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Join us on Thursday, January 9th at 7:00 PM at the Rosenberg Civic Center for our monthly program, “Understanding Ambassador Animal Behavior" featuring presenters from The Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center. To truly make lasting impacts on conservation, the general public must feel connected to the natural world and understand that each living organism plays a role in the great web of life. Working at a Wildlife Center can make this goal much easier to obtain through the introduction of ambassador animals. The stories and mere existence of these non-releasable wild animals can be enough to inspire understanding of even the most feared animals. Many facilities with ambassador animals, including ourselves in the past, have believed that allowing physical contact between ambassadors and the public to be the best way to foster this sense of understanding, but new research and the dispositions of our ambassadors have led us to a new strategy for ambassador introductions. By putting the welfare of our animals first, our Center has created a way for implementing no-touch policies without taking away from the guest's experience! Our ambassadors have never been happier and healthier, and we hope to see other institutions adopt similar practices to put their animals' comfort and safety before anything else.About Our Presenters:
Emily Essa has been an avid animal lover since birth! While studying Zoology at Texas A&M, Emily gained experience working with all sorts of wild and exotic animals ranging from a serval, zebra, lemur, and kangaroo. After graduating from A&M in 2020, Emily was offered an internship at Saint Francis Wolf Sanctuary in Navasota where they gained experience caring for and training wolves and wolfdogs. Emily has been with the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center as the Lead Educator since 2022 and has personally seen many of the positive changes made to the ambassador program!
Sierra Merritt has been working in the animal care field since 2020, specializing in the training of both exotic and native wildlife through positive reinforcement techniques. She is also experienced in enhancing husbandry practices for animals in human care. Over the course of her career, Sierra has worked with a diverse range of species, from reptiles and birds to tigers. She currently works with the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center as the Education Animal Coordinator, where she is responsible for training and caring for the center's collection of native animal ambassadors.
Coastal Prairie Chapter programs are free and open to the public. A virtual option is available (see below). This program will be held in-person at the Rosenberg Civic Center, 3825 TX-36, Rosenberg, TX 77471. Please plan to arrive at our new time of 6:00 pm for social time and refreshments. The program starts at 7 pm.
Chapter members and the public may also attend via Zoom. Advance registration is required for attendance by Zoom. Check back for the link as we get closer to the meeting date.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Rosenberg Civic Center, 3825 1st St, Rosenberg, TX 77471-9117, United States,Rosenberg, Texas
