(Salt Lake City, UT) – Check out some recent newspaper headlines: Wandering Cougar Captured in West Jordan, Cougar Causes Uproar in Utah Neighborhood, even Cougar Captured in West Jordan Backyard. Predators live near our homes and people need to learn co-exist with them! Join Utah’s Hogle Zoo for Predator Awareness Day Saturday June 21, 2008 from 10 am to 3 pm.

Hogle Zoo is teaming up with various local and national wildlife groups and agencies to help the public learn about predators, especially those found in Utah and the surrounding areas. Groups like USU Coyote Research, Nature Conservancy and SL County Animal Services will be on grounds answering questions and educating people about how they can co-exist with predators that might be in their own backyards.

As always, we will have many fun activities for kids to learn all about the predators we find in the wilderness close to our homes. Hogle Zoo staff will be on hand to answer questions about animals and present Meet-a-Keeper feeding demonstrations with many of the predatory animals found on Zoo grounds. There will also be opportunities to learn tips on how to avoid conflict while living in an area near predators.

For more information about Predator Awareness Day at Utah’s Hogle Zoo, contact Community Relations Coordinator Holly Braithwaite at (801) 584-1729 or email at hbraithwaite@hoglezoo.org.

About the Association of Zoos & Aquariums: Utah’s Hogle Zoo is one of only 216 accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA).  Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better future for all living things.  AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation, and your link to helping animals in their native habitats. For more information visit www.aza.org.