives with zero expansion into Griffith Park. We are grateful to our members for supporting the Vision Plan and excited for the ways it will enable us to better serve wildlife and our communities.

LEARN MORE www.lazoo.org/ about/visionplaneir

LET’S BE SOCIAL!

FOLLOW @LAZoo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TheLosAngelesZoo on YouTube

SHARE your memories and photos on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook using #LAZoo

Practice Makes Perfect

Samir Shahin is no stranger to the Zoo. He and his wife became GLAZA members 17 years ago, when their children were young. This year, he began taking solo outings with the sole purpose of practicing animal photogra phy. A family practice physician, Shahin was preparing to take his family on a dream vacation—a South African safari. “I did not want to be figuring out how to use the camera when a cheetah is posing for me,” he explains. Sichuan takin Sochi provided a great opportunity for Shahin to test out his Sony A7R5. “She looked so wild, with the flowing body hair coming down, and the huge hooves. Then she turned and looked straight at me. We connected and felt each other’s presence.”

LEFT PAGE

The Sichuan takin’s thick, shaggy coat is an adaptation to the harsh winters of its native habitat, China’s Sichuan province. Both sexes have large, upward-curving horns. Photo

RIGHT PAGE

by SAMIR SHAHIN

ZOO-M

SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS

To be considered for inclusion in future installments of Zoom-In, submit your best images taken at the L.A. Zoo. No more than two images per member per month, please. Include your name in the file name for each photograph (e.g., Giraffe-John Smith). Do not send images that include people unless you will be able to provide a signed release from all parties pictured in the event your photo is selected for publication. If there’s a special story behind the photo, let us know!

SUBMIT PHOTOS BY EMAIL photos@lazoo.org

MEMBER PHOTO GALLERY

GORILLAS ON THE LINE

You can help gorillas by recycling small electronic devices in the green mailbox-style bin at the bachelor gorilla habitat. Proceeds support gorilla conservation.

255 CELL PHONES

17 TABLETS

8 MP3 PLAYERS

6 DIGITAL CAMERAS

Devices collected at the Zoo so far in 2023:

All in for Apes

by BETH SCHAEFER Director of Animal Programs

The Los Angeles Zoo has cared for gorillas since its earliest days. In fact, our first resident gorilla arrived in 1965—ahead of the 1966 opening in our current location. Aside from 2003–2007, when the gorilla habitat was being remodeled, our guests have always had the opportunity to see these fascinating apes firsthand. But the way we care for these apes—and their wild counterparts—has evolved in exciting ways.

s a zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), we participate fully in species sustainability programs. In the 1990s, the Gorilla Species Survival Program (SSP) began encouraging all zoos housing gorillas to plan on holding both a harem group and a bachelor group. (A harem consists of a silverback, adult females, and their offspring, while a bachelor group is made up of two or more males. Both these social structures

Aoccur naturally in the wild.)

Prior to the construction of Campo Gorilla Reserve, the Zoo housed a single harem group. After the remodel, the Zoo was also able to have a bachelor group. This is not only important for the sustainability of gorillas in AZA zoos, but also gives us the opportunity to talk about an important stage in the life of male gorillas. As young male gorillas begin to mature, they are encouraged by the silverback to leave the group. Living in a bachelor troop (rather than alone) allows a young male to learn important social skills, such as conflict resolution, which will help them become a successful leader of their own group one day. Our current gorilla troops are dynamic—

and so much fun to watch. Three-year-old Angela keeps adults Kelly (dad), N’djia (mom), and Rapunzel (auntie) on their toes. In the bachelor group, the addition of teenaged HJ has certainly made for rambunctious play among the trio, which also includes half-brothers Hasani and Jabari.

In 2013, I was given the life-changing opportunity to join the crew of the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center, located in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as the cochair of the GRACE Animal Care and Welfare Advisory Group. GRACE was born from the desire of the Congolese people to have a facility that could house and rehabilitate Grauer’s

Gorilla Conservation

gorillas. Endemic to the DRC, Grauer’s are the largest of the four gorilla subspecies. GRACE now houses 14 Grauer’s gorillas, all of them orphaned due to illegal hunting and wildlife trafficking.

We are proud to say that every employee of GRACE at the facility in the DRC is Congolese—and many of them are women in positions historically held by men. We are equally proud to say that AZA zoos have supported the DRC team, sharing the skills we have developed from caring for gorillas in zoos. This support has allowed GRACE to form a world-class animal care team. GRACE was the first great ape sanctuary in all of Africa to receive accreditation from the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS).

