Residents and visitors to our beautiful city are invited to join the Joburg Zoo as it celebrates 114 years in March 2018. The birthday celebrations will be marked by a variety of exciting daily activities in the zoo throughout the month. This is meant to promote the accessibility of the zoo to all the diverse people of our beautiful city.
All visitors celebrating their birthday in March will enjoy free access to the zoo. A day at the Zoo includes among others an exciting daily programme of viewing animals during their enrichment interactions with the curators and during feeding times.
To mark March as a special month, the Joburg Zoo will also host a carnival themed birthday party, on 11 March where visitors are encouraged to dress up in costumes of their favourite furry friends, and to participate in the monthly #ZooTrot while enjoying a piece of the gigantic birthday cake to mark the 114th birthday celebrations.
The birthday celebration events are also a way of encouraging residents to get involved in protecting the welfare of animals. Some of the ways residents can make the birthday extra special among others are by:
• Visiting the zoo with the entire family. All gate takings go towards the caring and feeding of animals. The zoo also caters for all age groups;
• Joining a #HeritageTour to see how the zoo has evolved over the 114 years;
• Bringing along a treat for the animals to mark the #ZooBirthdayWish;
• Encouraging corporates to #AdoptAnimals;
• Respecting the animals and protecting the environment by refraining from littering in the Zoo; and
• Engaging with the #JoburgZoo on its social media platforms to showcase #FamilyFun while contributing to conservation education.
In addition, an action-packed #EarthHour is planned for 24 March where visitors can wear their glow in the dark costumes and join in the fun to increase awareness of the importance of conservation, to nurture a sustainable planet.
Entrance to the zoo is R80 for adults and R50 for children, with R55 for the Zoo Trot commencing at 08:00 on 11 March and R200 per person for #EarthHour from 17:00 on 24 March. #EarthHour at the Zoo will include a nocturnal experience under the stars.
I am urging residents to participate in nature conservation and animal husbandry by visiting the Zoo.
The zoo is one of the ways that the City raises revenue for the upkeep of our manmade jungle, which offers fun and entertainment for the whole family. The management and staff at the zoo have worked tirelessly to make the zoo one of the best attractions that Joburg has to offer.
The zoo now boasts a restaurant “The Stages” – which is a collaboration with Joburg City Theatres, a one stop party shop that caters for all ages in the zoo, and educational tours that attract people from all over. The zoo is also among the few zoos globally that offer the #Big Five encounter.
Added to this, the zoo is centrally located within the city, and is easily accessible even by public transport. Motorists have also been catered for through the recent launch of the extended parkade that can take up to 700 cars.
I wish to see large numbers of people including tourists flocking to what is becoming one of the major tourists attractions not only in Joburg, but in South Africa as a whole.
Issued by
Councillor Nonhlanhla Sifumba
MMC for Community Development
City of Joburg
Media enquiries can be directed to:
Jenny Moodley
Spokesperson: Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo
T: 011 712-6615/082 8030 748
E: jmoodley@jhbcityparks.com
W: www.jhbcityparks.com
