Our newest Greater Vancouver Zoo family members - Dozer and Sandy have been unveiled in our North American section. The zoo is now home to two American badgers, an endangered species in the province of British Columbia and we aim to educate our guests about the factors contributing to population decline of these curious little creatures.
Mission Protect The Badgers Begins
Badgers are carnivorous mammals that live in grasslands and dry forested areas. Few people have had the privilege of viewing badgers in the wild as they frequently relocate and are nocturnal mammals.
When developing the badger enclosure for the Greater Vancouver Zoo, our animal care team wanted to ensure Dozer and Sandy have an enclosure closely resembling their natural habitat, thereby encouraging natural behaviours. Wishbone, Langley based site furnishing supplier who make use of recycled plastic to create materials, generously supplied the wooden floors used for viewing the badger’s new home.
Meet The Burrowers
The new badger enclosure is located at the edge of the North American section of the zoo where you will find numerous natural rolling hills which provide the badgers with the required surface area to support and encourage their favourite activity, burrowing. The enclosure overlooks other North American species such as elk, deer and bison, giving the badgers a clear site of their familiar wild neighbours.
The Greater Vancouver Zoo is looking forward to helping conserve the population of this species while educating visitors to our zoo on the endangerment of this mammal and our ecosystem alike.
New Baby at the Zoo
Last March our Addax, Cactus and Seguara, gave birth to a healthy and happy baby boy, Hugh! Addax, which are also known as white or screwhorn antelope, are native to the desserts of North Africa.
Considered critically endangered by the IUCN Red List, addax are part of the Species Survival Plan. This program promotes the breeding of healthy offspring in CAZA accredited facilities - like the Greater Vancouver Zoo!
We are happy to welcome Hugh to the familly and to do our part in ensuring endangered animals, like addax, don't go extinct!
Snap & Win
BE HERE. Celebrate Father’s Day throughout June by spending your day at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Visit Dozer and Sandy at Enclosure 46 or Hugh, our baby addax, at Enclosure 2 and enter our Snap & Win competition for a chance to win a weekly cash giveaway of $100*. Here’s how you can get involved:
- Snap a photo with male family members at the badger or addax enclosure
- Upload to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
- Tag Greater Vancouver Zoo in the photo
- Use hashtag #BehereGVzoo
- Enter before June 30th
*Full contest rules
- CAD $100 is given to the best photo chosen. Photo must show that it was taken at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
- To claim the prize, GVZoo must be able to reach out to participant via their social media account.
- In order to receive the prize, winners must be willing to have their photo taken at the Zoo front gate for the purpose of sharing on social media.
- Judges decisions will be final.
- If there’s no entries for the week, prize will roll over to the next week.
- Winner agrees that photos and all rights to images submitted should belong to GVZoo for use in promotions.
- Maximum rolled over is CAD$100.
- Contest ends midnight on June 30th
