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Annual Appeal

This year has brought many visitors to the Zoo with lots of smiles. We have enjoyed spending time with our guests and teaching them about animals and conservation. We have quite a few new faces around the Zoo of the human and animal kind and want to introduce you.

So you know who makes our Zoo run smoothly, these are our staff:
Zoo Director Leonora Dillon oversees all zoo operations.

Zoo Curator Chuck Eicholz oversees the daily operation of the Zoo. He ensures the zoo grounds and exhibits are properly prepared and ensures they are presentable.

Zoo Registrar Jessica O’Neill maintains appropriate institutional records and maintains essential licenses and permits.

Our Keepers, Cheyanne Storm, Brinkley Rayne, Hannah Buchek and Adrienne Liszkiewicz, prepare food for animals daily, clean and disinfect exhibits, as well as develop and implement behavioral enrichment. As needed, they may participate in internal committees or working groups to benefit the zoo.

Dr. Tameeka Williams, our veterinarian, is responsible for providing and overseeing quality health and medical services to maximize care for the entire animal collection. Ally Wright, our veterinarian technician, supports the vet in overseeing the operation and maintenance of the hospital. She assists in managing the preventative medical program and medical records.

Vanessa Junkin, marketing and outreach manager, handles marketing for the zoo, including public relations with the community and donors.

Our office manager, Jamie Nichols, is responsible for assisting with accounts receivable, accounts payable and payroll.

Education Curator Mary Poudel manages all facets of the education department, including managing education staff, volunteers and docents. Our education technician, Catie Hamel, assists the education curator with animal care, conservation, and education. Groundskeeper Mark Gravenor maintains the grounds, landscaping and assists with facility maintenance of our zoo.

We are proud to introduce a few new animal faces at the Zoo. Bayou, a Linneaus’s two-toed sloth, arrived in April of 2022. Bayou’s mom, Buttercup, was pregnant with her when she left the Salisbury Zoo and was transported to the Audubon Zoo. Four days after arriving in Louisiana, Bayou was born! We were thrilled to have Bayou return after she was weaned from her mother.

As part of the Red Wolf Recovery Program, we received Bowie, a male wolf from North Carolina’s Alligator River project site.  This program works to conserve, protect and enhance the endangered red wolf. Efforts with captive populations will keep red wolves safe from extinction, but they continue to work to release populations back to the wild. Bowie is a companion for our female wolf, Shiloh. The Salisbury Zoo is honored to have partnered with USFW in this program, since 2007.

Our twin Andean bears were born in January 2022. Raymi and Inti are thriving with their mother, Chaska. We love the countless, positive comments received from the public on enjoying the opportunity to watch the twins via the live cam or in person. Inti and Raymi continue to grow and play together. As a midsize bear, Andean Bears are between four and six feet long and stand at two to three feet at the shoulder. Males are 30 to 50 percent larger than the females. It will be fun to see how big the boys get in comparison to Chaska and Pinocchio.

Bear 12

Bear 12

Something you have not seen at our zoo this year, but we hope you will be interested in seeing is a new Andean Bear Exhibit. We are in the beginning stages of plans for a state-of-the-art Andean Bear Exhibit. This exhibit will allow us many opportunities to advance the welfare of our Andean Bears.

We look forward to sharing more information regarding the Capital Campaign in the near future. In closing, we hope you will consider donating to our Annual Appeal so we can continue to make the Salisbury Zoo a place the whole community can enjoy.

Click here to print out the Annual Appeal donation form

OR donate online below

Thank you for your gift! The Salisbury Zoo Commission is a 501 (c) 3 organization. All contributions are fully tax-deductible in accordance with State and Federal Laws.

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