Exit133

May 1, 2014 · Exit133

Summer of Adventure Begins Saturday at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

There’s something new to see and zoo every day, with special animal close encounters and touch experiences, a chance to feed or get up close to harbor seals and an all new live animal show with an Indiana Jones theme

TACOMA, Wash. – Beginning Saturday, members of the public will have a chance to do something they’ve not done in years at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium: feed the harbor seals.

Saturday also brings the premiere of “Indiana Bones and the Golden Treasure,” an all-new live show featuring more than a dozen animals and a fast-paced, action-packed production that will leave audiences inspired to get outdoors and explore nature.

And on Monday, the zoo begins a new In Touch with the Wild program that includes opportunities to reach out and touch some animals and have closer-than-usual encounters with others.

It’s all part of an exciting summer lineup in which visitors will find something new to “zoo” every day.

Here’s the rundown:

Get Up Close with Harbor Seals: Visitors who arrive at the zoo between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays may enter to win a drawing for a special encounter with harbor seals.

The randomly drawn winner and up to three friends or family members will participate in the close encounter at the harbor seal exhibit in the zoo’s Rocky Shores area. The opportunity will include feeding the seals or viewing them up close as they haul out on their deck.

In Touch with the Wild: Imagine touching the dry scales on the back of a green iguana or a blue tongued skink. Feeling the carapace of a radiated tortoise. Or running fingers over an armadillo or hedgehog.

Those are just a few of the new In Touch with the Wild experiences at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. The series of expanded animal close encounters will occur at 2 p.m. each day, Mondays through Fridays, with a different animal spotlighted every time.

Each day, touchable animals will be part of the program. In addition, animals will be close enough so visitors can practically count the quills on Nigel, the prehensile-tailed porcupine, get a good look at the hairy body of a tarantula or examine the pincers of a scorpion.

“Indiana Bones and the Golden Treasure:” The zoo’s wonder dog, Herald, stars as Indiana Bones, Barkeologist, in this fast-paced show that combines humor and catchy music with the performances of more than a dozen amazing zoo animals. As Dr. Bones goes on the hunt for the Golden Treasure, members of the audience learn about geocaching, which combines navigation and good old-fashioned sleuthing skills with the allure of a treasure hunt.  Along the way, Tilli the aardvark joins in the hunt, showing off her amazingly long tongue; an African serval takes part in the search, jumping at the chance to participate; and a king vulture, a Harris’ hawk, Indian runner ducks, rats, a two-toed sloth, a striped skunk and many other animals also join the cast along the way.

Audiences will be thrilled as birds swoop low over their heads. And they’ll cheer when Dr. Bones and his assistant outfox a rival character to be the first to discover the Golden Treasure.

Following the show, visitors who want to learn more about geocaching can go on a little hunt around zoo grounds with Dr. Bones and some of his human assistants.

“Indiana Bones and the Golden Treasure” runs at noon and 3:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and noon weekdays in the Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater. An additional show will be added on weekdays in a few weeks.

Here’s a list of In Touch with the Wild animals. They will rotate, and at least one of each group will appear Mondays through Fridays at 2 p.m. in the zoo’s Close Encounter area near the Red Wolf Woods picnic pavilion. Visitors will be able to touch the animals whose names are in bold below.

Legendary Lizard Mondays

  • Green iguana
  • Prehensile-tailed skink
  • Blue tongued skink

Turtle Talk Tuesdays

  • Radiated tortoise
  • Pancake tortoise
  • Hinged-back tortoise
  • Box turtles

Weird & Wonderful Wednesdays

  • Giant African millipede
  • Madascar hissing cockroach
  • African emperor scorpions
  • Pygmy owl
  • Various frog species
  • Tarantula
  • Giant Malaysian katydid

 Slithery Thurssssdays

  • Corn snake
  • Gopher snake
  • Emerald tree boa
  • Green tree python    

Fur Frenzy Fridays

  • Three-banded armadillo
  • Domestic rat
  • Opossum
  • African hedgehog
  • Domestic dog
  • Rabbit
  • Goat
  • Molerat
  • Skunk
  • Kinkajou
  • Two-toed sloth
  • Coendou, or prehensile-tailed porcupine

For more information, go to www.pdza.org or follow the zoo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ptdefiancezoo.