Ferocious bidding on auction items, up-close animal encounters, dining al fresco, and live entertainment all contributed to a roaring success of raising $1.7 million at Woodland Park Zoo’s Jungle Party. The premier fundraiser held July 9 exceeded its goal by $300,000.

The 34th annual Jungle Party was themed “Big Claws, Big Cause” to commemorate the zoo's felines, such as snow leopards, jaguars and Sumatran tigers.

Nearly 1,000 civic-minded patrons converged on the zoo’s North Meadow to raise funds that will help the zoo continue to provide exemplary animal care, offer engaging education programs and partner with conservation projects around the world and locally, according to a Woodland Park Zoo press release.

A record-breaking $832,000 was raised among the $1.7 million for this year’s Fund-Our Future: Animal Care.

“These critical Fund-Our-Future dollars will help us support the zoo’s exceptional animal and veterinary care and exhibit upgrades," Jungle Party Co-Chair Rick Alvord, a member of the zoo's board of directors, said in the press release. "These funds will help advance some important initiatives, including modernizing all animal diets, keeping pace with technologically advanced medical equipment and partnering with other communities around the world to help prevent animal to human emergent disease."

A few live action items ignited some friendly bidding wars: a safari to Kenya sold for $21,000; a day with the zoo’s veterinarians sold twice at $8,500 each; a gourmet dinner with the zoo’s gorillas also sold twice at $8,000 apiece.

“We are touched by the generosity of our Jungle Party patrons who have made this year’s fundraiser a roaring success," zoo President and CEO Dr. Deborah Jensen said in the press release.

As it was last year, the Woodland Park Zoo's Jungle Party was protested by Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants, who aim to secure the release of the zoo's three elephants to a sanctuary in Tennessee.

This year's protest featured three women representing the three elephants. One woman was caged in a 4-foot by 4-foot enclosure, the equivalent of the elephants' barn stalls, and all three women performed neurotic behaviors exhibited by the elephants, according to Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants.