SEATTLE * Internationally-acclaimed elephant authority and first-ever recipient of Woodland Park Zoo’s Centennial Conservation Award, Cynthia Moss, will give a special slide-illustrated presentation at the Woodland Park Zoological Society’s 34^th Annual Meeting and Chairman’s Dinner.

The dinner will officially kick-off Woodland Park Zoo’s 1999 Annual Fund Campaign at the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel on Wednesday, May 19, 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. Moss will address more than 350 of Seattle’s most influential philanthropists active in wildlife conservation.

Moss has spent the past 25 years, longer than any other elephant researcher, studying elephants of the Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya. Her studies of elephants in their natural habitat are the most comprehensive ever recorded. She is also the author of four books about elephants, including Echo of the Elephants, a companion to the award-winning public television film.

From her camp in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, she meticulously records births, deaths, friendships and other dramas of more than 900 elephants. By 1975, the African Wildlife Foundation agreed to support full-time study of the Amboseli elephants, including Moss’s Amboseli Elephant Research Project. "Elephants are endlessly fascinating. I feel that there is so much to learn. But, ultimately, my goal is a peaceful, secure future for the Amboseli elephants," Moss said.

A new tradition will begin at this year’s dinner: the inauguration of Woodland Park Zoo’s Conservation Award, presented to an individual who has furthered the cause of wildlife conservation through raising environmental awareness and inspiring action towards conservation activity.

The Safari Club, the zoo’s premier donor club, is the host of this event. Dedicated donors support the Annual Fund, which raises over $600,000 each year in contributions and an additional $800,000 in fundraising events. The Annual Fund provides Woodland Park Zoo a steady flow of unrestricted income throughout the year for conservation, education, research and recreation. Founded in 1965 the Zoo Society is the zoo’s nonprofit, fundraising partner.