In addition to helping the gorillas in their own care, the team at GRACE is now sought after by other sanctuaries in the DRC for their expertise and ability to teach their colleagues what they know. This has greatly enhanced the welfare of gorillas, chimpanzees, and other primates throughout the country.

Everything we do at the Los Angeles Zoo connects to community and conservation. When it comes to gorillas, we are all in, and GRACE’s motto, “A Future for Gorillas, Built on Community,” couldn’t be more inspirational. When I started at the L.A. Zoo, I would talk about GRACE to anyone who would listen. Word spread, and now multiple divisions within our Zoo community have leant their expertise in a variety of ways. Animal Care has trialed tracking bracelets on our gorillas to see how they might work for gorillas in Africa; Learning & Engagement hosted a virtual exchange with students in Los Angeles participating in the same games and activities as kids in North Kivu; CEO & Zoo Director Denise Verret contributes her leadership, knowledge, and passion for this project by serving on the GRACE board of directors; our Conservation Division is supporting the formation of a corridor to connect gorilla habitats in the DRC (see story on page 11); and Zoo View editor, Brenda Scott Royce,

has published a children’s book featuring our very own Angela and GRACE’s youngest gorilla, Lulingu.

Members of the GRACE staff joined us in September for World Gorilla Day celebrations at the Zoo, engaging with members and visitors throughout the weekend, and joining a panel discussion about gorilla conservation. There are also opportunities for our guests to support GRACE through cell phone recycling year-round.

It is very gratifying to see how much GRACE has touched so many people, and how the sphere of influence continues to grow community and contribute to the future of gorillas.

GET TO KNOW OUR GORILLAS

The Los Angeles Zoo is home to seven western lowland gorillas, living in two groups. Visit our online gorilla gallery to view their portraits and bios: lazoo.org/OurGorillas

GORILLA GALLERY

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Angela with parents N’djia and Kelly; Angela tumbling in her habitat; Hasani, the silverback of the bachelor group; Angela with Rapunzel.

Photos by: JAMIE PHAM

Building Bridges

by TOMMI WOLFE Executive Director, GRACE

have always been captivated by NASA images of the Congo Basin from space. A vast, lush expanse of green forest washing broadly across the equator in the otherwise arid continent of Africa, promising life in abundance. Getting a close-up view from the ground, nature delivers in the wildest and most wonderful ways. It is even more entrancing. Here you will find expansive forests, iconic wildlife, soaring volcanoes, rushing rivers, and a rich cultural history, all surrounded by birdsong.

As executive director of GRACE Gorillas, it is beyond rewarding for me to lead a conservation nonprofit in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our extraordinary location is a global biodiversity hotspot in the lushest, greenest part of this expanse I have admired all my life. These towering primary tropical forests are home to many endangered yet beloved species— forest elephants, Grauer’s gorillas, okapis, pangolins, chimpanzees, and more.

GRACE Gorillas is building a communityled conservation success story where protected forest habitats in DR Congo are home to healthy populations of wild Grauer’s gorillas and the thriving human

communities that care for them. Every single day, GRACE Gorillas staff feel the honor and wonder of being tasked with helping conserve this extraordinary place, and specifically its iconic Grauer’s gorillas.

As our world faces the mounting threats of climate change, and the future of so many species is uncertain, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment and location in our planet’s history. The Congo Basin holds 7 percent of Earth’s carbon. Often called “the lungs of Africa,” its tropical forests are critical to limiting global temperature increase to <1.5° Celsius (scientists believe an increase greater than 1.5 degrees will likely trigger irreversible climate impacts).

The gorillas we have long strived to protect require habitat. It follows that when you protect a gorilla, you must also protect their forest home. In order to do this, you have to support the local communities who share and manage these important forests. You might say a gorilla is an emblem for all that needs health and healing on our planet: biodiversity, climate, and humanity.

As GRACE Gorillas finds ourselves at the forefront of our planet’s most critical conservation opportunities, we feel compelled to take bold action. I would like to share one such action we are undertaking, in partnership with the L.A. Zoo, Rainforest Trust, and others. It is an exciting gorilla habitat expansion initiative called the Usala Conservation Corridor project.

