The zoo has an educational mission. We want to educate you all about the beauty and diversity of nature. However, we would also like to show you that this beauty and diversity is in danger and that each of us can do something to protect nature. How do we carry out this educational work? This is easy to do at our local zoo, because the assortment is wide: signs and exhibitions encourage reading. During tours, animal presentations or workshops, our team shares knowledge in direct contact. In addition, our volunteers are available throughout the zoo at information desks to answer questions.
But how do we contact people who are not currently in the zoo? Our work with the media plays an important role here. It also has a broad base because we want to reach as many stakeholders as possible – whether young or old, digital or analog. There must be something for everyone. Again, this column is a great way to let you know about content that is important to the zoo. If reading the newspaper is part of your Sunday ritual for you, then you are just like me. Classical media such as newspapers, radio or television give us good opportunities to do justice to our educational mission. But social media is also becoming increasingly important to us. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that more and more people use social networks more and more often, and some even exclusively. On the other hand, social networks give us the opportunity to report topics from the zoo in a short time, almost live and directly.
For these reasons, we have recently expanded our social media activities. Anyone who follows us on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin or Tiktok has probably noticed this. Our animal advocates and our PR team have great ideas on how to get the zoo’s message out to the public. For example, Instagram currently has an advent calendar that has an exciting zoo story behind every advent door. The additional information we post on these channels has an impact. Recently we were able to reach 50’000. Say hello to followers on Instagram. This is a great success because in this way we can get our messages across to more and more people.
We have even been active on Tiktok for a while, although most of us, myself included, are probably too old for this new format. However, this medium is being used by teenagers who (unfortunately) are getting less and less information from traditional media such as newspapers. This way we can also get to them. For all its presence in analogue and digital media, there is nothing more effective than the direct experience of our animals. When you see animals in their almost natural habitat, it creates incredible intimacy and enthusiasm in people. Only then are you ready to support animals and nature. True to our motto: “Those who know animals will protect animals.”