Inspiration and Examples for Wildlife Days

Wildlife Days like World Lemur Day raise awareness for conservation both online and in person.

They are also effective at raising funds for conservation and elevating the profile of lesser known species, especially when focused on “ambassador species” like lemurs.

The resources below show how you can get involved in wildlife days. Use these materials to inspire your own virtual events, podcasts, social media, videos, teaching activities, and more.

World Lemur Day has helped the Lemur Conservation Network and our members raise awareness for lemurs and Madagascar each October. During this month, we see our highest web and social media traffic of the year. By focusing our outreach around World Lemur Day, we see increased engagement and reach new lemur fans.
— Lynne Venart, Digital Communications Manager at the Lemur Conservation Network

Photos of World Lemur Day celebrations in Madagascar, and online, at zoos, schools, and events around the world

VIRTUAL EVENTS

Virtual events can help you engage diverse audiences around the world without a huge budget. Use online events to help your audience get to know your organization and your conservation efforts.

Virtual Event with Live Q and A for the Great Backyard Bird Count

Check out this example of a virtual event with a live question and answer session! The Trevor Zoo created this event for an annual wildlife day about local birds, the Great Backyard Bird Count. During the virtual event, they also encouraged viewers to visit the zoo in person to participate further.

LCN Conservation Optimism Panel Discussion

Panel Discussion, Virtual Trivia, and Travel Showcase for World Lemur Day

The 2020 World Lemur Day featured three virtual events for the unique audiences that the Lemur Conservation Network wanted to engage in lemur conservation.

AUDIO AND VIDEO

One benefit of creating audio and video programs for wildlife days is that they are powerful year round. Launching a new video or podcast during your wildlife day brings it a larger audience.

“Keeper Chats” Wildlife Day Podcast featuring Quolls

Join zoo professionals Andie and Jake as they discuss underrepresented species across the globe, quolls, and how wildlife days could assist their conservation stories! Learn more about the quoll.

World Lemur Day Special with Trav’s Travels

The YouTube channel Trav’s Travels partnered with the Lemur Conservation Network to create this fun video for 2020 World Lemur Day. Trav talks to LCN’s Madagascar Manager Seheno Corduant about the ring-tailed lemur and threats to lemurs in the wild.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, TikTok, and others all have the potential to spread your message for wildlife days.

Tips for Using Social Media for Wildlife Days

Decide on key messages ahead of your wildlife day.

Focus on one to three key messages. Many wildlife days are promoted by one or more organizations already. Look to these organizations for inspiration and guidance. Some publish a social media guide, such as for World Lemur Day and the Great Backyard Bird Count. If your day does not have a guide, think about what’s most important to share when crafting your social media messages.

Choose the social media platforms that work best for your message and audience.

Once you know your message, think about what audiences are the best fit for that message. If fundraising is your focus, consider using Facebook for its older demographic and built in payment processing. If you want to help younger audiences learn about an underrepresented species, try a platform with a younger audience, like Instagram, TikTok, or Snapchat. Use this quick guide to learn about each platform’s audience.

International Wolf Day on August 13 or National Wolf Awareness Week during the third week of October are great times to share social media posts such as this Instagram post to help increase awareness, educate, and inspire engagement.

Cute photos are a great way to draw attention to your post. A graphic like this is easily shareable and communicates the key message about World Lemur Day quickly.

A simple facebook post with pictures can inspire viewers to join citizen science organizations, like eBird, or special events, like the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Infographics like this could be shared for World Tapir Day on April 27 to demonstrate the threats facing Baird’s tapirs and critical corridors in their current habitats. Figures obtained from Cove et al. (2014), de la Torre et al. (2018), Meyer et al. (2020), and Schank et al. (2020).

There are many types of social media posts that could be used to promote a wildlife day. Click on this slideshow to learn more about these examples.

TEACHING ACTIVITES

Teaching about endangered species on wildlife days is a fun way for kids to learn about science, biodiversity, and different places in the world. Many zoos and conservation groups share activities and lesson plans about wildlife on their websites. Find teaching resources about lemurs and Madagascar.

The examples below are created for World Lemur Day, but could be adapted for other wildlife days.

Google Earth Mapping Activity

Age 10 and up

Use this interactive map with your students for World Lemur Day, or adapt it for a different wildlife day. Explore the map to learn about lemur species and their habitats, as well as Madagascar’s people and geography. The lesson plan includes discussion questions and tips for adaptation.

Ring-tailed lemurs at Zoo Duisburg. Photo: Mathias Appel.

Animal Behavior Ethogram Activity

Age 10 and up

This activity helps you observe lemurs or other animals at your local zoo (or via a zoo webcam). You will list their distinct behaviors in an ethogram. Ethograms are a great first step toward asking testable questions about animal behavior. Share your ethogram with your zookeeper to help them learn more about the animals in their care!

About This Resource

These web pages were created to help you promote biodiversity conservation for wildlife days. This page and its digital media were created by graduate students in Miami University’s Project Dragonfly Biology program. Thank you to Jo Bonner, Jake Clary, Ava Goodale, Andie Haugen, and Lynne Venart for creating this resource.