Free Talk by Polar Bears International president
May 12 (Monday), 6:30 p.m.
Zoofari Conference Center, 9715 W. Blue Mound Rd. (just east of the Zoo)
From his first glimpse of a live polar bear in its own habitat, Robert Buchanan was enraptured. That was 20 years ago in Manitoba, Canada. Today he is president of Polar Bears International, a group whose goal is to conserve the world’s polar bears through research and education. Buchanan will speak in Milwaukee as part of “The Year of the Polar Bear,” so declared by the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK). The Milwaukee County Zoo’s AAZK chapter, the Zoo and Polar Bears International are sponsoring his free talk.
The Year of the Polar Bear features programs at about nine zoos throughout the country “to raise awareness of the problems that polar bears face in a changing Arctic.” Other programs at the Milwaukee County Zoo: 1) Starting Memorial Day weekend, at 3 p.m. daily, an Animals in Action talk at the seal and polar bear exhibits will focus on conservation. 2) At the May 31-June 1 Conservation Weekend, sponsored by American Transmission Company, AAZK will have a polar-bear information booth. 3) Oct. 4 will be Polar Bear Awareness Day at the Zoo. 4) December will feature a polar bear birthday party. Other activities will be announced later.
