Jungala Gala Raises $516,000 for Worldwide Conservation Efforts

Busch Gardens' newest attraction site for Conservation Fund event

April 7, 2008 (Tampa, Fla) - The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund raised more than half a million dollars in support of animal rescue, wildlife conservation and environmental education during the foundation's Jungala Gala fundraiser April 4.

More than 1,000 people attended the fundraiser at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, centered around its newest attraction, Jungala. The Fund's president, Virginia M. Busch, and SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Animal Ambassador, Julie Scardina, hosted the event.

"Jungala Gala was a tremendous success," said Donnie Mills, executive vice president and general manager of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. "The outpouring of generosity from our community, theme park guests, sponsors, employees and business partners will allow the Fund to continue to support wildlife conservation around the world."

Major sponsors included Anheuser-Busch, Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, American Express, Pepsi and Southwest Airlines.

Guests began the evening in the park's newest attraction, Jungala, a four-acre lush jungle village that features new rides, a three-story family climbing area and new multi-tiered, naturalistic animal habitats featuring Bengal tigers and orangutans. Zoo educators offered up-close encounters with animal ambassadors throughout the evening. Guests sampled food from about a dozen restaurants at kiosks throughout the village. Grammy Award-winning band Blues Traveler performed.

Joining the festivities were representatives from several global conservation organizations, including World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy. In addition, student and teacher winners of the 2008 SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Awards were guests of honor at the event, acknowledged for their significant efforts to protect and preserve their local environment. Restoring threatened wetlands, improving water quality of a local lake, and planting thousands of trees were among the significant efforts of these award-winning groups of young people.

The non-profit SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is committed to species research, habitat protection, animal rescue and conservation education. The Fund was created to strengthen and expand the parks' existing conservation efforts while also providing guests and friends an easy, direct way to make a difference for wildlife. Since its inception, the Fund has distributed $3.5 million to nearly 300 projects in 60 countries.

The Fund supports projects ranging from community clean-ups to multinational conservation strategies; researchers, educators and conservation groups that are working to find sustainable solutions to wildlife challenges.

The single largest donor to the Fund is the Worlds of Discovery - SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove. Additionally, the Fund's administrative costs are covered by the parks' parent company Busch Entertainment Corporation, allowing 100 percent of donations to go directly to on-the-ground conservation efforts.

Worlds of Discovery parks include SeaWorld parks in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio; Busch Gardens Africa and Adventure Island in Tampa Bay and Busch Gardens Europe and Water Country USA in Williamsburg, Va.; Discovery Cove and Aquatica in Orlando; and Sesame Place near Philadelphia. The 10 parks entertain more than 20 million guests a year and employ more than 15,000 people.

Leaders in conservation and education, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove care for the largest animal collection in the world and offer an education Web site especially for students and teachers at www.buschgardens.org. Information on the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is at www.swbg-conservationfund.org. General park information is found at www.buschgardens.com.