ALL-NEW BOO AT THE L.A. ZOO

Annual Event, Sponsored by 99 Cents Only Stores,
Is Reimagined and Expanded to Every Day in October

October 1 through 31, 2015
10 am – 4 pm
Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens

This Halloween season, the Los Angeles Zoo offers families and Halloween lovers of all ages a chance to feed their imaginations with treats at the all-new BOO AT THE L.A. ZOO, expanded to an entire month of seasonal fun and learning beginning Thursday, October 1and continuing through Saturday, October 31, 2015, 10 am to 4 pm.  BOO AT THE L.A. ZOO 2015 features daily activities such asspooky caves spotlighting animals’ “super” natural senses, while weekends include a “Graveyard Safari” adventure, “Boneyard” education station, themed crafts, storytelling, live music, strolling characters, pumpkin carving, animal feedings and other family adventures.  Kids are invited to dress in costumes, and costume contests are presented throughout October.  Activities at BOO AT THE L.A. ZOO, which is sponsored by 99 Cents Only Stores, are free with paid Zoo admission.  Check lazoo.org/BOO for details and daily schedules.

In a twist on a more traditional Halloween haunted house, the L.A. Zoo debuts spooky caves in the Winnick Family Children’s Zoo, which are filled with shadows and projections of slithering snakes and crawling spiders and eerie sounds of nocturnal creatures and other special effects, as well as live tarantulas, scorpions and other critters.  Visitors wandering through the spooky surroundings can expect to unearth shocking facts about animals’ “super” powers such as heightened senses that help them survive in their environments.  Other daily activities include fun photo ops in front of a “Haunted Barn” backdrop and up-close “Animals and You” encounters with some of the Zoo’s smaller (and creepier) residents.

Weekends at BOO AT THE L.A. ZOO offer a slew of additional “sweet and spooky” entertainment and education attractions.  A new Graveyard “Safari” hay bale maze is stocked with “tombstones” and silhouette cut-outs of skunks, possums, raccoons and other creatures that inhabit backyards – like yours! — in the dead of night.  Animal skeletons and skulls at a “Boneyard” Station may actually make guests jump out of their skins a bit, as might mysterious characters strolling through the Zoo.  Adding a lighter touch are pumpkin-carving demonstrations, Halloween crafts, “Professor Johnson, Organ Donor’s Haunted Halloween Musical Review” featuring “silly songs and sing-alongs,” and “Dress Up With Campfire Cat,” including face painting with a choice of spiders or fangs with four shows each weekend day.

Zoo residents celebrate along with everyone, so guests are encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for seasonal feedings of pumpkins for plant eaters and carcasses for carnivores on select dates (parental discretion for the latter is advised).  Feedings are set for lions onSaturday, October 3; for Komodo dragons on Sunday, October 4; for jaguars on Saturday, October 10; for elephants on Sunday, October 11; for the black bear on Saturday, October 17; for the tiger on Sunday, October 18; for snow leopards on Saturday, October 24; and for Komodo dragons on Sunday, October 25.  On Halloween, Saturday, October 31, guests can celebrate the one-year birthday of Rosie, the Zoo’s near-legendary baby hippo, with activities to be announced.  Traditional trick-or-treating at the Zoo takes place on Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25 and Saturday, October 31.

The landmark Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, drawing 1.6 million visitors each year, is home to a diverse collection of 1,100 animals representing 250 different species, many of which are rare or endangered.  Its lush grounds on 113 acres feature the LAIR (Living Amphibians, Invertebrates, and Reptiles); Elephants of Asia; Campo Gorilla Reserve; Rainforest of the Americas, an extraordinary collection of endangered and exotic mammals, reptiles, fish and amphibians living in spaces that exemplify their natural habitat in the rainforest biosphere; Tom Mankiewicz Conservation Carousel; an Indian Rhino Encounter direct-contact opportunity; Chimpanzees of Mahale Mountains, home to one of the largest troops of chimpanzees in the United States; Red Ape Rain Forest, where visitors can walk among orangutans; the Winnick Family Children’s Zoo; one of the largest flocks of flamingos in any zoo in the world; a botanical collection comprising over 800 different plant species with approximately 7,000 individual plants; and much more.  Accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), whose members meet rigorous professional standards for animal welfare, the Zoo has achieved renown as an international leader in the preservation of endangered species and a conservation center for the care and study of wildlife.  The private, non-profit Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA), which has supported the Zoo in partnership with the City of Los Angeles for more than five decades and provides funding for and operates seven essential Zoo departments, has 60,000 member households representing more than 240,000 adults and children.

Admission to the Los Angeles Zoo is $20 for general admission (ages 13 to 61); $17 for seniors (ages 62+), and $15 for children (ages 2 to 12).  No ticket is required for children under 2.  Admission for Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association members is free.

The Los Angeles Zoo is located in Griffith Park at the junction of the Ventura (134) and Golden State (5) freeways.  5333 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA  90027.  Free parking is available.  For additional information, contact (323) 644-4200 or visit www.lazoo.org/BOO

Credit: The Los Angeles Zoo. Photo Credit: Jamie Pham.