Zoo’s elephants invite you to birthday celebrations

On behalf of Auckland Zoo, elephants Kashin and Burma would like to invite everyone in Auckland to get along to their place on Sunday 17 November to celebrate the Zoo's 80th birthday.

And, not bashful about blowing their own trumpets, they'd also like to jog your memories about their own respective birthdays - Kashin will be 34, and Burma, 20.

Birthday cards are welcome. In fact children who make a card for these two excitable 'girls' (or any animals at the Zoo) and bring it in to the Zoo Visitor Centre will receive a treat!

Treats of every kind are the order of the day, which runs from 11am - 3pm. Kicking off the festivities at 11am will be Kashin and Burma with a special encounter at their enclosure with host, the irrepressible comedian Jan Maree.

Suzy Cato will be presenting a high-energy celebratory show at the Band Rotunda to mark the Zoo's milestone birthday, and there'll be entertainers all around the Zoo to surprise and delight, as well as lots of animal encounters.

"We want to celebrate all of the animals on this very special day, so we'll have all sorts of encounters for children and adults to experience," says Event Co-ordinator Ana Green.

Zoo director Stephen Standley says there are many reasons to celebrate Auckland Zoo.

"Auckland Zoo has undergone eighty years of evolution since it opened in 1922 and this has resulted in the spectacular naturalistic exhibits we see today. I am incredibly proud of the Zoo and the excellent work it does for conservation."

If you'd like a stunning and unique momento of Auckland Zoo, be sure to join Jan Maree and Life Sciences Manager Glen Holland at 2pm at the Band Rotunda. They'll be auctioning paintings done by Kashin and Burma. All proceeds from these paintings, done by these elephants as part of their behavourial enrichment programme, will go to the Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund.

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