SANTA BARBARA– The Santa Barbara zoo will be holding court for all the young princesses on March 13th from 10am to 2 pm. Zoo members can get in an hour earlier. Snow white, Sleeping Beauty and even Cinderella will appear in person. There are special shows, photo opportunities, and games – all with princess-themes.
All activities are designed to draw attention to the crisis facing frogs and amphibian species around the world.
Costumes are encouraged. Frog kissing is optional. Pirates, knights, princes and other boys in costume are also welcome.
All events are free with Zoo admission: $12 for adults, $10 for children 2-12 and seniors 60+, and children under 2 free. Parking is $5.
What Do Crowns Have to Do with Frogs?
“Wear a crown, save a frog,” says Santa Barbara Zoo CEO Rich Block. “This is a great way to bring attention to the plight of the world’s amphibians. Conservation isn’t only for adults. Kids, even ones in shiny, pink princess dresses, can make a difference.”
Habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, combined with a rapidly spreading fungal disease, threaten up to one-third of the world’s amphibians with extinction.
While the major culprit has historically been habitat loss and degradation, many of the declines and extinctions previously referred to as “enigmatic” are now being attributed to the rapidly dispersing infectious fungal disease chytridiomycosis, which is causing population and species extinctions at an alarming rate.
Zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) are committed to ensuring the survival of all amphibian species and are already an active force in amphibian conservation. Their “Year of the Frog” in 2008 began a campaign that continues today, with AZA providing conservation and education resources, subsidizing financial support, managing a citizen science program, and maintaining partnerships with like-minded government and non-government agencies to raise awareness of the amphibian crisis and promote amphibian conservation.
For more information, visit the zoos
website.