Guests clad in wild leopard prints and zebra stripes trekked to the Central Park Zoo for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s annual Spring Gala, this year themed “Safari!” (safari/black-tie attire encouraged!). Co-chairs included: Allison and Leonard Stern, Susan and Jack Rudin, Ashley Schiff, Ann and Thomas Unterberg, and Virginia and Warren Schwerin.”

The evening’s honorees were: National Geographic Society Prez and CEO John Fahey Jr. (who oversaw the launch of the National Geographic Channel and Earth-Pulse, a conservation initiative) and National Geographic photographer Michael Nichols (who crossed 2,000 miles on foot through the Congolese rain forest).

The festivities began with cocktails by the Sea Lion Pool, where wild antics abounded—water aerobics, belly flops, and aerial ballet! Then safari participants got up close and personal with a monitor lizard, a baby crocodile, a fennec (African fox), a wallaby (small kangaroo), and even a few sloths.

The exotic lure of this year’s live auction enticed adventurers to loosen their purse strings for a luxury South African safari arranged by Town & Country TRAVEL magazine. Those with a creative streak could not resist bidding for a chance to name the newest arrival at the zoo, a rare baby zebra debutante (born November 9, 2003).

After communing with the wildlife, a delicious dinner and plenty of dancing under the stars awaited the safari-clad attendees. The sumptuous three-course meal included a Mediterranean salad, a mixed grill of filet mignon and gulf shrimp, and a truffle lemon mousse served with wild berry sauce!

We spotted former Sotheby’s President and CEO Diana “DeDe” Brooks tearing up the dance floor to tunes spun by DJ Tom Finn, a liberating change from her six months of home detention (for her role in a decade-long price-fixing scheme with Sotheby’s Chairman Alfred Taubman and rival auction house Christie’s).

Also taking a walk on the wild side: Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Diana Taylor, Jeanne Lawrence, Bob Colacello, Debbie and Billy Bancroft, Lisa and David Schiff, Adrienne and Gian Luigi Vittadini, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, Jamee Gregory, Barbara and Michael Kowalski, Carroll Petrie, Mary and Howard Phipps Jr., Elyssa Kellerman, Helena and Roman Martinez IV, Fernanda Kellogg, Denise Rich, Richard Ney, Kalliope Karella, Harriet Weintraub, Steve and Christine Schwarzman, Tom Kranz, Karl and Honore Wamsler, Celestina Wallis, Katharina Otto-Bernstein and Nathan Bernstein, Mia Solow, Ron Delsener, Rosalie and Garry Brinton, Mark Gilbertson, Liza Pulitzer, and Tobie Roosevelt.

The evening certainly helped safari-goers imagine wildlife and humans living together in sustainable interaction! Isn’t that what we New Yorkers do every day, anyway?