Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

By Tara Kaprowy, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.

Jun. 14–With the kids on vacation and imaginations running dry, home sweet home might be feeling more like an animal house these days. To get some perspective, it’s time to pack up the kids, slap on some sunscreen and head to the zoo.

There are three within easy driving distance from here, all of which are offering neat, new things for kids to do this summer.

CINCINNATI ZOO

& BOTANICAL GARDEN

If you have a hankering to hold out an animal cracker and have it be scooped up by an 18-inch long tongue, the Cincinnati Zoo is where you need to head.

The zoo just opened its Giraffe Ridge exhibit, whose star performers are five Maasai giraffes, Pekua, Mtembei, Kimbaumbau, Tessa and Akilah.

The exhibit lets you gaze at the giraffes from atop a 15-foot platform.

“There’s really nothing quite like coming eye to eye with an animal nearly three times your height,” Cincinnati Zoo Execu-tive Director Thane Maynard said. “Giraffes are not only known for their incredible size, but they also love to eat.”

Indeed, a giraffe can eat up to 75 pounds of food each day. You can see them chowing down on grains, rye crisps and leaves from acacia trees at the exhibit.

Also don’t miss the Wings of Wonder Bird Show, featuring more than 20 different species of birds and mammals. The show takes place in a covered amphitheater, where birds like blue and gold macaws, stellar sea eagles, emus, and hawks take to the stage. Audience members can watch birds fly, call, mimic, climb and outsmart their trainers — making for a humorous and educational hour.

Also be sure to visit the fastest felines in the world — cheetahs — from the internationally-known Cat Ambassador Program. While sitting in a stadium, visitors can watch Bravo, Chance, Moya and Sarah racing at top speeds. The cats chase a furry, rodent-like lure, which is pulled across the grass using a cable system. The lure lets the cats show off their incredible speed and ability to chase.

The Cincinnati Zoo features 500 species of animals, making for a visit that should take a full day. Lunch can be spent munching on anything from pizza to hamburgers.

And after seeing all the animals, kids can learn what goes into taking care of them. Meet the Zoo Keeper lets kids get behind-the-scenes information about the animals, learning everything from what the animals eat, how they interact, and how they sleep to how a zoo keeper spends his or her day.

KNOXVILLE ZOO

2008 is the year of the frog and the Knoxville Zoo is celebrating it in style. Toadally Frogs features 11 species of amphibians, all of which are showcased in their natural habitat. One of the most visited is the golden dart frog, the most poisonous frog on display. This frog excretes its poison through its skin, something that natives took advantage of. They used to rub their darts on the frog to coat them with poison. They would then use the darts in battle — which gave the frog its name.

Kids can also climb on large plastic frogs on display in the exhibit, which is indoors — and air conditioned.

“It’s a good place to cool off,” Media Relations Manager Janya Marshall said.

Another place to visit is the Bloomin’ Butterfly Gardens, where kids can get up close and personal with one of nature’s most beautiful residents. Kids are welcome to walk through the exhibit, in which more than 200 butterflies — monarchs, painted ladies, zebra swallowtails, pipevine swallowtails and gulf fritillaries — fly free. Visitors are sure to get a butterfly kiss or two, with the insects often landing on shoulders and even hands.

If you haven’t been to the zoo in a while, one must stop is the Red Panda Village, which opened in November. Five pandas — Sebastian, Akkali, Chewabaca, Kumari, LiWu — live in the village. There is no enclosure between the pandas and visitors, so visitors can get a good, close look at these unusual animals. Livening up the display are laughing thrushes, who make lots of fun calls.

LOUISVILLE ZOO

It’s all about training the tigers this year in Louisville, thanks to a new $250,000 exhibit. The Tiger Tundra features Amur tiger Sinda, a 16-year-old female tiger that lolls in grassy areas, stretches out on rocks and sips from a pond. The exhibit is meant to mimic Sinda’s original home.

“We try to do all the exhibits here at the zoo for how they would live in the wild,” Public Relations Manager Kara Bussabarger explained.

Three times a day, Sinda gets training from zoo staff for her health and enrichment. Kids can watch Sinda display her mouth so the trainer can check out her teeth or watch her stand on her two back feet and extend her front legs up high.

Kids can see more lessons being taught over by the elephant house. Every day, baby Scotty, a 1-year-old African pachyderm, gets behavior training, which ultimately helps zoo staff take care of him. Each day, Scotty is taught to lift one leg on command or move to a specific spot.

After watching Scotty, head over to Timmy, a 49-year-old gorilla. Timmy is the oldest male gorilla in North America, but still has a lot of entertaining to do. He’s surrounded by his cohorts Paki and Miamoja, two female gorillas that keep him busy. Timmy and the girls live in gorilla forest, a sanctuary with three different day rooms. All the gorilla troops rotate from room to room each day, which means that Timmy isn’t always visible to visitors. But other gorillas can be spotted, with the troops usually busy foraging for food and eating.

Also don’t miss the patas monkeys, the fastest moving monkeys in the world, and the three baby saimangs, lesser apes known for their spunky personalities.

With 1,300 animals at the zoo, there’s much to see. If you need a break, head to the Glacier & Splash, a water park with 42 unique ways to get wet. Just make sure to bring bathing suits. After your cool down, dry off while sampling some Dippin’ Dots and resume your adventure.

Staff writer Tara Kaprowy can be reached by e-mail at tkaprowy@sentinel-echo.com.

PLAN A TRIP:

LOUISVILLE ZOO

–Adults (12 to 59) $11.95

–Children (3 to 11) $8.50

–Children (2 and under) $2

–Seniors (60 plus) $9.95

–Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

CINCINNATI ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDEN

–Adults (13 to 61) $13

–Children (2 to 12) $8

–Seniors (62 or better) $11

–Open daily 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

KNOXVILLE ZOO

–Adults $16.95

–Children (2 to 12) $12.95

–Children under 2: Free

–Seniors (65 plus) $12.95

–Parking: $4

–Open daily 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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Copyright (c) 2008, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.

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