PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Your trips to the airport are about to become much more exciting.
Starting Thursday, Jan. 19, ticketed airline passengers at the Philadelphia International Airport can see animals from the Philadelphia Zoo, like Camila, the three-banded armadillo, between terminals B and C, thanks to the traveling zoo program.
In 2019, the Philadelphia Zoo partnered with the airport to start the program. However, a few months later, the program came to a halt because of the pandemic.
Now that it's back, Dani Hogan, director of mission integration at the zoo, says the goal of the monthly program is not only to promote the zoo, but to draw awareness to animal species in the wild and what we all can do in the name of conservation.
"We encourage them to make sure that they are responsibly purchasing items that were grown in rainforest areas and that includes everything from paper and wood products to coffee to even fruits and vegetables that we eat," Hogan said.
"Responsible consumerism is a huge part of conservation. And even though these are micro-decisions that we make every day, if you change just a few of them, it has a massive impact on the planet."
Hogan said they have a number of animals, like tortoises, lizards and a prehensile-tailed skink. She added the animal line-up will rotate, but zoo staffers will bring one mammal, a reptile and some insects.
Birds will not be a part of the entourage for now, as the avian flu remains a concern.
"We do hope to bring birds back to the airport eventually, but unfortunately right now, we are dealing with a different kind of pandemic: the highly pathogenic avian influenza," said Hogan, "so our birds are not leaving the zoo at this time, but in the future, if we are able to do that safely, we will also be bringing some birds."
She feels the program is a great opportunity for them to tell the story of the mission of the zoo and connect with people who otherwise would probably just be checking their phones constantly.
"Most of the animals that we are bringing with us have some sort of conservation story and this is a great opportunity for us to share that with people because so many people are not just running by and saying hello, they are actually coming by, sitting down with us, spending sometimes 30 to 45 minutes, just listening to us talk and watching the animals," she said.
