Celebrate Polar Bear Day At The Detroit Zoo

ROYAL OAK (WWJ) - The Detroit Zoological Society will host International Polar Bear Day 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, at the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak.

Free activities at the Arctic Ring of Life aim to help raise awareness of energy conservation and the effect it has on polar bear survival.

Boy Scouts from Greenwood School in St. Clair Shores plan to kick off the day's events with a tree-planting ceremony complete with polar bear enrichment exercises -- play time and special food games. There will also be zookeeper talks at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Other activities will include "green pledges" on a giving tree and light switch decorations with green messages to take home as a reminder to turn off the lights.

Also, the DZS is encouraging businesses, schools and families in the community to show their support of polar bear conservation on International Polar Bear Day, Monday, Feb. 27, by "bundling up for polar bears" in warm clothing and turning down their thermostats two degrees.

"Our hope is that the million-plus people who visit the Detroit Zoo each year leave here with a greater understanding of the issues facing polar bears and the realization that everyone can do something to help save the bears and their arctic habitat," said DZS Chief Life Sciences Officer Scott Carter.

The Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of 10 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696.

For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.