Watch the video above: The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo is inviting people to hang out with one of its cutest animals as part of a special VIP fundraiser. People are being offered behind-the-scenes encounters with Pheonix, the zoo’s red panda.
SASKATOON – The Saskatoon zoo is offering the public a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with its popular red panda, Phoenix. The “Red Panda VIP Experience” is up for auction until midnight on Monday, Feb. 23.
The winner of the auction will get to spend up to three hours with Phoenix at some point during the summer.
The package is for four people, according to the auction listing. It includes feeding the animal and observing one of its training sessions.
It’s part of a larger conservation program that saves wild pandas and preserves their habitat in various locations around the world.
“It’s important for us to participate in these programs, its one way we can give back to the global community,” said John Moran, manager of the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo.
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Money raised from the auction will go to the Red Panda Network, a San Francisco-based organization that states it’s committed to the “conservation of wild red pandas and their habitat.”
There are two sub-species of the animal, according to the organization. They are found in areas of China, Nepal, India and Bhutan.
While funds raised from the auction will go to efforts in countries where the red panda is found, Moran said he believes the auction could spawn environmental action on other issues closer to home.
“Conservation and biodiversity is not something that’s just in other countries, it’s also important in our own country,” said Moran.
“Whether it’s conserving our Arctic north or whether it’s conserving our grasslands here in Saskatchewan, they’re all tied together and the more people start thinking on a global aspect, the better it is.”
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