#GivingZOOday, in partnership with #GivingTuesday, is about the impact zoos and aquariums have on their communities by engaging visitors to be stewards of the environment and saving species from extinction. It's also about how these institutions give back by mentoring their staff and volunteers to support a wide range of causes. This year, we would like to ask you to reach into your hearts and help the Racine Zoo make a difference.
Racine Zoo provides more than 300 animals with exceptional care each and every day. We are held to the "gold standard" in the zoological community, recently earning our accreditation by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. Just like you, our animals need to eat and have dentist visits! As a nonprofit, the price tag is steep for the special care our animals require.
In addition to animal care, we strive to provide a unique and wholesome conservation education experience and the opportunity to develop a deep appreciation and respect for our natural world. Whether it's through preschool classes, summer camp, or a program with our animal ambassadors in Wildlife Theater, we have many opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to become connected and inspired.
Donors play a crucial role to keep our over 100-year-old zoo running. Through the generous support of the community, our zoo can continue to create new experiences and memories for guests for years to come.
After seeing a need for voluntary radiographs for some of our primates, our vet, management and primate teams worked together to design and build a voluntary radiograph platform. This allowed for our keepers to work on the right positioning of our spider monkeys and gibbon during the week. On vet round days, we were able to place the x-ray plate in the holder, and work on those trained behaviors to position the primates into the right spot. Robin, our white-handed gibbon, who historically is not always the most enthusiastic training participants, was able to stand in the right positions to allow for radiographs without the need for sedation. This also allowed the primates to voluntarily participate in their own health care!
On October 24, 2025, all of our animal care staff's hard work and dedication paid off when Kianga, our male Eastern Black Rhino, made his way to Milwaukee County Zoo. The Racine Zoo is an active member of the Species Survival Plan for Eastern Black Rhinos within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This year, the AZA's breeding recommendations suggested that Kianga be transferred to another AZA-accredited facility to reproduce with females housed at that location, and the Racine Zoo did just that. For weeks, our animal care staff prepared Kianga for his travel. They worked with him on crate training, voluntary medical exams, as well as worked with Timu, our female Eastern Black Rhino, to prepare for Kianga's departure. A lot of hard work and trust between both Kianga, Timu, and animal care staff went into the extremely successful transport. Kianga is now doing amazing at his new facility and we look forward to his future and hope that the breeding recommendation is fulfilled!
Born to mother, Promise, and father, Obi, Timotheus (zebra foal) was born under a recommendation of the Hartmann's Mountain Zebra Species Survival Plan. With Hartmann's Mountain zebras vulnerable in their native habitats in southern Africa, this foal is an important contribution to global conservation of this species. Continued training allowed for careful monitoring of Promise's condition as her due date approached. With Hartmann's Mountain zebras pregnancies being a full year in length, animal care staff had plenty of time to work and train with Promise to make her delivery as safe and smoothly as possible. Her successful delivery of a healthy baby boy was and is a testament to the hard work of our animal care specialists and medical teams who work with them every day. Timotheus is now full of personality, very adventurous and spunky. He is all boy through and through and knows just how to annoy his dad, but run right back to mom for safety! Animal care staff is also working tirelessly with him to start his voluntary training. We are now able to get him to practice target training and scale training. The Hartmann's Mountain zebra family, Promise, Obi, and Timotheus, are all happy, healthy, and doing amazing at the Racine Zoo.
The Racine Zoo is a member of the African Penguin Species Survival Program, wokring alongside other accredited AZA zoos and aquariums to ensure healthy African penguin populations in both zoos and in the wild. African penguins face threats from overfisihing, oil spills, loss of habitat, overexploitation for food, and climate. "The Racine Zoo has been diligently cultivating our African Penguin breeding programs over the years," Beth Heidorn, Executive Director of the Zoo said. "With the announcement of our new African Penguin chick in 2025, we are especially proud to be making a positive ling-term impact on African Penguin populations, especially as wild populations decline." In 2015, the Racine Zoo added four new African penguins to their exhibit in hopes that a larger, more robust colony would encourage breeding. The new chick has joined older siblings (in order) Kobe, Nelson, and Ozzy, all born at the Racine Zoo. Piper, our new chick has been doing amazing since her hatch date. She has a very sweet and loving perosnality, and loves swimming in her pool! She is one of a kind for sure.