CREATING A CORRIDOR

GRACE already works with local communities in Tayna Nature Reserve, a biodiversity hotspot and haven for Grauer’s gorillas. Our Congolese team, in partnership with the reserve’s locally elected management authority, La Réserve des Gorilles de Tayna, conducted the first complete great ape survey there in 2020–21 and has ongoing forest guardians monitoring gorillas and

A partnership between the L.A. Zoo, GRACE Gorillas, and others will create a key biodiversity corridor for gorillas while uplifting local communities.

Gorilla Conservation

other biodiversity. It is important work that benefits wildlife, forests, and local communities, and we are proud of it. But with westward population expansion pressing up against the eastern border of Tayna Nature Reserve, we need to ensure this biodiversity hotspot does not become isolated. We are therefore working to expand the protected area west of Tayna Nature Reserve for about 50 miles, connecting Tay-

Did You Know?

Indigenous peoples protect approximately 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity.

na to Maiko National Park. This will form a vast corridor of intact primary forest habitat for Grauer’s gorillas—and, of course, other forest dwellers like forest elephants, okapis, pangolins, chimpanzees, and more.

WHY WE LOVE THIS PROJECT

There are several things we love about this project:

We are delighted that the local forest

communities in the corridor area will receive permanent land rights to their tribal lands, in return for managing this area sustainably. These legal rights are critically important for these communities, who depend on the forest for their livelihoods.

The planned Usala Conservation Corridor and the Tayna Nature Reserve together form over half a million acres of key con-

In July, GRACE’s DR Congo Director and Congolese partners traveled to the remote village of Bukucha to meet with traditional leaders and community members of the Usala communities. The local community is highly motivated to look after their forests since they depend on them for food, water, medicine, fuel, and housing. Through the corridor project, communities will establish legal land rights in Usala, allowing them to own their forest homes. They will continue to manage their forests sustainably, as they’ve done for generations.

GRACE GORILLAS

GRACE GORILLAS

BOBBY NEPTUNE

servation area. This contributes substantially to efforts by the global community to conserve 30 percent of terrestrial and marine habitat by 2030. This 30x30 initiative has been agreed to by nearly 200 countries and became official U.S. policy in 2021.

We can protect this precious carbon sink and key habitat for iconic Grauer’s gorilla and forest elephant, both keystone

species for this biodiverse area. The corridor will ensure free movement of species between Maiko National Park and Tayna Nature Reserve.

The project will help uplift and empower local communities. In addition to helping them secure land rights, we will further work with them to implement appropriate upliftment initiatives. Conservation work

opportunities are highly valued in the area, since all forest guardians and members of management structures will be hired from the local communities.

The area is incredibly remote, with no roads. As a result, the forests are well preserved and beautiful. Acting now will ensure that the forests stay this way for generations to come.

COMMUNITY IS KEY

Community-led conservation is at the core of everything GRACE Gorillas does. The world needs these forests to stay intact. The profound question, perfected by our partners Health in Harmony, is, “What do the communities need from the world, in order to keep their forests safe?” This question informs how we work with communities.

CORRIDOR SITE

GRACE Gorillas and the L.A. Zoo are working to connect community-managed Tayna Nature Reserve to Maiko National Park, some 50 miles to the west. This will form an important conservation corridor and preserve Grauer’s gorilla habitat in a biodiversity hotspot. Note the population-related deforestation threat approaching from the east (shown in yellow).

Major funders include:

USALA CORRIDOR

SIZE OF LOS ANGELES (TO SCALE)

Protected Lands Usala Corridor Tree Cover Deforestation (2000-2020)

Pip, Pip, Hooray!

story and photos by ANN CARA ILEAN SHICK

Do you know which animal’s keeper plays Taylor Swift before the Zoo opens in the morning? How about which flavor of ice cream is the best at the Sweet Treats stand?

The 2023 Paid Internship Program (PIP) cohort taught me the answers to all these questions and more. The student interns became my friends and the focus of my communication internship between the L.A. Zoo and the Wrigley Institute Environmental Communications Internship. I feel honored to know such hardworking and passionate people.

The PIP interns (or “PIP-terns” as they’re affectionately called at the Zoo) must be

over 18, residents of the City of Los Angeles, students, and identify with a community that’s been historically underrepresented in the zoo and conservation field. Out of nearly 250 applicants, the 10-week program welcomed 20 interns into the Conservation and Learning & Engagement divisions.

