August
August 27, 2003 - Zoo visitors go buggy over Butterflies
August 12, 2003 - At-risk boys and girls produce Public Service Announcements
August 11, 2003 - Get your very own ZooDoo Elephant Fertilizer
August 6, 2003 - Zoo headed for a Chick-A-Boom
August 1, 2003 - Zoo brings "Dinosaurs" to Portland
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ZOO VISITORS GO BUGGY OVER BUTTERFLIES
Zoo extends summer exhibit by popular demand
PORTLAND, Ore. -Oregon Zoo has decided to give visitors exactly what they want--more butterflies! Originally scheduled to close Labor Day, the zoo has extended the butterfly exhibit through September 14.
Visitors are really enjoying the butterflies, calling it the most interactive exhibit they've visited," said Tony Vecchio, Oregon Zoo director. "Since attendance has been strong and September is historically a good weather month, we thought we should leave it open for two more weeks.
Many visitors expressed their enjoyment of the butterflies through e-mails.
"I had butterflies land on me, which was pretty unbelievable," e-mailed one visitor. Another described Winged Wonders as "the most interesting exhibit . . . the day's most exciting and rewarding activity."
In mid-July the zoo added ten new species of vibrant exotic butterflies, the first exotics to visit the zoo in its 116-year history. Winged Wonders, sponsored by Meier & Frank, already contained more than 20 North American species.
Some of the new butterflies include the glittering blue Morpho from Nicaragua, the orange-polka-dotted Grecian Shoemaker from southern Brazil, and the brilliant Royal Blue from Mexico. Other butterflies are native to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Columbia, and the Amazon Basin.
"The new butterflies are larger and even more vibrant than the North American varieties!" said Tony Vecchio, zoo director. "Visitors are always surprised to be completely immersed in butterflies; it is a wonderful experience."
Exhibit designers created Winged Wonders to be appealing to both butterflies and humans. 
Benches are scattered around the lush gardens for those who want to rest and perhaps experience becoming a butterfly's chosen perch.
An interactive display within the exhibit describes the life cycle of these wild butterflies and then explains what the zoo is doing to raise these rare creatures in captivity.
The Oregon Zoo is a charter member of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's (AZA) Butterfly Conservation Initiative, which includes nearly 50 national zoos and aquariums. The Initiative is designed to bring together government and non-government agencies to aid in the recovery of imperiled North American butterflies. A portion of the proceeds from the Oregon Zoo's butterfly exhibit helps support the zoo's butterfly education and conservation efforts.
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AT-RISK BOYS AND GIRLS CREATE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR OREGON ZOO
PORTLAND, Ore.-Twenty-five underserved children from the Portland area are set to produce public service announcements for the Oregon Zoo during Portland Cable Access's Intensive Television Boot Camp on August 13. The student-created PSAs will highlight the zoo's exhibits, including Africa, Alaska, North America, Asia, Indonesia, and the undersea world of Steller Cove. The PSAs will air throughout the year on Portland Cable Access channels 11, 22, 23 and 30, and on select Comcast cable channels.
"We already have worked with underserved audiences at the zoo and this is a great opportunity to further those goals," said Tony Vecchio, zoo director. "We're very impressed with the quality of video these kids produce, and we're thrilled that they have chosen the zoo to hone their skills. This really is a win win situation."
Portland Cable Access, through a grant from the Juan Young Trust, is hosting the fourth annual Adventures in Television, a popular summer youth media camp for members of Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland area. During this intensive weeklong video production camp, taking place August 11-15, 50 at-risk youth (ages 12-16) explore potential careers in broadcast communications, while creating public service announcements (PSAs) for local non-profit organizations. Other non-profits to be featured include Pittock Mansion, Japanese Garden, World Forestry Center, Hoyt Arboretum and the International Rose Test Garden.