The Zoo has been growing this year between both in animal populations, reconstructions, AND building updates! Between the new African penguin chick, the Hartmann's Mountain Zebra foal, the addition of Meerkats again, the addition of two new kangaroos, new ambassador animals who will be announced soon, the reconstruction of exhibits, updates in the castle, and so much more all possible because of YOU! Through fundraisers, events, grants, and your generous donations, we are able to update our Zoo to make it more enjoyable for guests of all ages, but most importantly, better for each of our animal residents. Each day our animal care staff works tirelessly day and night with our animals: training, vet visits, diet preparation, and everything in between. Our education teams work hard to bring the best possible experience to each and every one of you. The Racine Zoo is proud to have such a supportive community and we hope that you can find it in your hearts to continue supporting the Zoo and helping us grow!
The Zoo Afterschool Program, also known as ZAP, is celebrating its third year of funding for the 2025-2026 school year. ZAP is a free afterschool program at the LIFT schools within the Racine Unified School District where students from 4K up to 5th grade can meet an ambassador animal from the Zoo, do activities and crafts that relate to the animal they're meeting, and build empathy for all species of the planet. This program is made possible through funding from United Way of Racine County, who have supported the program for its entirety. Students have commented on how much they enjoy meeting the animals, and several students have said that the Zoo Program is their favorite! This program is now in its third year, serving over 100 students in RUSD, and continuing to make impacts with connecting to nature and building empathy for animals.
One of the Racine Zoo's most impactful education programs is COZI (Community Outreach Zoo Initiative). These programs bring the Education Team to different sites, with fun, free activities and crafts, as well as animal ambassadors for participants to meet and learn about. We select sites that serve people in the Racine community who may not have the financial stability or transportation to visit the Zoo on their own, so we bring the Zoo to them! This includes sites that have families living in shelters or individuals living with mental illness. Generous donors such as Women United of United Way of Racine County help fund these programs, as we visit each site once a month! Studies have shown that spending time around aniamls improves mental health, and participating in education Zoo programs like these, helps improve literacy rates. COZI had been a program at the Zoo since 2019, and many of the sites participate year after year. These programs continue to bring joy to the Racine community and spread the wonder of nature to all.
This year, the Racine Zoo began two community conservation projects with funding from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Party for the Plant Grant: Purple Martin monitoring and Monarch Butterfly tagging. With collaborators from SAFE: North American Songbirds and the Wisconsin Purple Martin Association, the Conservation Education Team installed two purple martin house stands on the south side of the Racine Zoo pond. These house stands, with twenty-four gourds, are a resting spot for migratory purple martin songbirds that spend their summers in the United States before flying to Brazil for the winter, Purple martins rely on human-provided housing, and the Racine Zoo lies along a major migration highway for the birds. By providing a safe place to raise chicks, we are contributing to songbird conservation on a local, national, and global scale. The same goes for monarch butterflies - an endangered species in the United States. The Zoo trained several volunteers on how to tag the insects safely, with the hope that deployed tags will be recovered at overwintering sites in Mexico. Recovered tags provide extremely valuable data to researchers that track the migration routes of monarchs. With the funding from Party for the Planet, the Racine Zoo is expanding our mission of conservation and community connection - something that will continue for years to come.
Support the specialized care we provide our animals and the conservation programs our community depends on. Make a gift that will keep Racine Zoo growing and thriving for generations to come!
Double the impact of your gift with a dollar-for-dollar matching challenge up to $5,000 provided by RUUD Family Foundation and $2,500 from Educators Credit Union. Thank you to these wonderful Zoo patrons!
In addition to specialized veterinary care, our animals need to eat! Our keepers craft specific diets for each animal to keep them healthy and strong. However, since the animals require food and vitamins every day just like you, the cost adds up quickly!
Donate online below or mail your donation check to the Racine Zoo at 200 Goold Street, Racine, WI 53402. All donations are tax deductible in accordance with the IRS Tax Code.
A sincerest thank you for your support from all of the animals and staff at the Racine Zoo.