Conservation PIP-terns work to uphold current conservation efforts as well as complete and present a scientific study of native wildlife on the Zoo campus. Learning & Engagement interns communicate with visitors about the Zoo’s work through activities like condor spotting and creating nature journals.

For Natalie Jeronimo-Goytia, “This internship helped me learn what I want to do with my degree.” She never wanted to take her opportunity to receive a higher education for granted, as one of her parents came to the United States with no formal education. As a Learning & Engagement intern, her passion for scholarship easily translated into a love of teaching. She especially enjoyed showing visitors the California condors through binoculars and explaining their conservation stories. One of her favorite memories was when she helped a child view a condor and he exclaimed, “It’s bald!”

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

Less than 9 percent of internships offered by organizations accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) are paid, according to Rachel Helfing, the L.A. Zoo’s Curator of Equity Initiatives. For those without the financial ability to take an unpaid internship, PIP is a gateway to accessibility in zoo-related fields. Many of the PIP-terns have limited experience but have a passion for their fields. The Zoo aims to nurture this dedication, while also teaching them the skills they need.

W hen looking at scientists, “you usually don’t see a lot of people who look like me,” says conservation intern Victor Rodriguez. He has always known he wanted to work in nature but did not see himself as a conservationist. After this summer, he knew he belonged at the Zoo.

In August, this year’s cohort of PIP-terns gave their final presentations in the Zoo’s Witherbee Auditorium, using humor and emotion to demonstrate what they’d learned and experienced. Several members of the 2022 cohort came to support their successors. Returner Anthony Insinilla explained that PIP changed his life. He’d felt lost. Completing the internship gave him the confidence to pursue a science-related career. Today, he feels “like a family member here at the Zoo.”

The Paid Internship Program has just begun to bloom. The opportunities to network and learn may have changed lives and career trajectories, but this unique opportunity to connect with like-minded people is also cultivating lifelong bonds.

California Credit Union

Where Credit Is Due

by BRENDA SCOTT ROYCE

A FIELD TRIP TO THE ZOO CAN BE TRANSFORMATIONAL, changing the way a child thinks about the world and their place in it. For many students, such a trip is a cherished rite of passage. For others, it is just out of reach. As part of its official sponsorship of the Los Angeles Zoo, California Credit Union (CCU) is helping to bridge that gap.

CCU recently hosted 79 students from Walnut Park Elementary for a day of fun and learning at the Zoo. “It’s an underresourced school,” says CCU President & CEO Steve O’Connell, who has served on GLAZA’s board of trustees since 2019. “They don’t have budgets to provide for this type of educational outing.”

An L.A. native, O’Connell fondly recalls his own field trips

to the Zoo as a child, experiences that contributed to his current interest in wildlife conservation. Making those opportunities available to others is part of what drives the relationship between CCU and the Zoo.

Another is the value both organizations place on volunteerism. “Volunteering is part of the fabric of our DNA,” O’Connell says. “We help in the communities we serve.”

As the corporate sponsor of the volunteer program, CCU funds volunteer and docent uniforms, educational materials, a scholarship program for student volunteers, an annual volunteer recognition event, and more. At a corporate volunteer day in April, about a dozen CCU employees helped out in the Zoo’s edible enrichment garden.

Playing a role in the daily life of the Zoo fosters a sense of engagement and pride among CCU employees, O’Connell explains.

Founded by a Los Angeles teacher in 1933, CCU has spent the last 90 years serving and investing in Los Angeles communities, educators, and youth. Since signing on as the official credit union of the Los Angeles Zoo early this year, CCU has sponsored two of our major fundraising events, the Beastly Ball and Walk for the Wild. CCU members also benefit from this relationship, with discounted tickets and promotional offers.

Partnering with the Zoo is a natural fit, O’Connell says. “It allows us to serve all of Los Angeles. Not just teachers, but everyone who walks in and out of the Zoo.”

GLAZA is proud to recognize California Credit Union as the official credit union of the L.A. Zoo. For more information about California Credit Union, visit ccu.com. To learn about sponsorship opportunities at the Zoo, visit lazoo.org/sponsorship.

JAMIE PHAM

Meet two young gorillas— one in Los Angeles, the other in Africa—and learn how they’ve inspired people around the world to care about gorillas and their future. It’s a story filled with love, laughter, heartbreak, and happiness.