Mainstreet Daily News
Imagine coming to the zoo and visiting an animal you named. That experience will become a reality for someone at the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo.
On Aug. 24 of last year, the first blonde, white-handed baby gibbon was born at the zoo to parents, Cajun and Eddie. As the college community celebrates his first birthday, the zoo wants help giving him a name.
The SF Teaching Zoo began an online auction for naming rights Tuesday, and it will run through Sept. 10. The highest bidder will submit name recommendations for the baby gibbon. The winner will also receive a gift package that includes four tickets to the zoo, a gibbon painting and an item from the gift shop, according to a Santa Fe press release.
The zoo plans to use the raised funds to directly support care to the animals, improvements to primate enclosures, and education and conservation efforts to ensure a future for wildlife. It costs around $2,000 to feed the gibbon family annually, $2,500 to support their medical care by from the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, and $1,500 for habitat maintenance and enrichment, according to Santa Fe College.
If you’d like to see the gibbon’s personality firsthand before placing a bid, you may visit the zoo daily from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. No appointments are necessary. Although the SF Teaching Zoo is open for guests to walk around the zoo on their own, guided tours can be scheduled in advance.
Bidders can access the auction online. The minimum bid is $250 and bids are available in $5 increments. Upon completion of the auction, the winner will be emailed a link to make payment through the Santa Fe College Foundation and not the auction site. If the highest bidder does not respond within seven calendar days, the second highest bidder will receive the opportunity to donate and submit names.
The Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo staff reserves the right to refuse any name submitted and ask for additional suggestions.
If you have any questions, contact zoo@sfcollege.edu.