
by Sandra Murphy
Teddy Bentley is a zookeeper at the Gunn Zoo in California. Each day she gets to feed and interact with the animals, especially the newest addition, Poonya, a red panda. What could be a better job? Well, a great job except when the sloth pooped on her uniform, and then there was the incident with the third graders and…Well, no job is perfect.

by Lorie Lewis Ham
In honor of Earth Day the Chaffee Zoo is having a Party for the Planet. We chatted with their marketing manager Brandy Gamoning about the event!

by Cynthia Chow
& Betty Webb
It’s not unusual for zookeeper Theodora Bentley to see the Pacific Ocean otters wielding an assortment of tools to crack open the shellfish they adore. Even seeing her favorite otter Maureen hauling around a cellphone doesn’t raise Theo’s eyebrows, as the mischievous furry swimmers have a habit of stealing and hoarding their favorite shell-cracking devices.

by Lorie Lewis Ham
KRL will be interviewing several local authors over the next several months and this week we are interviewing children’s book author Jean Chaffee, who is the wife of the late Dr. Paul Chaffee who was the Fresno Chaffee Zoo vet for 30 years and the zoo director for 25 years. The zoo was named in honor of him at his time of passing. Her books are based on fun, true stories about beloved zoo animals located at the Chaffee Zoo.

by Mallory Moad
It’s time for the holidays in the Central Valley, and lights are a big, big deal. You can’t drive down a street after dark without multi-colored bulbs guiding your way. They’re wild and crazy and they’re everywhere, on homes, businesses and in at least 4 night-time parades. But in Fresno you’ll find one collection of illuminated displays in a place that’s a little out of the ordinary.

by Cyntha Chow
As a zookeeper for the Gunn Zoo in Gunn Landing, California, Theodore “Teddy” Bentley knows better than to resist the orders of the zoo’s imperious owner, Isola. However, even Teddy is alarmed to find herself booked on the next day’s flight out to Iceland to spend a week there preparing the transfer of a polar bear cub back from the Reykjavik Zoo.

by Lorie Lewis Ham
If you are looking for more great events to take the kids to for Halloween, be sure to check out the 13th annual Zoo Boo at Fresno’s Chaffee Zoo. This is an event that kids of all ages can enjoy!

by Cheryl Senn
“He was cute and very interesting,” said Sophie Ramirez, about meeting a live Burrowing Owl, at the Sanger Library, during a recent visit from the Fresno Chaffee Zoomobile.

by Cynthia Chow
A major drug bust in Vancouver, Washington has law enforcement and Animal Control calling zookeeper Iris Oakley in for help removing the collection of animals being housed on the confiscated property. However, instead of pets Iris and her coworker Denny discover a massive collection of smuggled wildlife, including several parrots and numerous endangered tortoises.

by Sheryl Wall
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is the third movie about a lion named Alex (Ben Stiller) and his friends who in the previous movies broke out of the zoo and went to Africa. It starts out with Alex having a bad dream about all of them becoming old in Africa, which spurs him on to get back home to New York City to the Central Park Zoo which he finds himself homesick for.

by Tom Sims
Among the advantages of time and age is the capacity to view the world through the eyes of our children and grandchildren. Their eyes are fresh and newly awakened. All they see is through the unbiased view and unfiltered lens of one beholding wonder for the first time. Through their eyes, we can begin to see the world as children and it is a wonderful world indeed.