"Adventures in Television is one of the most popular programs among the young people served by our clubs," said Joseph Marziello, CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Portland Metropolitan Area. "The 50 teen media makers have incredible fun producing their PSAs, but they're also involved in the hard work of building their communication, technical and people skills in the process."
Industry professionals speaking at this year's camp include Will Vinton Studios animation director John Logue, art director/designer Tracy Prescott, and Bob Schmaling of the Oregon Film and Video Office. Media companies conducting small workshops include Flying Rhinoceros, Northwest Documentary and the Northwest Film Studies Center. The campers will also participate in the live studio audience at AM Northwest and tour the animation facilities at Vinton Studios.
"We are especially thankful to the Juan Young Trust for their financial support," commented Veronica Hunter, production and education director for Portland Cable Access. "The camp would not have taken place this year without them. In our current economic climate, programs like "Adventures" are becoming an endangered species."
The camp culminates in a "premiere party" and public screening at the historic Hollywood Theater on Saturday, August 16 at 4 p.m. Award winning director Gus Van Sant will make a special appearance, and Vinton Studios' Emmy award winning animator Brad Schiff will be this year's guest presenter. The Hollywood Theater screening, located at 4122 N.E. Sandy, is free and open to the public.
Adventures in Television is now in its fourth year. In addition to the Juan Young Trust, major sponsors include Communications Workers of America Local #7901 and ESPN. Other supporters include Professional Video & Tape, Allied Vaughn, Portland Police Chief Mark Kroeker, Comcast, Turner Networks, Discovery Networks, MTV, C-Span, Crown Trophy, Starbucks, Costco, Burger King, Burgerville, Jack in the Box, McDonald's and Chili's.
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ZOODOO ELEPHANT FERTILIZER
ZooDoo is available for your yard or garden! The Oregon Zoo and Best Buy Landscape Supplies are selling commemorative ZooDoo. Each dump-truck load can be delivered to the anyone's home, garden, or farm and contains some genuine Packy poop.
ZooDoo is enrichment for your garden and is manufactured by the world's most prolific herd of captive Asian elephants as well as other herbivores. They've produced more than enough ZooDoo to help put the bloom in our zoo gardens and we'd like to share this "gardener's magic" with you. Call Best Buy Landscape Supplies to find out the cost and arrange delivery time. 503-645-6665. More information coming soon to this space!
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OREGON ZOO HEADED FOR A CHICK-A-BOOM
PORTLAND, Ore.---Several little additions have arrived with the summer in the Oregon Zoo's bird collections. Three rare Humboldt penguin chicks and four brightly colored lorikeet chicks have hatched at the Oregon Zoo this season.
The newest baby in the penguinarium arrived on June 3 and brings the zoo's penguin population to 37. The two older penguin chicks were both hatched on March 31 and are now swimming in the penguin exhibit with their parents. The littlest penguin is still in a nest box with its parents, although it is removed daily for weighing and a health checkup.
Removing penguin chicks from the nest to check their health is necessary, but not always simple. "Some of the parents are really good about it," says Shawn St. Michael, bird keeper. "Some of the parents try and fillet you." The chicks themselves are "sweet and tractable."
Humboldt penguins are the most threatened of the 17 penguin species. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, placed Humboldts on the Appendix I list in 1981 which means they are "presently threatened with extinction." The Oregon Zoo has one of the largest collections of Humboldts in the country.
The four new lorikeet chicks at the zoo join 72 others of the brightly colored tropical parrots in the zoo's Lorikeet Landing aviary. The lorikeet exhibit will continue to remain open to the public, despite the current mating season.
Since its opening in 1999, the lorikeet aviary has been extremely popular with visitors, says bird keeper St. Michael. "Our visitors enjoy how interactive the exhibit is--they can buy small cups of nectar to feed the lories. The birds are inquisitive and playful and will fly down and land on a person's arm or hand, taking sips out of the cups," he explains.
