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Birds like white-crested laughing thrushes and monkeys such as golden lion
                                                              tamarins add to Tropic World's exciting atmosphere.

discovering their lifestyles and habitats. Older children     scientists hope to reintroduce kingfishers to their native
discover how primates use their tail for balance and          habitat. We are proud of our 71 hatchings as part of our
investigate primate family units. More than 1,700             participation in the Guam Kingfisher Species Survival Plan.
children took part in Primate Connections in 2016.
                                                              In One Year in One Exhibit...
   Teachers also benefit from Tropic World educational
resources, earning credits while creating lesson plans about  Classrooms explored primate rain-forest habitats. Teenagers
primates. Course work is offered in alternate years, and in   learned data-collection skills and shared knowledge about
2015, 30 teachers participated in the three-credit course.    animals with guests. Teachers discovered exciting ways to
                                                              teach science. A healthy baby orangutan was born to a species
Birds in the Wings                                            perilously in danger, while his foster “brother” was successfully
                                                              adopted. Designers, writers, and interpreters created new signs
Most guests are familiar with Tropic World primates,          to share up-to-date information. Enrichment experts engineered
but many other animals live there, among them                 intellectually stimulating activities for the animals. Nutritionists
lots of birds. Over the years, we have added birds to         tweaked diets to be more natural. Habitats were cleaned and
the exhibit to create a more natural, multisensory            stocked. Veterinarians forged new knowledge in the care of the
experience for our guests and animal residents. In            animals. And 24 hours a day, seven days a week, compassionate
2016, we introduced red-cheeked cordon bleu finches.          zoo professionals devoted their time to managing the care
Today, Tropic World is home to 17 bird species.               of the hundreds of residents of Tropic World. █

   Behind the scenes, an aviary and a breeding facility
are helping bolster populations of many species, including
critically endangered Guam kingfishers, a species that
would be lost without zoo breeding programs. Soon,

34 GATEWAYS | ANNUAL IMPACT REVIEW
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