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You Can Now Invite Fiona And Friends To Your Next Online Meeting

Courtesy of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Fiona and her zoo friends are raising funds for the Cincinnati Zoo by joining online meetings.

Organizations around the country are getting creative, offering up their animals or special guests to make appearances during your company or work online meeting. Now, the Cincinnati Zoo and Fiona are getting in on the action.

That's right, with a donation, you can invite Fiona, Rico the porcupine, a giraffe and more to attend your Zoom call, WebEx meeting, or Google Hangout.

cincinnati zoo virtual call
Credit Clockwise from top left / Cincinnati Zoo, Tana Weingartner, AP
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Cincinnati Zoo, Tana Weingartner, AP
You can also opt for a "mystery" appearance by either a talmandua, bearcat (pictured, bottom left) or wallaby, the zoo says.

"We've all been on countless video calls at this point, and I know that I would love to see a new face in the mix," says Cincinnati Zoo Director and 90-Second Naturalist host Thane Maynard. "Imagine the look on your co-workers' faces when they see Fiona on the agenda! I'm sure the chat would fill up with questions for the world's most famous hippo!"

The offer is an effort to raise funds for the zoo, which like most entertainment, arts and cultural organizations, is losing big bucks during the pandemic closures. Meeting cameos range from $250 to $750 for a 15 minute chat and can be done on any conferencing platform.

Senior Editor and reporter at WVXU with more than 20 years experience in public radio; formerly news and public affairs producer with WMUB. Would really like to meet your dog.