Detroit Zoo Invites Veterans To Visit Free Nov 11 And Meet Jabari

By Patricia Janeway

Royal Oak, MI - The Detroit Zoo is offering free admission to all active and retired military with ID on Tuesday, November 11, 2008, in observance of Veterans Day.

On their free visit to the Zoo, our country’s brave ones can meet Jabari – Swahili for “the brave one” – an 11-month-old male giraffe that will make his public debut that day.

Military personnel and veterans can also check out the new drills, 6-year-old Enwe and 5-year-old Aiku. The brothers recently joined the Zoo’s primate family and can be found at the Great Apes of Harambee along with 11 chimpanzees and three Western lowland gorillas.

While at the great apes habitat, visitors can catch a glimpse of another recent addition: Ajua, a male chimpanzee born September 4. The adorable baby chimp can be spotted clinging to his mother, Akati, as she carries him around outdoors on sunny days and in the habitat’s spacious dayrooms during inclement weather.

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo. Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak. The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October. Admission is $11 for adults 13 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 for children ages 2 to 12; children under 2 are free. For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org. The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks. For more information, call (313) 852-4056.