The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 31

ThurdMMAT U. 1X1 THI 3'D- Nashville Zo 6roars9 A open lor oig Join in the activities Th Nashville Zoo officially open Its gate Saturday with music, traditional ribbon cutting and special activities. A Boy Scout flag ceremony will start the day at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed at 1 p.m. by the WSlX June Jam talent March.

Throughout the day until 5 p.m. visitors can see clowns, participate In the Name the Siberian Lynx Cub Contest and other events. The fun continues Sunday. Zoo hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Memorial Day through Labor Day and 10 a.rrt-5 p.m.

during the rest of the year. Admission Is $5 for adults and $3 for children (free for children younger than 3). To get to the zoo take 1-24 west to exit 31 (New Hope Road). Tum left on New Hope Road; turn right on Hwy. 4 1-A, and then follow the Nashville Zoo signs.

Compound features exotic animals, tours By CATHY STRAIGHT Slqff Wrilrr PLEASANT VIEW The piercing screech coming from the cougars' area sounded like a cry for help but turned out to be a call for love. 1 "We have four cougars, and It's their mating season. We expect to have baby cougars soon," said Sherry Powell, marketing director of the Nashville Zoo. Zoo officials are expecting much more than baby cougars with the opening of the 135-acre compound. This weekend's grand opening shows off only the first phase of what's to come.

"There's still 85 more acres to develop. We have the potential to be one of the largest zoos In the country," Powell said. That's not to say the zoo has nothing to offer now. Visitors can learn a lot at the new compound, like how to tell a scream from a cougar's pitching woo. Whether by guided tour or meander, there's a lot to see, do and learn at the new zoo.

An Australian black swan is scheduled to greet patrons on opening day and every day from the Kol fish pond. Visitors can then enter the Valley of the Cats where they can eavesdrop on the amorous cougars and also check out four Siberian lynx and two snow leopards. No matter where you walk In the Nashville Zoo, you're bound to run into an exotic animal of some kind, but it may take a sharp eye to find them. "Often times you have to physically look for the animals because there's so much open space here," said Richard Schwartz, zoo director. The plan Is to make the animals look and feel as natural as possible, considering they are in a zoo.

"We take advantage of what's here naturally," Schwartz said of the zoo's location, which Is on the outskirts of Nashville In Cheatham County. The design of the zoo will promote a natural lifestyle for the animals so that 30 giggling third-graders don't disrupt mating, eating or playtime, Schwartz said. Most of the zoo's 300-plus animal community came from other zoos around the country and more are on the way. Zoos, such as the San Diego Zoo In California, 7T I 1 i if i 'i I mil nil llin.lll II I I -ii I i ii have no qualms about lending animals to up-and-coming zoos for breeding or exhibit purposes, Schwartz said. "We just got in six leopards last night," Schwartz said last week.

"And next week we'll be getting some primates from the San Diego Zoo. "Zoos used to be more competitive," Powell added, "but because so many species are endangered now, most of the zoos across the country work together." The Nashville Zoo has been open since March, but animals and exhibits have been added almost dally In preparation for this weekend's grand opening. Visitors will see African Hons, Egyptian geese, Sicilian pygmy donkeys, zebras, a giraffe and Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs all of which have been slowly acclimated to the sight of gawking human beings. Last week the animals in the petting zoo, including the pot-bellied pigs, goats, deer and monkeys, seemed perfectly happy with all the attention being spread by visitors. "I didn't think they would be that friendly," said Sammy Turner, 11, of Nashville, as he bottle-fed one of the goats.

It takes about two hours to see all the zoo has to offer, Powell said. It's open year-round. Visitors can help name the newborn female Siberian Lynx cub, top, during opening weekend at the Nashville Zoo. The new compound has more than 300 animals, including two giraffes, far right, and a ring-tail Lemur, right. Rkky Rocers Staff Information on wildlife right at your finger tips Designer and Famous-Name a i i I tmm V.

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With this expanded interest have come dozens of wonderful publications to help people plan their backyard habitat properly. Listed below is a sampler of resources, some local and some national. Even If you aren't Interested yourself, some of these books can make great presents for friends or relatives with a penchant for wildlife. The first place to turn Is your own state government Every state has a department that is responsible for wildlife. Washington state's is called the Washington Department of Wildlife, pretty basic.

Minnesota's is the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In Texas, try the Department of Parks and Wildlife. In the past, these groups focused almost entirely on game animals, such as waterfowl, of value to hunters. More recently, many states have developed programs to nurture nongame species loons and bluebirds and so on. Look In the government section of your phone book, call and ask for pamphlets on nongame wildlife.

The National Institute for Urban Wildlife, 10921 Trotting Ridge Way, Columbia, Md. 21044, publishes A Guide to Urban Wildlife Management, the Urban Wildlife Manager's Notebook series and other booklets designed to help you attract and manage urban wildlife. Write for a publications list. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources sells two books that are of value to any habitat gardener in northern climes. These are Landscaping for Wildlife, $8.95, and Woodworking for Wildlife, $3.95, which includes nest box and platform designs for mice, bats, squirrels and dozens of species of birds.

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Order a copy for your uncle back in Bridgehamp-ton.) The National Audubon Society has 515 local chapters around the country. To find one near you, write the National Audubon Society, Membership Department, 950 Third New York, N.Y. 10022. Your local chapter may well have published localized urban habitat materials. For example, the Cape May, N.J., Audubon Chapter distributes Backyard Habitat for Birds, A Guide for Landowners and Communities in New Jersey.

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