Winter Weekends Offer More Animal Encounters

Looking for some activities to stay warm this winter? Join us at the Virginia Zoo for Winter Weekends. Every weekend in January and February, the Virginia Zoo will feature different scheduled encounters throughout the day. You can meet Animal Ambassadors, check out some cool biofacts with our educators, or learn amazing animal information directly from our Keeper team (be prepared with pressing questions about your favorite animals!) Schedules will be posted at the front of the Zoo when you walk in – look for our signs! The signs will also indicate whether or not a veterinary procedure will be happening and visible at the Animal Wellness Campus. Most procedures do take place during the week (Monday-Friday), but you might have the chance to catch one another time. We anticipate the following schedules for Winter Weekends, but please note that they may change due to staff availability:

Saturdays:

10 am – Educator Chat in World of Reptiles

10:45 am – Animal Ambassador Encounter – location TBD (check the sign in front)

11:30 am – Keeper Chat – in front of the Siamese crocodile habitat in World of Reptiles

1 pm – Animal Ambassador Encounter – location TBD (check the sign in front)

2 pm – Keeper Chat in the Tropical Conservatory of World of Reptiles

Sundays

10 am – Educator Chat in World of Reptiles

10:45 am – Animal Ambassador Encounter – location TBD (check the sign in front)

11:30 am – Keeper Chat – Giraffe viewing area

1 pm – Animal Ambassador Encounter – location TBD (check the sign in front)

2:30 pm – Keeper Chat at Tiger (pool side) in Asia Trail of the Tiger

Have you seen these signs around the Zoo before and not known what they mean? Here’s a quick guide to our guest engagement programs here at the Virginia Zoo:

Animal Ambassador Encounter/Animal Presentation: Join our Animal Ambassador Keepers and education team and meet one of our Animal Ambassadors. These are animals who come to Education programs to help teach our guests. Ambassadors can range from invertebrates (such as African giant millipedes or Madagascar hissing cockroaches), small mammals (such as armadillos or tenrecs), reptiles (a variety of snakes, lizards, and turtles/tortoises), amphibians (like salamanders), or birds (such as parrots or our toucan). Animal encounters last approximately 30 minutes and are drop-in – guests can come and go.

Animal Wellness Campus (or Veterinary Procedure): If you see this sign at the front with an animal species listed below, this indicates that a veterinary procedure is taking place at the Vet hospital on the Animal Wellness Campus. Come on down to see our amazing veterinary staff at work, chat with an educator to learn more, and even ask your questions directly to our vet team.

Educator Chat: These are scheduled chats with one of our educators. Educators will be present at the listed location for about 30 minutes and will be talking about our animals. These are drop-in chats – guests can come and go as they choose.

Keeper Chat: These are scheduled chats with our Keeper team. Keepers talk about their jobs, what it takes to take care of our animals, and specifics about our animals. This is a great chance to meet a Keeper and ask questions about our animals!

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