We are pleased to announce our Evening Lecture Series for 2023! 

All Evening Lectures will take place vin Person on grounds at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo Hanson Building and Virtually over Zoom unless otherwise noted. 

Registration is $10/lecture.
​Registrations for individual lectures can be found below.

RIZE: Animal Observation
​Fairfield University, Library multimedia room (NYS 101 Auditorium)
April 26 6 PM - 7:30 PM

Fairfield University’s U RIZE program students in conjunction with Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo are studying zoo animal behavior. Students studied leopard calls, behavior in red wolves, breeding behavior in white-naped cranes, and aggression in trout, among other topics. The lecture will be presented via Zoom and in person. 

​The Bear Reality
Felicia Ortner, CT Master Wildlife Conservationist
May 17 @ 7 PM

Bears have become victims of misunderstandings, fueled by media, literature, and word of mouth. The population of black bears has increased in Connecticut over the last four decades and will continue to grow. This program will share information on the American black bear, the state’s only resident species in the wild, to improve our understanding and tolerance and reduce conflicts with our wild bear neighbors. The lecture will be presented via Zoom and in person.

Horseshoe Crab Monitoring,
Jo-Marie Kasinak, M.S.,
June 21 @ 7 PM

Sacred Heart University Biology Professor Jo-Marie Kasinak will present Project Limulus: a community-based research study examining the ecology of the Long Island Sound horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) population. “Horseshoe crabs are a foundational species for their ecosystem. They are invaluable to human health, because their blood is used to make Limulus amebocyte lysate, which tests vaccines and other medical devices to ensure they are not contaminated with bacteria. Anyone who has received a flu shot or a COVID-19 vaccine can thank horseshoe crabs,” says Kasinak. 

Vampire Bats
Miranda Dunbar SCSU Biology Professor 
​September 20 @ 7 PM

Southern Connecticut State University Biology Professor Miranda Dunbar will present a lecture on vampire bats. According to Professor Dunbar, bat saliva has medicinal properties, specifically, those of the vampire bats (not found in Connecticut). As blood suckers, they require an anticoagulant in their saliva. It’s a glycoprotein known (funnily enough) as draculin, which prevents clotting in the blood of their prey. And it’s something that could have applications for medications. “What we can’t see scares us, and bats, being nocturnal animals, aren’t often seen,” Dunbar says. “There are so many wives’ tales, and so few of us who study bats to correct these myths.”
"The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans."
-Jim Fowler
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​info@beardsleyzoo.org 
1875 Noble Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06610
Open 9am-4pm daily
​Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is dedicated to acquainting a diverse public to the delicate balance that exists between living things and their environment.

Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is a 501(c)(3) not for profit owned and operated by the Connecticut Zoological Society.
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