L.A. Zoo hosts annual Beastly Ball; Betty White gets up close and personal with a boa

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More than 900 attended Saturday’s Beastly Ball, an annual event that raised $1.226 million to benefit the L.A. Zoo.

This year’s Beastly Ball honored Laura Z. Wasserman, a movie music supervisor, philanthropist and Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn. trustee. As if the presentation of a crystal elephant sculpture by the one and only Betty White wasn’t enough, Wasserman’s work on behalf of the zoo was hailed by former President Clinton (in a video tribute), Mayor Villaraigosa, zoo Director John Lewis and others.

The event’s attendees, many wearing safari-themed outfits, roamed the zoo after closing time, getting the chance to meet some of its smaller residents up close. Some of L.A.’s finest restaurants donated catering services, and silent and live auctions generated funds that will go toward the zoo’s animals and botanical gardens.

Better still, in our opinion: Betty White made a new friend in the form of a boa named Jacob.

-- Lindsay Barnett