A Triumph of Trumpeters

One of my biggest frustrations about the zoo and aquarium profession is that our failures are advertised loudly while our successes are spoken of almost in whispers.  And by "successes", I don't just mean the cute baby animal births and the new exhibit openings.  I mean the ones that really matter.  Successes like this recent one, from the Kansas City Zoo.

Many zoos, working with private aviculturists and state and federal government agencies, are working to restore the world's biggest waterfowl species to its rightful place in the skies and wetlands of the American west.  Watch the video clip above, and don't just zero in on the eye-candy clips of swans taking their first steps into the wild.  Focus on the kids meeting these incredible birds up close and the connections that are being forged. 

This is why we do what we do - to build a better world, for people and for animals.