Subject: point defiance zoo interactive lory exhibit is open!
Date: Jul 14 11:13:35 1999
From: Bob Mauritsen - Bluetooth at csi.com


Many thanks to Deborah for posting the notice below last
month. I'm leaving it uncut on purpose. We went down
there yesterday and the Lori exhibit was wonderful. The
longer you stay inside, the harder it is to tear yourself
away. The lorris and being able to watch the polar bear
swim, from the underwater side, and other exhibits, show
that they seem to know how to draw people in.

Bob Mauritsen
green lake
seattle


>
>hello tweets.
>
>if you are like me, you will spend at least some time this
>summer, thinking wishfully about that great trip you want to
>take to australia or to the lovely islands of the south pacific
>ocean. i think about such a trip each and every day, even
>though i am fully aware that this imaginary trip is clearly
>impossible.
>
>or is it? perhaps i can experience this excursion without
>spending thousands of dollars that i don't have, without
>experiencing jet-lag, customs hassles, and dysentery. and so
>i went to the point defiance zoo this past weekend to visit the
>interactive lory exhibit.
>
>as you all probably know, lories are birds native to the islands
>of the south pacific, including australia. they are
>brightly-colored, small- to medium-sized parrots that eat nectar
>and have brushes on the tips of their tongues.
>
>the point defiance zoo constructed an interactive exhibit last
>year that features a large walk-in aviary full of free-flighted
>lories. the general public can enter this exhibit and, for a
>buck, purchase cups of nectar to feed the lories. these birds,
>all of which are very tame, will land on visitors inside the
>aviary, frequently when they don't have any food to offer. the
>general atmosphere is quite festive, with colorful and noisy
>birds flying around, and guests of all ages talking and laughing
>excitedly. visitors are encouraged to take lots of photographs
>of their loved ones playing with the lories.
>
>the lory exhibit was enlarged this past winter and was just
>re-opened a week ago. last year, there were 26 lories on exhibit,
>but this year there are 49 lories of nine species, all of which
>are domestically-bred birds (no wild-caught birds are in this
>exhibit). the interactive lory exhibit is open during normal zoo
>hours, with a small lunch break for the birds between 100-230pm.
>the cost of admission to the point defiance zoo is $7.50 for
>people who are not residents of tacoma.
>
>i highly recommend a trip to tacoma to see this exhibit during
>the summer. you'll be glad that you did it!
>
>[by the way, i am not an employee of point defiance zoo, but do
>love lories! i would also be willing to tag along with any
>tweeters who invite me to come along, by the way.]
>
>regards,
>
> Deborah Wisti-Peterson email:nyneve at u.washington.edu
>Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash, USA
> Visit me on the web: http://students.washington.edu/~nyneve/
><><><>Graduate School: it's not just a job, it's an indenture!<><><>
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