NEWS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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| August 13, 2008 | |
| CONTACT: | |
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Jim Anderson, Zoo Director 260-427-6800 |
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Zoo’s Australian
Exhibit Named Best in Nation
Kid-friendly atmosphere,
unique rides also lauded in new book
The Fort Wayne
Children’s Zoo was named the country’s
Number One Zoo for Australian Animals and Exhibits by the authors of
America’s Best Zoos.
The zoo’s five-acre
Australian Adventure exhibit is called “one of the country’s largest and best
displays of Australian animals” by the book’s authors, Allen W. Nyhuis and Jon
Wassner. They describe the exhibit
as “fascinating” and a “most convincing virtual journey to the ‘Land Down
Under.’” Runners-up in the category
include Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo and the San Diego Zoo.
The zoo was also
named a runner-up in the Best Rides
category, just behind the San Diego Zoo and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
The book places the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo among the
60 Best Zoos in the United States.
“Recognition like
this is a reflection on the entire Fort Wayne community,” says Zoo Director Jim
Anderson. “Without the support of the community, the zoo would not be what it is
today.”
When the Australian
Adventure was built in 1987, it was one of the first zoo exhibits in the nation
to use Australian architecture, music, and plant materials to complement the
animal exhibits and immerse visitors in Australian culture. The exhibit features
a 17,000-gallon Great Barrier Reef Aquarium, a nocturnal bat cave, a one-half
acre free flight aviary, a dingo exhibit, a log boat ride, and one of the
country’s only walk-through kangaroo exhibits, where no physical barrier
separates kangaroos from visitors.
A 50,000-gallon shark aquarium was added in 2004.
Like all areas of
the zoo, the entire Australian Adventure was built entirely with donations from
foundations, businesses, and individuals.
Rides like the Australian Adventure’s log boat ride generate important
revenue for the zoo, which is one of only a handful of zoos in the nation that
receive no tax dollars for operations.
The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
draws 500,000 visitors every year. The
all-new African Journey, featuring lions, hyenas, vultures, and giraffe feeding,
is set to open in summer 2009.
The zoo is open every day
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