FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Maple the groundhog, a new addition at Fresno Chaffee Zoo following a raid on her former home in Oregon, is now joining the zoo’s ambassador program, helping teach the community about animals, their habitats and conservation efforts to protect them.
“We take them sometimes off-site to schools, or events,” said Animal Outreach and Wellbeing Curator Ronnie Kerestus. “But we mainly do a lot of on-site encounters.”
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Other members of the zoo’s ambassador program have included Empanada the porcupine, Wallace the tortoise and PJ the armadillo. The newest member, Maple, was acquired following a four-day operation at a roadside zoo in Oregon.
During that operation, Oregon State Police say over 300 animals were rescued and relocated to accredited or permitted animal sanctuaries. One of those sanctuaries just happened to be the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited Fresno Chaffee Zoo…