Take A Wild Animal To Work Day!

A South American male Tegu

Meet the SeaWorld Busch Gardens animal ambassadors! 

In May, the animals made an appearance in Washington, D.C. to hobnob with partners, NGOs, and contestants during the National Geographic Bee.

Virginia Busch of the SeaWorld Busch Gardens Conservation Fund

After the Bee, the animals and their trainers headed across the street where they were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd in the lobby of the Defenders of Wildlife building.

Used to the publicity and excited crowds, the ambassadors took the meet-and-greet in their stride.

One ambassador, Katrina, an American alligator, is a survivor of Hurricane Katrina, having also lost her home when the 2005 storm hit. 

An American alligator named Katrina

She was subsequently picked up by locals intending to care for her as a pet, but then rescued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before finding a new home at one of the SeaWorld Busch Gardens parks.

Other ambassadors on hand included a tegu, a type of monitor lizard native to South America; a wallaby, a small marsupial native to Australia and New Zealand; a boa constrictor; and a Magellan penguin, native to South America. 

Ambassador penguin

Wildlife Alliance would like to thank SeaWorld Busch Gardens for their commitment to wildlife conservation and environmental education initiatives, and for their continued support of our conservation programs.

To learn more about SeaWorld Busch Gardens, visit http://www.seaworld.org/.  

Ambassador wallaby, a small marsupial

To support your own Wildlife Alliance ambassador, visit our Sponsor an Animal donation page!