• Young scientists, Bowie and Zoey, learn about Galapagos tortoises and their history
  • Readers can make their own field journals
  • Visit www.bronxzoo.com/bowieandzoey

New York, NY – Dec. 8, 2010 –  The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo has teamed up with award-winning children’s book author Phyllis Shalant to present Bowie and Zoey’s Fantastic, Fun-Filled Field Journal: Galapagos Tortoise, an interactive online reading experience for kids.

The children’s book gives readers a chance to learn all about the famous Galapagos tortoises through photos, illustrations, and videos while they discover fun facts and get tips on how to create their own field journal. At the end of the book, readers can take a quiz to recap what they learned about the tortoises.

The story is told through the eyes of Bowie and Zoey, a young pair of budding field scientists, who take readers behind the scenes at the Bronx Zoo’s World of Reptiles, where the young tortoises live. Readers will also get to know the tortoises’ ancestors from Isabella Island.

Galapagos tortoises were nearly extinct in 1928 when WCS conservationists set up a breeding program on the Galapagos Islands to help recover the population. The little ones featured in Bowie and Zoey’s Fantastic, Fun-Filled Field Journal are the grandchildren of the very tortoises saved by WCS field scientists.

Phyllis Shalant is the author of many books for young readers. Her previous works include Bartleby of the Mighty Mississippi; Bartleby of the Big, Bad Bayou; and The Great Cape Rescue – the first in the Society of Super Secret Heroes series.

To read the book, and create a journal, go to: www.bronxzoo.com/bowieandzoey.

Contact: 

Max Pulsinelli – 718-220-5182; mpulsinelli@wcs.org
Sophie Bass – 718-265-3428; sbass@wcs.org
Steve Fairchild – 718-220-5189; sfairchild@wcs.org


The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world’s largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.


The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Adult admission is $16, children (3-12 years old) $12, children under 3 are free, seniors (65+) are $14. Parking is $13 for cars and $16 for buses. The Bronx Zoo is conveniently located off the Bronx River Parkway at Exit 6; by train via the #2 or #5 or by bus via the #9, #12, #19, #22, MetroNorth, or BxM11 Express Bus service (from Manhattan that stops just outside the gate.) To plan your trip, visit www.bronxzoo.com or call 718-367-1010.


If you would like to guide your readers or viewers to a web link where they can make donations in support of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to: www.wcs.org/donation.