FATHER KNOWS BEST AT THE OREGON ZOO
Posted at 5:13 pm May 30, 2008 by adminFor Immediate Release
May 28, 2008
Public invited to vote for the 2008 Zoo Father of the Year
PORTLAND, Ore. — It’s time for dads to take center stage, and the Oregon Zoo wants your help in choosing its Zoo Father of the Year for 2008. Atishwin the California condor, Kiku the colobus monkey and Packy the Asian elephant are this year’s honored contenders. An on-line ballot featuring photos and short biographies of the zoo dads is posted on the zoo’s Web site: www.oregonzoo.org/Voter/vote_form.cfm.
“We just finished a campaign for Zoo Mother of the Year, and found it was a fun way to initiate a relationship between the public and the highlighted animals,” said Tony Vecchio, zoo director. “As the public reads about the nominees, all of which belong to species that are either threatened or endangered, we hope they’ll come to understand and care about the challenges facing these animals in the wild.”
On-line votes will be accepted until 5 p.m. Thursday, June 12. The zoo will announce its 2008 Zoo Father of the Year Friday, June 13, at 10 a.m. 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, Washington’s pygmy rabbits, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles, Oregon spotted frogs 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 No. 63 to the Oregon Zoo. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive $1 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.
General admission is $9.75 (12-64), seniors $8.25 (65+), children $6.75 (3-11), and infants 2 and under are free; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the zoo’s Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $1 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.
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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)
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