Seven nest boxes were placed throughout the lory exhibit this summer to encourage breeding activity. A lorikeet egg usually takes about 24 days to incubate. Once born, the chicks are quickly covered with gray down. They leave the nest fully fledged some 9 to 10 weeks after hatching.
There are 10 different species of lories in Lorikeet Landing. Native to the island chains of the South Pacific, the zoo's birds come mainly from the larger islands of Australia, New Guinea, Polynesia and Indonesia.
Among the most beautiful of all birds, lories are feathered in vivid colors and varying hues, combining bright yellows, deep violets, radiant reds, brilliant blues and lime-greens. The colors are further enhanced by the natural glossiness of the lories' plumage.
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ZOO BRINGS "DINOSAURS" TO PORTLAND, AUGUST 15
PORTLAND, Ore.- Dodge through a stampede of thundering apatosaurs, feel your heart in your throat as you evade a T-Rex, witness a prehistoric battle high in the air, while dangling from the claws of a pteranodon-all from the safety of the Oregon Zoo's new thrill ride, opening August 15. Dino Island, produced by SimEx-Iwerks, is the zoo's latest simulator ride, which replaces the popular Deep Sea thrill ride.
"The Deep Sea was a tremendous success," according to Tony Vecchio, Oregon Zoo director. "More than 36,000 people experienced the ride, which generated $156,467. The revenue from Deep Sea helps pay for many conservation and education programs at the zoo," he added.
Vecchio believes Dino Island, with its life-like dinosaurs, will be even more popular.
"Seeing huge dinosaurs in our simulator is a thrilling experience," says Vecchio. "The T-Rex looking at me like I was lunch was something I won't soon forget," he added.
Dino Island, which runs through October 17, is a high-action, animated simulation that relies on computer-controlled hydraulics, moving the entire audience in synchronization with the prehistoric actions on the screen. Riders view the dinosaurs while traveling in their virtual all-terrain vehicle. They race, twist and plummet in synchrony while dinosaurs attack and pursue them.
According to Vecchio, the specific dinosaur encounters promise to be memorable. He describes the experience:
Riders will join zoo staff as members of a scientific team entrusted to uncover the secrets of a newly discovered island. A helicopter airlifts passengers within their all-terrain vehicle to the island. Upon arrival, they discover volcanic canyons and rivers of lava. They also discover the island is thriving with prehistoric plants. But the amazing sight of this primeval landscape is quickly eclipsed by a sight even more amazing - living, breathing dinosaurs.
Riders feel their vehicle violently shudder with the force of a strong earthquake, but it's not a seismic event that threatens them - it's a herd of stampeding apatosaurs. Fallen trees litter the landscape and looming above is a smoldering volcano, spewing smoke and threatening to blow.
Later, the vehicle careens over a high cliff only to be saved when a giant pteranodon grasps it with its razor-sharp talons. With a massive jolt, riders are carried aloft and are helpless as a dogfight ensues among prehistoric creatures. As the creatures swoop dangerously close, the pteranodon drops the vehicle and it falls to the forest below. A thick canopy of trees breaks the fall. Just when riders think the worse is over, a ferocious tyrannosaurus rex towers above them. The vehicle backs away as the bus-sized creature begins his terrifying pursuit through the wooded forest, hungrily snapping his jaws.
Vecchio won't share how Dino Island concludes.
"I'm not giving the ending away," says Vecchio. "People will have to experience first-hand how it ends, but I will say, it's explosive!" quipped Vecchio.
Dino Island is in the air-conditioned SimEx simulation theater located on the former entry plaza directly across from the Amur Tiger exhibit, close to the Zoo Railway Station. In addition to regular zoo admission, a $4 ticket ($3 for members) is required. Proceeds from ticket sales help pay for the zoo's conservation and education programs. Due to the limited number of seats, a maximum of 800 visitors per day are able to experience the ride.
Visitors can still experience Deep Sea: The Ride, by request through September 1.
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