Zoo's Gone 'hog Wild' For Spring Break!
For Immediate Release OREGON ZOO NEWS
March 8, 2006
Contacts: Bill LaMarche 503-220-2448 (office) or 503-497-5812 (pager)
Linda D'Ae-Smith 503-220-5716 (office) or 503-441-7573 (pager)
Editor's note: For additional enrichment photos, please e-mail Bill at lamarcheb@metro.dst.or.us
To see an example of polar bear enrichment, please visit: http://www.oregonzoo.org/Cards/Bears/bear.polar.htm
ZOO'S GONE 'HOG WILD' FOR SPRING BREAK!
PORTLAND, Ore. - Fort Lauderdale, Palm Springs and Hawaii have nothing on Oregon Zoo as a spring break destination. At the zoo's third annual Zoo's Gone Wild celebration, March 26-31, spring breakers can "go wild" with "punk-rock" warty pigs, and "party hearty" with penguins, pachyderms and polar bears.
"We know Portland won't be as warm as Palm Beach, but we also know that Oregonians have a great imagination," says Tony Vecchio, zoo director. "With Jimmy Buffet and the Beach Boys piped over the PA system, a few hibiscus garlands and a bit of grass skirting here and there, we can all put on our Hawaiian shirts and just pretend."
The event provides a tropical vacation for the animals as well as for zoo visitors, according to Vecchio.
"Our wildly enthusiastic volunteers and staff have been planning this week's special enrichment activities all year," says Vecchio.
Enrichment is designed to mentally stimulate animals by changing their environment. Each day's schedule will be packed with animal food puzzles, treat-filled pi?±atas and demolition opportunities.
Visitors can watch polar bears breaking open ice treats, elephants demolishing pi?±ata cars and orangutans trying on work shirts. They can also check out the zoo's newest resident: the Visayan warty pig.
"Sporting a spiky mohawk, warty pigs look like the partiers of the pig world," says Vecchio.
Animals aren't the only ones who get to party. Zoo visitors can enjoy special spring break treats of their own. The zoo's restaurants will serve pulled pork, Jamaican jerk chicken and a variety of tasty fruit smoothies. The barbecue cart will be open. Tropical tunes will be piped over the PA system, and event volunteers will be decorating the zoo with giant hibiscus blossoms, flower garlands and grass skirting. Visitors are encouraged to enhance the zoo's d?©cor by coming in Hawaiian shirts or other tropical attire.
Returning this year is an exhibit of two dozen lovely pink flamingos. Vecchio says he's delighted with the birds, since they are made of sturdy plastic and don't require special diets or attention from keepers.
Animal enrichment activities are themed by day:
- Sunday is Go Wild on Opening Day, a beach party, with the polar bears, hippos and elephants playing host. Polar bears chill with some frosty beverages, while hippos play their version of water volleyball (with delicious grain tumbling out of their plastic ball). Meerkats get to bat at beach-ball pi?±atas, then kick back and rest in their tiki hut. The elephants are still the kings of cool as they crush their tropical ice treats.
- Monday is Spring Training Day. Lorikeets hit home runs with nothing but their beaks, in order to get at their Wiffle ball treats. After watching them for a while, take a break from the game and enjoy some peanuts and popcorn. Visitors can then pick up a few spring training tips from the elephants, sea lions, sea otters and birds of prey during training demonstrations.
- Tuesday is Beat the Heat Day. An arctic blast hits the zoo, leaving ice that's good enough to eat. Grizzly bear, mandrills, and sea lions can be found chillin' beside Sno-Kone mountains, and the lorikeets will cool off in a misty shower. Tigers and penguins run and swim through sprinklers, while elephants stay cool with a refreshing shower.
- Wednesday's Demolition Derby is packed full of smashing, crashing and trashing. On this day, destruction is the name of the game, with the lorikeet "stump smash" and the penguin "ice splash." Sun bears make quick work of a termite mound, while chimp houses are quickly crumpled. Not to be outdone, elephants delight in an old-fashioned demolition derby.
- Thursday is Predator Pounce. Have you ever seen a crocodile feeding frenzy? Things get even creepier when the saddle-billed storks go crazy for cricket. Wolves get into the act and stalk their pi?±ata prey, while tigers pounce on their bouncy toys.
- Friday's theme is Construction Junction. The orangutans put on their work shirts and get down to the task at hand, using their own tool-shaped pi?±atas. Sea otters dive into a construction zone and keep a cool head with hard-hat ice treats. There's plenty of monkeying around when the swamp monkeys get toolboxes and tool-shaped pi?±atas.
On Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors can stop by a booth staffed by the zoo's Volunteer Enrichment Team to investigate "trashed item" tables (samples of enrichment items used by animals) and play in a termite mound.
Visitors can also join the enriching fun by building sandcastles, getting their faces painted and entering the "Move About the Zoo" contest for a chance to win tickets from Southwest Airlines. Spot the Southwest airplane hidden somewhere on zoo grounds, then submit a slip of paper indicating the plane's location. At the end of the week, two winners will be selected to receive a pair of tickets each.
Oregon Zoo is internationally renowned for its animal enrichment programs. Enrichment challenges animals with complex tasks that require problem solving.
Web visitors can see an example of polar bear enrichment by visiting http://www.oregonzoo.org/Cards/Bears/bear.polar.htm.
The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles and Kincaid's lupine. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.
The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Zoo visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus #63 to the Oregon Zoo. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive 50 cents off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.
General admission is $9.50 (12-64), seniors $8 (65+), children $6.50 (3-11), and infants two and under are free. A parking fee of $1 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.
###
ZOO SPRING BREAK PSA
30 seconds
Can't take a spring break trip to Fort Lauderdale, Palm Springs or Hawaii? Why not "go wild" with the orangutans or attend an elephant beach party! It's all happening at the zoo during the third annual Zoo's Gone Wild celebration, March 26 through 31. Oregon Zoo animals enjoy tropical-themed activities and treats several times throughout the day. Animals aren't the only ones who get to party for spring break. Zoo visitors can enjoy special spring break treats of their own, March 26 through 31.
###
Oregon Zoo o 4001 SW Canyon Rd o Portland, OR o www.oregonzoo.org
